Have you ever heard of a country like Burkina Faso? This small, poor state, lost in the wilds of Africa, is of interest to few foreigners — there is nothing of value here, and tourists in Burkina Faso have nothing to do. Although, of course, there is something interesting here.
Facts about Burkina Faso
- The name of the country, translated from the language of local tribes, means “homeland of honest people”.
- Initially, the state was called Upper Volta, and it received its current name only in the mid-1980s.
- In the late 1950s, the President of Burkina Faso, after taking office, banned all political parties in the country except his own.
- The head of Burkina Faso, Thomas Sankara, who led the country in the 1980s, refused to receive his presidential salary and monthly donated it to the orphanage, turned off the air conditioner in his office, since most local residents did not have such a luxury, lived on $ 460 a month and forbade his portraits to be hung in state institutions.
- Only 20% of Burkina Faso’s population lives in cities. The rest are in rural areas.
- According to official figures, 29% of men and 15% of women in Burkina Faso are literate.
- Burkina Faso ranks 203rd in the world in terms of life expectancy – local residents live on average only to 53 years.
- This country is recognized as one of the poorest on the planet. More than half of its population lives below the poverty line.
- More than 90% of the inhabitants here are engaged in subsistence agriculture, as in the distant past.
- Burkina Faso is one of the leaders among African countries in the development of the film industry. Local director Idrissa Ouedraogo has become the only African filmmaker to win the Cannes Grand Prix.
- The country hosts the annual Tour du Faso, the African equivalent of the famous Tour de France.
- In the capital of Burkina Faso, the city of Ouagadougou, the African Television and Film Festival is held every 2 years.
- One of the largest bazaars in West Africa was located in Ouagadougou, but in 2003 it burned to the ground.
- Not far from the capital, the Layongo monument was erected from granite slabs processed by many sculptors. Authors from all continents of the Earth had a hand in the creation of this monument.
- Although the population of Burkina Faso is mostly uneducated, there are 10 universities operating in the capital of the country.
- Local residents prefer not to be treated in hospitals, and from shamans or healers.
- 30 ways of making coffee are common in Burkina Faso.
- In the Burkina village of Sabu, there is a pond inhabited by tame crocodiles – the locals constantly feed animals so that they allowed tourists to sit on their backs and even pull their tails (interesting facts about crocodiles).
- For more than 10 years, there was an image of a Kalashnikov assault rifle on the coat of arms of the state.
- Forests occupy only 9% territory of Burkina Faso.
- In Burkina Faso, it is customary to treat guests to a drink of friendship brewed from sorghum, honey and ginger.