On February 18, 2026, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund completed the fourth review of Burkina Faso’s 48-month Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement, initially approved in September 2023.
The review triggers an immediate disbursement of about $33.2 million, raising total support under the ECF to $165.8 million, Ecofin Agency reported.
At the same time, the Board approved a new arrangement under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) worth $124.3 million, running through September 2027.
The program is designed to strengthen fiscal resilience to external shocks, integrate climate considerations into public financial management, enhance performance of state-owned enterprises in climate-sensitive sectors, and mobilize green financing.
Burkina Faso’s real GDP growth accelerated to 5 percent in 2025, up from 4.8 percent in 2024.
The IMF projects growth to remain between 4.5 and 5 percent in the medium term, depending on improvements in the security situation.
Average inflation fell to -0.5 percent in 2025, driven by lower food prices, and is expected to converge toward 2 percent in the coming years.
The external sector improved significantly. Gold prices rose from $2,387 per ounce in 2024 to $3,218 in 2025, with projections of $3,472 in 2026.
Combined with mining-sector reforms and increased artisanal production, exports grew by 43.2 percent in 2025.
The current account shifted from a deficit of 3.5 percent of GDP in 2024 to a surplus of 1.1 percent in 2025, projected at 0.8 percent in 2026.
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Fiscal consolidation advanced notably. The budget deficit narrowed to 3.5 percent of GDP in 2025 from 5.8 percent in 2024, aided by higher gold revenues, controlled wage bills, and restrained capital expenditure.
Total public debt is expected to decline from 57.2 percent of GDP in 2024 to 52.1 percent in 2025 and fall below 50 percent by 2029.
Nominal GDP per capita rose from $982 in 2024 to an estimated $1,127 in 2025, with projections of $1,250 in 2026 and $1,427 by 2029.
Burkina Faso’s population stands at 23.5 million, with a poverty rate of 43.7 percent, literacy at 41 percent, and life expectancy at 62 years.
Credit to the private sector contracted by 2.8 percent in 2025, and the private credit-to-GDP ratio fell from 31.9 percent in 2025 to a projected 21.6 percent by 2029.
Program performance was assessed as satisfactory. Authorities met all end-June 2025 quantitative performance criteria and achieved eight of ten structural benchmarks.
Six of eleven priority recommendations from the Governance Diagnostic Assessment have been implemented, with the remaining five scheduled for completion during the program.
Subsistence agriculture, which feeds 80 percent of Burkina Faso’s population, is a key focus of the RSF arrangement, aiming to build resilience against climate shocks and reduce reliance on emergency food imports.
Deputy Managing Director Kenji Okamura stated that sound economic policies on governance and domestic revenue mobilization have created fiscal space, supported recovery, maintained low inflation, and kept public debt on a sustainable path.
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Image Credit: Channel Africa
