Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Burkina Faso
local long form: none
local short form: Burkina Faso
former: Upper Volta, Republic of Upper Volta
etymology: name translates as "Land of the Honest (Incorruptible) Men"

Government type:
presidential republic

Capital:
name: Ouagadougou
geographic coordinates: 12 22 N, 1 31 W
time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions:
13 regions; Boucle du Mouhoun, Cascades, Centre, Centre-Est, Centre-Nord, Centre-Ouest, Centre-Sud, Est, Hauts-Bassins, Nord, Plateau-Central, Sahel, Sud-Ouest

Independence:
5 August 1960 (from France)

National holiday:
Republic Day, 11 December (1958); note - commemorates the day that Upper Volta became an autonomous republic in the French Community

Constitution:
history: several previous; latest approved by referendum 2 June 1991, adopted 11 June 1991, temporarily suspended late October to mid-November 2014
amendments: proposed by the president, by a majority of National Assembly membership, or by petition of at least 30,000 eligible voters submitted to the Assembly; passage requires at least three-fourths majority vote in the Assembly; failure to meet that threshold requires majority voter approval in a referendum; constitutional provisions on the form of government, the multiparty system, and national sovereignty cannot be amended; amended several times, last in 2012 (2017)

Legal system:
civil law based on the French model and customary law

International law organization participation:
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Citizenship:
citizenship by birth: no
citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Burkina Faso
dual citizenship recognized: yes
residency requirement for naturalization: 10 years

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
[see also: Suffrage country ranks ]

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Roch Marc Christian KABORE (since 29 December 2015)
head of government: Prime Minister Paul Kaba THIEBA (since 6 January 2016)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister
elections/appointments: president elected by absolute majority popular vote in two rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second); election last held on 29 November 2015 (next scheduled for November 2020); prime minister appointed by the president with consent of the National Assembly
election results: Roch Marc Christian KABORE elected president in first round; percent of vote - Roch Marc Christian KABORE (MPP) 53.5%, Zephirin DIABRE (UPC) 29.6%, Tahirou BARRY (PAREN) 3.1%. Benewende Stanislas SANKARA (UNIR-MS) 2.8%, other 10.9%

Legislative branch:
description: unicameral National Assembly (127 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote to serve 5-year terms)
elections: last held on 29 November 2015 (next to be held in 2020)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - MPP 55, UPC 33, CDP 18, Union for Rebirth/Sankarist Party 5, ADF/RDA 3, NTD 3, other 10

Judicial branch:
highest court(s): Supreme Court of Appeals or Cour de Cassation (consists of NA judges); Council of State (consists of NA judges); Constitutional Council or Conseil Constitutionnel (consists of the council president and 9 members)
judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court judge appointments mostly controlled by the president of Burkina Faso; judges have no term limits; Council of State judge appointment and tenure NA; Constitutional Council judges appointed by the president of Burkina Faso upon the proposal of the minister of justice and the president of the National Assembly; judges appointed for 9-year terms with one-third of membership renewed every 3 years
subordinate courts: Appeals Court; High Court; first instance tribunals; district courts; specialized courts relating to issues of labor, children, and juveniles; village (customary) courts

Political parties and leaders:
African Democratic Rally/Alliance for Democracy and Federation or ADF/RDA [Gilbert Noel OUEDRAOGO] African People’s Movement or MAP [Victorien TOUGOUMA] Congress for Democracy and Progress or CDP [Achille TAPSOBA] Le Faso Autrement [Ablasse OUEDRAOGO] New Alliance of the Faso or NAFA [Rasmane OUEDRAOGO] New Time for Democracy or NTD [Vincent DABILGOU] Organization for Democracy and Work or ODT [Mahamoudou SAWADOGO] Party for Development and Change or PDC [Saran SEREME] Party for Democracy and Progress-Socialist Party or PDP-PS [Francois O. KABORE] Party for Democracy and Socialism/Metba or PDS/Metba [Philippe OUEDRAOGO] Party for National Renaissance or PAREN [Tahirou BARRY] People's Movement for Progress or MPP [Roch March Christian KABORE] Rally for Democracy and Socialism or RDS [Francois OUEDRAOGO] Rally for the Development of Burkina or RDB [Celestin Saidou COMPAORE] Rally of Ecologists of Burkina Faso or RDEB [Adama SERE] Union for a New Burkina or UBN [Yacouba OUEDRAOGO] Union for Progress and Change or UPC [Zephirin DIABRE] Union for Rebirth - Sankarist Movement or UNIR-MS [Benewende Stanislas SANKARA] Union for the Republic or UPR [Toussaint Abel COULIBALY] Youth Alliance for the Republic and Independence or AJIR [Adama KANAZOE]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
Balai Citoyen [Guy Herve KAM] Burkinabe General Confederation of Labor or CGTB [Bassolma BAZIE] Burkinabe Movement for Human Rights or MBDHP [Chrysigone ZOUGMORE] Burkinabe Society for Constitutional Law or SBDC [Abdoulaye SOMA] Center for Democratic Governance or CGD [Thomas OUEDRAOGO] Coalition for African Renaissance or CAR [Herve OUATTARA] National Independent Union of Burkinabe Magistrates or SAMAB [Augustin LOADA] National Union for Health Workers or SYNTSHA National Union for Primary Education Teachers or SYNATEB
other: watchdog/political action groups throughout the country

International organization participation:
ACP, AfDB, AU, CD, ECOWAS, EITI (compliant country), Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MINUSMA, MONUSCO, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNISFA, UNITAR, UNWTO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Seydou KABORE (since 18 January 2017)
chancery: 2340 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 332-5577
FAX: [1] (202) 667-1882

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Andrew YOUNG (since 1 December 2016)
embassy: Rue 15.873, Avenue Sembene Ousmane, Ouaga 2000, Secteur 15
mailing address: 01 B. P. 35, Ouagadougou 01; pouch mail - US Department of State, 2440 Ouagadougou Place, Washington, DC 20521-2440
telephone: [226] 25-49-53-00
FAX: [226] 25-49-56-28

Flag description:
two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and green with a yellow five-pointed star in the center; red recalls the country's struggle for independence, green is for hope and abundance, and yellow represents the country's mineral wealth
note: uses the popular Pan-African colors of Ethiopia

National symbol(s):
white stallion; national colors: red, yellow, green

National anthem:
name: "Le Ditanye" (Anthem of Victory)
lyrics/music: Thomas SANKARA
note: adopted 1974; also known as "Une Seule Nuit" (One Single Night); written by the country's president, an avid guitar player