Banfora is a city in south western

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the ...

, with a population of 117,452 (2019 census) making it the sixth most populous city in Burkina Faso. It is the capital of the Comoe province. The city lies south-west of

Bobo-Dioulasso Bobo-Dioulasso is a city in Burkina Faso with a population of 904,920 (); it is the second-largest city in the country, after Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso's capital. The name means "home of the Bobo-Dioula". The local Bobo-speaking population (re ...

, on the Abidjan – Ouagadougou Railway. The

Cascades de Karfiguéla The Cascades de Karfiguéla or the Banfora Cascades (also Karfiguela Falls, Tagbaladougou Falls, or Banfora Falls) are a series of waterfalls along the Komoé River in Southwestern Burkina Faso. They are located about 12 km northwest of Banfora an ...

are a series of waterfalls close to Banfora.

History

The first settlers were the Karaboro who with the Gouin and Turkas constitute the city's main ethnic groups. They are all from the south of Burkina Faso. In 1903 the French colonialist forces created a military post at Banfora and one year later created an administrative position there. In 1905 a road was built linking Banfora to

and in 1931 a railway was built to the town.

Economy

The economy has grown around the

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalks t ...

industry. The city is also an important market town and there are hotels which support a small tourism industry linked to the

Transportation

The city has a railroad station along the Abidjan – Ouagadougou Railway. As of June 2014 ''Sitarail'' operated a passenger train along the line three times a week in each direction.European Rail Timetable, Summer 2014 Edition, (journey time is 43 to 48 hours) It is a way station for transport to and from Côte d'Ivoire as it is the last city in Burkina Faso before the border. The paved road from Bobo-Dioulasso continues to the border and cargo will often stop at

Niangoloko Niangoloko is a town and seat of the Niangoloko Department in southwestern Burkina Faso. It is located near the city of Banfora and the border with Côte d'Ivoire. The town has a population of 33,292. Transport The town is served by a station on ...

before reaching customs.

Education

Banfora has 19 primary schools, two high schools, four private colleges and the College of Sainte Thérèse.

Healthcare

The city has a regional hospital (CHR), a maternal and infant protection unit and three pharmacies. Traditional medicine is also practiced and there is a center for traditional therapies.

Demographics

The main ethnic groups are the Gouin, the

Karaboro The Karaboro languages are spoken in Burkina Faso by approximately 65,000 people (SIL 1995/1991). They belong to the Senufo subfamily, but are separated from other Senufo languages by a small band of unrelated languages. Within Senufo they are th ...

and the Turka. The most commonly used languages for communication between people of different ethnicities living in Banfora are Dioula and French.

Climate

Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as tropical wet and dry (Aw).

References

{{Authority control Populated places in the Cascades Region