The reason for the lack of doctors can be accounted to the very low 2.7 % of the GDP being spent on education, (the United Kingdom spends almost double this, at 5.3%). Also as the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of Burkina Faso is relatively low less money is actually spent on education that the United Kingdom would if it spent the same percentage of it’s GDP was spent on education. The lack of money spent on education is reflected by the low literacy rates in adults, which currently stands at 26 %. This is very low compared to the 99% of the United Kingdom.
This shows that the reason for the plight that Burkina Faso is due to the lack of a working force, as without these workers the country cannot generate money to spend on Education which means that few doctors can be successfully trained and in turn ensure that there are more workers by ensuring that they are in good health.
The birth rates of Burkina Faso are relatively high at 44.46 in comparison to 13 per 1000 in the United Kingdom. This leads to high fertility rates in women (which are at 6.7 children per woman, in the United Kingdom the fertility rate is much lower at 1.7 children per woman).This may be due to the need for families to be big to ensure that there are enough children to run the farms in cases where subsistence farming is used as the main method of getting food. Or maybe the high number of children in each family is a sign of virility to others. With the current birth rate the population shows signs of doubling in the next 23 years which is very short, (the time it will take for the UK’s population to double is 433 years). This is a daunting possibility as the country is finding it hard to feed it’s population. This is shown by the fact that 45 % percent of the children (under the age of 5) living in Burkina Faso are malnourished, let alone the rest of the population. This is a very high amount as in comparison, only 2% of the United Kingdom’s population is malnourished. Let alone malnourishment, in comparison to the United Kingdom in which 98% of the population have access to the safe drinking water only 48% of the population of Burkina Faso has.
The death rate of Burkina Faso (18.79 per 1000) is also relatively high as is the death rate of the United Kingdom (11 per 1000), although the reasons are completely different. The reason for the high death rate of the United Kingdom is that it has an aging population whereas the reason for the high birth rate of Burkina Faso is due to the lack of medical supplies, medical supplies, lack of food and safe drinking water and also diseases.
The gross national income per capita in US $ differs greatly. The GNI of the UK is very high at $23,550 due to high paying jobs whereas in Burkina Faso the GNI is $970 due to a lack of steady income, (as much of the population work in the primary sector). The GNI per head is decreasing due to the high interest rates the country must pay for borrowing money from different countries and also the aid that the country receives from other countries. The food gained from the aid is very cheap (or free) so the farmers making produce are forced to reduce their prices resulting in them getting less money. Burkina Faso has a very small urban population; 17.4% in comparison to the 98% of the UK this means that there are very few people in Burkina Faso that work in the tertiary or secondary sector. This shows that the country is undeveloped.
In conclusion we see that the economy remains over-dependent on agriculture and other primary sector industry. This leaves the country’s economy vulnerable to the possible changes in the weather and drought. The government cannot reach the education and health standards needed by the growing population. The growth in population cannot be supported by the country as it has sparse resources and also the internal migration out of Burkina Faso results in the loss of it’s workforce. Burkina is dependent on large amounts of imported food and food aid, particularly in times of drought. It is unlikely that Burkina Faso will move up in the Human Development Index in the near future due to it's reliance on other countries and high debts.
