Burkina Faso is a landlocked nation in West Africa that is surrounded by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and the Ivory Coast to the southwest. Its population is 20,321,378 people. President Thomas Sankara renamed Burkina Faso from the Republic of Upper Volta (1958–1984). Burkinabé are its people, and the capital and biggest city is Ouagadougou.
The Mossi people, who inhabited the region in the 11th and 13th centuries, are the biggest ethnic group in Burkina Faso. They founded formidable kingdoms like Ouagadougou, Tenkodogo, and Yatenga. The French colonized Upper Volta as part of French West Africa in 1896; in 1958, Upper Volta became a self-governing territory within the French Community. It acquired complete independence in 1960, with Maurice Yaméogo as President. The nation was plagued by insecurity, droughts, famines, and corruption in its early years. Various coups have also occurred in the nation, including attempts in 1989, 2015, and 2022, as well as in 1966, 1980, 1982, 1983, and 1987. Thomas Sankara controlled the nation from 1982 until 1987, when he was assassinated in a coup orchestrated by Blaise Compaoré, who became president and reigned until his dismissal on October 31, 2014. Sankara initiated an ambitious socioeconomic agenda that included a statewide literacy drive, land redistribution to peasants, the development of railways and roads, and the prohibition of female genital mutilation, forced marriages, and polygamy.
Since the mid-2010s, Burkina Faso has been badly impacted by the emergence of Islamist terror in the Sahel. Several militias, some of which are affiliated with the Islamic State (IS) or al-Qaeda, operate over the border into Mali and Niger. More than a million of the country's 21 million people are internally displaced. The military and its "Patriotic Movement for Safeguard and Restoration" (MPSR) proclaimed themselves in power on January 24, 2022. The military had previously staged a coup against President Roch Marc Kaboré. The military junta reinstated the constitution and nominated Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba as temporary president on January 31.
Burkina Faso has a GDP of $16.226 billion and is classified as an LDC. Its population is made up of 63 percent Muslims and 22 percent Christians. Because of French colonization, French is the country's official language of government and commerce. Burkina Faso has 59 native languages, with Mooré being the most widely spoken, spoken by about half of all Burkinabé. The government is a semi-presidential republic with executive, legislative, and judicial powers. Burkina Faso belongs to the United Nations, the Francophonie, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. It has been expelled from ECOWAS and the African Union.