Burkina Faso

American  

[ber-kee-nuh fah-soh] / bərˈki nə ˈfɑ soʊ /

noun

1. a republic in western Africa: formerly part of French West Africa. 106,111 sq. mi. (274,827 sq. km). Ouagadougou.

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Burkina Faso British  

/ bɜːˈkiːnəˈfæsəʊ /

noun

1. Former name (until 1984): Upper Volta.  an inland republic in W Africa: dominated by Mossi kingdoms (10th–19th centuries); French protectorate established in 1896; became an independent republic in 1960; consists mainly of a flat savanna plateau. Official language: French; Mossi and other African languages also widely spoken. Religion: mostly animist, with a large Muslim minority. Currency: franc. Capital: Ouagadougou. Pop: 17 812 961 (2013 est). Area: 273 200 sq km (105 900 sq miles)

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Burkina Faso Cultural  

1. Republic in west Africa, formerly called Upper Volta, bordered by Niger to the north and east, Benin on the southeast, Togo, Ghana and Ivory Coast on the south, and Mali on the west and north. Its capital and largest city is Ouagadougou. Burkina Faso gained independence from France in 1960.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Burkina Faso

The ASX-listed mining-services company concluded projects in Burkina Faso, Senegal and Botswana at the end of FY25 and during 1H26.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

This is after West African Resources banked A$830 million during the year, as a result of the steady ramp up of its Kiaka mine in Burkina Faso.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026

Burkina Faso, like its neighbour Mali, has been battling an Islamist insurgency for over a decade, often alongside French forces deployed in the region.

From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2026

Like its neighbours, Burkina Faso and Mali, Niger is run by a military junta that came to power in part because of the failure to deal with the violence.

From BBC ● Jun. 18, 2026

“You don’t know America. You say Senegal and American people, they say, Where is that? My friend from Burkina Faso, they ask her, your country in Latin America?”

From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie