Colors and the Meaning of the Burkina Faso Flag
The flag of Burkina Faso consists of Pan-African colors with red, green and yellow colors. The red symbolizes the country’s fertile land, while the red, which divides the flag into two equal parts horizontally, symbolizes the blood that flows during the revolution and the nation that loses its life. The yellow five-pointed star in the middle of the flag symbolizes the democratic popular revolution.
History of the Burkina Faso Flag
The first flag of Burkina Faso consisted of three horizontal lines, black, white and red as the flag of Upper Volta. These colors represented the three major branches of the Volta River flowing south of the country: Black Volta, White Volta, and Red Volta. The Upper Volta Flag was similar to the three-color flags used by the German Empire from 1871 to 1918. When Upper Volta was transformed into Burkina Faso on August 4, 1984, the flag was also changed. From 1984 to 1997, the official Burkina Faso coat of arms was used along with a digging of the Soviet AK-47 assault rifle, as well as a book with an open book symbolizing the importance of education and training of revolutionary principles.
Three equal horizontal banded black-and-white-red flags created from the Black Volta River, the White Volta River and the Red Volta River, which are the three branches of the Volta River, which the country used to name in 1960 when it gained its independence from France under the name of Upper Volta, in 1983, was replaced by a coup d’état against the government.
Neighboring Countries of Burkina Faso
It is located to the west of the African continent. It is surrounded by Benin in the south, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Togo, in the north and west of Mali, Niger in the northeast.
Main Characteristics of Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso, a country of happy people, is known as the music center of West Africa with its traditional music and percussion instruments. The capital of the country, Ouagadougou, is also one of the poorest countries in the world. Most of the population lives in the capital. The official language is French. Local languages are widely used throughout the country. Currency is the West African CFA franc.
The country has a tropical climate. It is rainy from June to October, dry from November to February, and hot from March to June. In Burkina Faso cuisine, mainly tomatoes are used. Poulet Telévise are national dishes made with chicken. Bisap, a tea made from Amber flower, is the most popular drink.
| Country | Burkina Faso |
| Code | BF (BFA) |
| Calling code | 226 |
| Capital city | Ouagadougou |
| Currency | west african cfa franc (XOF) |
| Emoji symbol | 🇧🇫 |
| Highest point | Tena Kourou (749 m) |
| Internet TLD | .bf |
| Population(2017) | 19,193,382 |
| Total area | 274,000 km2 |