Demographics of Burkina Faso

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This article is about the demographic features of the population of Burkina Faso, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

Burkina Faso's 19.8 million people belong to two major West African cultural groups—the Gur (Voltaic) and the Mandé. The Voltaic are far more numerous and include the Mossi, who make up about one-half of the population. The Mossi claim descent from warriors who migrated to present-day Burkina Faso and established an empire that lasted more than 800 years. Predominantly farmers, the Mossi are still bound by the traditions of the Mogho Naba, who hold court in Ouagadougou.

About 12,000 Europeans reside in Burkina Faso, the majority of whom are French.

Most of Burkina Faso's population is concentrated in the south and center of the country, with a population density sometimes exceeding 48 inhabitants per square kilometer (120 inhabitants per square mile). This population density, high for Africa, causes annual migrations of hundreds of thousands of Burkinabé to Ivory Coast and Ghana for seasonal agricultural work. About a third of Burkinabé adhere to traditional African religions. The introduction of Islam to Burkina Faso was initially resisted by the Mossi rulers. Christians, predominantly Roman Catholics, are largely concentrated among the urban elite.

Few Burkinabé have had formal education. Schooling is free but not compulsory, and only about 29% of Burkina's primary school-age children receive a basic education. The University of Ouagadougou, founded in 1974, was the country's first institution of higher education. The Polytechnic University of Bobo-Dioulasso in Bobo-Dioulasso was opened in 1995.

Population[]

According to the United Nations' Population Division, the total population was 20,903,000 in 2020, compared to only 4,284,000 in 1950.^[1] The proportion of children below the age of 15 in 2020 was 44.4%, 53.2% of the population was between 15 and 65 years of age, while 2.4% was 65 years or older.^[1]

	Total population	Population aged 0–14 (%)	Population aged 15–64 (%)	Population aged 65+ (%)
1950	4 284 000	40.7	57.3	2.0
1955	4 517 000	41.0	56.9	2.2
1960	4 829 000	41.3	56.3	2.3
1965	5 175 000	42.2	55.2	2.5
1970	5 625 000	43.3	53.9	2.8
1975	6 155 000	44.2	52.8	3.0
1980	6 823 000	45.6	51.2	3.2
1985	7 728 000	46.7	50.0	3.3
1990	8 811 000	47.3	49.5	3.3
1995	10 090 000	47.1	49.8	3.1
2000	11 608 000	46.8	50.5	2.8
2005	13 422 000	46.5	50.9	2.6
2010	15 605 000	46.2	51.3	2.5
2015	18 111 000	45.6	52.0	2.4
2020	20 903 000	44.4	53.2	2.4

Vital statistics[]

Registration of vital events is in Burkina Faso not complete. The Population Departement of the United Nations prepared the following estimates. ^[1]

Period	Live births per year	Deaths per year	Natural change per year	CBR*	CDR*	NC*	TFR*	IMR*
1950-1955	207 600	140 600	67 000	47.2	31.9	15.2	6.10	228
1955-1960	221 400	138 400	83 000	47.4	29.6	17.7	6.24	209
1960-1965	235 800	137 800	98 000	47.2	27.5	19.6	6.35	192
1965-1970	256 800	137 800	119 000	47.5	25.5	22.0	6.56	172
1970-1975	279 800	139 800	140 000	47.5	23.7	23.8	6.70	153
1975-1980	316 800	139 800	177 000	48.8	21.5	27.3	7.02	133
1980-1985	356 400	132 000	224 400	49.0	18.1	30.9	7.17	119
1985-1990	395 200	141 800	253 400	47.8	17.2	30.6	7.07	110
1990-1995	445 400	159 800	285 600	47.1	16.9	30.2	6.93	104
1995-2000	506 400	175 200	331 200	46.7	16.2	30.5	6.73	99
2000-2005	570 800	183 000	387 800	45.6	14.6	31.0	6.43	90
2005-2010	634 600	173 000	461 600	43.7	11.9	31.8	6.08	78
2010-2015	687 600	161 400	526 200	40.8	9.6	31.2	5.65	65
2015-2020	745 000	161 400	583 600	38.2	8.3	29.9	5.23	54
* CBR = crude birth rate (per 1000); CDR = crude death rate (per 1000); NC = natural change rate (per 1000; CBR-CDR); TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman); IMR = infant mortality rate per 1000 births

Fertility and births[]

Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR):^{[2][3] [4] [5][6]}

Year	CBR (Total)	TFR (Total)	CBR (Urban)	TFR (Urban)	CBR (Rural)	TFR (Rural)
1993	43.0	6.9 (6.0)	39.0	5.0 (3.9)	43.0	7.3 (6.5)
1998-99	45.1	6.8 (6.0)	32.6	4.1 (3.4)	47.0	7.3 (6.5)
2003	42.6	6.2 (5.4)	32.4	3.7 (3.2)	44.5	6.9 (6.0)
2010	41.2	6.0 (5.2)	33.3	3.9 (3.3)	43.3	6.7 (5.9)
2014	38.6	5.5	33.6	4.0	40.2	6.1
2017-18	35.1	5.2	30.9	3.7	36.1	5.6

Fertility data as of 2013 (DHS Program):^[7]

Region	Total fertility rate	Percentage of women age 15-49 currently pregnant	Mean number of children ever born to women age 40-49
Centre	3.7	6.8	5.3
Boucle du Mouhoun	6.8	10.8	7.1
Cascades	6.0	10.4	7.0
Centre-Est	6.3	8.1	6.6
Centre-Nord	6.7	10.7	7.1
Centre-Ouest	6.4	10.4	7.1
Centre-Sud	5.6	9.4	6.8
Est	7.5	15.0	7.9
Hauts Bassins	5.2	9.3	5.9
Nord	6.2	10.3	7.0
Plateau Central	5.8	9.4	6.8
Sahel	7.5	12.9	7.6
Sud-ouest	6.4	10.8	7.1

