Burkina Faso improves public finances despite declining foreign aid

Burkina Faso has seen a significant improvement in its public finances, according to the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The country's budget deficit decreased from 5.8% of GDP to 3.7% in 2025, driven by increased domestic revenue and controlled state spending.

While external budgetary support from technical and financial partners plummeted by 81% between 2020 and 2025—dropping from 342 billion CFA francs to 66 billion CFA francs—domestic revenues have more than doubled. This growth in internal revenue has compensated for the loss of bilateral aid and the total disappearance of grants since 2023. The current 66 billion CFA francs in support consists of loans from the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and OPEC.

Revenue growth is attributed to modernized tax collection through digitalization and increased income from gold mining activities. On the expenditure side, the government has implemented rationalization measures, including reducing the cost of state administration and controlling the wage bill. Despite these improvements, security spending remains high, accounting for 27.7% of the state budget.