Do more people live in urban or rural areas? in Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso: Do more people live in urban or rural areas? was 28.9% in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)
28.9%
Change on year
up 2.1%
World rank
216th
of 238 countries
All-time high
28.9%
in 2025
All-time low
0.0%
in 1000
Years of data
108
1000–2025

Do more people live in urban or rural areas? in Burkina Faso, 1000–2025

0102030100015122025

Source: HYDE (2023); United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

The most recent figure for do more people live in urban or rural areas? in Burkina Faso is 28.9%, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 108 years on record.

The figure is up 2.1% on the previous year and up 12.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, do more people live in urban or rural areas? in Burkina Faso peaked at 28.9% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1000.

Burkina Faso ranks 216th of 238 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1000s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 1
1100s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 1
1200s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 1
1300s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 1
1400s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 1
1500s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 1
1600s 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% 1
1700s 0.4% 0.4% 0.4% 1
1710s 0.4% 0.4% 0.4% 1
1720s 0.5% 0.5% 0.5% 1
1730s 0.5% 0.5% 0.5% 1
1740s 0.5% 0.5% 0.5% 1
1750s 0.6% 0.6% 0.6% 1
1760s 0.6% 0.6% 0.6% 1
1770s 0.7% 0.7% 0.7% 1
1780s 0.8% 0.8% 0.8% 1
1790s 0.9% 0.9% 0.9% 1
1800s 0.9% 0.9% 0.9% 1
1810s 1.0% 1.0% 1.0% 1
1820s 1.1% 1.1% 1.1% 1
1830s 1.2% 1.2% 1.2% 1
1840s 1.3% 1.3% 1.3% 1
1850s 1.5% 1.5% 1.5% 1
1860s 1.6% 1.6% 1.6% 1
1870s 1.8% 1.8% 1.8% 1
1880s 1.9% 1.9% 1.9% 1
1890s 2.1% 2.1% 2.1% 1
1900s 2.3% 2.3% 2.3% 1
1910s 2.5% 2.5% 2.5% 1
1920s 2.8% 2.8% 2.8% 1
1930s 3.0% 3.0% 3.0% 1
1940s 3.3% 3.3% 3.3% 1
1950s 4.6% 4.3% 5.0% 10
1960s 5.4% 5.0% 5.8% 10
1970s 6.5% 5.9% 7.8% 10
1980s 11.0% 8.4% 12.9% 10
1990s 14.9% 13.2% 17.2% 10
2000s 21.3% 18.0% 23.7% 10
2010s 25.3% 24.1% 26.1% 10
2020s 27.6% 26.4% 28.9% 6

Countries ranked near Burkina Faso

  1. 213 Myanmar 30.6% compare
  2. 214 Guernsey 29.6% compare
  3. 215 Saint Lucia 29.1% compare
  4. 217 East Timor 28.8% compare
  5. 218 Chad 27.6% compare
  6. 219 Eswatini 26.7% compare

See the full ranking of 239 places →

More reference data data for Burkina Faso

All data for Burkina Faso →

Frequently asked questions

What is do more people live in urban or rural areas? in Burkina Faso?
Do more people live in urban or rural areas? in Burkina Faso was 28.9% in 2025, according to HYDE (2023); United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest do more people live in urban or rural areas? recorded in Burkina Faso?
The highest recorded value was 28.9% in 2025.
What is the lowest do more people live in urban or rural areas? recorded in Burkina Faso?
The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1000.
How does Burkina Faso rank for do more people live in urban or rural areas??
Burkina Faso ranks 216th out of 238 countries with data for 2025.
Is do more people live in urban or rural areas? rising or falling in Burkina Faso?
Over the last ten years it is up 12.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Burkina Faso data come from?
The figures come from HYDE (2023); United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Do more people live in urban or rural areas?. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 108 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Do more people live in urban or rural areas?
Unit
%
Source
HYDE (2023); United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
239 places, 24,444 data points, 1000–2025
Last refreshed

Share of the population living in urban areas, combining UN estimates with modelled historical data.