Background:
Independence from France came to Burkina Faso (formerly Upper
Volta) in 1960. Repeated military coups during the 1970s and 1980s
were followed by multiparty elections in the early 1990s. Burkina
Faso's high population density and limited natural resources result
in poor economic prospects for the majority of its citizens. Every
year, several hundred thousand seasonal farm workers seek employment
in Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana and are adversely affected by instability
in those regions.