Ouagadougou has one of West Africa's largest markets, which burned down in 2003 and has since reopened with better facilities and improved fire-prevention measures. There are several highways linking the city to Niamey, Niger, south to Ghana, and southwest to Ivory Coast. It is served by an international airport and is linked by rail to Abidjan in the Ivory Coast and, for freight only, to Kaya.
Ouagadougou's primary industries are food processing and textiles. The spelling of the name Ouagadougou is derived from the French orthography common in former French African colonies. The city's name is often shortened to Ouaga. It is also the country's largest city, with a population of 2,415,266 in 2019. Ouagadougou or Wagadugu ( / ˌ w ɑː ɡ ə ˈ d uː ɡ uː/ WAH-gə- DOO-goo, Mossi:, French: ) is the capital of Burkina Faso, and the administrative, communications, cultural and economic centre of the nation.
