Polity · 1961 CE – present
Burkina Faso
- Peak recorded area
- 272,339 km²
- 1919 CE
- Rulers on record
- 13
- from 1959 CE
- Data series
- 375
- 1961 CE–2025 CE
Overview
Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. It covers an area of 274,223 km2. In 2024, the country had an estimated population of approximately 23,286,000. After independence it was called the Republic of Upper Volta from 1958 to 1984. It was renamed Burkina Faso by then-president Thomas Sankara.
Lead section from Wikipedia, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article.
Territory
3 dated territorial extents on record from CShapes 2.0. Areas are measured off the recorded polygons; the line steps because each extent holds until the next one is recorded — nothing is interpolated. Cliopatria holds 2 further extents, measured on a different basis and deliberately not merged into this series.
The record
The best-attested series in each category; where several projects publish the same quantity, the one with the most observations is shown. Each row is the most recent value the record holds at or before the last complete year, shown with the year that value belongs to. Some statistical series also publish forward projections — the year column is the honest guide. Nothing on this page is interpolated or estimated by us.
People
6 of 57 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Population216 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 24.1Mpersons2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy165 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 61.47years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Net Migration141 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | -27.1Kpersons2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Population Growth141 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 2.18% annual2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Female140 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 63.62years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Male140 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 59.28years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
Economy
6 of 153 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| GDP per capita PPP200 obs · 1820 CE–2019 CE | 2,059int'l $ (inflation adj.)2019 CE · Gapminder |
| GDP Current Usd111 obs · 1960 CE–2025 CE | 27.6Bcurrent US$2025 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| GDP per capita73 obs · 1950 CE–2022 CE | 1,704.972011 int'l $2022 CE · Maddison Project Database 2023 |
| Agriculture % GDP66 obs · 1960 CE–2025 CE | 19.94% of GDP2025 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Industry % GDP66 obs · 1960 CE–2025 CE | 30.06% of GDP2025 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Inflation66 obs · 1960 CE–2025 CE | -0.5862% annual2025 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
Military
6 of 29 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Military Expenditure % GDP66 obs · 1960 CE–2024 CE | 4.68% of GDP2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Military Expenditure Usd65 obs · 1960 CE–2024 CE | 1Bcurrent US$2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| CINC Score57 obs · 1960 CE–2016 CE | 0.0008CINC (share of world capability)2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Energy Consumption57 obs · 1960 CE–2016 CE | 4.5Mcoal-ton equivalents2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Iron Steel Production57 obs · 1960 CE–2016 CE | 0tons2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Expenditure57 obs · 1960 CE–2016 CE | 152Mcurrent USD2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
Territory & resources
6 of 54 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Arable Land %126 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 28.9% of land area2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Forest Area %68 obs · 1990 CE–2023 CE | 22.17% of land area2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Agricultural Land %63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 53.4%2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Arable Land per capita Ha63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 0.3434hectares per person2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Fao Agricultural Land63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 14.6Mha2023 CE · FAOSTAT |
| Fao Arable Land63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 7.9Mha2023 CE · FAOSTAT |
Governance
6 of 29 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Electoral Democracy Index91 obs · 1919 CE–2024 CE | 0.156index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Liberal Democracy Index91 obs · 1919 CE–2024 CE | 0.129index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Participatory Democracy Index91 obs · 1919 CE–2024 CE | 0.121index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Regime Type91 obs · 1919 CE–2024 CE | 0RoW index (0-3)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Rule Of Law Index91 obs · 1919 CE–2024 CE | 0.53index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Polity253 obs · 1960 CE–2012 CE | 0index (-10 to 10)2012 CE · Clio-Infra |
Development
6 of 53 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Freedom Of Expression Index91 obs · 1919 CE–2024 CE | 0.35index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Primary Enrollment Gross %53 obs · 1971 CE–2024 CE | 77.17%2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Mobile Subscriptions Per 10051 obs · 1960 CE–2022 CE | 119.46per_1002022 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Tertiary Enrollment Gross %51 obs · 1971 CE–2024 CE | 10.04%2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Primary Completion Rate50 obs · 1971 CE–2024 CE | 51.99%2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Secondary Enrollment Gross %49 obs · 1971 CE–2024 CE | 29.99%2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
Rulers
13 on record with dated reigns. Reign years follow the house convention: BCE years are negative.
