Demographics of Burkina Faso

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.

Demographics of Burkina Faso, Data of FAO, year 2005 ; Number of inhabitants in thousands.
Burkina Faso population pyramid in 2020

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.

Peanut seller in Ouagadougou

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 00040.757.32.0
1955 4 517 00041.056.92.2
1960 4 829 00041.356.32.3
1965 5 175 00042.255.22.5
1970 5 625 00043.353.92.8
1975 6 155 00044.252.83.0
1980 6 823 00045.651.23.2
1985 7 728 00046.750.03.3
1990 8 811 00047.349.53.3
1995 10 090 00047.149.83.1
2000 11 608 00046.850.52.8
2005 13 422 00046.550.92.6
2010 15 605 00046.251.32.5
2015 18 111 00045.652.02.4
2020 20 903 00044.453.22.4

Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.VII.2020): [2]

Age Group Male Female Total %
Total 10 395 600 11 114 300 21 509 900 100
0–4 1 916 600 1 833 000 3 749 600 17.43
5–9 1 685 500 1 608 400 3 293 900 15.31
10–14 1 488 200 1 405 100 2 893 300 13.45
15–19 1 252 400 1 197 500 2 449 900 11.39
20–24 948 200 1 001 000 1 949 200 9.06
25–29 689 300 815 200 1 504 500 6.99
30–34 514 400 729 300 1 243 700 5.78
35–39 405 000 592 100 997 100 4.64
40–44 360 300 494 400 854 700 3.97
45–49 285 100 367 300 652 400 3.03
50–54 240 500 314 300 554 800 2.58
55–59 185 700 236 300 422 000 1.97
60–64 145 800 189 000 334 800 1.56
65-69 106 300 125 800 232 100 1.08
70-74 81 100 97 900 179 000 0.83
75-79 48 100 55 800 103 900 0.48
80+ 43 100 51 900 95 000 0.44
Age group Male Female Total Percent
0–14 5 090 300 4 846 500 9 936 800 46.20
15–64 5 026 700 5 936 400 10 963 100 50.97
65+ 278 600 331 400 610 000 2.84

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*
1950-1955207 600140 60067 00047.231.915.26.10228
1955-1960221 400138 40083 00047.429.617.76.24209
1960-1965235 800137 80098 00047.227.519.66.35192
1965-1970256 800137 800119 00047.525.522.06.56172
1970-1975279 800139 800140 00047.523.723.86.70153
1975-1980316 800139 800177 00048.821.527.37.02133
1980-1985356 400132 000224 40049.018.130.97.17119
1985-1990395 200141 800253 40047.817.230.67.07110
1990-1995445 400159 800285 60047.116.930.26.93104
1995-2000506 400175 200331 20046.716.230.56.7399
2000-2005570 800183 000387 80045.614.631.06.4390
2005-2010634 600173 000461 60043.711.931.86.0878
2010-2015687 600161 400526 20040.89.631.25.6565
2015-2020745 000161 400583 60038.28.329.95.2354
* 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):[3][4] [5] [6][7]

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):[8]

Region Total fertility rate Percentage of women age 15-49 currently pregnant Mean number of children ever born to women age 40-49
Centre3.76.85.3
Boucle du Mouhoun6.810.87.1
Cascades6.010.47.0
Centre-Est6.38.16.6
Centre-Nord6.710.77.1
Centre-Ouest6.410.47.1
Centre-Sud5.69.46.8
Est7.515.07.9
Hauts Bassins5.29.35.9
Nord6.210.37.0
Plateau Central5.89.46.8
Sahel7.512.97.6
Sud-ouest6.410.87.1

Life expectancy at birth
Life expectancy development in Burkina Faso
Period Life expectancy in
Years[9]
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 2022.[10]

  • One birth every 40 seconds
  • One death every 3 minutes
  • One net migrant every 21 minutes
  • Net gain of one person every 52 seconds

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.[11]

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.[11]

Population
21,935,389 (2022 est.)
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

Religions

Muslim 63.2%, Roman Catholic 24.6%, Protestant 6.9%, traditional/animist 4.2%, none 0.7%, unspecified 0.4% (2017-18 est.)

Age structure
Pyramid population of Burkina Faso in 2020
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
2.53% (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 20th
2.58% (2020 est.) Country comparison to the world: 14th
3% (2017 est.)

Birth rate
33.57 births/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 19
34.34 births/1,000 population (2021 est.) Country comparison to the world: 20th

Death rate
7.71 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 103rd
7.92 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.) Country comparison to the world: 89th

Net migration rate
-0.61 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 127th
-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
4.27 children born/woman (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 22nd
4.39 children born/woman (2021 est.) Country comparison to the world: 18th

Contraceptive prevalence rate
30.1% (2020)
32.5% (2018/19)

Urbanization
urban population: 31.9% of total population (2022)
rate of urbanization: 4.75% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
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.)
A girl from Burkina Faso

Life expectancy at birth
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.)

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 (2020)
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: dengue fever and malaria
water contact diseases: schistosomiasis
animal contact diseases: rabies
respiratory diseases: meningococcal meningitis

note: on 21 March 2022, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Travel Alert for polio in Africa; Burkina Faso is currently considered a high risk to travelers for polio; the CDC recommends that before any international travel, anyone unvaccinated, incompletely vaccinated, or with an unknown polio vaccination status should complete the routine polio vaccine series; before travel to any high-risk destination, CDC recommends that adults who previously completed the full, routine polio vaccine series receive a single, lifetime booster dose of polio vaccine

Nationality
Noun: Burkinabé (singular and plural)
Adjective: Burkinabé

Ethnic groups
Bobo men in Bobo-Dioulasso
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
Main article: Religion in Burkina Faso

Religion in Burkina Faso (2017-2018)[12]

  Islam (63.2%)
  Roman Catholic (24.6%)
  Protestant (6.9%)
  Animism (4.2%)
  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.)

Languages
Further information: Languages of Burkina Faso
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
Further information: Child labour in cocoa production

In 2018, an estimated 82,000 people in the country were living under "modern slavery" according to the Global Slavery Index.[13] 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."[14]

References
  1. "Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, World Population Prospects: Data Query". Esa.un.org. Retrieved 2021-01-31.
  2. "UNSD — Demographic and Social Statistics".
  3. "Enquête Démographique et de Santé 1993" (PDF). Dhsprogram.com. Retrieved 2017-08-27.
  4. "Enquête Démographique et de Santé 1998-99" (PDF). Dhsprogram.com. Retrieved 2017-08-27.
  5. "Enquête Démographique et de Santé 2003" (PDF). Dhsprogram.com. Retrieved 2017-08-27.
  6. "Enquête Démographique et de Santé 2010" (PDF). Dhsprogram.com. Retrieved 2017-08-27.
  7. "STATcompiler". www.statcompiler.com. Retrieved 2020-02-17.
  8. "Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey 2013" (PDF). Dhsprogram.com. Retrieved 2017-08-27.
  9. "World Population Prospects - Population Division - United Nations". esa.un.org. Retrieved 2021-01-31.
  10. "Burkina Faso Population 2022", World Population Review
  11. "The World FactBook - Burkina Faso", The World Factbook, January 31, 2022 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  12. "Burkina Faso Religions - Demographics".
  13. "Country Data | Global Slavery Index".
  14. "The Modern Slavery Bill is a start, but it won't guarantee us sweeter chocolate".

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

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