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In the 15th century the Mossi tribe settled this West African region. Two Mossi kingdoms still exist, making up about half the country's population. Burkina Faso was originally called Upper Volta, after the Volta River's upper branches which flow through it. It became a district of French West Africa in 1919, and independent in 1960.
In the 1980s President Thomas Sankara renamed the country Burkina Faso ("Country of Upright Men") and worked to end corruption. It is a very dry and dusty place at the edge of the Sahara Desert. In the 19th century West Africa was known as one of deadliest places on Earth; today tsetse flies, malaria, leprosy, and tetanus are still common. Burkina Faso has few natural resources and its people are mostly farmers. In the new Grand Marche market in Ouagadougou one can find almost anything, from dried fish to Chicago Bulls T-shirts.
Burkina Faso, formerly Upper Volta, is bounded on the north and west by Mali, on the east by Niger, and on the south by Benin,Togo, Ghana, and Côte d'Ivoire. The area of Burkina Faso is 274,200 sq km (about 105,869 sq mi). Ouagadougou is the capital and largest city.