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Geography of Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso is considered to be a large nation because of its total area. Its total land area is 274,222 km² (approx. 105,877 mi²). Continental shelf of Burkina Faso is approximately 0 km² (around 0 mi²). Burkina Faso is located in Africa. Africa is the world’s second-largest and second-most populous continent. African countries include, but are not limited to, South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Egypt. Burkina Faso has 6 neighbouring countries. Its neighbours include Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Mali, Niger, Togo. Burkina Faso is a landlocked country. The average elevation range of Burkina Faso is 297 m (974 ft).

Neighbors

Total length of land borders of Burkina Faso is 3611 kilometers (~1,394 miles). Burkina Faso shares its land borders with 6 different countries, and has the same number of unique land boundaries to neigbouring territories. As in the case of Burkina Faso, if a country has the same number of unique neighboring territories as number of land borders, than that country has no non-contiguous sections of a land border. This is in contrast to several countries that have multiple non-contiguous sections of land borders. Burkina Faso has 6 neighbouring countries. Its neighbours include Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Mali, Niger, and Togo. The lengths of the land borders of Burkina Faso with its neighbouring countries are as follows:

Cities

The capital city of Burkina Faso is Ouagadougou. The largest city in Burkina Faso is Ouagadougou.

Elevation

The average elevation range of Burkina Faso is 297 m (974 ft). The highest point of Burkina Faso is Tena Kourou, with its official height being 749 m (2,457 ft). The lowest point of Burkina Faso is Black Volta. It lies at 200 m (656 ft) above the sea level. The elevation difference between the highest (Tena Kourou) and lowest (Black Volta) points of Burkina Faso is 549 m (2 ft).

Area

The total land area of Burkina Faso is 274,222 km² (approx. 105,877 mi²). and the total exclusive economic zone (EEZ) is 0 km² (~0 mi²). The continental shelf of Burkina Faso is approximately 0 km² (around 0 mi²). Including land mass and EEZ, the total area of Burkina Faso is approximately 274,222 km² (~105,877 mi²). Burkina Faso is considered to be a large nation because of its total area.

Forest and arable land

67,940 km² of Burkina Faso's territory is covered in forests, and forest land comprises 25% of all the land in the country. There are 48,353 km² of arable land in Burkina Faso, and it comprises 18% of the country's total territory.

Read our section on climate to discover what parameters affect these and other biomes of the country.

Natural resources

The most notable natural resources found in Burkina Faso are manganese, limestone, marble, gold, phosphates, pumice, salt.