- Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa.
- It shares a border with Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the south-east, Togo and Ghana to the south and Ivory Coast to the south-west.
- This incredible country has an area of 105,869 square miles (274,200 square kilometres).
Flag of Burkina Faso
- Burkina Faso’s population was 19.75 million in 2018.
- The capital city is called Ouagadougou (often shortened to Ouaga); it covers an area of 84.7 square miles (219.3 square kilometres) and has a population of 1.6 million (2012).
- ‘Ouagadougou’ apparently translates to ‘You are welcome here at home with us’!
- ‘Burkina Faso’ actually means ‘Land of honest people’ – we love that!
- It is home to the largest elephant population in West Africa.
- The terrain here is mostly flat, leading to undulating plains and hills in the west and south-west.
- For the adventurous explorers amongst you, the coordinates for Burkina Faso are 12.3333° N, 1.6667°
- Burkina Faso enjoys a tropical climate, with warm, dry winters and hot, wet summers – don’t forget your sun cream!
- In case you were wondering, residents of Burkina Faso are called ‘Burkinabe’, which interestingly is both singular and plural!
- There are 60 different ethnic groups in Burkina Faso, each with their own variety of folk music!
- The average life expectancy here is 60.36 years (2016).
- Like many African nations, the currency of Burkina Faso is the CFA franc.
- French is the official language of Burkina Faso, however other dialects are also spoken here, including Mòoré, Gourma, Fulfulde, Dioula, and Tamasheq.
- They grow peanuts, cotton, shea nuts and sesame and rear livestock.
- The country’s industry consists of cotton lint, beverages, soap and agricultural processing.
- Burkina Faso exports cotton, livestock and gold!
- The international dialling code for Burkina Faso is +226.
Do you know any interesting or fun facts about Burkina Faso? Share them with us in the comments section below!
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