#Upper volta colonial impact full#

2.4.1 Lamizana's rule and multiple coups.

It is currently suspended from ECOWAS and the African Union. Burkina Faso is a member of the United Nations, La Francophonie and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. The country is governed as a semi-presidential republic with executive, legislative and judicial powers. There are 60 indigenous languages officially recognized by the Burkinabè government, with the most common language, Mooré, spoken by over 50% of Burkinabè.

Due to French colonialism, the country's official language of government and business is French. 63% of its population practices Islam and 22% practice Christianity. īurkina Faso is a least developed country with a GDP of $16.226 billion. On 31 January, the military junta restored the constitution and appointed Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba as interim president. Previously the military had executed a coup against President Roch Marc Kaboré. On 24 January 2022, the military and its 'Patriotic Movement for Safeguard and Restoration' (MPSR) declared itself to be in power. More than one million of the country's 21 million inhabitants are internally displaced persons. Several militias, partly allied with Islamic State (IS) or al-Qaeda, operate across the borders to Mali and Niger. īurkina Faso has been severely affected by the rise of Islamist terror in the Sahel since the mid-2010s. Sankara launched an ambitious socioeconomic programme which included a nationwide literacy campaign, land redistribution to peasants, railway and road construction, and the outlawing of female genital mutilation, forced marriages, and polygamy. Thomas Sankara served as the country's President from 1982 until he was killed in the 1987 coup led by Blaise Compaoré who became president and ruled the country until his removal on 31 October 2014.

In its early years, the country was subject to instability, droughts, famines and corruption.

#Upper volta colonial impact full#

In 1960, it gained full independence with Maurice Yaméogo as President. In 1896, it was colonized by the French as part of French West Africa in 1958, Upper Volta became a self-governing colony within the French Community. They established powerful kingdoms such as the Ouagadougou, Tenkodogo, and Yatenga. The largest ethnic group in Burkina Faso is the Mossi people, who settled the area in the 11th and 13th centuries. Its citizens are known as Burkinabè ( / b ɜːr ˈ k iː n ə b eɪ/ bur- KEE-nə-beh), and its capital and largest city is Ouagadougou. Previously called Republic of Upper Volta (1958–1984), it was renamed Burkina Faso by President Thomas Sankara.

The data here is an estimation for the year 2005 produced by the International Monetary Fund in April 2005.īurkina Faso ( UK: / b ɜːr ˌ k iː n ə ˈ f æ s oʊ/, US: /- ˈ f ɑː s oʊ/ ( listen) French: ) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of 274,200 km 2 (105,900 sq mi), bordered 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.