🇧🇫 Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso is a landlocked Sahelian country of 22 million with a GDP of about $19 billion. The name means "Land of Honest People" in a combination of Mooré and Dioula languages. Gold mining has transformed the economy — Burkina Faso is now Africa's fourth-largest gold producer. The country has experienced two military coups since 2022 and faces a severe jihadist insurgency that has displaced over 2 million people. Ouagadougou, the capital, hosts FESPACO, Africa's largest film festival.

Gold accounts for about 70% of export revenue, with cotton as the second-largest earner. Agriculture employs over 80% of the population but contributes only about 30% of GDP. The country is heavily aid-dependent, with foreign assistance comprising about 10% of GDP. The security crisis has devastated the northern economy, with entire regions becoming inaccessible.

Burkina Faso's Thomas Sankara, president from 1983-87, is called "Africa's Che Guevara" — he vaccinated 2.5 million children in a week, planted 10 million trees, and banned female genital mutilation, all before being assassinated at age 37. The country's Ruins of Loropéni is a UNESCO site — a mysterious 1,000-year-old stone fortress whose builders remain unknown.

Burkina Faso is in crisis. The security situation is deteriorating, governance is unstable, and the humanitarian emergency is worsening. Gold revenue alone can't fix what's broken.