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Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in western Africa. It is a dry, tropical country of hills and plains located south of the Sahara, with grassy savannahs in the north and sparse forests in the south.

Most people in Burkina Faso work in agriculture, but fragile soil and unpredictable rainfall make it a hard living. With no coastlines or ports and scanty natural resources, the country has struggled to develop. High population density and few opportunities within the country regularly drive many people to seek employment as seasonal farm workers in neighbouring countries. HIV/AIDS has had a major impact on the country, but deaths and new infections have declined rapidly over the last ten years, thanks to treatment and education. French is the official language of Burkina Faso, although native African languages are spoken by most of the population. Most people practise Islam or Christianity, but many people also follow Indigenous beliefs in tandem with them.

The Mossi and Gurma kingdoms established themselves in the land that would become Burkina Faso sometime around the 15th century. A French protectorate was established in the area in the late 1800s. Originally part of the same territory as Mali, Burkina Faso became a separate French colony in 1919. It became autonomous in 1958 and achieved full independence in 1960. Repeated military coups during the 1970s and 1980s were followed by multiparty elections in the early 1990s. Violent protests caused the fall of the government in 2014, but a new government was elected and established by the following year.