Burkina Faso (burkē'nə fä'sō) , republic (2005 est. pop. 13,925,000), 105,869 sq mi (274,200 sq km), W Africa. It borders on Mali in the west and north, on Niger in the northeast, on Benin in the southeast, and on Togo, Ghana, and Côte d'Ivoire in the south. Ouagadougou is the capital and largest city. In addition to the capital, other cities include Bobo-Dioulasso, Koudougou, Kaya, and Ouahigouya.

Land and People

The country is made up mainly of vast monotonous plains and of low hills that rise to c.2,300 ft (700 m) in the southwest. Precipitation is low (nowhere exceeding 45 in./114 cm annually), and the soil is of poor quality. Rainfall is heaviest in the southwest, which is covered largely with savanna; the rest of the country is semidesert. Burkina Faso has several unnavigable rivers. In the southwest is the Komoé (Comoé) River, which flows through Côte d'Ivoire to the Gulf of Guinea; in the center are the Mouhon (Black Volta), Nazinon, and Nakambe (White Volta) rivers, which join in Ghana to form the Volta; and in the northeast are several small tributaries of the Niger.
The majority of Burkina Faso's population live in rural areas. Of some 50 ethnic groups, the principal group is the Mossi, who account for almost half of the total population; others include the Lobi, Bobo, and Gurunsi, all of whose members speak a Voltaic language; Fulani, Mande, and Senufo also constitute sizable minorities. French is the country's official language, and Oyula is spoken in commercial circles. Muslims account for 50% of the population, while 40% follow traditional beliefs and approximately 10% are Roman Catholics.

Economy

Burkina Faso is one of the poorest nations in the world, with the great majority of its workers engaged in subsistence farming. Less than 10% of the country's land area is cultivable without irrigation, and droughts have further limited agricultural production; however, several dams intended for irrigation and hydroelectricity were under construction in the 1990s. The principal agricultural commodities are sorghum, millet, corn, peanuts, rice, cotton, sesame, and shea nuts. Cattle, sheep, and goats are raised.
The country's manufactures are limited largely to basic consumer goods and processed foods. Burkina Faso has a small mining industry that produces manganese, phosphates, and gold-bearing quartz; there are also small, and as yet largely untapped, deposits of antimony, copper, zinc, nickel, lead, bauxite, and uranium. The country has a comparatively good road network, and a railroad runs from Ouagadougou to the seaport of Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, via Bobo-Dioulasso and Banfora; it is currently being extended NE to Tambao.
The annual cost of Burkina Faso's imports is usually much higher than its earnings from exports, and the nation relies on debt servicing from other countries. The principal imports are foodstuffs, petroleum, and machinery; the leading exports are cotton, peanuts and peanut oil, live animals, and gold. The chief trading partners are Côte d'Ivoire and France. Large numbers of the male labor force migrate to Côte d'Ivoire and (to a lesser extent) to Ghana for seasonal work, but their labor contributes little to the national economy. Burkina Faso is a member of the Franc Zone.

Government

Burkina Faso is governed under the constitution of 1991. The executive branch is headed by a president, who is elected by popular vote for a seven-year term. The bicameral legislature consists of a 111-member elected national assembly and a 120-member appointed chamber of representatives. The country is divided into 30 provinces.

History

Early History
By about A.D. 1100 the principal inhabitants of the western part of present-day Burkina Faso were the Bobo, Lobi, and Gurunsi. Invaders from present-day Ghana conquered central and E Burkina Faso, establishing the Mossi states of Ouagadougou, Yatenga, and Tengkodogo in the center and the state of Gourma in the east. The conquerors were far outnumbered by their subjects, but by using religion (based on ancestor worship) and a complex administrative system (which allowed for some local autonomy) they created powerful states that endured for more than 500 years. Ouagadougou was headed by the Morho Naba and at its peak was divided into several provinces, which were subdivided into a total of about 300 districts. The Mossi states had strong armies, which included cavalry units, and were able to repel most attacks by the Mali and Songhai empires during the period from the 14th to 16th cent.
The Colonial Period
Near the end of the 19th-century scramble for African territory among the European powers, France gained control over the region. In 1895 the French peacefully negotiated a protectorate over Yatenga; in 1896 they forcefully occupied Ouagadougou; and in 1897 they annexed Gourma and the lands of the Bobo, Lobi, and Gurunsi peoples. An Anglo-French agreement in 1898 established the boundary with the Gold Coast (now Ghana).
The region of present-day Burkina Faso was administered as part of the French colony of Soudan (then called Upper Senegal-Niger and now mostly part of Mali) until 1919, when it was made a separate protectorate as Upper Volta. In 1932, it was divided among Côte d'Ivoire, Soudan, and Niger for administrative convenience. In 1947, Upper Volta was reestablished as a separate territory within the French Union, and in 1958 it became an autonomous republic within the French Community.