Burkina Faso–Niger border
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The Burkina Faso–Niger border is 622 km (386 m) in length and runs from the
tripoint A tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints as of 2020. Nearly half are situated in rivers, l ...
with
Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Ma ...
in the north to the tripoint with
Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the nort ...
in the south.


Description

The border starts at the tripoint with Mali in the north, and then proceeds in a generally south-eastwards direction (save for a small Burkinabe protrusion) following a series of predominantly straight lines, as well as some rivers such as the Tapoa, before reaching the Beninese tripoint on the
Mékrou River The Mékrou River is a river of Benin, Burkina Faso, and Niger. It flows through the W National Park. A tributary of the Niger River The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in are ...
.


History

The 1880s saw an intense competition between the European powers for territories in Africa, a process known as the
Scramble for Africa The Scramble for Africa, also called the Partition of Africa, or Conquest of Africa, was the invasion, annexation, division, and colonization of most of Africa by seven Western European powers during a short period known as New Imperialism ...
. The process culminated in the
Berlin Conference The Berlin Conference of 1884–1885, also known as the Congo Conference (, ) or West Africa Conference (, ), regulated European colonisation and trade in Africa during the New Imperialism period and coincided with Germany's sudden emergenc ...
of 1884, in which the European nations concerned agreed upon their respective territorial claims and the rules of engagements going forward. As a result of this
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
gained control of the upper valley of the
Niger River The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through Mal ...
(roughly equivalent to the areas of modern
Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Ma ...
and Niger). France began occupying the area of modern Mali (then often referred to as
French Sudan French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Fra ...
) and Burkina Faso (then called Upper Volta) during the 1880s-90s, later occupying the territory of modern Niger by 1900. These areas came the control of the federal colony of
French West Africa French West Africa (french: Afrique-Occidentale française, ) was a federation of eight French colonial territories in West Africa: Mauritania, Senegal, French Sudan (now Mali), French Guinea (now Guinea), Ivory Coast, Upper Volta (now B ...
(''Afrique occidentale française'', abbreviated AOF). The internal divisions of this polity underwent several changes during its existence; what are now Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso were initially united as
Upper Senegal and Niger Upper Senegal and Niger () was a colony in French West Africa, created on 21 October 1904 from colonial Senegambia and Niger by the decree "For the Reorganisation of the general government of French West Africa". At its creation, the "Colony of ...
, with Niger constituting a military territory ruled from Zinder. The Niger military territory was split off in 1911, becoming a separate colony in 1922, and Mali and Upper Volta were constituted as separate colonies in 1919. Prior to 1926-27 the Niger-Upper Volta border was formed entirely by the Niger river, however in that period by French decree Niger gained the areas west of the river which it holds today. A more precise border between the two entities was delimited in 1927. In 1932 Upper Volta was abolished, with its territory parcelled out amongst the surrounding colonies; as a result Niger gained much of the eastern areas of Upper Volta, giving it a common border with the French colonies of
Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...
and the
Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre i ...
. Upper Volta was reinstituted in 1947 within its previous borders. As the movement for decolonisation grew in the post-
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
era, France gradually granted more political rights and representation for its African territories, culminating in the granting of broad internal autonomy to each colony in 1958 within the framework of the
French Community The French Community (1958–1960; french: Communauté française) was the constitutional organization set up in 1958 between France and its remaining African colonies, then in the process of decolonization. It replaced the French Union, which ...
. In August 1960 both Niger and Upper Volta (renamed Burkina Faso in 1984) gained full independence, and their mutual frontier became an international one between two sovereign states. On 23 June 1964 the two new governments met and formally agreed to settle their shared border, however it appears no final arrangement came out of these discussions A full border demarcation remained incomplete until the late 1980s, however disputes about the interpretation of colonial-era boundary treaties prompted the two states to submit the dispute to the
International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordan ...
in 2010. The ICJ subsequently ruled on the dispute in 2013, recommending some small territorial exchanges, which were accepted by both governments.


Settlements


Burkina Faso

* Dembam * Tamba * Ouro Boulé * Soffokèl * Barbabouga * Takatami * Gabouga *
Kantchari The city of Kantchari is located in eastern Burkina Faso near the border with Niger and on the main road from Ouagadougou to Niamey Niamey () is the capital and largest city of Niger. Niamey lies on the Niger River, primarily situated on the ...
*
Botou Botou () is a county-level city in Hebei province, People's Republic of China, under the jurisdiction of Cangzhou prefecture-level city. Administrative Divisions Subdistricts: Jiefang Subdistrict Jiefang, generally a spelling without tonemar ...
* Kogori * Garibonga


Niger

* Dolbèl * Fatatako * Boukari Koyré * Fantio * Manda * Bangaré * Tingou * Bolsi * Ouro Sawabé * Tampéna * Makalondi * Alambaré


Border crossings

There are several border crossings. The most frequented is the Sambalgou (BF)–Makalondi (Niger) crossing which lies on the main Ouagadougou-Niamey road.Geels, Jolijn, (2006) ''Bradt Travel Guide - Niger'', pgs. 47


See also

* Burkina Faso-Niger relations


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burkina Faso-Niger border Borders of Burkina Faso Borders of Niger International borders