The provinces of Burkina Faso are divided into 351 departments (as of 2014 and since local elections of 2012), whose urbanized areas (cities, towns and villages) are grouped into the same commune (municipality) with the same name as the department (the department also covers rural areas, including national natural parks, that are not ruled locally at municipal level, but by the state at departmental level).
The 351 communes (municipalities) created for each one of these departments have three kinds of status :
Departments (or communes) generally have the same name as their capital city or town, with a few exceptions (for historical reasons). For the local elections in 2012, communes were created in each department that still did not have one (village councils were kept but operate at advisory level under the supervision of their commune: each administrative village or urban sector elects at least 2 seats in the municipal council of their commune; for other elections at regional or national level, the smallest electoral circonscription is the whole department).
Transport in Burkina Faso consists primarily of road, air and rail transportation. The World Bank classified country's transportation as underdeveloped but noted that Burkina Faso is a natural geographic transportation hub for West Africa.
Ouagadougou is the capital of Burkina Faso and the administrative, communications, cultural, and economic centre of the nation. It is also the country's largest city, with a population of 2,453,496 in 2019. The city's name is often shortened to Ouaga. The inhabitants are called ouagalais. The spelling of the name Ouagadougou is derived from the French orthography common in former French African colonies.
Bobo-Dioulasso is a city in Burkina Faso with a population of 903,887 ; it is the second-largest city in the country, after Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso's capital. The name means "home of the Bobo-Dioula".
The regions of Burkina Faso are divided into 45 administrative provinces. These 45 provinces are currently sub-divided into 351 departments or communes.
Fada N’Gourma, also written Fada-Ngourma or Noungu, is a city and an important market town in eastern Burkina Faso, lying 219 kilometres (136 mi) east of Ouagadougou, in the Gourmantché area. It is the capital of the East region and of Gourma province. It is known for its blanket and carpet manufacturing as well as its honey.
Banfora is a city in south western Burkina Faso, with a population of 117,200 making it the sixth most populous city in Burkina Faso. It is the capital of the Comoe province. The city lies 85 kilometres (53 mi) south-west of Bobo-Dioulasso, on the Abidjan – Ouagadougou Railway. The Cascades de Karfiguéla are a series of waterfalls close to Banfora.
Balé is one of the 45 provinces of Burkina Faso, located in its Boucle du Mouhoun Region with Boromo as capital. Its area is 4,596 km2 (1,775 sq mi), and had a population of 297,367 in 2019. The province is known for its Deux Balé Forest, populated by savannah elephant herds. Boromo, the provincial capital, is located on the main road from Ouagadougou to Bobo-Dioulasso. In June 2007, the Canadian mining company, Semafo, open the third gold mine in the country in Mana in the province, with an investment of about $116 million.
An administrative centre is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune is located.
Houet is one of the 45 provinces of Burkina Faso, located in its Hauts-Bassins Region. The capital of Houet is Bobo-Dioulasso. In 2019, the province had a population of 1,509,377.
Centre-Ouest is one of Burkina Faso's 13 administrative regions. The population of Centre-Ouest was 1,659,339 in 2019. The region's capital is Koudougou. Four provinces make up the region.
Est is one of Burkina Faso's 13 administrative regions. It was created on 2 July 2001. The region's capital is Fada N'gourma. Five provinces make up the region—Gnagna, Gourma, Komondjari, Kompienga, and Tapoa.
Boromo is a town in the Boromo Department of Balé Province in Burkina Faso. It is the capital of both the department and the province, and it has a population of 20,202 (2019).
Kongoussi is a city located in Bam Province in central Burkina Faso, one of the world's poorest countries. It has a population of 53,641 (2019) and is the Provincial capital. Mooré, the language of the Mossi people, is spoken along with French, common among those who have attended school or spent time further afield.
Articles related to Burkina Faso include:
Koury is a small town and rural commune in the Cercle of Yorosso in the Sikasso Region of southern Mali. The commune covers an area of 712 square kilometers and includes the town and 16 villages. In the 2009 census it had a population of 54,435. The town, the administrative center (chef-lieu) of the commune, is 19 km south of Yorosso on the main road linking Koutiala in Mali with the town of Bobo-Dioulasso in Burkina Faso.
Burkina Faso is divided into thirteen regions, forty-five provinces, and 351 departments.
Torodi is a small town and a rural commune in Niger. As a rural center, Torodi hosts a large weekly market and the seat of local tribal authority (canton). Torodi is in the Say Department of the Tillaberi Region, which surrounds the national capital, Niamey. Say Department, with its capital at the large Niger River town of Say, abuts Niamey to the southwest and across the river to the west. The town of Torodi lies about 60 km due west of the city of Say and 50 km east of the border with Burkina Faso. Torodi itself lies on a tributary of the Niger, the Gourbi river.
Water supply and sanitation in Burkina Faso are characterized by high access to water supply in urban areas, while access to an at least basic water sources in rural areas – where three quarters of the population live – remains relatively low. An estimated one third of water facilities in rural areas are out of service because of a lack of maintenance. Access to at least basic sanitation lags significantly behind access to water supply.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.