Burkina Faso Population
Burkina Faso had an estimated population of 24,074,580 in mid-2025 (World Bank), making it the 59th most populous of 217 countries and territories, with 0.29% of everyone alive. The counter above projects that figure forward at the current growth rate of +2.21% a year.
Burkina Faso at a glance
How Burkina Faso's population is changing
Burkina Faso's population is growing fast: +2.21% a year, which works out to about +531,626 people per year, or +1,456 a day. Births (31.3 per 1,000) and deaths (7.9 per 1,000) alone would give +2.34% a year; net migration removes about 27,130 people a year (−0.11%). Roughly one in every 341 people on Earth lives in Burkina Faso.
Population of Burkina Faso since 1960
In 1960, Burkina Faso had 4,778,621 people. By 2025 that was 24,074,580 — 5.0× larger. The fastest growth came between 1998 and 2008, when the population rose by 36%.
| Year | Population | Change vs previous row |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 4,778,621 | — |
| 1970 | 5,610,304 | +17.4% |
| 1980 | 6,947,900 | +23.8% |
| 1990 | 9,159,356 | +31.8% |
| 2000 | 11,925,546 | +30.2% |
| 2010 | 16,176,498 | +35.6% |
| 2020 | 21,478,690 | +32.8% |
| 2025 | 24,074,580 | +12.1% |
Burkina Faso from 1800 to 2100
Modelled estimates put Burkina Faso at about 1,665,421 people in 1800; the UN estimates 24,074,582 in 2025 (14× 1800) and projects 49,854,237 for 2100 in its medium scenario. That is still 107% growth over the rest of this century.
| Year | Population | Kind |
|---|---|---|
| 1800 | 1,665,421 | modelled estimate |
| 1850 | 1,849,996 | modelled estimate |
| 1900 | 2,299,307 | modelled estimate |
| 1950 | 4,213,152 | UN estimate |
| 2000 | 11,925,548 | UN estimate |
| 2025 | 24,074,582 | UN projection |
| 2050 | 37,304,387 | UN projection |
| 2075 | 46,763,511 | UN projection |
| 2100 | 49,854,237 | UN projection |
Country live/base figures use World Bank estimates; this historical/future chart uses a separate UN series and need not match the World Bank base in overlapping years. Before 1950: HYDE 3.3 / Gapminder reconstructions via Our World in Data — historical modelling, not censuses. 1950–2023: UN World Population Prospects 2024. 2024–2100: UN medium projection. Open the time machine to see the whole map in any year.
Largest listed places in Burkina Faso
10 records sorted by displayed base population. Definitions vary (province/administrative unit, UN urban centre or GeoNames settlement); this is not a harmonised city ranking. Shares use World Bank 2025 country population 24,074,580. Dates and boundaries may differ. Overlapping entities are not summed.
| # | Place | Population | Definition | Share | Source / reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ouagadougou | 3,206,222 | UN urban centre | 13.32% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 2 | Bobo-Dioulasso | 1,125,023 | UN urban centre | 4.67% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 3 | Koudougou | 183,409 | UN urban centre | 0.76% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 4 | Banfora | 172,796 | UN urban centre | 0.72% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 5 | Kaya | 143,195 | UN urban centre | 0.59% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 6 | Fada N'gourma | 139,133 | UN urban centre | 0.58% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 7 | Saaba | 136,011 | GeoNames settlement | 0.56% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 8 | Ouahigouya | 128,032 | UN urban centre | 0.53% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 9 | Tenkodogo | 112,011 | UN urban centre | 0.47% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 10 | Dédougou | 93,251 | UN urban centre | 0.39% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
How Burkina Faso compares
Burkina Faso has almost the same population as Mali (25,198,821).
| Rank | Country | Population | vs Burkina Faso | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #57 |  Syria | 25,620,427 | +6% | compare → |
| #58 |  Mali | 25,198,821 | +5% | compare → |
| #60 |  Malawi | 22,216,120 | −8% | compare → |
| #61 |  Zambia | 21,913,874 | −9% | compare → |
Compare Burkina Faso with any country →
Same region (Sub-Saharan Africa): Nigeria, Ethiopia, DR Congo, Tanzania, South Africa, Kenya.
Explore around Burkina Faso
Land neighbours (6)
Ghana 35,064,272 · 1.5× the population · compare
Ivory Coast 32,711,547 · 1.4× the population · compare
Niger 27,917,831 · 1.2× the population · compare- Mali 25,198,821 · about the same population · compare
Benin 14,814,460 · 1.6× smaller · compare
Togo 8,591,626 · 2.8× smaller · compare
Burkina Faso's 6 neighbours together hold 144,298,557 people — 6.0× Burkina Faso's population. The most populous is Ghana (35,064,272).
In its region
Burkina Faso is the 17th most populous of the 48 economies in Sub-Saharan Africa, holding 1.8% of the region's 1,321,654,217 people.
Rankings featuring Burkina Faso
Cities
Ouagadougou, Bobo-Dioulasso, Koudougou, Banfora, Kaya, Fada N'gourma, Saaba, Ouahigouya — all Burkina Faso's cities on the map.
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About these numbers
Population, growth, birth and death rates, migration, density, age structure, life expectancy, fertility and GDP per capita come from the World Bank Indicators API (latest available year shown beside each figure). The live counter applies the annual growth rate continuously from 1 July 2025 — a model, not a measurement. City populations are the latest census or official estimate held by GeoNames and are not projected. Sub-city units are folded into their parent city.
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Read this country carefully
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.