EXECUTIVE SUMMARY _____________________________________________________________________ social level despite sustained growth of nearly 6% over a long period. Added to that are regional and geographical inequalities, which fuel the feeling of exclusion from the economic advantages of growth. This is to the detriment of the rural areas and the ethno-cultural groups that live in these disadvantaged geographical areas. At the natural level, the vagaries of the weather and Sahelisation of the country constitute more than constraints, but real risks. 8.4 In addition to these internal constraints, there are also constraints and risks arising from the dynamics of the global economy. These include soaring oil prices, coupled with the high cost of electric power and the volatile price of cotton on the world market – a crop that is very important to the economy of Burkina Faso. 8.5 At the social level, the 2.9% population growth rate is weighing heavily on resources. To this one must add that within an arid Sahelian environment, the situation is aggravated by economic growth that occurs without an increase in job creation, but is rather accompanied by unemployment and the precariousness of employment. The main victims are young people, who are in an uproar and who cannot make headway in the existing planning for a sustainable future. Also, the low level of involvement of women in the various political, economic and social processes is weighing down and hampering the implementation of the programme of action. 8.6 However, an optimistic perspective illuminates the dynamics of the construction of an emerging economy in Burkina Faso. It is based, in particular, on the assets of the country. These assets should determine the country’s chances of success in the implementation of its programme of action. One of the major assets of Burkina Faso is its people, who are confident in their capacities, have a leadership with a visionary sense, and are determined to change the course of things. Other assets – such as the dynamism of the Burkinabe informal sector, the country’s membership of regional economic and monetary groups, the dynamism of the associative movement, and the pride in cultural values of the Burkinabe people – all combine to enhance the chances of transforming the hope into a shared reality. This optimistic perspective is also based on the evaluation by other actors and partners, such as the Millennium Challenge Corporation. The corporation has found that the country is making progress in 10 of the 17 performance criteria in the three political categories considered. Burkina Faso should, therefore, build on these assets and progress made to take up the challenges and address the constraints. The assets 8.7 Burkina Faso has, at the political, economic and social levels, the following assets: a. 34 The political stability of Burkina Faso, which is an asset of the very first order on which it can base the construction of an emerging country by 2025.