Official name: Burukina Faso/Burkina Faso/Burkĩna Faso (Dyula/Fula/Mooré)
Capital city: Ouagadougou
Population: 22.4 million (2023)
Type of government: unitary republic
Head of state: Ibrahim Traoré (President)
Head of government: Apollinaire Joachim Kyélem de Tambèla (Prime Minister)
Gross domestic product (purchasing power parity): $62.78 billion (2023)
Gini coefficient of wealth inequality: 38.9% (medium) (2020)
Human Development Index: 0.438 (low) (2022)
Currency: West African CFA franc (XOF)
Fun fact: It hosts the largest African film festival.
“Burkina” comes from Mooré and means “upright”, while “Faso” comes from Dyula and means “fatherland”, so the country’s name means “land of the honest men”.
Burkina Faso is located in West Africa and borders Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, Côte d’Ivoire to the southwest, and Mali to the northwest.
There are three climates: hot desert in the north, hot steppe in the center, and tropical savanna in the south. Temperatures range from 16 °C (60.8 °F) in winter to 39 °C (102.2 °F) in summer. The average annual temperature is 30.4 °C (86.7 °F).
The country is divided into thirteen regions (marabolow/ɗereeji/tẽnsa), which are further divided into 45 provinces (mara/diiwanuuji/provense). The largest cities in Burkina Faso are Ouagadougou, Bobo-Dioulasso, Koudougou, Banfora, and Ouahigouya.
3rd-13th centuries: Bura culture
15th century-1896: Mossi Kingdoms
1932-1947: Colony of Niger
1958-1984: Republic of Upper Volta
1984-present: Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso mainly imports from Côte d’Ivoire, Pakistan, and Ghana and exports to Benin, Togo, and Japan. Its top exports are gold, cotton, and sesame seeds.
The majority of the population relies on subsistence agriculture. Services represent 44.9% of the GDP, followed by agriculture (31%) and industry (23.9%).
Burkina Faso is a member of the Community of Sahel-Saharan States, la Francophonie, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
Mossi people represent 53.7% of the population, followed by the Fulani (6.8%), Gurunsi (5.9%), Bissa (5.4%), Gurma (5.2%), Bobo (3.4%), Senufo (2.2%), Bissa (1.5%), and Lobi (1.5%). The main religion is Islam, practiced by 63.8% of the population, the majority of which is Sunni.
It has a negative net migration rate and a fertility rate of 4.2 children per woman. 31.9% of the population lives in urban areas. Life expectancy is 63.44 years and the median age is 17.9 years. The literacy rate is 41.2%.
The official languages of the country are Bissa, Dyula, Fula, and Mooré, spoken by 3.2%, 5.7%, 9.3%, and 40.5% of the population, respectively. The working language is French, but less than 15% of the population uses it on a daily basis.
Two key elements of Burkinabè culture are indigenous masks used in sacrifice rites and dancing. Spirituality is very important for the Burkinabè.
Men wear a cotton shirt and pants (kurug). Women wear a colorful top and a long, cotton skirt.
Traditional houses in Burkina Faso are round and made of mud and clay with thatched roofs. They sometimes feature geometric patterns on the walls.
The Burkinabè diet is based on beans, corn, sorghum, potatoes, rice, and vegetables. Typical dishes include babenda (a stew of fermented beans, fish, cabbage, and/or spinach), banfora (puffed pancakes with cinnamon, pineapple, and sugar), ragout d’igname (a yam stew), riz gras (rice with meat, onions, and tomatoes), and tô (polenta-style cakes served with a vegetable sauce).
Like Christian and Muslim countries, Burkina Faso celebrates Easter Monday, Ascension Day, Assumption Day, All Saints’ Day, Christmas Day, Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, and Mawlid. It also commemorates New Year’s Day, International Women’s Day, and Labor Day.
Specific Burkinabè holidays include Revolution Day on January 3, which celebrates the 1966 coup d’état; Day of Customs and Traditions on May 15; Independence Day on August 5; Martyrs’ Day on October 31, dedicated to the victims of the 2015 failed coup, and Proclamation of Independence Day on December 11.
Day of Customs and Traditions
Other celebrations include the Mask and Arts Festival and the National Culture Week.
There are three UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Ancient Ferrous Metallurgy Sites of Burkina Faso, Ruins of Loropéni, and W-Arly Pendjari Complex, a transnational group of three national parks.
Other landmarks include the Bobo-Dioulasso Grand Mosque, the Bourzanga necropolis, the Douna Caves, the Sindou Peaks, and the Tengrela Falls.
Bobo-Dioulasso Grand Mosque
Apolline Traoré - movie director
Diébédo Francis Kéré - architect
Jacky Ido - actor and director
Joris Bado - basketball player
Monique Iboudo - activist and writer
Odile Sankara - artist and actress
Philomaine Nanema - comedian
Thomas Sankara - military officer
You can find out more about life in Burkina Faso in this website and this video.
