Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso
Official languages Capital	Ouagadougou
Area Government	274,200 km2 parliamentary republic
Population Religion	18,365,123 (2014 estimate)
Time zone Currency	UTC+0 West African CFA franc
Demonym	Burkinabe
Monarch	Current Previous

Burkina Faso, formerly known as Upper Volta, is a country in west Africa. The capital and largest city is Ouagadougou.

It is bordered by Mali to the north and west, Niger to the east, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d'Ivoire to the southwest.

History

Hunter-gatherers lived in the country thousands of years ago in the past. During the Middle Ages, several kingdoms were established.

In the early 1890s, Europeans began to claim and colonize the region. By 1900, the area had become a French colony.

The country became self-governing in 1958 with the name Upper Volta, and it became completely independent in 1960.

During the 1960s, 1970s, and early 1980s, there was much unrest, and several coup d'états occurred. In 1983, a coup brought the country's most recent president Blaise Compaoré to power.

In late October 2014, an uprising occurred after President Blaise Compaoré attempted to amend the constitution in order to continue his 27-year rule. He was forced to resign on October 31, 2014.

Gallery

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  Location of Burkina Faso

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  Map of Burkina Faso

References

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