Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso
Flag
Motto: "Unité, Progrès, Justice" (French)
"Unity, Progress, Justice"
Anthem: Une Seule Nuit (French)
One Single Night - Thomas Sankara
Capital
(and largest city)
Ouagadougou
12°20′N 1°40′W / 12.333°N
1.667°W / 12.333; -1.667
Official
languages
French
Recognised
regional languages
Mòoré, Dioula
Demonym
Burkinabé
Government
Semi-presidential republic
-
President
Blaise Compaoré
-
Prime
Minister
Tertius Zongo
Independence
from France
-
Date
August 5, 1960
Area
-
Total
274,000 km2 (74th)
105,792 sq mi
- Water (%)
0.1%
Population
-
2005 estimate
13,228,000 (66th)
-
1996 census
10,312,669
-
Density
48/km2 (145th)
124/sq mi
GDP (PPP)
2008 estimate
-
Total
$17.773 billion[1]
-
Per capita
$1,265[1]
GDP (nominal)
2008 estimate
-
Total
$8.103 billion[1]
-
Per capita
$577[1]
Gini (2003)
39.5 (medium)
HDI (2007)
▲ 0.372 (low) (173rd)
Currency
West African CFA franc[2]
(XOF)
Time zone
GMT
Drives on the
right
Internet TLD
.bf
Calling code
226
1
The data here is an estimation for the year
2005 produced by the International
Monetary Fund in April 2005.
Burkina Faso (pronounced /bɚˌkiːnəˈfɑːsoʊ/
burr-KEE-nə FAH-soh or /byʁ.ki.na fa.so/ in
French), also known by its short-form name
Burkina,
is a landlocked nation in West
Africa. It is surrounded by six countries: Mali
to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the
south east, Togo and Ghana to the south, and
Côte d’Ivoire to the south west. Its size is
274,000 km² with an estimated population of
more than 13,200,000. Formerly called the
Republic of Upper Volta, it was renamed
on August 4, 1984, by President Thomas
Sankara to mean "the land of upright people"
in Moré and Dioula, the major native lan-
guages of the country. Literally, "Burkina"
may be translated, "men of integrity," from
the Moré
language, and "Faso" means
"father’s house" in Dioula. The inhabitants of
Burkina Faso are known as Burkinabè (pro-
nounced /bɚˈkiːnəbeɪ/ burr-KEE-nə-bay).
Burkina Faso’s capital is Ouagadougou.
After gaining independence from France in
1960, the country underwe