Burkina Faso (
pronounced
/bɚˌkiːnəˈfɑːsoʊ/
burr-KEE-na FAH-soh), also known by its short-form name Burkina, is a
landlocked
nation in
West Africa
. It is surrounded by six countries:
Mali
to the north,
Niger
to the east,
Benin
to the south east,
Togo
and
Ghana
to the south, and
Côte d'Ivoire
to the south west. Formerly called the
Republic of Upper Volta
,
it was renamed
on
August
,
, by President
Thomas Sankara
to mean "the land of upright people" in
Moré
and
Dioula
, the major native languages of the country. Literally, "Burkina" may be translated, "men of integrity," from the Moré language, and "Faso" means "father's house" in Dioula. Independence from
France
came in . Governmental instability during the s and s was followed by multiparty elections in the early s. Several hundred thousand farm workers migrate south every year to
Côte d'Ivoire
and
Ghana
in search of
paid labour
. The inhabitants of Burkina Faso are known as Burkinabé (
pronounced
/bɚˈkiːnəbeɪ/
burr-KEE-na-bay). |