Burkina Faso is a landlocked country located in West Africa, situated in the Sahel region between the Sahara Desert to the north and the coastal rainforests to the south. It is bordered by six countries: Mali to the northwest and north, Niger to the northeast and east, Benin and Togo to the southeast, Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. The country covers an area of about 274,200 square kilometers (around 105,900 square miles). Its capital and largest city is Ouagadougou, which lies near the center of the country