Burkina Faso–Niger border
Mostly straight lines drawn by a French colonial order in 1927. Its vague wording left a long middle stretch in dispute after independence, until the World Court fixed it in 2013 with straight lines, a river and an old map.
Written from cited sourcesLast checked 29 September 2026Suggest a correction
See it on the globe:Burkina Faso →Niger →
A line on paper
France created the colony of Upper Volta in 1919, and in 1927 moved the district of Say from it to Niger. A general order (arrêté) of 31 August 1927, corrected by an erratum of 5 October 1927, described the new boundary through a string of hills, fords, villages and astronomic markers.[1]
Upper Volta was abolished in 1932 and much of it given to Niger. Niger became independent on 3 August 1960. In 1964 officials of the two countries agreed at Niamey to use the 1927 texts and a 1:200,000 French map as the basis for marking the line, starting with the disputed Téra–Dori stretch. Upper Volta is now Burkina Faso.[1]
To the World Court
A further agreement at Ouagadougou on 28 March 1987 created a joint commission to mark the border. It settled the northern end, down to the Tong-Tong marker, and the southern end, from the Botou bend to the Mekrou, but not the stretch in between. By a Special Agreement signed at Niamey on 24 February 2009, the two countries asked the International Court of Justice to decide it.[2]
On 16 April 2013 the court ruled unanimously. From Tong-Tong to the Tao marker the border is a straight line. From Tao it follows the line on the 1960 French map to the Sirba river, then the middle of the Sirba, and then further lines, ending with a straight line to the Botou bend. The court also named three experts to help the two countries mark it on the ground.[2]
Timeline
192731 August 1927
Colonial arrêté
France draws the Niger–Upper Volta line; an erratum follows on 5 October.[1]
1960
Independence
Niger becomes independent on 3 August.[1]
196423 June 1964
Niamey protocol
Both agree to mark the border from the 1927 texts.[1]
198728 March 1987
Ouagadougou agreement
A joint commission is set up to demarcate the line.[2]
200924 February 2009
Special Agreement
The disputed middle stretch goes to the ICJ.[2]
201316 April 2013
Judgment
The court fixes the line from Tong-Tong to the Botou bend.[2]
More borders
Sources
- [1]International Boundary Study No. 146: Burkina Faso (Upper Volta) – Niger Boundary · US Department of State, Office of the Geographer · 18 November 1974
- [2]Frontier Dispute (Burkina Faso/Niger), Judgment · International Court of Justice · 16 April 2013
Map geometry from Natural Earth via world-atlas. See credits.