Burkina what-now??
I have travels ahead of me. Tomorrow I leave for Niger, which has the dubious honour of being the world's least developed country -- dead last out of 177. Its big claim to fame is having been the site of a major "famine" in 2005 that was all over the news. (I hesitate to use the word "famine" -- such an imprecise term -- but that's the word normally associated with Niger.)
From thence to Burkina Faso, which has the dubious honour of being arguably the most obscure country on the face of the earth. I haven't been to either of these places before, so it should be cool. Here's hoping there's connectivity so that I can chronicle the experience. In the meantime, a little info about my destinations to give an idea of what, concretely, it means to be so low on the Human Development Index:
Niger
Capital: Niamey
Life expectancy: 44 years
Literacy: 29%
Burkina Faso
Captial: Ouagadougou (pronounced Wah-Gah-Doo-Goo)
Life expectancy: 49 years
Literacy: 22%
posted by E @ 9:50 PM
2 Comments:
Apparently Burkina Faso is so obscure it doesn't even get its whole name put on the map you used...
Then again, in the atlas I use the most at home it's still called Upper Volta (my up-to-date one is too darn big to use for quick look-it-ups by the computer).
Have a nice trip though (or whatever is appropriate to wish for someone heading into a country mostly known for, as you put it, "famine").
Belated thanks, Jesper. It's been interesting, that's for sure. But I'm tired now and glad to be heading home soon.
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