About Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso, which means, "The land of upright (or honest) people" in the More and Dioula languages, is located inland between Mali to the North, Niger and Benin to the east, Togo and Ghana to the south and Cote d'Ivoire to the southeast. Geographically about the size of Colorado, Burkina Faso was given its name in 1984 by then President Thomas Sankara.

During the 15th and 16th centuries Burkina Faso was an important economic region for the Songhai Empire. By 1898, after decades of rivalry with the British, the Mossi Kingdom of Ouagadougou was defeated by the French and Burkina Faso, then called Upper Volta was integrated into the colony of Haut-senegal et Niger. Upper Volta became a separate colony in 1919 and became an independent country on August 5, 1960 with Maurice Yameogo as the first President.

Years of military coups and power struggles ensued until 1983 when Thomas Sanakara took control. As a Marxist in the vein of other contemporary African leaders like Sekou Touré of Guinea and Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, Sanakara sought to permanently sever ties with his country's colonial past and invest in schools and food production, and align Burkina Faso with other communist powers including North Korea, Libya and Cuba. While Sanakara's tactics brought some improvement in living standards, he alienated Western powers and foreign investment rapidly declined.

Sankara was assassinated in 1987, but his friend and close political ally, Blaise Compaore became President and set out to, "rectify" Sanakara's revolution. Compaore was elected to a third term as President in 2005, although opposition parties strongly contest the legitimacy of the elections.

Burkina Faso is over 40% Mossi ethnic group with the smaller Gurunsi, Senufo, Lobi, Bobo, Mande and Fulani spread throughout different regions of the country. Facing desperate economic conditions and severe droughts, many able Burkinabes migrate annually to neighboring countries looking for work.

Despite being one of the poorest countries in the world, Burkina Faso has gained an International reputation for its handicraft fabrication and trading. Every year, the capital of Ouagadougou hosts one of Africa's most important handicraft fairs, "Le salon International de L Artisanat de Ouagadougou" or "SIAO". Attracting artisans, merchants and traders from around the world, the International Art and Craft Fair is helping Burkina Faso to make a name for itself on the world stage.

Burkina Faso Web Links

• CIA Factbook Burkina Faso
• Info Please Burkina Faso Page
• Embassy of Burkina Faso in the U.S.
• All Africa News