Ouagadougou, June 30, 2026 - Against a backdrop of persistent security challenges, Burkina Faso's economy showed resilience in 2025, with real GDP growth estimated at 5.3%, up from 4.8% in 2024. Real GDP per capita also increased from 2.5% to 3% over the same period.
This momentum will only translate into tangible progress for the people if ambitious structural reforms are initiated now-particularly to generate productive jobs and expand economic opportunities for all Burkinabè. This is the central message of the June 2026 Burkina Faso Economic Update, published today by the World Bank.
The improvement in growth was driven by several factors: the performance of the agricultural sector, supported by favorable weather conditions and by the Burkinabè Government's agropastoral and fisheries offensive ; the resilience of the services sector, owing to an improved security situation; the growth of the mining sector, which has largely benefited from the formalization of artisanal and semi-mechanized mining; as well as the entry into force of the new Mining Code.
Inflation turned negative in 2025 (-0.5%, compared to 4.2% in 2024), thanks to lower energy prices and abundant agricultural production, which reduced food prices. Extreme poverty fell by 5 percentage points in 2025, the largest drop since the COVID19 pandemic. However, challenges remain, including informal employment and the vulnerability of populations affected by insecurity.
About the economy, Hamoud Abdel Wedoud Kamil, World Bank Country Manager for Burkina Faso, stressed that "Burkina Faso has demonstrated remarkable macroeconomic resilience. Continued efforts to consolidate these achievements, by strengthening fiscal sustainability, improving the business environment, and increasing investment in growth engines Inclusive and productive activities could help sustain this momentum."
The World Bank is prioritizing economic recovery for people in a sustainable way:
The fiscal turnaround-the deficit narrowed from 5.8% of GDP in 2024 to 1.8% in 2025-is a major achievement. To unlock margins for productive investment and employment, the report recommends widespread use of electronic payments to businesses, interconnection tax bases, and strengthened financial management of investments. In the medium term, it recommends simplifying tax compliance, especially for microenterprises, strengthening local taxation through digital land records, and better managing risks related to the volatility of gold and oil prices.
With a young population and rapid urbanization, Burkina Faso faces a growing demand for jobs in its urban centers. The report recommends investing in urban planning and creating serviced industrial zones to absorb informality, deploying labor-intensive public works programs, and developing digital intermediation platforms to facilitate the integration of young people into the labor market. These measures are even more urgent as the country is hosting a growing number of internally displaced people whose economic reintegration is an issue for social stability.
Finally, the report's special chapter on women's economic participation shows that closing gender gaps is not only an equity imperative, but also a major lever for economic growth, and less costly to pursue. Indeed, despite progress in girls' enrollment, women still face significant barriers in their economic participation, and their employment rate remains lower than that of men (63.4 percent compared to 76 percent). They are more concentrated in informal and vulnerable jobs and have limited access to land, finance, agricultural inputs, and quality jobs.
The report outlines a set of recommendations aimed at addressing structural constraints to women's economic participation. These include expanding women and girls' access to education as well as technical and vocational training, improving access to financial services and productive inputs, strengthening land rights, as well as implementing policies to alleviate constraints related to social norms and gender inequalities.
