COUNTRY FACT SHEET Location Burkina Faso is a landlocked Sahelian country. It is situated in West Africa within the Niger loop and has the following geographical specifications: 9° 20' and 15° 5' latitude north, 2° 20' longitude east and 5° 30' longitude west. Burkina Faso is bordered in the north and west by Mali; in the south by Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo and Benin; and in the east by Niger. The country has no gateway to the sea. Time zone: GMT 2 Area 273,187km Population 13,440,500 inhabitants (2007 estimate). Population (general population census, 1996): 10,312,609 inhabitants. Population (general population census, 1985): 7,964,705 inhabitants. Annual population growth rate: 2.4%. Main towns Ouagadougou (2005): 1,181,702 inhabitants. Bobo-Dioulasso (2005): 435,543. Proportion of urban population (2006): 16.3%. Climate Burkina Faso enjoys a tropical climate with two contrasting seasons: a long dry season from October to April, and a rainy season from May/June to September. Average monthly temperatures range o o between 120 and 42 . It is a savannah region except for the far north, which comprises desert and semi-desert areas. Independence 5 August 1960. Constitution 2 June 1991. Administration Burkina Faso is subdivided into 13 regions, 45 provinces, 350 departments, 351 communes and 8,228 villages. Languages Official language: French. Main local languages: Moor, Dioula and Fulfulde. Political governance Multiparty and republican democracy. Electoral system Managed by the National Independent Electoral Commission (CENI). xii