• IMF Board completes 4th ECF review, unlocking $33.2M disbursement and bringing total support to $165.8M since September 2023.
• Burkina Faso's GDP grew 5% in 2025, driven by gold exports up 43.2%, shifting the current account to a 1.1% of GDP surplus.
• New $124.3M Resilience and Sustainability Facility approved to strengthen climate adaptation for 80% farming population.

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund completed on February 18, 2026, the fourth review of Burkina Faso's 48-month Extended Credit Facility arrangement, originally approved in September 2023. The completion triggers an immediate disbursement of approximately $33.2 million, bringing total financial support under the ECF to $165.8 million.

Simultaneously, the Board approved a new arrangement under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility worth $124.3 million, running through September 2027. The program targets fiscal resilience to external shocks, integration of climate considerations into public financial management, improved performance of state-owned enterprises in climate-sensitive sectors, and mobilisation of green financing.

Burkina Faso's real GDP growth accelerated to 5 per cent in 2025, up from 4.8 per cent in 2024. The IMF projects growth to remain within a 4.5 to 5 percent range over the medium term, contingent on improvements in the security situation. Average inflation fell to -0.5 per cent in 2025, driven by lower food prices, and is expected to converge toward 2 per cent. cent over the coming years.

The external sector strengthened significantly. Gold prices rose from $2,387 per ounce in 2024 to $3,218 in 2025, with projections reaching $3,472 in 2026. Combined with mining-sector reforms and increased artisanal production, exports grew by 43.2 per cent in 2025. The current account shifted from a deficit of 3.5 per cent of GDP in 2024 to a surplus of 1.1 per cent in 2025, projected at 0.8 per cent in 2026.

Fiscal consolidation advanced notably. The budget deficit narrowed to 3.5 per cent of GDP in 2025 from 5.8 per cent in 2024, a 2.3 percentage-point tightening. This improvement was supported by higher gold mining revenues, wage bill control, and restrained capital expenditure. Total public debt is projected to decline from 57.2 per cent of GDP in 2024 to 52.1 per cent in 2025, and to fall below 50 per cent 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. The country's population stands at 23.5 million. The poverty rate remains at 43.7 per cent, the literacy rate at 41 per cent, and life expectancy at 62 years. Credit to the private sector contracted by 2.8 per cent.  cent in 2025. The private credit-to-GDP ratio declined from 31.9 per cent in 2025, with IMF projections indicating a further decline to 21.6 per cent. cent by 2029.

Program performance was assessed as satisfactory. The authorities met all end-June 2025 quantitative performance criteria and achieved eight of ten structural benchmarks. Six of the eleven priority recommendations from the Governance Diagnostic Assessment have been implemented, with the remaining five scheduled for completion within the program's duration.

Subsistence agriculture provides food for 80 percent of Burkina Faso's population. The RSF arrangement aims to build resilience in this sector against climate shocks and reduce the country's periodic reliance on emergency food imports. Deputy Managing Director Kenji Okamura stated that sound economic policies on governance and domestic revenue mobilisation had contributed to creating fiscal space and supporting recovery, while keeping inflation under control and public debt on a sustainable path.

Idriss Linge