Burkina Faso
Presidential republic
Local name:
Burkina Faso
Region:
Western Africa
Surface area:
274,220 km²
Capital:
Ouagadougou
Geography
Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, south of the Niger arch. The land has a total area of 274,220 km² (105,877 mi²). This land area is approximately 68% of the area of California. Burkina Faso is thus the 29th biggest country in Africa and in terms of area ranked 74th worldwide. Most of the population (68%) resides within rural regions.Burkina Faso is comparatively low at an average elevation of 297 meters above sea level. The highest elevation in the country (Tena Kourou) is 749 meters. There is no access to the open sea. There are direct national borders with the six neighboring countries Benin, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Mali, Niger and Togo. The distance between New York City and the Capital Ouagadougou is about 7,650 km (4,753 mi).
On further pages:
Current time in Burkina Faso:
The countrywide time in Burkina Faso is Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), which is currently 4 hours ahead of New York.
As in many countries, there is no daylight savings time in Burkina Faso.
Related to Greenwich Mean Time, there's the same difference of 0 hours all over the year.
Sunrise + Sunset00:00
April 2024
The countrywide time in Burkina Faso is Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), which is currently 4 hours ahead of New York.
As in many countries, there is no daylight savings time in Burkina Faso.
Related to Greenwich Mean Time, there's the same difference of 0 hours all over the year.
Population
Population:22,674,000
Population per km²:82.68
Life expectancy males:Ø 57.5 years
Life expectancy females:
Ø 61.0 yearsBirth rate:
35.5 ‰Death rate:
9.0 ‰Males/Females:
49.8% : 50.2%Population pyramid
The currency in Burkina Faso is the cfa-franc bceao (XOF).
1 Cfa-franc bceao is divided into 100 Centimes.
Status: 04/22/2024
1 Cfa-franc bceao is divided into 100 Centimes.
Status: 04/22/2024
1 US dollar = 615.71 Cfa-franc bceaos
1000 Cfa-franc bceaos = 1.62 US dollar
1000 Cfa-franc bceaos = 1.62 US dollar
Climate in Burkina Faso
In Burkina Faso, as in all equatorial countries, there is a tropical climate. Unlike in Europe or the USA, there is almost no difference between the seasons. The daylight hours vary little, and the temperature differences between summer and winter are also lower. Depending on the season, the average daytime temperatures range between 31 and 40 degrees. In some parts of the country, the temperature rises to 43 °C. In the colder months, and depending in the region, the temperature drops to 17 °C in a month's average.Average daytime and nighttime temperatures
Languages
Official language:
French
| Mother tongue | Distribution |
|---|---|
| Mossi | 50.2 % |
| Fula | 9.7 % |
| Gourmanche | 5.7 % |
| Bambara | 4.8 % |
| Bissa | 3.2 % |
| Dyula | 2.6 % |
| Bwamu | 2.1 % |
| Dagara | 2.0 % |
| San | 1.9 % |
| Lobiri | 1.8 % |
| Lyele | 1.7 % |
| French | 1.3 % |
| other | 13.0 % |
Religions
| Religion | Distribution |
|---|---|
| Animists | 15.3% |
| Catholics | 19.0% |
| Protestants | 4.2% |
| Muslims | 60.5% |
| nondenominational | 0.4% |
| other | 0.6% |
more...
Economy
| GDP: | 18.82 bn $ |
| Exportations: | 6,233.8 M $ |
| Importations: | 5,835.1 M $ |
| › Tourism receipts: | 128.00 M $ |
| Debt rate: | 54.31 % |
| › Unemployment rate: | 5.18 % |
| › Inflation rate: | 14.29 % |
| › Corruption index: | 41 (bad) |
| › Energy consumption: | 2.0 bn kWh |
Due to its political and financial situation, Burkina Faso is considered one of the least developed countries in the world and is also one of the heavily indebted poor countries.
With an average annual income of 850 USD it is one of the low-income countries. Even taking purchasing power parity into account, Burkina Faso is still one of the poorest countries in the world.
Burkina Faso is considered one of the most dangerous countries worldwide.
Land use
| 44% Agricultural areas: | 121,288 km² |
| 23% Forest: | 62,303 km² |
| 0% Water areas: | 620 km² |
| 33% Others: | 90,630 km² |
more...
Transport
| Roadways: | 15,304 km |
| Railways: | 622 km |
| Reg. vehicles: | 447,000 |
| › Airports: |
Most important cities
Population refers to the city proper, not metropolitan areas.
| City | Region | Population |
|---|---|---|
| Ouagadougou / Capital | Centre | 2,415,000 |
| Bobo-Dioulasso | High-Basins | 985,000 |
| Koudougou | Centre-Ouest | 160,000 |
| Ouahigouya | Nord | 125,000 |
| Kaya | Centre-Nord | 122,000 |
| Banfora | Cascades | 117,000 |
| Tenkodogo | Centre-Est | 44,000 |
| Fada N'gourma | Est | 42,000 |
| Dédougou | Boucle du Mouhoun | 39,000 |
| Réo | Centre-Ouest | 38,000 |
| Houndé | High-Basins | 37,000 |
| Koupéla | Centre-Est | 32,000 |
| Kombissiri | Centre-Sud | 30,000 |
| Garango | Centre-Est | 29,000 |
| Nouna | Boucle du Mouhoun | 29,000 |
| Léo | Centre-Ouest | 27,000 |
| Kongoussi | Centre-Nord | 26,000 |
| Diapaga | Est | 26,000 |
| Kokologo | Centre-Ouest | 26,000 |
| Gaoua | Southwest | 25,000 |
| Zorgo | Plateau-Central | 24,000 |
| Yako | Nord | 23,000 |
| Djibo | Sahel | 22,000 |
| Dori | Sahel | 21,000 |
| Titao | Nord | 19,000 |
| Orodara | High-Basins | 19,000 |
| Pô | Centre-Sud | 18,000 |
| Manga | Centre-Sud | 15,000 |
| Ziniaré | Plateau-Central | 13,000 |
The difference between the urban area and the city proper alone can be considerable. Tenkodogo, for example, has an urban population of 125,000. However, the actual proper city is much smaller with only 44,000 inhabitants. The difference to metropolitan regions, i.e. conurbations with several cities, is even greater.
Political indicators
(Based on the "Worldwide Governance Indicators" project of the World Bank)
| Political stability: | ◈ |
| Rule of law: | ◈ |
| Effectivity: | ◈ |
| Regulatory quality: | ◈ |
| Voice accountability: | ◈ |
| Democratic values: | ◈ |
| Death penalty: | Only for serious crimes (e.g. martial law) |
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