Burkina Faso
|
| Basic Facts |
| Country name |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Burkina Faso local long form: none local short form: Burkina Faso former: Upper Volta, Republic of Upper Volta |
| Gevernment type | parliamentary republic |
| Capital |
name: Ouagadougou
geographic coordinates: 12 22 N, 1 31 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Flag description | two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and green with a yellow five-pointed star in the center; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia |
| Currency | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States |
| Internet country code | .bf |
| Ports and terminals | Kheyrabad, Shir Khan |
| Agriculture products | cotton, peanuts, shea nuts, sesame, sorghum, millet, corn, rice; livestock |
| Industries | cotton lint, beverages, agricultural processing, soap, cigarettes, textiles, gold |
| Geography |
| Location | Western Africa, north of Ghana |
| Coordinates | 13 00 N, 2 00 W |
| Continent | Africa |
| Area |
total: 274,200 sq km
land: 273,800 sq km water: 400 sq km |
| Boundaries |
total: 3,193 km
border countries: Benin 306 km, Cote d'Ivoire 584 km, Ghana 549 km, Mali 1,000 km, Niger 628 km, Togo 126 km |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Climate | tropical; warm, dry winters; hot, wet summers |
| Terrain | mostly flat to dissected, undulating plains; hills in west and southeast |
| Natural resources | manganese, limestone, marble; small deposits of gold, phosphates, pumice, salt |
| Natural hazards | recurring droughts |
| People |
| Population | 13,902,972
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2006 est.) |
| Ethnic groups | Mossi over 40%, Gurunsi, Senufo, Lobi, Bobo, Mande, Fulani |
| Religions | Muslim 50%, indigenous beliefs 40%, Christian (mainly Roman Catholic) 10% |
| Languages | French (official), native African languages belonging to Sudanic family spoken by 90% of the population |
