The Burkina Faso–Ghana border is 602 km (374 m) in length and runs from the tripoint with

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest List of ci ...

in the west to the tripoint with

Togo Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to Ghana–Togo border, the west, Benin to Benin–Togo border, the east and Burkina Faso to Burkina Faso–Togo border, the north. It is one of the le ...

in the east.

Description

The border starts in the west at the tripoint with Ivory Coast on the Black Volta river; the border continues north along this river up to the 11th parallel north. The border then turns east, following this parallel until it reaches the Red Volta (though note that the border is not entirely straight in this sector, as at several points the boundary jogs north or south). The border follows the Red Volta briefly to the south-east, before turning to the north-east via a series of irregular overland lines. It then reaches the White Volta, following this river briefly, and then the Nouhao, before it turns to the south-east in a straight line down to the Togolese tripoint.

History

Europeans had begun exploring the coast of Ghana (then referred to as the Gold Coast) from the 15th century, and it became the centre of a various trading networks, notably in

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

and slaves;

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

and the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

all had trading posts here at one point.

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

also took an interest in the region, and during the 19th century became the predominant regional power, taking over all the rival trading posts and declaring the Gold Coast colony in 1867.McLaughlin & Owusu-Ansah (1994), ''Britain and the Gold Coast: the Early Years'' The British gradually extended their rule into the interior, against often determined resistance by native kingdoms such as the Asante; the northern region of what is now Ghana was annexed to the Gold Coast colony in 1901. 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 was the invasion, conquest, and colonialism, colonisation of most of Africa by seven Western European powers driven by the Second Industrial Revolution during the late 19th century and early 20th century in the era of ...

. The process culminated in the Berlin Conference 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 located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

had gained control 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 Mali, Nige ...

(roughly equivalent to the areas of modern

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

and

Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...

). France occupied this area in 1900; Mali (then referred to as French Sudan) was originally included, along with modern Niger and

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. It covers an area of 274,223 km2 (105,87 ...

(then referred to as Upper Volta, within the Upper Senegal and Niger colony and became a constituent of the federal colony of

French West Africa French West Africa (, ) was a federation of eight French colonial empires#Second French colonial empire, French colonial territories in West Africa: Colonial Mauritania, Mauritania, French Senegal, Senegal, French Sudan (now Mali), French Guin ...

(''Afrique occidentale française'', abbreviated AOF).Decree 7 September 1911, ''rattachant le territoire militaire du Niger au gouvernement général de l'Afrique occidentale française'', published in the Official Journal of the French Republic on 12 September 1911
Online
A border had been delimited between the Gold Coast and French territory by mutual agreement on 14 June 1898. A more precise border was then drawn up by an exchange of notes in 1904, and officially approved in 1906. The border was later demarcated on the ground via series of pillars. During the period 1932-47 the internal arrangements of French West Africa were altered: Upper Volta was abolished and its territory split out between French Sudan, Niger and Ivory Coast; as a result during this period the Ghana-Upper Volta was thereby abolished, becoming a continuance of the Ghana–Ivory Coast border. The Gold Coast gained full independence from Britain (as Ghana) in 1957; France granted Upper Volta independence in 1960, and their mutual frontier became an international one between two sovereign states. The two states conducted some re-demarcation in the late 1960s-early 1970.

Settlements near the border

Burkina Faso

* Dankana * Batie Nord * Ouessa * Boura *

Léo Léo is a proper noun in French, meaning "lion". Its etymological root lies in the Latin word Leo. Léo is used as a diminutive or variant of the names Léon, Léonard, Léonardon, Leonardo, Léonid, ''Léonor'', '' Léonore'', ''Eléonore'' ...

* Bieha * Songo * Youga

Ghana

* Kalba * Hamile * Wechiau * Kolingwu * Tumu * Kwonehogo * Navrongo * Gulen * Bongo * Nangodi * Lamboya * Bolgatanga * Paga * Mogoumnore * Bawku

Border crossings

The main border crossing is at Paga; lesser-used crossings are located at Tumu, Bawku and Hamile.Phillip Briggs (2019) ''Bradt Travel Guide - Ghana'', pgs. 61

References

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