

On 31 January, the military junta restored the constitution and appointed Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba as interim president, who was himself overthrown in a second coup on 30 September and replaced by military captain Ibrahim Traoré. Burkina Faso's military seized power in a coup d'état on 23–24 January 2022, overthrowing President Roch Marc Kaboré. More than one million of the country's 21 million inhabitants are internally displaced persons. Several militias, partly allied with the Islamic State (IS) or al-Qaeda, operate in Burkina Faso and across the border in Mali and Niger. Sankara had conducted 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.īurkina Faso has been severely affected by the rise of Islamist terrorism in the Sahel since the mid-2010s. 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. Various coups have also taken place in the country, in 1966, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1987, and twice in 2022, in January and in September, as well as an attempt in 1989 and another in 2015. Throughout the decades post independence, the country was subject to instability, droughts, famines and corruption.
Oagadugu upper volta 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 Burkinabès ( / b ɜːr ˈ k iː n ə b eɪ/ bur- KEE-nə-bay), 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.

As of 2021, the country had an estimated population of 20,321,378. Burkina Faso ( UK: / b ɜːr ˌ k iː n ə ˈ f æ s oʊ/, US: /- ˈ f ɑː s oʊ/ ( listen) French:, Fula: 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮) 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.
