Ghana vs. Burkina Faso
Government
| Ghana | Burkina Faso | |
|---|---|---|
| Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Ghana conventional short form: Ghana former: Gold Coast etymology: named for the medieval West African kingdom of the same name but whose location was actually further north than the modern country | conventional long form: none conventional short form: Burkina Faso local long form: none local short form: Burkina Faso former: Upper Volta, Republic of Upper Volta etymology: name translates as "Land of the Honest (Incorruptible) Men" |
| Government type | presidential republic | presidential republic |
| Capital | name: Accra geographic coordinates: 5 33 N, 0 13 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) etymology: the name derives from the Akan word "nkran" meaning "ants," and refers to the numerous anthills in the area around the capital | name: Ouagadougou geographic coordinates: 12 22 N, 1 31 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) etymology: Ouagadougou is a Francophone spelling of the native name "Wogodogo," meaning "where people get honor and respect" |
| Administrative divisions | 16 regions; Ahafo, Ashanti, Bono, Bono East, Central, Eastern, Greater Accra, North East, Northern, Oti, Savannah, Upper East, Upper West, Volta, Western, Western North | 13 regions; Boucle du Mouhoun, Cascades, Centre, Centre-Est, Centre-Nord, Centre-Ouest, Centre-Sud, Est, Hauts-Bassins, Nord, Plateau-Central, Sahel, Sud-Ouest |
| Independence | 6 March 1957 (from the UK) | 5 August 1960 (from France) |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 6 March (1957) | Republic Day, 11 December (1958); note - commemorates the day that Upper Volta became an autonomous republic in the French Community |
| Constitution | history: several previous; latest drafted 31 March 1992, approved and promulgated 28 April 1992, entered into force 7 January 1993 amendments: proposed by Parliament; consideration requires prior referral to the Council of State, a body of prominent citizens who advise the president of the republic; passage of amendments to "entrenched" constitutional articles (including those on national sovereignty, fundamental rights and freedoms, the structure and authorities of the branches of government, and amendment procedures) requires approval in a referendum by at least 40% participation of eligible voters and at least 75% of votes cast, followed by at least two-thirds majority vote in Parliament, and assent of the president; amendments to non-entrenched articles do not require referenda; amended 1996 | history: several previous; latest approved by referendum 2 June 1991, adopted 11 June 1991, temporarily suspended late October to mid-November 2014; initial draft of a new constitution to usher in the new republic was completed in January 2017 and a final draft was submitted to the government in December 2017; a constitutional referendum originally scheduled for adoption in March 2019 has been postponed amendments: proposed by the president, by a majority of National Assembly membership, or by petition of at least 30,000 eligible voters submitted to the Assembly; passage requires at least three-fourths majority vote in the Assembly; failure to meet that threshold requires majority voter approval in a referendum; constitutional provisions on the form of government, the multiparty system, and national sovereignty cannot be amended; amended several times, last in 2012 |
| Legal system | mixed system of English common law and customary law | civil law based on the French model and customary law; in mid-2019, the National Assembly amended the penal code |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
| Executive branch | chief of state: President Nana Addo Dankwa AKUFO-ADDO (since 7 January 2017); Vice President Mahamudu BAWUMIA (since 7 January 2017); the president is both chief of state and head of government head of government: President Nana Addo Dankwa AKUFO-ADDO (since 7 January 2017); Vice President Mahamudu BAWUMIA (since 7 January 2017) cabinet: Council of Ministers; nominated by the president, approved by Parliament elections/appointments: president and vice president directly elected on the same ballot by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 4-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 7 December 2020 (next to be held in December 2024) election results: Nana Addo Dankwa AKUFO-ADDO reelected president in the first round; percent of vote - Nana Addo Dankwa