Burkina Faso country profile

A poor country even by West African standards, landlocked Burkina Faso has suffered from recurring droughts and military coups.

A former French colony, it gained independence as Upper Volta in 1960. It has significant reserves of gold, but the country has faced domestic and external concern over the state of its economy and human rights.

In 2022, with at least 10,000 people killed and more than two million displaced to date in a prolonged jihadist insurgency that Burkina Faso has been facing from neighbouring Mali, the army seized control in two coups in a bid to combat the jihadists.

The coups have led to the country's suspension from the African Union and the regional Ecowas group.

In 2023, it expelled a small French force, cutting military relations with France and said it would develop links with Russia. The government has denied hiring Wagner mercenaries - who are operating in Mali and the Central African Republic - but says it will use "Russian instructors" to train its soldiers.

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BURKINA FASO: FACTS

• Capital: Ouagadougou

• Area: 274,200 sq km

• Population: 23.6 million

• Languages: French, Mossi, Bissa, Dyula, Fula

• Life expectancy: 61 years (men) 62 years (women)

President: Ibrahim Traore

Capt Ibrahim Traore seized power in a coup on September 2022, ousting his predecessor Lt-Col Damiba, who had himself ousted President Marc Kabore in an earlier coup in January 2022. Traore was officially appointed as president of in October 2022.

The rationale given by Traore for the coup was the purported inability of Damiba to deal with the continuing Islamist insurgency in the north of the country. It was for the same reason that Damiba had ousted Kabore - the government's failure to halt the jihadist groups operating in northern Burkina Faso.

Mr Kabore had served as prime minister and speaker of parliament under veteran President Compaoré before going on to win presidential elections in 2015 and 2020.

But, like his neighbours, he found his domestic agenda undermined by the jihadist insurgency.

MEDIA

The media environment in Burkina Faso is relatively robust but US-based NGO Freedom House says the jihadist insurgency has curbed media access and that military leaders have further constrained the press.

In 2022, Burkina Faso suspended French broadcaster Radio France Internationale (RFI), accusing it of having disseminated a message of intimidation attributed to a "terrorist leader".

It has also expelled journalists working for the French newspapers Le Monde and Liberation. The broadcaster France 24 has also been suspended.

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TIMELINE

Some key events in Burkina Faso's history:

The 19th Century Grand Mosque of Bobo-Dioulasso: the majority of the country's population are Muslim

3600-2600BC - Agricultural settlements established in region.

800-700BC - Iron smelting and production.

3rd-13th Century AD - Bura culture: an Iron Age civilisation centred on the lower Niger River valley in Niger and Burkina Faso.

c.1000-1896 - Mossi Kingdoms or Mossi Empire: a group of kingdoms in Burkina Faso which dominate the upper Volta river region. The largest Mossi kingdom is that of Ouagadougou.

c.1700 - Mossi kingdoms increase their regional economic and military power, with significant connections to the Fula kingdoms and the Mali Empire.

1896 - France invades and make Burkina Faso a French protectorate. By 1898 France completes its conquest of the area.

1898 - Franco-British Convention creates Burkina Faso's modern borders.

1915-1917 - Volta-Bani War: an anti-colonial rebellion in modern Burkina Faso and Mali. At its peak the rebels muster 15,000-20,000 fighters. After initial setbacks the French army supresses the insurgency.

1919 - France creates French Upper Volta, separating the present territory of Burkina Faso from Upper Senegal and Niger.

1932 - After failed attempts to promote cotton as an export crop, the colony is dissolved and split between the French colonies of Ivory Coast, French Sudan and Niger.

1947 - Following intense anti-colonial agitation after World War Two, France reverses its previous decision and revives the colony of Upper Volta.

1958 - Upper Volta gains self-government and joins the Franco-African Community.

1960 - Upper Volta becomes fully independent with Maurice Yaméogo as president.

1966 - Military coup deposes Yaméogo, suspends the constitution and brings in military government under Lt Col Sangoulé Lamizana.

1976 - New constitution establishes a four-year transition period toward civilian rule. Lamizana remains in power.

1978 - Sangoulé Lamizana is re-elected in open elections.

1980 - Col Saye Zerbo overthrows President Lamizana in a bloodless coup and sets up military government.

1982 - Zerbo is overthrown by Jean-Baptiste Ouédraogo and the Council of Popular Salvation (CPS), ushering in a period of unrest and power struggles.

Thomas Sankara, also known as "Africa's Che Guevara", seized power in 1983 and tried to introduce major reforms. He was killed in a coup led by his successor Blaise Compaoré

1983 - Infighting between factions in the CPS leads to another coup. Capt Thomas Sankara comes to power and begins a series of reforms including nationalisation of key industries, mass-vaccinations, infrastructure improvements, improving women's rights and anti-desertification projects. His government focuses on anti-imperialism and rejects foreign aid.

1984 - Upper Volta renamed Burkina Faso.

1987 - Sankara is killed in a coup organized by Blaise Compaoré, who said one reason for the coup was that Sankara had jeopardised foreign relations with former colonial power France and neighbouring Ivory Coast. He reverses Sankara's previous economic policies.

1990 - Compaoré introduces limited democratic reforms.

2014 - President Compaoré resigns following massive protests against plans to extend his rule. A transitional government takes charge.

2015 - Coup attempt by a unit of the army fails, and elections take place.

2016 - 30 people killed in terrorist attacks in Ouagadougou: The attack signals the start of an Islamist insurgency in northern and eastern Burkina Faso by jihadist groups.

2022 - Two military coups in one year: a January coup led by Lt Col Damiba seizes power and deposes President Kaboré. In September, he is ousted by Capt Ibrahim Traoré, who said the second coup was necessary because Damiba was unable to to deal with the Islamist insurgency.

2023 - Burkina Faso expels some 400 French special forces cutting military relations with France. It says it will develop military links with Russia to combat the jihadists.

2024 - Burkina Faso's military-backed president Ibrahim Traoré says Russian troops could deploy to fight jihadists in the West African country, if needed.

Burkina Faso has significant reserves of gold, manganese, copper and limestone