Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa. It covers an area of 274,223 km2 (105,878 sq mi),bordered by Mali to the northwest,Niger to the northeast,Benin to the southeast,Togo and Ghana to the south,and Ivory Coast to the southwest. As of 2021,the country had an estimated population of 23,674,480. Previously called Republic of Upper Volta (1958–1984),it was renamed Burkina Faso by President Thomas Sankara. Its citizens are known as Burkinabè,and its capital and largest city is Ouagadougou.
The CFA franc is the name of two currencies,the West African CFA franc,used in eight West African countries,and the Central African CFA franc,used in six Central African countries. Although separate,the two CFA franc currencies have always been at parity and are effectively interchangeable. The ISO currency codes are XAF for the Central African CFA franc and XOF for the West African CFA franc. On 22 December 2019,it was announced that the West African currency would be reformed and replaced by an independent currency to be called Eco.
The Economic Community of West African States is a regional political and economic union of fifteen countries located in West Africa. Collectively,these countries comprise an area of 5,114,162 km2 (1,974,589 sq mi) and have an estimated population of over 424.34 million.
Thomas Isidore Noël Sankara was a Burkinabèmilitary officer,Marxist revolutionary and Pan-Africanist who served as President of Burkina Faso from his coup in 1983 to his assassination in 1987. He is viewed by supporters as a charismatic and iconic figure of the revolution,and a powerful advocate for Pan-Africanism,and workers rights,while his critics condemn his human rights abuses and the authoritarian government he led.
Jean-Baptiste Philippe Ouédraogo,also referred to by his initials JBO,is a Burkinabéphysician and retired military officer who served as President of Upper Volta from 8 November 1982 to 4 August 1983. He has since mediated a few national political disputes and operates a clinic in Somgandé.
Youssouf Ouédraogo was a Burkinabépolitician. In 1992 he became the first Prime Minister of Burkina Faso since 1983,serving from 16 June 1992 to 22 March 1994. Ouédraogo,a member of the ruling Congress for Democracy and Progress (CDP),later served as Minister of State for Foreign Affairs from January 1999 to June 2007.
Air Burkina SA is the national airline of Burkina Faso,operating scheduled services from its main base at Ouagadougou Airport to one domestic destination,Bobo-Dioulasso,as well as regional services to Togo,Benin,Mali,Niger,Côte d'Ivoire,Senegal and Ghana. From 2001 to 2017,the airline was majority owned by an AKFED/IPS consortium,but is now back in government ownership,with reports that a new investor is being sought.
The Agacher Strip War or Christmas War was a war fought by Burkina Faso and Mali over a 160-kilometre-long (100 mi) strip of land along the border in northern Burkina Faso from 25 to 30 December 1985. The war ended in a ceasefire. The Agacher Strip had been subject to a border dispute between Mali and Burkina Faso since the 1960s. Following armed clashes in 1974,both countries agreed to mediation to resolve their differences. Progress on a solution stalled,and in 1983 BurkinabéPresident Thomas Sankara and Malian President Moussa Traorédecided to have the border dispute settled by the International Court of Justice and subsequently petitioned the body to resolve the issue.
The eco is the name for the proposed common currency of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Plans originally called for the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) states to introduce the currency first,which would eventually be merged with the Euro-pegged CFA franc which is used by the French-speaking West African region within the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA). This will also enable the UEMOA states to gain complete fiscal and monetary independence from France. The UEMOA states have alternatively proposed to reform the CFA franc into the eco first,which could then be extended to all ECOWAS states.
Roch Marc Christian Kaboré is a Burkinabébanker and politician who served as the President of Burkina Faso from 2015 until he was deposed in 2022. He was the Prime Minister of Burkina Faso between 1994 and 1996 and President of the National Assembly of Burkina Faso from 2002 to 2012. Kaboréwas also president of the Congress for Democracy and Progress (CDP) until his departure from the party in 2014. He founded the People's Movement for Progress party that same year.
