Despite terrorist attacks and strikes that forced it to make fiscal adjustments, the country managed to maintain sustained growth, until the Covid-19 epidemic. And strives to get through the milestone without too much damage.

It is an understatement to say that the pandemic is upsetting the economy of Burkina Faso, like that of its neighbours. As the economic and social crisis unfolds, it is necessary to return to the situation that prevailed at the beginning of March. Despite the deterioration of the security climate, the country seemed resilient enough to continue its momentum.

Growth remained strong, around 5.9%, thanks to a good agricultural season. Inflation was contained at 2.9%. The budget deficit fell to 3% of GDP, while debt peaked at 42.5% at the end of 2019.

The IMF applauded “satisfactory performance” and “commendable efforts” in the areas of budget and management. In particular, the government promised that there would be no increase in the civil service payroll, except for the security forces, which are very much in demand in the fight against terrorism.

An economy that is resilient to security shocks

Last year, Burkina Faso already stood out as one of the countries on the continent that collects taxes the best: they represented 19.3% of its GDP in 2019 (18.8% in 2018), ranking it in the top tier behind Seychelles , Tunisia, South Africa and Morocco.

On the debt front, Standard and Poor's (S&P) reported at the end of last year that “the country's ratings were supported by [its] forecasts of strong economic activity in the years to come.” The American agency expected “public investments in infrastructure to continue. These boost private sector activity by decongesting major bottlenecks, such as electricity supply, and by improving the efficiency of supply chains, especially in the agricultural and mining sectors.” ;.