Demographics of Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso's 22.1 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.

Demographics of Burkina Faso
Population pyramid of Burkina Faso in 2020
Population	21,935,389 (2022 est.)
Growth rate	2.53% (2022 est.)
Birth rate	33.57 births/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Death rate	7.71 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Life expectancy	63.44 years
• male	61.63 years
• female	65.31 years
Fertility rate	4.27 children born/woman (2022 est.)
Infant mortality rate	49.42 deaths/1,000 live births
Net migration rate	-0.61 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Age structure
0–14 years	43.58%
65 and over	3.16%
Sex ratio
Total	0.96 male(s)/female (2022 est.)
At birth	1.03 male(s)/female
Under 15	1.03 male(s)/female
65 and over	0.66 male(s)/female
Nationality
Nationality	Burkinabe
Major ethnic	Mossi (52%)
Minor ethnic	Fula (6.8%) Gurunsi (5.9%) Gourma (5.2%) Other (26.9%)[1]
Language
Official	French

Demographics of Burkina Faso, Data of FAO, year 2005; Number of inhabitants in thousands.

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.

Peanut seller in Ouagadougou

Population

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.

According to the United Nations' Population Division, the population was 20,903,000 in 2020, compared to only 4,284,000 in 1950.^[2] 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.^[2]

	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

Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (1.VII.2021) (Data refer to national projections.):^[3]

Age Group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	10 393 241	11 116 202	21 509 443	100
0–4	1 971 908	1 860 417	3 832 325	17.82
5–9	1 646 122	1 589 070	3 235 192	15.04
10–14	1 367 531	1 390 910	2 758 441	12.82
15–19	1 122 566	1 204 719	2 327 285	10.82
20–24	908 843	1 033 776	1 942 619	9.03
25–29	730 372	884 547	1 614 919	7.51
30–34	588 794	728 172	1 316 966	6.12
35–39	468 316	586 269	1 054 585	4.90
40–44	372 345	466 984	839 329	3.90
45–49	300 835	370 491	671 326	3.12
50–54	248 194	293 790	541 984	2.52
55–59	194 917	224 363	419 280	1.95
60–64	149 409	164 492	313 901	1.46
65–69	112 992	120 551	233 543	1.09
70–74	83 974	84 008	167 982	0.78
75–79	60 706	51 775	112 481	0.52
80+	65 417	61 868	127 285	0.59
Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0–14	4 985 561	4 840 397	9 825 958	45.68
15–64	5 084 591	5 957 603	11 042 194	51.34
65+	323 089	318 202	641 291	2.98

Vital statistics

Population, fertility rate and net reproduction rate, United Nations estimates

Registration of vital events is not complete in Burkina Faso. The website Our World in Data prepared the following estimates based on statistics from the Population Department of the United Nations.^[4]

