Burkina-FasoBy Hannah and Polly

South Atlantic Ocean

North Atlantic Ocean

Burkina-Faso is located in the north west of Africa, north of Ghana. It has no coast-lines and very little rain so drought is common. The land of Burkina-Faso is mostly flat with many plains. In the west and south-east of the country, there are many mountains over looking the land.

Burkina-Faso (General info)Burkina Faso (formerly Upper Volta) achieved independence from France in 1960. Therefore they now speak French.In 1984, Thomas Sankara's revolutionary government changed the name Upper Volta to Burkina Faso, therefore discarding the name the French had given their former colony. Burkina Faso is an artificial word, using linguistic elements from the country's largest languages: Burkina means "free man" in Mooré; Faso means "land" in Dyula. Burkina Faso is therefore identified as the "country of the free men.“The capital of Burkina-Faso is Ouagadougou.

Interesting facts about Burkina-FasoPopulation13,925,000

CapitalOuagadougou

Area274,200 square kilometres(105,869 square miles)

LanguageFrench, native African languages

ReligionMuslim, indigenous beliefs, Christian

CurrencyCFA franc

Life Expectancy45

Literacy Percent27%

Culture(food)The cuisine of Burkina-Faso, typically of west African cuisine, is based around staple foods of sorghum, millet, rice, maize, peanuts, potatoes, beans, yams and okra. The most common sources of protein are chicken, chicken eggs and fresh water fish. A typical Burkinabè beverage is Banji or Palm Wine, which is fermented palm sap.Traditional ritual ceremonies of the many ethnic groups in Burkina Faso have long involved dancing with masks. Western-style theatre became common during colonial times, heavily influenced by French theatre. With independence came a new style of theatre inspired by forum theatre aimed at educating and entertaining Burkina-Faso's rural people.

ReligionThe religions of this country are 50% are Muslim, 50% are Christian, and 100% are Animist. This shows the large level of acceptance of the various religions amongst each other.Burkina Faso is divided into thirteen regions, forty-five provinces, and 301 departments. The regions are:

Boucle du Mouhoun Cascades Centre Centre-Est Centre-Nord Centre-Ouest Centre-Sud Est Hauts-Bassins Nord Plateau-Central Sahel Sud-Ouest

MusicCradled within the interior of West Africa, Burkina Faso is a land rich in cultures, with Mande, Mossi, Fulani, Bobo, Lobi peoples topping a list of some 60 indigenous ethnic groups. The nation's capital, Ouagadougou, was once a 15th century Mossi kingdom, one of many West African empires that ruled this area in pre-colonial times.

Africa X Djiguiya Bingui Jaa Jammy

Vocalist and Guitarist

Group of 11 percussionists,

singers and dancers

Central musician in Burkina Faso’s reggae scene

HousingArchitecture in the metropolitan centres is essentially French. Many African people, especially the Mossi, live in round huts with conical straw roofs or in rectangular huts with flat roofs. There is a housing shortage in the urban centres due to rapid growth. In Ouagadougou, most houses are built with mud brick and/or plaster. About 10% are made with cement block. In 1991, there were about 1,399,149 households. About 92% of rural dewllings and 65% of urban housing were owner occupied. In 1999, only 53% of all homes had access to improved water systems and only about 24% had access to improved sanitation systems. There is an average of 6.9 people per household.