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Africa
The African continent is 54 nations, each with their own independent governments and sovereignty, GNP, culture, natural resources, language(s), military, and religion. The treasure trove of mineral and raw material wealth has scarcely been touched, and the continent's largely untapped fertile lands could feed the world. Herewith is Jewel of Africa, an interactive adventure in the cradle of mankind, an exploration of nations from A-Z in alphabetical order.
Jewel of
Burkina Faso: Arid desert nation minerally rich
Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa that covers an area of 105,900 square miles and is bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and the Ivory Coast to the southwest.
Formerly the Republic of Upper Volta, the country was renamed "Burkina Faso" on Aug. 4 1984 by then-President Thomas Sankara. The words "Burkina" and "Faso" stem from different languages spoken in the country: "Burkina" comes from Mossi and means "upright," showing how the people are proud of their integrity, while "Faso" originates from the Dioula language and means "fatherland" (literally, "father's house").
The "-bè" suffix added onto "Burkina" to form the demonym "Burkinabè" comes from the Fula language and means "women or men." The CIA summarizes the etymology as "land of the honest (incorruptible) men.” The French colony of Upper Volta was named for its location on the upper courses of the Volta River (the Black, Red and White Volta).
Constitution and foreign relations
The Burkina Faso constitution was revised in 2018 constitution. One condition prevents anyone from serving as president for more than 10 years either consecutively or intermittently and provides a method for impeaching a president. Certain rights are also enshrined in the revised constitution, such as access to drinking water, to decent housing and a recognition of the right to civil disobedience, for example.
Burkina Faso is a member of the African Union, G5 Sahel, Community of Sahel–Saharan States, La Francophonie, Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Economic Community of West African States, and United Nations.
Military readiness
The Army of Burkina Faso is a force of 5,800-6,000 officers and men, augmented by a conscript force or People's Militia of 45,000 men and women. Unlike the police and security forces, the Army and the People's Militia are organized along Soviet/Chinese models and precepts. The International Institute for Strategic Studies estimated in 2011-12 that Burkina Faso had 6,400 personnel in L'Armée de Terre in three military regions, one tank battalion (two tank platoons), five infantry regiments that may be under-strength, and an airborne regiment. Artillery and engineer battalions are also listed.
In recent years, the US has provided military assistance and training to Burkina Faso's ground forces. Military consultants have trained three 750-man battalions for peace support in Darfur. During a recent UN inspection, a US Department of Defense evaluation team found Burkina's Laafi battalion fit to deploy to Sudan. Using a small Department of Defense International Military Education and Training budget, the US Embassy has established English-language courses at an LAT military base, and has brought LAT officers to attend officer basic training courses in the US. The government of Burkina Faso has also been provided training in counter-terrorism and humanitarian assistance. There is a multi-national training camp in Loumbila Department, staffed by Czech and Polish military consultants.
The Air Force was instituted in 1964 as the Republic of Upper Volta Air Squadron, a subordinate unit of the Army. That year, a transient air support base was created with the assistance of the French Air Force. After acquiring an initial fleet of utility and transport aircraft, the squadron was attached to an inter-army support regiment. In 1970, the Escadrille was renamed the Force Aérienne de Haute-Volta, or FAHV, and in 1977 became an autonomous force. In October 1985, the Force Aérienne de Burkina Faso or FABF, was officially inaugurated.
The EHV was initially formed with two Douglas C-47 Skytrain and three MH.1521M Broussard aircraft. These were later followed by two Alouette III SA.316 B helicopters, used mostly for liaison purposes, one twin-engine Aero Commander 500 light utility aircraft, two Hawker-Siddeley HS.748-2A twin turboprop transport aircraft, and two Nord 262 twin turboprop transport aircraft. Two squadrons were created: a transport unit, and a helicopter unit. Later, a training unit was implemented. All squadrons were based at Ouagadougou.
In mid-1984, Libyan military aid brought eight Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 jet fighters, along with two MiG-21U combat trainer versions. These ex-Libyan Air Force MiG fighters were based in Ouagadougou. They were actually operated by the Libyan Air Force on loan by Libya, and were removed in 1985 without seeing combat. A single MiG-17F Fresco that was also operated by the FABF did see combat service in the Agacher Strip War in 1985-86. In 1985, the FABF also acquired two ex-Soviet Mi-4 transport helicopters from an unknown supplier, followed by an additional two Mi-4s.
