Friday 2 May 2003

I've Never Been There

TSP's weekly look at countries they didn't bother teaching you about in school.

2. Burkina Faso

Independence from France came to Burkina Faso (formerly Upper Volta) in 1960. Governmental instability during the 1970s and 1980s was followed by multiparty elections in the early 1990s. Several hundred thousand farm workers migrate south every year to Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana

Location: Western Africa, north of Ghana

Population: 11,946,065 (July 2000 est.)
Ethnic groups: Mossi over 40%, Gurunsi, Senufo, Lobi, Bobo, Mande, Fulani
Religions: Muslim 50%, Indigenous beliefs 40%, Christian (mainly Roman Catholic) 10%
Languages: French (official), native African languages belonging to Sudanic family spoken by 90% of the population
Capital: Ouagadougou

Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 17, shortwave 1 (1998)
Television broadcast stations: 1 (1997)
Railways: 622 km
Highways: 12,506 km

International Disputes - None

1904 Part of Haut-Sénégal-Niger
1919 French colony (part of French West Africa)
1933 partitioned between French Sudan, Ivory Coast, and Niger
1947 French territory
1958 autonomy (Republic of Upper Volta)
1960 Independence
1984 Renamed Burkina Faso

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