	Mid-year population (thousands)	Live births (thousands)	Deaths (thousands)	Natural change (thousands)	Crude birth rate (per 1000)	Crude death rate (per 1000)	Natural change (per 1000)	Total fertility rate (TFR)	Infant mortality (per 1000 live births)	Life expectancy (in years)
1950	4 214	184	119	65	43.5	28.2	15.3	5.82	170.1	33.12
1951	4 262	188	119	68	43.9	27.9	16.0	5.87	168.9	33.38
1952	4 313	192	121	71	44.3	27.9	16.4	5.93	167.8	33.55
1953	4 364	195	121	74	44.6	27.8	16.9	5.98	166.6	33.85
1954	4 417	199	123	76	44.9	27.7	17.2	6.01	165.2	34.13
1955	4 473	202	124	79	45.1	27.6	17.6	6.06	163.8	34.45
1956	4 531	206	125	81	45.4	27.5	17.8	6.09	162.3	34.67
1957	4 591	210	126	83	45.5	27.4	18.1	6.13	160.8	34.97
1958	4 652	214	128	86	45.8	27.3	18.5	6.17	159.3	35.26
1959	4 715	218	128	89	46.1	27.2	18.9	6.22	157.7	35.61
1960	4 783	222	130	92	46.3	27.1	19.2	6.25	156.2	35.87
1961	4 853	226	131	95	46.5	26.9	19.6	6.29	154.8	36.24
1962	4 924	231	132	99	46.7	26.7	20.0	6.32	153.5	36.67
1963	4 999	235	133	102	46.9	26.5	20.4	6.36	152.4	36.97
1964	5 076	240	134	106	47.2	26.4	20.8	6.42	151.2	37.25
1965	5 158	245	135	110	47.3	26.1	21.2	6.47	150.1	37.69
1966	5 243	249	137	113	47.5	26.0	21.5	6.53	149.1	37.92
1967	5 331	254	138	117	47.6	25.8	21.8	6.59	148.2	38.29
1968	5 422	260	139	120	47.8	25.6	22.1	6.65	147.3	38.53
1969	5 516	263	140	123	47.6	25.4	22.2	6.66	146.6	38.86
1970	5 612	268	141	126	47.6	25.1	22.4	6.69	145.4	39.24
1971	5 708	272	142	129	47.5	24.9	22.6	6.70	144.4	39.56
1972	5 805	276	142	134	47.5	24.5	23.0	6.72	142.6	40.05
1973	5 908	282	143	139	47.6	24.1	23.5	6.77	140.4	40.55
1974	6 018	288	141	147	47.7	23.4	24.3	6.84	137.3	41.35
1975	6 138	295	140	155	47.9	22.7	25.2	6.91	133.6	42.31
1976	6 270	302	138	164	48.1	22.0	26.1	6.95	129.6	43.25
1977	6 417	312	137	175	48.5	21.4	27.2	7.05	125.7	44.15
1978	6 578	323	137	186	49.0	20.7	28.3	7.15	122.1	45.07
1979	6 750	333	136	196	49.2	20.2	29.0	7.19	119.0	45.90
1980	6 933	341	137	204	49.1	19.8	29.4	7.22	116.3	46.54
1981	7 124	350	139	211	49.1	19.5	29.5	7.26	114.4	46.87
1982	7 322	358	139	219	48.9	19.0	29.9	7.25	112.1	47.60
1983	7 531	367	140	227	48.7	18.6	30.1	7.25	110.3	48.09
1984	7 751	379	141	238	48.8	18.2	30.6	7.25	108.5	48.64
1985	7 979	390	143	247	48.9	17.9	30.9	7.24	106.7	48.95
1986	8 208	398	146	252	48.5	17.8	30.7	7.22	104.8	49.01
1987	8 435	406	149	257	48.0	17.7	30.4	7.17	103.1	49.06
1988	8 664	412	152	260	47.5	17.5	30.0	7.11	101.7	49.13
1989	8 895	419	155	265	47.1	17.3	29.7	7.05	100.8	49.17
1990	9 131	429	156	272	46.8	17.1	29.8	7.01	100.2	49.44
1991	9 365	438	160	279	46.7	17.0	29.7	6.97	100.0	49.45
1992	9 599	447	163	284	46.4	16.9	29.5	6.94	99.8	49.44
1993	9 840	455	167	288	46.2	17.0	29.2	6.89	99.7	49.21
1994	10 091	466	170	296	46.1	16.8	29.3	6.84	99.3	49.31
1995	10 353	478	173	305	46.0	16.7	29.4	6.81	98.7	49.45
1996	10 621	490	175	314	46.0	16.5	29.5	6.78	97.6	49.61
1997	10 897	500	180	319	45.8	16.5	29.3	6.72	96.8	49.40
1998	11 201	510	180	331	45.5	16.0	29.5	6.66	95.0	49.99
1999	11 534	523	181	342	45.3	15.7	29.6	6.59	93.6	50.33
2000	11 883	537	182	355	45.2	15.3	29.9	6.52	92.1	50.85
2001	12 250	549	185	364	44.8	15.1	29.7	6.43	90.4	51.07
2002	12 632	561	187	374	44.5	14.8	29.6	6.34	88.8	51.27
2003	13 031	579	188	391	44.5	14.4	30.0	6.28	86.7	51.79
2004	13 446	595	188	407	44.2	14.0	30.3	6.22	84.1	52.42
2005	13 876	614	187	426	44.2	13.5	30.7	6.18	81.3	53.09
2006	14 316	636	187	448	44.4	13.1	31.3	6.17	78.6	53.74
2007	14 757	652	187	466	44.2	12.6	31.5	6.11	75.8	54.38
2008	15 198	668	183	485	43.9	12.0	31.9	6.05	72.7	55.34
2009	15 650	682	182	500	43.5	11.6	31.9	5.99	70.2	55.96
2010	16 117	697	182	516	43.2	11.3	32.0	5.94	67.8	56.48
2011	16 603	712	180	531	42.8	10.8	32.0	5.87	65.5	57.13
2012	17 114	725	180	545	42.3	10.5	31.8	5.79	63.6	57.62
2013	17 636	736	182	554	41.7	10.3	31.4	5.70	61.8	57.82
2014	18 170	745	181	564	41.0	10.0	31.0	5.60	60.0	58.36
2015	18 718	751	180	570	40.1	9.6	30.5	5.48	58.3	58.85
2016	19 275	751	180	572	39.0	9.3	29.7	5.32	56.7	59.33
2017	19 836	752	181	571	37.9	9.1	28.8	5.16	55.0	59.54
2018	20 393	761	180	581	37.3	8.8	28.5	5.07	53.5	60.05
2019	20 962	720	180	540	34.3	8.6	25.8	4.68	58.7	60.2
2020	21 479	703	179	524	32.7	8.3	24.4	4.44	57.0	60,5
2021	21 995	713	186	527	32.4	8.4	24.0	4.36	55.3	60.0
2022	22 509	721	183	538	32.0	8.1	23.9	4.28	53.8	60.7
2023	23 026	729	183	545	31.6	8.0	23.7	4.28	52.3	61.1

Demographic and Health Surveys

Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR):^{[5][6] [7] [8][9]}

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
2021[10]	30.7	4.4 (4.2)	28.4	3.4 (3.3)	31.6	4.9 (4.6)

Fertility data as of 2013 (DHS Program):^[11]

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

Life expectancy development in Burkina Faso

total population: 63.44 years

male: 61.63 years

female: 65.31 years (2022 est.)

Total population: 63.06 years

Male: 61.28 years

Female: 64.89 years (2021 est.)

Ethnic groups

A girl from Burkina Faso

Bobo men in Bobo-Dioulasso

Mossi 53.7%, Fulani (Peuhl) 6.8%, Gurunsi 5.9%, Bissa 5.4%, Gurma 5.2%, Bobo 3.4%, Senufo 2.2%, Bissa 1.5%, Lobi 1.5%, Tuareg/Bella 0.1%, other 12.8%, foreign 0.7% (2021 est.)^[12]

Languages

Further information: Languages of Burkina Faso

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

Religion

Main article: Religion in Burkina Faso

Religion in Burkina Faso (2017-2018)^[13]

1. Islam (63.2%)
2. Roman Catholic (24.6%)
3. Protestant (6.9%)
4. Animism (4.2%)
5. Other and none (1.1%)

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