Ethnic groups in Burkina Faso

There are numerous ethnic groups in Burkina Faso. The most predominant group are the Mossi, about 40% of the population. They are mainly farmers and live in the central portions of the country.

The Bobo people, the second largest ethnic group (about one million), are mostly farmers, artisans, and metalworkers living in the southwest around Bobo-Dioulasso.

Other groups include the Gurunsi, Senufo, Lobi, Mande, and the semi-nomadic Fulani who inhabit the areas near the country’s northern borders. The number of nomads in the north has diminished since the Sahelian drought of the 1970s.