The Mi-4s were operated by the FABF until the late 1980s, when they were taken out of service. Five Mi-8/17 transport helicopters were later added to the helicopter squadron.
In 1986, the FABF formed a new attack unit. In mid-1986 six ex-Philippine Air Force SF.260WP Warrior armed trainers/light strike aircraft were acquired from a dealer in Belgium, which offered the FABF a much simpler and less expensive alternative in tactical air support to the expensive MiGs. The Warriors were not only used for pilot training, but also as light strike aircraft, and a number were employed by the FABF's Escadrille de Chasse. Four additional SF.260WPs were subsequently bought directly from Italy. The six ex-Philippine SF.260WP aircraft were removed from service in 1993 and returned to their previous owner, although the four newly built SF.260WP aircraft were retained in service, and stationed at Bobo Dioulasso air base.
Most of the other light aircraft acquired by the FABF in the 1970s and 1980s have also now been retired along with the Mi-4 helicopters, but some recent acquisitions have been made, including a Beechcraft King Air, a Piper PA-34 Seneca, a CEAPR Robin light training aircraft, and a single Air Tractor AT-802 aerial sprayer aircraft for spraying insecticides, purchased after the northern part of the country suffered heavy crop damage from a 2004 invasion of swarming locusts. In 2009, two Xenon Gyroplane autogyros were purchased for use by police and security forces.
Law enforcement
Like many other countries with a French colonial heritage, law enforcement in Burkina Faso is a responsibility primarily shared by the Gendarmerie and the police, and draws a separation between administrative policing and judicial policing. The former deals with law and order, the latter, criminal investigations.
Following the introduction of the 2003 law on public security, Burkina Faso has since 2005 adopted a community policing approach. This applies to police and the gendarmerie. The
national police is responsible for the maintaining public peace, supporting the security of the State and institutions, protecting people and property, collecting information on behalf of the government, and maintaining links with foreign law enforcement bodies. The police is accountable to the Minister of administration, decentralization and security.
The national police has both administrative and judicial police powers. Unlike Commonwealth countries or the US, individual officers may not all hold judicial powers. They may only be empowered to temporarily detain suspects, but not formally arrest them. The municipal police are forces that answer directly to the mayor of a town. They generally enforce law and order but do not have investigative powers.
The municipal police, a recent addition to the security forces is a police agency first been created in 1977, but was abolished and reinstituted in August 1998. Each of the 345 communes in Burkina Faso may choose to organize their own municipal police. As of 2009, 22 communes employing a total of 760 agents had done so. While they are not accountable to the same organizations, the municipal police entertains close links with the national police, mainly as the national police provides all training and administrative and managerial support,
Cote d'Ivoire
Mali
Mauritania
Mauritius
Morocco
Mozambique
Namibia
Niger
Nigeria
Rwanda
Sao Tome
and Principe
Senegal
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Somalia
South Africa
South Sudan
Sudan
Tanzania
Togo
Tunisia
Uganda
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Ouagadougou is the capital of Burkina Faso and the administrative, cultural, communications, and economic Ouagadougou is also the country's largest city, with a population of 2.4 million as of 2019.
The city is distinguished by its architecture, which is tied to its landscape. As a landlocked country in west- ern Africa, it occupies an extensive plateau with grassy savannas and sparse forests. More than two-thirds of the people live in rural villages, and as such, the country’s contemporary and stylish building design is the product of ingenuity born from reimagining traditional building materials and techniques. Burkina Faso's mosques, churches, and cathedrals are unlike any on the globe.
The frequency of droughts in Burkina Faso and its location in the Sahara, Kalahari, and Namibe deserts contribute to the nation's water supply problems. The country has 17.5 cu km of
renewable water resources, but only 66 percent of the urban population, and 37 percent of rural dwellers have access to safe water. Access has improved, however.
The Voltaic Mossi make up about one-half of the population. The Mossi claim descent from warriors who migrated to present-day Burkina Faso from northern Ghana around 1100 AD. Burkina Faso is multi-lingual. The official language is French, introduced during the colonial period, but the Mossi language (Mòoré) is the most spoken language in Burkina Faso, spoken by about half the population, mainly near the capital, Ouagadougou.
Burkina Faso is now the fourth largest gold producer in Africa and is in the midst of a modern gold rush. With the precious metal present in every region of the country, the mining industry has steadily grown in Burkina Faso over the last decade, and the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASGM) sector has grown with it. According to some estimates, gold production from the country’s ASGM sector now even outpaces the industrial sector’s production.