AKUFO-ADDO (NPP) 51.3%, John Dramani MAHAMA (NDC) 47.4%, other 1.3% | chief of state: President Roch Marc Christian KABORE (since 29 December 2015; re-elected 22 November 2020) head of government: Prime Minister Christophe DABIRE (since 24 January 2019) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister elections/appointments: president elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second); last held on 22 November 2020 (next to be held in November 2025); prime minister appointed by the president with consent of the National Assembly election results: Roch Marc Christian KABORE reelected president in first round; percent of vote - Roch Marc Christian KABORE (MPP) 57.9%, Eddie KOMBOIGO (CDP) 15.5%, Zephirin DIABRE (UPC)12.5%, other 14.1% |
| Legislative branch | description: unicameral Parliament (275 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 4-year terms) elections: last held on 7 December 2020 (next to be held in December 2024) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party (preliminary) - NPC 137, NDC 136, other 1, independent 1; composition - NA | description: unicameral National Assembly (127 seats; 111 members directly elected in 13 multi-seat constituencies by party-list proportional representation vote and 26 members elected in a nationwide constituency by proportional representation vote; all member serve 5-year terms) elections: last held on 22 November 2020 (next to be held in November 2025) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party (preliminary results) - MPP 56, CDP 20, NTD 13, UPC 12 |
| Judicial branch | highest courts: Supreme Court (consists of the chief justice and 13 justices) judge selection and term of office: chief justice appointed by the president in consultation with the Council of State (a small advisory body of prominent citizens) and with the approval of Parliament; other justices appointed by the president upon the advice of the Judicial Council (an 18-member independent body of judicial, military and police officials, and presidential nominees) and on the advice of the Council of State; justices can retire at age 60, with compulsory retirement at age 70 subordinate courts: Court of Appeal; High Court; Circuit Court; District Court; regional tribunals | highest courts: Supreme Court of Appeals or Cour de Cassation (consists of NA judges); Council of State (consists of NA judges); Constitutional Council or Conseil Constitutionnel (consists of the council president and 9 members) judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court judge appointments mostly controlled by the president of Burkina Faso; judges have no term limits; Council of State judge appointment and tenure NA; Constitutional Council judges appointed by the president of Burkina Faso upon the proposal of the minister of justice and the president of the National Assembly; judges appointed for 9-year terms with one-third of membership renewed every 3 years subordinate courts: Appeals Court; High Court; first instance tribunals; district courts; specialized courts relating to issues of labor, children, and juveniles; village (customary) courts |
| Political parties and leaders | All Peoples Congress or APC [Hassan AYARIGA] Convention People's Party or CPP [Edmund N. DELLE] Ghana Freedom Party or GFP [Akua DONKOR] Ghana Union Movement or GUM [Christian Kwabena ANDREWS] Great Consolidated Popular Party or GCPP [Henry Herbert LARTEY] Liberal Party of Ghana or LPG [Kofi AKPALOO] National Democratic Congress or NDC [John Dramani MAHAMA] National Democratic Party or NDP [Nana Konadu Agyeman RAWLINGS] New Patriotic Party or NPP [Nana Addo Dankwa AKUFO-ADDO] People's Action Party or PAP [Imoru AYARNA] People's National Convention or PNC [Edward MAHAMA] Progressive People's Party or PPP [Paa Kwesi NDUOM] United Front Party or UFP [Dr. Nana A. BOATENG] United Progressive Party or UPP [Akwasi Addai ODIKE] note: Ghana has more than 20 registered parties; included are those which participated in the 2020 general election | African Democratic Rally/Alliance for Democracy and Federation or ADF/RDA [Gilbert Noel OUEDRAOGO] African People's Movement or MAP [Victorien TOUGOUMA] Congress for Democracy and Progress or CDP [Eddie KOMBOIGO] Le Faso Autrement [Ablasse OUEDRAOGO] New Alliance of the Faso or NAFA [Mahamoudou DICKO] New Time for Democracy or NTD [Vincent DABILGOU] Organization for Democracy and Work or ODT [Anatole BONKOUNGOU] Party for Development and Change or PDC [Aziz SEREME] Party for