Burkina Faso - Money



Burkina Faso is part of the 8-member West African economic union, UEMOA, and the currency is the CFA franc. The regional central bank, BCEAO, issues currency notes and regulates credit expansion. The CFA franc was pegged to the French franc at 50:1 in 1948 but was overvalued by the late 1980s and was devalued to CFA Fr 100:1 French franc. With this devaluation, much of the benefit coming from confidence in a stable rate of exchange with the French franc was lost. However, the devaluation raised the domestic price of export crops, which improved output and raised export revenue, and made imports more expensive and resulted in lower import expenditures. With France having joined the European Monetary Union, the CFA franc is now tied to the euro at CFA Fr655.959:1 euro. Inflation averaged less than 3 percent per year from 1996 to 2000. The inflation rate was estimated at 1.5 percent in 2000.

A regional stock exchange has been established, the Bourse Regionale de Valeurs Mobilieres, that serves Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo. There are branches in each of the 8-member countries. To date, only companies in Cote d'Ivoire and Senegal are listed on the exchange.

Exchange rates: Burkina Faso
Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFA Fr) per US$1
Jan 2001 699.21
2000 711.98
1999 615.70
1998 589.95
1997 583.67
1996 511.55
Note: From January 1, 1999, the CFA Fr is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 CFA Fr per euro.
SOURCE : CIA World Factbook 2001 [ONLINE].

GDP per Capita (US$)
Country 1975 1980 1985 1990 1998
Burkina Faso 196 207 224 225 259
United States 19,364 21,529 23,200 25,363 29,683
Nigeria 301 314 230 258 256
Ghana 411 394 328 352 399
SOURCE : United Nations. Human Development Report 2000; Trends in human development and per capita income.
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