About 80 percent of the population of Burkina Faso is engaged in subsistence farming with cotton as the main cash crop. Cotton and gold are Burkina Faso's key exports. The nation has seen an upswing in gold exploration, prod- uction, and exports. in less than a decade mining gold, Burkina Faso is now Africa's fourth largest producer of gold. The nation has only begun to tap its reserves of copper, iron, manganese cassiterite (tin ore), phosphates, marble, and pumice.
The National Office for Water and Sanitation (ONEA), a state-owned utility company, is quickly emerging as one of the best-performing utility companies in Africa. High levels of autonomy and a skilled, dedicated management team have driven ONEA's ability to improve production of and access to clean water. Since 2000, nearly two million more people have access to water in the four key urban centers in the Burkina Faso.
Burkina Faso has huge numbers of elephants; substantially more than many countries in West Africa. Lion, leopard, and buffalo are also indigenous, including the dwarf or red buffalo, a reddish-brown animal resembling a diminutive cow. Other large preda- tors in Burkina Faso include cheetah, caracal, spotted hyena, and the African wild dog. Burkina Faso's fauna and flora are protected in four national parks: W Nat- ional Park in the east which passes Burkina Faso, Benin, and Niger; Arly Wildlife Reserve, Léraba-Comoé Classi- fied Forest, and Partial Reserve Wildlife in the west; and Mare aux Hippopotames.
and that they often are called to operate in proximity to each other. The municipal police works infrequently with the Gendarmerie and other security forces.
Administrative divisions
The country is divided into 13 administrative regions. These regions encompass 45 provinces and 301 departments. Each region is administered by a governor. Two types of countryside comprise these regions. The larger part of the country is covered by a peneplain, which forms a gently undulating landscape with a few isolated hills, the last vestiges of a Precambrian massif. The southwest portion of the country forms a sandstone massif, where the highest peak, Ténakourou, rises to an elevation of 2,457 feet. The massif is bordered by sheer cliffs up to 492 feet high. Burkina Faso is relatively flat. The average altitude is 1,312 feet.
The Niger River's tributaries — the Béli, Gorouol, Goudébo, and Dargol—are seasonal streams and flow for only four to six months a year. They still flood and overflow, however. The country also contains numerous lakes. The principal ones are Tingrela, Bam, and Dem. The country contains large ponds, as well, such as Oursi, Béli, Yomboli, and Markoye. Water shortages are often a problem, especially in the north of the country. Burkina Faso has a primarily tropical climate with two very distinct seasons. In the rainy season, the country receives between 23 and 35 inches of rainfall.. The rainy season lasts approximately four months, June to September, and is shorter in the north. Three climatic zones can be defined: the Sahel, the Sudan-Sahel, and the Sudan-Guinea. The Sahel in the north typically receives less than 600 mm 23 inches of rainfall per year and has high temperatures reaching 117 degrees Fahrenheit.
A relatively dry tropical savanna, the Sahel extends beyond the borders of Burkina Faso, from the Horn of Africa to the Atlantic Ocean, and borders the Sahara to its north and the fertile region of the Sudan to the south. The Sudan-Sahel region is a transitional zone pertaining to rainfall and temperature. To the south, the Sudan-Guinea zone receives more than 35.4 inches of rain each year and has cooler average temperatures. Geographic and environmental causes can also play a significant role in contributing to Burkina Faso's issue of food insecurity. As the country is situated in the Sahel region, Burkina Faso experiences some of the most radical climatic variation in the world, ranging from severe flooding to extreme drought. The unpredictable climate weighs heavily Burkina Faso’s ability to accumulate and sustain wealth through agricultural means.
Burkina Faso's climate also renders its crops vulnerable to insects, specifically from locusts and crickets, which further inhibit food production. Not only is most of the population of Burkina Faso dependent on agriculture as a source of income, but also relies on the agricultural sector for food that will directly feed its citizens. Due to the vulnerability of agriculture, more and more families are having to look for other sources of income, and often have to travel outside of their regional zone to find work.