Democracy and Progress-Socialist Party or PDP-PS [Drabo TORO] Party for Democracy and Socialism/Metba or PDS/Metba [Philippe OUEDRAOGO] Party for National Renaissance or PAREN [Michel BERE] People's Movement for Progress or MPP [Simon COMPAORE] Rally for Democracy and Socialism or RDS [Francois OUEDRAOGO] Rally for the Development of Burkina or RDB [Celestin Saidou COMPAORE] Rally of Ecologists of Burkina Faso or RDEB [Adama SERE] Soleil d'Avenir [Abdoulaye SOMA] Union for a New Burkina or UBN [Diemdioda DICKO] Union for Progress and Change or UPC [Zephirin DIABRE] Union for Rebirth - Sankarist Party or UNIR-MS [Benewende Stanislas SANKARA] Union for the Republic or UPR [Toussaint Abel COULIBALY] Youth Alliance for the Republic and Independence or AJIR [Adama KANAZOE] |
| International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, AU, C, ECOWAS, EITI (compliant country), FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSMA, MONUSCO, NAM, OAS (observer), OIF, OPCW, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNISFA, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | ACP, AfDB, AU, CD, ECOWAS, EITI (compliant country), Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MINUSMA, MONUSCO, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNISFA, UNITAR, UNWTO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Alima MAHAMA (since 7 July 2021) chancery: 3512 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 686-4520 FAX: [1] (202) 686-4527 email address and website: info@ghanaembassydc.org https://ghanaembassydc.org/ consulate(s) general: New York | chief of mission: Ambassador Seydou KABORE (since 18 January 2017) chancery: 2340 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-5577 FAX: [1] (202) 667-1882 email address and website: contact@burkina-usa.org https://burkina-usa.org/ |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Stephanie S. SULLIVAN (since 23 January 2019) embassy: No.24, Fourth Circular Road, Cantonments, Accra, P.O. Box 2288, Accra mailing address: 2020 Accra Place, Washington DC 20521-2020 telephone: [233] (0) 30-274-1000 email address and website: ACSAccra@state.gov https://gh.usembassy.gov/ | chief of mission: Ambassador Sandra E. CLARK (since 25 September 2020) embassy: Secteur 15, Ouaga 2000, Avenue Sembene Ousmane, Rue 15.873, Ouagadougou mailing address: 2440 Ouagadougou Place, Washington, DC 20521-2440 telephone: (226) 25-49-53-00 FAX: (226) 25-49-56-23 email address and website: ouagaACS@state.gov https://bf.usembassy.gov/ |
| Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), yellow, and green, with a large black five-pointed star centered in the yellow band; red symbolizes the blood shed for independence, yellow represents the country's mineral wealth, while green stands for its forests and natural wealth; the black star is said to be the lodestar of African freedom note: uses the popular Pan-African colors of Ethiopia; similar to the flag of Bolivia, which has a coat of arms centered in the yellow band | two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and green with a yellow five-pointed star in the center; red recalls the country's struggle for independence, green is for hope and abundance, and yellow represents the country's mineral wealth note: uses the popular Pan-African colors of Ethiopia |
| National anthem | name: God Bless Our Homeland Ghana lyrics/music: unknown/Philip GBEHO note: music adopted 1957, lyrics adopted 1966; the lyrics were changed twice, in 1960 when a republic was declared and after a 1966 coup | name: "Le Ditanye" (Anthem of Victory) lyrics/music: Thomas SANKARA note: adopted 1974; also known as "Une Seule Nuit" (One Single Night); written by the country's former president, an avid guitar player |
| International law organization participation | has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction | has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction |
| National symbol(s) | black star, golden eagle; national colors: red, yellow, green, black | white stallion; national colors: red, yellow, green |
| Citizenship | citizenship by birth: no citizenship by descent only: at least one parent or grandparent must be a citizen of Ghana dual citizenship recognized: yes residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years | citizenship by birth: no citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Burkina Faso dual citizenship recognized: yes residency requirement for naturalization: 10 years |
Source: CIA Factbook
