Balé Province

For the former province, see Bale Province, Ethiopia.

Balé is one of the 45 provinces of Burkina Faso, located in its Boucle du Mouhoun Region with Boromo as capital. Its area is 4,596 km² (1,775 sq mi), 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 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.

Balé
Province
Location in Burkina Faso
Provincial map of its departments
Country	Burkina Faso
Region	Boucle du Mouhoun
Capital	Boromo
Area
• Province	4,596 km2 (1,775 sq mi)
Population  (2019 census)[1]
• Province	297,367
• Density	65/km2 (170/sq mi)
• Urban	20,193
Time zone	UTC+0 (GMT 0)

History

On November 15, 2008 a bus accident killed 69 people at Boromo.^[2] When a passenger bus transporting workers to Côte d'Ivoire collided with a commercial truck. Both vehicles burst into flames.^[3]

Geography

The province is known for its Deux Balé Forest, populated by savannah elephant herds.^[4] Boromo, the provincial capital, is located on the main road from Ouagadougou to Bobo-Dioulasso,^[5] and serves as a gateway to the park.^[6]

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.^[1]

Departments

Bale is divided into 10 departments:

The Departments of Bale

Department	Capital city	Population (Census 2006)[7]
Bagassi Department	Bagassi	33,130
Bana Department	Bana	12,999
Boromo Department	Boromo	30,305
Fara Department	Fara	37,194
Oury Department	Oury	26,892
Pâ Department	Pa	19,675
Pompoi Department	Pompoi	11,060
Poura Department	Poura	12,075
Siby Department	Siby	14,143
Yaho Department	Yaho	16,424

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.^[8] There is a hydroelectric station at Boromo, operated by the Société Nationale d'électricité du Burkina Faso (SONABEL) with 1,269 MWh.^[9][10]

In 2011 the province had 164 primary schools and 22 secondary schools.^[11]

In 2011 the province had 31 health and social promotion centers (Centres de santé et de promotion sociale), 4 doctors and 115 nurses.^[11]

See also

• Regions of Burkina Faso
• Provinces of Burkina Faso
• Communes of Burkina Faso

References

1. Citypopulation.de Population of provinces in Boucle du Mouhoun Region
2. Rupley, Lawrence; Bangali, Lamissa; Diamitani, Boureima (2013). Historical Dictionary of Burkina Faso. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 72. ISBN 978-0-8108-6770-3.
3. Encyclopædia Britannica Almanac 2010. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 1 January 2010. p. 33. ISBN 978-1-61535-329-3.
4. "Program "My Elephant Neighbor" Final Report – June 2011" (PDF). Elephantconservation.org. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
5. Google Maps. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
6. Ham, Anthony (2009). West Africa. Lonely Planet. p. 147. ISBN 978-1-74104-821-6.
7. "2006 census" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 November 2007. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
8. West Africa Development and Business Opportunities Handbook Volume 1. IBP, Inc. 7 February 2007. p. 74. ISBN 978-1-4330-5912-4.
9. Obuobie, Marloes Mul, Emmanuel; Appoh, Richard; Yeboah, Kwabena Kankam- (1 February 2015). Water Resources Assessment of the Volta River Basin. IWMI. p. 39. ISBN 978-92-9090-829-6.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
10. "Boromo". CARMA. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
11. "La région du Boucle du Mouhoun en chiffres" (PDF). Institut National de la Statistique et de la Démographie (INSD). 2011. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 November 2012.

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