🌍 World Alive

Burkina Faso vs North Korea

Flag of Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso

24,074,580#59 · +2.21%/yr
vs
Flag of North Korea

North Korea

26,571,036#56 · +0.27%/yr

North Korea has 10% more people than Burkina Faso: 26,571,036 vs 24,074,580, a gap of 2.5 million. Burkina Faso is growing faster (+2.21% vs +0.27% a year), adding about 531,626 people a year against +72,311. Using continuous exponential growth from the stated base year, if these rates held, Burkina Faso would overtake North Korea in about 5 years (from the 2025 population bases, around 2030) — a projection, not a forecast. North Korea is the older society: 12.7% aged 65+ against 2.7% in Burkina Faso, while Burkina Faso has more children (41.2% under 15 vs 18.9%). North Korea is 2.6× as densely populated (219.4 vs 84.2 people per km²). People in North Korea live 12.5 years longer on average (73.7 vs 61.3).

Country/territory population bases: World Bank 2025 (Burkina Faso) and 2025 (North Korea); growth years 2025 / 2025. Annual source values, not live counts; years may differ. Growth is national, not local.

Burkina Faso vs North Korea — side by side

Flag of Burkina Faso Burkina FasoFlag of North Korea North Korea
Population24,074,580202526,571,0362025
Growth rate / yr+2.21%2025+0.27%2025
Births per 1,00031.3202412.92024
Deaths per 1,0007.920249.92024
Children per woman4.1120241.782024
Life expectancy61.3 yrs202473.7 yrs2024
Aged 0–1441.2%202518.9%2025
Aged 65+2.7%202512.7%2025
Density84.2 /km²2023219.4 /km²2023
Area274,200 km²2023120,540 km²2023
Urban population28.9%202564.2%2025
Net migration / yr-27,1302025-2,7872025
GDP per capita$1,1482025—year not supplied
Country population rank (available records)#59#56
Base / world population (World Bank 2025)0.29%0.32%

Highlighted cell = the higher value (not "better"). Small print under each value is its own data year. Source: World Bank; country/territory population bases may have different years. These are not live counts.

Population since 1960

World Bank population history (not the separate UN WPP timeline). Burkina Faso: 5.0× from 1960 to 2025; North Korea: 2.3× from 1960 to 2025. Left: absolute population. Right: each series indexed to its own first available year = 100; baseline years may differ.

07.0M14.1M21.1M28.2M1960197019801990200020102020Burkina FasoNorth Korea01342674015341960197019801990200020102020Burkina FasoNorth Korea

More comparisons

Regions: Sub-Saharan Africa · East Asia & Pacific · rankings

Burkina Faso: Burkina Faso vs North Korea, Burkina Faso vs Syria, Burkina Faso vs Mali, Burkina Faso vs Malawi, Burkina Faso vs Zambia, Burkina Faso vs Sri Lanka.

North Korea: North Korea vs South Korea, North Korea vs Venezuela, North Korea vs Niger, North Korea vs Australia, North Korea vs Syria, North Korea vs Mali, North Korea vs Burkina Faso.

Compare anything

vs

Pick any two. The result renders instantly from the same live data as the map, and the URL updates so you can share it.

What changed during your lifetime?

Turn these figures into a private, five-scene personal world story.

Compare like with like

This page is a structured reference entry. Its sources, geographic definition and reference dates determine what the figures mean; it is not independent reporting about the causes of change. Read the accompanying explanation before comparing different places or vintages.

A checklist for dates, definitions and rankings →

Interpretation reviewed 12 October 2026. Underlying reference years are stated on the page; this is not a fresh census or dataset refresh.