Population: 12,272,289

Languages: French (official), native African languages belonging to Sudanic family spoken by 90% of the population

Background: Independence from France came to Burkina Faso (formerly Upper Volta) in 1960. Governmental instability during the 1970s and 1980s was followed by multiparty elections in the early 1990s. Several hundred thousand farm workers migrate south every year...

Currency: Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF, No information)

Data from CIA World Factbook. Click on CIA link for more. Click on map or flag for larger images.