Life expectancy at birth[]

Period	Life expectancy in Years[8]
1950–1955	30.94
1955–1960	33.29
1960–1965	35.59
1965–1970	38.04
1970–1975	40.28
1975–1980	43.40
1980–1985	48.40
1985–1990	49.48
1990–1995	49.33
1995–2000	49.86
2000–2005	51.61
2005–2010	55.27
2010–2015	58.71
2015–2020	60.92

Other demographic statistics[]

Demographic statistics according to the World Population Review in 2019.^[9]

• One birth every 42 seconds
• One death every 3 minutes
• One net migrant every 21 minutes
• Net gain of one person every 55 seconds

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.^[10]

Demographic profile[]

Burkina Faso has a young age structure – the result of declining mortality combined with steady high fertility – and continues to experience rapid population growth, which is putting increasing pressure on the country's limited arable land. More than 65% of the population is under the age of 25, and the population is growing at 3% annually. Mortality rates, especially those of infants and children, have decreased because of improved health care, hygiene, and sanitation, but women continue to have an average of almost 6 children. Even if fertility were substantially reduced, today's large cohort entering their reproductive years would sustain high population growth for the foreseeable future. Only about a third of the population is literate and unemployment is widespread, dampening the economic prospects of Burkina Faso's large working-age population.^[10]

Population[]

21,382,659 (July 2021 est.)

Note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected

Age structure[]

0-14 years: 43.58% (male 4,606,350/female 4,473,951)

15-24 years: 20.33% (male 2,121,012/female 2,114,213)

25-54 years: 29.36% (male 2,850,621/female 3,265,926)

55-64 years: 3.57% (male 321,417/female 423,016)

65 years and over: 3.16% (male 284,838/female 374,057) (2020 est.)

0-14 years: 44.88% (male 4,519,960/female 4,503,937)

15-24 years: 20.07% (male 2,024,501/female 2,012,053)

25-54 years: 29.42% (male 2,999,941/female 2,915,264)

55-64 years: 3.2% (male 284,374/female 359,159)

65 years and over: 2.43% (male 181,996/female 306,324) (2017 est.)

Median age[]

Total: 17.9 years Country comparison to the world: 216th

Male: 17.0 years

Female: 18.7 years (2020 est.)

Total: 17.3 years

Male: 17.1 years

Female: 17.4 years (2017 est.)

Population growth rate[]

2.58% (2020 est.) Country comparison to the world: 14th

3% (2017 est.)

Birth rate[]

34.34 births/1,000 population (2021 est.) Country comparison to the world: 20th

Death rate[]

7.92 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.) Country comparison to the world: 89th

Net migration rate[]

-0.62 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.) Country comparison to the world: 131st

Mother's mean age at first birth[]

19.4 years (2010 est.)

note: median age at first birth among women 25-29

Total fertility rate[]

4.39 children born/woman (2021 est.) Country comparison to the world: 18th

Contraceptive prevalence rate[]

32.5% (2018/19)

Urbanization[]

Urban population: 30.6% of total population (2020)

Rate of urbanization: 4.99% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)

Sex ratio[]

At birth: 1.03 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.03 male(s)/female

15-24 years: 1.00 male(s)/female

25-54 years: 0.87 male(s)/female

55-64 years: 0.76 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female

Total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2020 est.)

Life expectancy at birth[]

Total population: 63.06 years

Male: 61.28 years

Female: 64.89 years (2021 est.)

HIV/AIDS[]

Adult prevalence rate: 0.8% (2019 est.) County comparison to the world: 51st

People living with HIV/AIDS: 100,000 (2019 est.) Country comparison to the world: 44th

Deaths: 3,100 (2019 est.) Country comparison to the world: 33rd

Major infectious diseases[]

Degree of risk: very high

Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

Vectorborne disease: malaria and dengue fever

Water contact disease: schistosomiasis

Respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis

Animal contact diseases: rabies (2020)

Nationality[]

Noun: Burkinabé (singular and plural)

Adjective: Burkinabé

Ethnic groups[]

Mossi 52%, Fulani 8.4%, Gurma 7%, Bobo 4.9%, Gurunsi 4.6%, Senufo 4.5%, Bissa 3.7%, Lobi 2.4%, Dagara 2.4%, Tuareg/Ikelan 1.9%, Dioula 0.8%, Unspecified/No answer 0.3%, Other 7.2% (including Europeans) (2010 est.)

Religions[]

Islam 61.5%, Roman Catholic 23.3%, Traditional/Animist 7.8%, Protestant 6.5%, Other/No Answer 0.2%, None 0.7% (2010 est.)

Languages[]

French(official), native African languages belonging to Sudanic family spoken by 90% of the population

Literacy[]

Definition: age 15 and over can read and write

Total population: 41.2%

Male: 50.1%

Female: 32.7% (2018 est.)

Education expenditure[]

5.4% of GDP (2018)

Slavery[]

In 2018, an estimated 82,000 people in the country were living under "modern slavery" according to the Global Slavery Index.^[12] News reports also indicate that "most child slaves on cocoa farms (Ivory Coast and Ghana) come from Mali and Burkina Faso, two of the poorest nations on Earth. The children, some as young as ten, are sent by their families or trafficked by agents with the promise of money. They are made to work long hours for little or no money."^[13]

References[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Demographics of Burkina Faso.

 This article incorporates public domain material from the CIA World Factbook website https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/.

External links[]

• (in French) Institut National de la Statistique et de la Démographie