Burkina Faso was once a part of the Great Mossi Empire, one of the strongest of ancient African kingdoms. The Mossi kingdom was established by invaders from the south, who displaced the Bobo, Lobi and Gurunsi tribes that occupied the region at the time. The region itself is in the path of several historic migrations of population. The Mossi Empire was still in place when the whole region was annexed by the French in 1896. After a period as part of the colony of Upper Senegal-Niger, the territory was reorganized as the separate colony of Upper Volta in 1919. It was then carved up between Côte d'Ivoire , Niger and ‘French Sudan' in 1932, only to be reconstituted as an independent entity in 1947, as an ‘ Overseas Territory ' of France .

Internal self-government was granted in 1957, with full independence (as Upper Volta ) following three years later. The early years of independence were largely dominated by the military, notably the regime of General Sangoul J Lamizana, who ousted the civilian government of Maurice Yameogo in 1966 and ruled until 1980.

In 1984, the country changed its name to Burkina Faso (roughly ‘ Land of Dignity '). Under pressure from abroad, principally France , a pluralist system of government was adopted with the new 1991 constitution (endorsed by popular referendum). Elections in 1998 and 2000 returned Compaoré and his party with substantial majorities but their integrity was undermined by opposition boycotts amid allegations of fraud of malpractice. By contrast, the most recent national assembly poll, in May 2002, was a relatively transparent affair; the Campaoré political vehicle, now named the Congrès pour la Démocratie et le Progrès, won a narrow victory after its representation was cut in half from its previous level. In general, Burkina Faso has enjoyed a fairly stable political environment since 1991.

The landlocked state of Burkina Faso remains poor even by West African standards. However, the government is investing in tourism and measures have been taken to increase the accommodation available in the country and to make tourist destinations more attractive. Wildlife is a key element of this objective in the eastern part of the country while the central part around Ouagadougou concentrates on business tourism. The west focuses on cultural tourism, the north on the discovery of nomadic populations and traditions.