Burkina Faso
Ouagadougou · West Africa
Burkina Faso is a country in Africa. Its capital city is Ouagadougou, the official currency is the West African CFA Franc, and the main language is French.
With a population of roughly 23.3 million people spread over 274,200 km², Burkina Faso is the 57th most populous country in the world and the 74th largest by area. That works out at about 85 people per square kilometre.
Burkina Faso shares land borders with Mali, Niger, Benin, Togo, Ghana and Ivory Coast — 6 neighbours in all. Its largest urban centres are Ouagadougou, Bobo-Dioulasso and Koudougou. The highest point in the country is Ténakourou, at 749 metres.
For scale, it covers almost exactly the same area as New Zealand, while its population is closest to that of Mali.
- Capital
- Ouagadougou
- Region
- West Africa
- Population
- 23,300,000
- Area
- 274,200 km²
- Currency
- West African CFA Franc
- Main language
- French
- Highest point
- Ténakourou
749 m - Land borders
- 6
Burkina Faso: things worth knowing
- The country's name, adopted in 1984, translates roughly as 'land of upright people'.
- It is landlocked and largely flat savanna, with the Sahel across its northern reaches.
- FESPACO in Ouagadougou is the largest African film festival on the continent.
Burkina Faso in context
Africa has 54 sovereign countries in total. Burkina Faso ranks 19th among them by population.
See the full list of Africa countries, or browse all 195 countries.