The West African CFA franc is the currency used by eight independent states in West Africa which make up the West African Economic and Monetary Union:Benin,Burkina Faso,Côte d'Ivoire,Guinea-Bissau,Mali,Niger,Senegal and Togo. These eight countries had a combined population of 105.7 million people in 2014,and a combined GDP of US$128.6 billion as of 2018.
KadréDésiréOuédraogo is a Burkinabèstatesman. He was the Prime Minister of Burkina Faso from 1996 to 2000 and Chairman of the Commission of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
The Central Bank of West African States is a central bank serving the eight west African countries which share the common West African CFA franc currency and comprise the West African Economic and Monetary Union.
Articles related to Burkina Faso include:
Football is the most popular sport in Burkina Faso. And the national association can look back on recent developments with a great deal of pride. Reaching the semi-finals of the African Cup of Nations on home soil in 1998,reaching the knockout stage for their first FIFA World Youth Championship in 2003,and appearances at two final competitions of the CAF U-17 Cup,as well as third place at the FIFA U-17 World Championship in Trinidad and Tobago in 2001 are the country's outstanding achievements at international level. The nations most famous players include Kassoum Ouegraogo,nicknamed Zico,who had his most successful seasons with Espérance de Tunis before ending his career in Germany,Siaka Ouattara,who spent his entire career with Mulhouse in France,and Moumouni Dagano,who was voted best African player in Belgium in 2001,when he played for the Belgian side Genk. He later went on to play for the French side Guingamp before transferring to another French team,FC Sochaux in 2005. Burkina Faso received an unexpected free pass into the group stage of the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification process,when their opening round contestant,the Central African Republic,withdrew from the competition. This gave the West Africans,who were at that stage ranked 14th on the continent,the certainty that their name would be in the hat when the Preliminary Draw for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany was made. They got off to a flying start,beating Ghana 1-0 in their opening match and laying down a marker for their Group 2 adversaries South Africa,Cape Verde Islands,Congo DR and Uganda. The victory train began to come off the rails with two defeats to Cape Verde,and with a record of two wins and three losses,Burkina Faso were up against it at the half-way stage. Frenchman Bernard Simondi took over the coaching reins from Ivica Todorov and made the team harder to beat at home,even recording wins over South Africa and Congo DR,but in the end it was not quite enough,and the likes of Abdoulaye Cisse,Moumouni Dagano,and Wilfred Sanou went no further in the competition.
Sankarism is a term sometimes applied to denote a left-wing ideological trend within the politics of Burkina Faso,a landlocked country in West Africa,as well as the policies of the military government led by Captain Thomas Sankara. Sankara came to power in what was then the Republic of Upper Volta in a popularly supported 1983 military coup,and ruled until his assassination in a coup led by Blaise Compaoréin 1987.
On 4 August 1983,a coup d'état was launched in the Republic of Upper Volta in an event sometimes referred to as the August revolution or Burkinabérevolution. It was carried out by radical elements of the army led by Thomas Sankara and Blaise Compaoré,against the regime of Major Jean-Baptiste Ouédraogo. Ouédraogo had been brought to power in a 1982 coup with the Conseil de Salut du Peuple (CSP),a body composed of military officials of different ideological backgrounds. The CSP chose Sankara as Prime Minister of Upper Volta in January 1983. As his tenure progressed,Ouédraogo found himself unable to reconcile the conservative and radical factions of the CSP,whose disagreements were leading to a political stalemate. On 16 May he purged his government of pro-Libyan and anti-French elements,disbanded the CSP,and had Sankara and several other important officials arrested. This move sparked discontent among Sankara's supporters. Sankara was eventually released while one officer,Compaoré,began to organise military resistance to the government.
Odile Sankara is a Burkinabéartist,actress,playwright and director. She is the President of the Récréâtrales and a younger sister to the late revolutionary leader of Burkina Faso,Thomas Sankara.
