Burkina Faso - Transportation

In 2002, Burkina Faso had 12,506 km (7,771 mi) of roads, of which about 2,001 km (1,243 mi) were paved. Many of the secondary roads are not open all year. Vehicles in 2000 included 26,500 passenger cars, and 22,600 commercial vehicles.

The 510-km (317-mi) Mossi Railroad in Burkina Faso is part of the line that begins at Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, and ends in Niger, some 1,145 km (710 mi) away. The line serves the towns of Banfora, Bobo-Dioulasso, Koudougou, and Ouagadougou; 25–40% of the railway traffic passes through Burkina Faso, where total rail trackage was 622 km (386 mi) in 2002. Planning for the construction of a railroad from Ouagadougou to Tambao (353 km/219 mi) to exploit the mineral deposits in the area was begun in October 1981. Constructed by volunteers, the line reached Donsin, 33 km (21 mi) from Ouagadougou, in 1987, and the second stage to Kaya (77 km/48 mi) was completed by 1991.

There are international airports at Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso and numerous smaller airfields. In 2001, the number of airports totaled 33, only 2 of which had paved runways. Burkina Faso owns part of Air Afrique, which provides the country with international service. Air Burkina, which began in 1967, is government-run and has a monopoly on domestic service. It also flies to neighboring countries. In 2001, 100,300 passengers were transported on domestic and international flights.