- Maurice YaméogoHead of State1959 CE – 1966 CE
- Thomas SankaraHead of State1983 CE – 1987 CE
- Blaise CompaoréHead of State1987 CE – 2014 CE
- Luc-Adolphe TiaoHead of Government2011 CE – 2014 CE
- Michel KafandoHead of State2014 CE – 2015 CE
- Yacouba Isaac ZidaHead of Government2014 CE – 2015 CE
- Roch Marc Christian KaboréHead of State2015 CE – 2022 CE
- Paul Kaba ThiebaHead of Government2016 CE – 2019 CE
- Christophe Joseph Marie DabiréHead of Government2019 CE – 2021 CE
- Lassina ZerboHead of Government2021 CE – 2022 CE
- Apollinaire Joachim Kyélem de TambèlaHead of Government2022 CE –
- Ibrahim TraoréHead of State2022 CE –
- Paul-Henri Sandaogo DamibaHead of State2022 CE
Country profile
From the CIA World Factbook 2024. Long entries are trimmed at a sentence boundary.
- Location
- Western Africa, north of Ghana
- Government type
- presidential republic
- Executive branch
- chief of state: Transitional President Capt. Ibrahim TRAORE (since 30 September 2022); head of government: Prime Minister Rimtalba Jean Emmanuel OUEDRAOGO (since 9 December 2024);
- Ethnic groups
- 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.)
- Natural resources
- gold, manganese, zinc, limestone, marble, phosphates, pumice, salt
- Economy
- highly agrarian, low-income economy; limited natural resources; widespread poverty; terrorism disrupting potential economic activity; improving trade balance via increases in gold exports; economy inflating after prior deflation; growing public debt but still manageable
Language & currency
- Currency
- Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF)
Memberships
- United NationsUNInternational organisation · member1960 CE –
- 14-member Defense Pact (1961)Military alliance · member1961 CE – 1964 CE
- ECOWASECOWASEconomic bloc · founding member1975 CE –
- 16-member Non-Aggression Pact (1977)Historical alliance · member1977 CE – 1981 CE
- 16-member Defense Pact (1981)Military alliance · member1981 CE –
- African UnionAUInternational organisation · founding member2002 CE –
Sources
Every figure above comes from one of these. Nothing on this page is estimated, interpolated or model-generated.
CIA World Factbook 2024
Clio-Infra2017 datasets
Clio-Infra project (2017). Reconstructions of global inequality and well-being. International Institute of Social History.
Academic use, attribution
Correlates of War NMC v6.0v6.0
Singer, J.D. (1987). National Material Capabilities Data (NMC), v6.0. Correlates of War Project.
Free academic use, citation
CShapes 2.02.0
Schvitz, G. et al. (2022). Mapping the International System, 1886-2019: The CShapes 2.0 Dataset. Journal of Conflict Resolution 66(1).
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
FAOSTAT2024 release
FAO (2024). FAOSTAT Statistical Database. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome.
CC BY 4.0
Gapminderv14 / systema globalis
Gapminder Foundation. Gapminder systema globalis dataset.
CC BY 4.0
Maddison Project Database 20232023
Bolt, J. & van Zanden, J.L. (2024). Maddison Project Database 2023. University of Groningen GGDC.
CC BY 4.0
UN World Population Prospects 20242024
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2024). World Population Prospects 2024.
CC BY 3.0 IGO
V-Dem v15v15
Coppedge, M. et al. (2025). V-Dem Country-Year Dataset v15. Varieties of Democracy Project.
Free academic/non-commercial use, attribution
Wikipedia contributors. Article lead sections, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
World Bank World Development Indicators2024 release
World Bank (2024). World Development Indicators. Washington, DC.
CC BY 4.0
Burkina Faso is one of the polities with a sourced record deep enough to publish.