Natural resources
Burkina Faso is looking with high expectation to increasing mining for copper, iron, manganese, gold, cassiterite (tin ore), and phosphates, which provides employment and generates international aid. Gold production increased 32 percent in 2011 at six mines, making Burkina Faso the fourth-largest gold producer in Africa, after South Africa, Mali, and Ghana. A 2018 report indicated that the country expected a record 55 tons of gold that year, a two-thirds increase over 2013. According to one precious metal and mineral authority, Burkina Faso must “diversify production to tap multiple natural resources, which include, in addition to gold—manganese, zinc, lead, copper, nickel, phosphates, marble, pumice, limestone, and salt.”
Economy
The value of Burkina Faso's exports fell from $2.77 billion in 2011 to $754 million in 2012. Agriculture represents 32 percent of its gross domestic product and occupies 80 percent of the working population. It consists mostly of livestock. In the south and southwest, subsistence farmers grow sorghum, pearl millet, corn, peanuts, rice, and cotton. A large part of the nation’s economy is funded by international aid, despite having gold in abundance. The top five export commodities in 2017 were gems and precious metals, 1.9 billion (78.5 percent of total exports); cotton, $198.7 million (8.3 percent); ore, slag, ash, $137.6 million (5.8 percent); fruit, nuts, $76.6 million (3.2 percent); and oil seeds: $59.5 million (2.5 percent).
A December 2018 report from the World Bank indicates that in 2017, economic growth increased to 6.4 percent in 2017, versus 5.9 percent in 2016, primarily due to gold production and increased investment in infrastructure. The increase in consumption linked to growth of the wage bill also supported economic growth. Inflation remained low, 0.4 percent that year but the public deficit grew to 7.7 percent of GDP, versus. 3.5 percent in 2016. The government was continuing to get financial aid and loans to finance the debt. To finance the public deficit, the government combined concessional aid and borrowing on the regional market. The World Bank said that the economic outlook remained favorable in the short and medium term, although that could be negatively impacted. Risks included high oil imports, lower export prices of gold and cotton.
Tourism and wildlife
In 2018, tourism was almost non-existent in large parts of the country. Tourists are warned against travel into large parts of Burkina Faso because the northern Sahel border region bordering Mali and Niger, and the provinces of Kmoandjari, Tapoa, Kompienga, and Gourma in the East Region, are given to crime and terrorism.
With respect to wildlife, Burkina Faso has a larger number of elephants than many countries in West Africa. Lion, leopard, and buffalo are also indigenous here, including the dwarf or red buffalo, a reddish-brown animal resembling a short-legged cow. Other large predators in Burkina Faso include cheetah, caracal, spotted hyena, and the African wild dog.
Burkina Faso's fauna and flora are protected in four national parks: W National Park in the east which passes Burkina Faso, Benin, and Niger; Arly Wildlife Reserve, Léraba-Comoé Classified Forest, and Partial Reserve of Wildlife in the west; and Mare aux Hippopotames, and in the west.
Water resources
While services remain underdeveloped, the National Office for Water and Sanitation (ONEA), a state-owned utility company, is emerging as one of the best-performing utility companies in Africa. High levels of autonomy and a skilled and dedicated management have driven ONEA's ability to improve production of and access to clean water. Since 2000, nearly 2 million more people have access to water in the four principal urban centers in the country. The company has kept the quality of infrastructure high (less than 18 percent of the water is lost through leaks — one of the lowest in sub-Saharan Africa.
Challenges remain, including difficulties among some customers in paying for services, with the need to rely on international aid to expand its infrastructure. The state-owned, commercially run venture has helped the nation reach its Millennium Development Goal targets in water-related areas, and has grown as a viable company. Access to drinking water has improved over the last 28 years. According to UNICEF, drinking water has increased from 39 to 76 percent in rural areas between 1990 and 2015. In this same time span, access to drinking water increased from 75 to 97 percent in urban areas.
Transport
Transport in Burkina Faso is limited by relatively underdeveloped infrastructure. As of June 2014 the main international airport, Ouagadougou Airport, had regularly scheduled flights to many destinations in West Africa as well as Paris, Brussels and Istanbul. The other international airport, Bobo Dioulasso Airport, has flights to Ouagadougou and Abidjan.
Rail transport in Burkina Faso consists of a single line which runs from Kaya to Abidjan in Ivory Coast via Ouagadougou, Koudougou, Bobo Dioulasso and Banfora. Sitarail operates a passenger train three times a week along the route. There are 9,320 miles of roads in Burkina Faso, of which 1,553 miles are paved.
