Benin–Burkina Faso border
Mostly two rivers, the Mékrou and the Pendjari, joined by a stretch along the Atakora range. Between 1932 and 1947 Benin’s neighbour here was Niger, not Upper Volta. Today the border runs through one of West Africa’s largest protected savannas.
Written from cited sourcesLast checked 30 September 2026Suggest a correction
See it on the globe:Benin →Burkina Faso →
Dahomey and the military territories
France made Porto-Novo its first protectorate in Dahomey in 1863, and Dahomey became a colony in 1893 (called Benin until the name was changed a year later). The lands to the north were run as French Sudan’s military territories, and decrees of 1901 and 1909 set a boundary between them and Dahomey.[1]
Upper Volta was created in 1919, abolished in 1932 and divided among its neighbours. The cercle of Fada went to Niger, so for fifteen years Dahomey’s northern neighbour along this stretch was Niger. When Upper Volta was reconstituted on 4 September 1947, the boundary was re-established along the northern limits of Dahomey’s Kandi and Natitingou cercles as described in 1938.[1]
Rivers and savanna
From the Niger tripoint the line follows the Mékrou upstream, runs south-east along the crest of the Atakora range for about 25 miles, then follows a small stream to the Pendjari and the Pendjari to near the Togo tripoint. Dahomey became independent on 1 August 1960 and Upper Volta on 5 August.[1]
Both rivers now run through the W-Arly-Pendjari Complex, a World Heritage site shared by Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger. It covers about 1.7 million hectares of Sudano-Sahelian savanna and holds West Africa’s largest elephant population and the region’s only viable population of lions.[2]
Timeline
19012 March 1901
First boundary decree
A line is set between Dahomey and the military territories.[1]
19191 March 1919
Upper Volta created
The new colony becomes Dahomey’s neighbour.[1]
19325 September 1932
Upper Volta abolished
Fada goes to Niger, which now borders Dahomey here.[1]
19474 September 1947
Upper Volta restored
The 1938 cercle limits become the border.[1]
1960
Independence
Dahomey on 1 August, Upper Volta on 5 August.[1]
More borders
Sources
- [1]International Boundary Study No. 97: Dahomey – Upper Volta Boundary · US Department of State, Office of the Geographer · 1 April 1970
- [2]W-Arly-Pendjari Complex · UNESCO World Heritage Centre
Map geometry from Natural Earth via world-atlas. See credits.