Country Guide • Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso, formerly known as Upper Volta, is a landlocked country in West Africa. Burkina Faso has West Africa's largest elephant population. Game preserves also are home to lions, hippos, monkeys, warthogs, and antelope. Infrastructure and tourism are, however, not well developed.
Official Name | Burkina Faso |
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Area | 274,200km² (105,869mile²) |
Population | 13,228,400 |
Continent | Africa |
Population per mile² | 125 |
Capital City | Ouagadougou |
Religions | Local native tribal beliefs 45%, Muslims 43% and Christians mainly Roman Catholics 12% |
Language | French, tribal languages are also spoken |
Government | Republic |
Member of EU | N/A |
Currency | Cfa Franc (Communaute Financiere Africaine-Cfaf) |
GDP | $12.8 billion |
GDP per Head | $1,040 |
Natural Resources | Antimony, bauxite, copper, manganese, limestone, marble; small deposits of gold, nickel, lead, phosphates, silver and zinc |
Land Use | Arable Land 13% |
Agriculture | Cotton, nuts including peanuts and shea nuts, sesame seeds, sorghum, millet, corn, rice and livestock |
Industry | Brewing and Bottling, Food Processing, Mining, Textiles, Tyre Manufacture |
Tourism | The capital, Ouagadougou, has an interesting Ethnography Museum containing a substantial collection of Mossi artefacts, the town being the centre of one of the many ancient Mossi kingdoms. The Moro-Naba ceremony, with traditional costumes and drums, takes place outside the Moro-Naba Palace early every morning. Bobo Dioulasso is the largest town inhabited by the Bobo people in Burkina Faso, with attractive streets and a bustling market, the Grand Marché. There are some restaurants in Ouagadougou and in Bobo |
Natural Hazards | |
Health Risks | Malaria. Yellow fever vaccinations are required and proof of a meningitis shot is also useful |
Climate | Burkina has a tropical climate which is hot all year round and has two alternating seasons, (1.) a dry season between November and May and a (2.) wet season between June and October with violent storms in August. A dry dust laden wind called the Harmattan blows from the Sahara Desert in the northeast between March to May. Average annual precipitation in Ouagadougou is 894 mm (35 inches) and the average temperature ranges are from 16 to 33°C (61 to 91°F) in January to 26 to 39°C (79 to 102°F) in April |
Time | GMT/UTC hours - No UTC/GMT offset |
National Days | January 1 - New Year's Day January 3 - Anniversary of the 1966 coup d’état March 8 - Women’s Day May 1 - Labor Day August 4 - Revolution Day[citation needed] August 5 - Independence Day August 15 - Assumption October 15 - Anniversary of the 1987 coup d’état November 1 - All Saints Day December 11 - Proclamation of the Republic - Upper Volta became an autonomous republic in the French Community December 25 - Christmas |
Visas | Visas are required for everybody except citizens of the Economic Community of West African States (ECWAS) |
British Embassy | Embassy Details |
Information Only
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