Balé is one of the 45

provinces of Burkina Faso The regions of Burkina Faso are divided into 45 administrative provinces. These 45 provinces are currently sub-divided into 351 Departments of Burkina Faso, departments or communes. List of provinces by region Here is a list of the province ...

, located in its

Boucle du Mouhoun Region Boucle du Mouhoun (, "Bend of the Black Volta") is one of Burkina Faso's 13 administrative regions. It was created on 2 July 2001 and had a population of 1,898,133 in 2019. It is the 4th most populous region in Burkina Faso, and contains 9.26% ...

with Boromo as capital. Its area is , and had a population of 297,367 in 2019. The province is known for its Deux Balé Forest, populated by savannah elephant herds. Boromo, the provincial capital, is located on the main road from

Ouagadougou Ouagadougou or Wagadugu (, , , ) is the capital city of Burkina Faso, and the administrative, communications, cultural and economic centre of the nation. It is also the List of cities in Burkina Faso#Largest cities, country's largest city, wi ...

to Bobo-Dioulasso. In June 2007, the Canadian mining company, Semafo, open the third gold mine in the country in Mana in the province, with an investment of about $116 million.

History

On November 15, 2008 a bus accident killed 69 people at Boromo. When a passenger bus transporting workers to Côte d'Ivoire collided with a commercial truck. Both vehicles burst into flames.

Geography

The province is known for its Deux Balé Forest, populated by savannah elephant herds. Boromo, the provincial capital, is located on the main road from

to Bobo-Dioulasso, and serves as a gateway to the park.

Demographics

Most people in the province live in rural areas; 277,165 live in the countryside with only 20,202 people residing in urban areas. There are 147,993 men living in Balé Province and 149,374 women.

Departments

Bale is divided into 10 departments:

Economy and services

In June 2007, the Canadian mining company, Semafo, open the third gold mine in the country in Mana, with an investment of about $116 million. There is a hydroelectric station at Boromo, operated by the Société Nationale d'électricité du Burkina Faso (SONABEL) with 1,269 MWh. In 2011 the province had 164 primary schools and 22 secondary schools. In 2011 the province had 31 health and social promotion centers (''Centres de santé et de promotion sociale''), 4 doctors and 115 nurses.

References