Science and technology
In January 2011, the government created the Ministry of Scientific Research and Innovation. Up until then, management of science, technology and innovation had fallen under the Department of Secondary and Higher Education and Scientific Research. Within this ministry, the directorate general for Research and Sector Statistics is responsible for planning. A separate body, the directorate General of Scientific Research, Technology and Innovation, co-ordinates research. This is a departure from the pattern in many other West African countries where a single body fulfils both functions. The move signals the government's intention to make science and technology a development priority.
In 2012, Burkina Faso adopted a National Policy for Scientific and Technical Research, the strategic objectives of which are to develop research and development and the application and commercialization of research results. The policy also makes provisions for strengthening the ministry's strategic and operational capacities. One of the key priorities is to improve food security and self-sufficiency by boosting capacity in agricultural and environmental sciences. The creation of a center of excellence in 2014 at the International Institute of Water and Environmental Engineering in Ouagadougou within the World Bank project provides essential funding for capacity-building in these priority areas.
A dual priority is to promote innovative, effective and accessible health systems. The government wishes to develop, in parallel, applied sciences and technology and social and human sciences. To complement the national research policy, the government has prepared a National Strategy to Popularize Technologies, Inventions and Innovations (2012) and a National Innovation Strategy (2014). Other policies also incorporate science and technology, such as that on Secondary and Higher Education and Scientific Research (2010), the National Policy on Food and Nutrition Security (2014) and the National Program for the Rural Sector (2011).
In 2013, Burkina Faso passed the Science, Technology and Innovation Act establishing three mechanisms for financing research and innovation, a clear indication of high-level commitment. These mechanisms are the National Fund for Education and Research, the National Fund for Research and Innovation for Development and the Forum of Scientific Research and Technological Innovation.
Ethnic groups and language
Burkina Faso is an ethnically integrated, secular state where most people are concentrated in the south and center, where their density sometimes exceeds 120 inhabitants per square square mile. Hundreds of thousands of Burkinabè migrate regularly to Ivory Coast and Ghana, mainly for seasonal agricultural work.
The total fertility rate of Burkina Faso is 5.93 children born per woman (2014 estimates), sixth highest in the world. Burkina Faso's 17.3 million people belong to two major West African ethnic cultural groups—the Voltaic and the Mande (whose common language is Dioula). The Voltaic Mossi make up about one-half of the population. The Mossi claim descent from warriors who migrated to present-day Burkina Faso from northern Ghana around 1100 AD. They established an empire that lasted more than 800 years.
Burkina Faso is a multilingual country. The official language is French, which was introduced during the colonial period. French is the principal language of administrative, political and judicial institutions, public services, and the press. It is the only language for laws, administration and courts. An estimated 69 languages are spoken in the country, of which about 60 are indigenous. The Mossi language (Mossi: Mòoré) is the most spoken language in Burkina Faso, spoken by about half the population, mainly in the central region around the capital, Ouagadougou, along with other, closely related Gurunsi languages ARE scattered throughout Burkina, According to the 2006 Census.
In the west, Mande languages are widely spoken, the most predominant being Dioula (also known as Jula or Dyula), others including Bobo, Samo, and Marka. Fula is widespread, particularly in the north. Gourmanché is spoken in the east, while Bissa is spoken in the south.
Religion and faith
Statistics on religion in Burkina Faso can be misleading because Islam and Christianity are often practiced in tandem with indigenous religious beliefs. The 2006 census reported that 60.5 percent of the population practice Islam, and that the majority of this group belong to the Sunni branch, while a small minority adheres to Shia Islam. A significant number of Sunni Muslims identify with the Tijaniyah Sufi order. The government estimated that 23.2 percent of the population are Christians—19 percent Roman Catholic, and 4.2 percent Protestant; 15.3% follow traditional indigenous beliefs such as the Dogon religion, 0.6 percent have other religions, and 0.4 percent have none.
Health
In 2016, the average life expectancy was estimated at 60 for males and 61 for females. In 2018, the under-five mortality rate and the infant mortality rate was 76 per 1000 live births. In 2014, the median age of its inhabitants was 17 and the estimated population growth rate was 3.05 percent. As of 2009, studies estimated there were as few as 10 physicians per 100,000 people. In addition, there were 41 nurses and 13 midwives per 100,000 people. Demographic and Health Surveys has completed three surveys in Burkina Faso since 1993, and had another in 2009.
Education
Education in Burkina Faso is divided into primary, secondary and higher education. High school costs approximately $50 per year, which is far above the means of most Burkinabè families. Boys receive preference in schooling. For girls’ education and literacy rates are far lower. An increase in girls education has increased over time due to a government policy making school less expensive for and granting them more scholarships.
