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Burkina Faso, formerly Upper Volta, landlocked republic, western Africa, bordered on the north and west by Mali, on the east by Niger, and on the south by Benin, Togo, Ghana, and Côte d’Ivoire. Constituted as a separate state in 1947, Burkina Faso became an autonomous republic within the French Community, as Upper Volta, and gained full independence in 1960. The name of the country was changed to Burkina Faso in 1984. The area of Burkina Faso is 274,200 sq km (105,900 sq mi), and the capital is Ouagadougou.
Burkina Faso is located on a plateau sloping generally to the south and situated from about 200 to 749 m (700 to 2,457 ft) in elevation.
The plateau is drained in the south by the upper courses of the River Volta: the Black Volta (Mouhoun), Red Volta (Nazinon), and White Volta (Nakanbe) rivers. To the east the country is drained by small rivers connecting with the Niger; none is navigable. Despite extensive eradication programmes, the rivers are still breeding grounds for the simulian fly, which carries the parasite that causes river blindness (onchocerciasis; see Tropical Diseases). Much of the country is covered with grass and small trees but there are large infertile areas where the underlying rock is covered in loose sand or bare laterite. Animals include the hippopotamus, buffalo, antelope, and crocodile.
Burkina Faso is in the Sahelian zone of western Africa, with a tropical climate and low rainfall. A dry, cool season in Burkina Faso extends from November to March; a hot, dry one from March to May; and a hot, wet one from May to November. Rainfall decreases from more than 1,016 mm (40 in) in the south-west, the most productive part of the country, to less than 254 mm (10 in) in the north; water is a scarce commodity away from the rivers throughout Burkina Faso. Average temperatures vary from 21.1° to 26.7° C (70° to 80° F). Drought is a recurrent problem. The country was one of the worst sufferers in the Sahel droughts of 1969 to 1974, and of 1979 to the late 1980s.