To proceed from primary to middle school, middle to high school or high school to college, national exams must be passed. Institutions of higher education include the University of Ouagadougou, The Polytechnic University of Bobo-Dioulasso, and the University of Koudougou, which is also a teacher training institution. There are some small private colleges in the capital city of Ouagadougou but these are affordable to only a small percentage of the population. There is also the International School of Ouagadougou (ISO), an American-based private school located in Ouagadougou.
Fine Arts and culture
The cinema of Burkina Faso is an important part of West African and African film industry.[168] Burkina's contribution to African cinema started with the establishment of the Festival Panafricain du Cinéma et de la Télévision de Ouagadougou (FESPACO ), which was launched as a film week in 1969. Many of the nation's filmmakers are known internationally.
For many years the headquarters of the Federation of Pan African Filmmakers (FEPACI) was in Ouagadougou, rescued in 1983 from a period of moribund inactivity by the enthusiastic support and funding of the govern- ment. In 2006 the Secretariat of FEPACI moved to South Africa, but the headquarters of the organization is still in Ouagadougou.
Literature in Burkina Faso is based on the oral tradition, which remains important. The oral tradition continued to have an influence on Burkinabè writers in the 1960s post-independence Burkina Faso, which saw a growth in the number of published playwrights. The theatre of Burkina Faso combines traditional Burkinabè perform- ance with the colonial influences and post-colonial efforts to educate rural people to produce a distinctive national theatre. Traditional ritual ceremonies of the many ethnic groups in Burkina Faso have long involved dancing with masks. Western-style theatre became common during colonial times, heavily influenced by French theatre. With independence came a new style of theatre inspired by forum theatre aimed at educating and entertaining Burkina Faso's rural people.
Cultural festivals and events
Every two years, Ouagadougou hosts the Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO), the largest African cinema festival on the continent (February, odd years). Held every two years since 1988, the International Art and Craft Fair, Ouagadougou (SIAO), is one of Africa's most important trade shows for art and handicrafts (late October-early November).
Every other year, the Symposium de sculpture sur granit de Laongo takes place on a site located 22 miles from Ouagadougou in the Oubritenga province. National Culture Week of Burkina Faso, better known by its French name La Semaine Nationale de la culture, is one of the most important cultural activities of Burkina Faso. It is a biennial event which takes place every two years in Bobo Dioulasso, the second-largest city in the country. The Festival International des Masques et des Arts (FESTIMA), celebrating traditional masks, is held every two years in Dédougou.
Cuisine
Typical of West African cuisine, Burkina Faso's cuisine is based on staple foods such as sorghum, millet, rice, corn, peanuts, potatoes, beans, yams and okra. The most common sources of animal protein are chicken, chicken eggs and fresh water fish. A typical Burkinabè beverage is Banji or palm wine, which is fermented palm sap; other popular beverages are Zoom-kom or "grain water," Zoom-kom, a milky drink comprised of a water and cereal base; and Dolo, a drink made from fermented millet.
Sports and news media
Sport in Burkina Faso is widespread and includes soccer, basketball, cycling, rugby, handball, tennis, boxing, and martial arts. Soccer is the most popular sport in Burkina Faso, played both professionally, and informally in towns and villages across the country. In 1998, the Burkina Faso national team hosted the Africa Cup of Nations for which the Omnisport Stadium in Bobo-Dioulasso was built. Burkina Faso qualified for the 2013 African Cup of Nations in South Africa and reached the final, but lost to Nigeria 1-0.
Basketball is another sport which enjoys much popularity for both men and women. The country's men's national team had its most successful year in 2013 when it qualified for the AfroBasket, the continent's prime basketball event.
In track and field at the 2021 Tokyo Summer Olympics, triple jumper Hugues Fabrice Zango won Burkina Faso's first Olympic medal, a bronze in the hop, skip, and jump event.
The nation's principal media outlet is its state-sponsored combined television and radio service, Radio- diffusion-Télévision Burkina (RTB). RTB broadcasts on two medium-wave (AM) and several FM frequencies. Besides RTB, there are privately owned sports, cultural, music, and religious FM radio stations. RTB maintains a worldwide short-wave news broadcast (Radio Nationale Burkina) in the French from the capital at Ouagadougou using a 100 kW transmitter on 4.815 and 5.030 MHz.