What is the population of Ouagadougou?
Ouagadougou has a city population of 2,415,266. That is the population within the city's own boundary, not its wider metropolitan area. City population, GeoNames.
Capital city · Burkina Faso · Africa
Ouagadougou
City population
2,415,266
#1
in Burkina Faso
#1
in Centre
#157
worldwide
12.366, -1.534
About Ouagadougou
Ouagadougou was founded around 1050 and has grown into Burkina Faso's largest urban center, with a city-proper population of 2,415,266 and a metropolitan area of 3,055,000. The city expands rapidly at an annual growth rate of 4.8%, reflecting the influx of people seeking opportunity in the region. At an elevation of 299 meters, the city sits in the Sahel zone.
Population density reaches 5,898 people per km², creating one of West Africa's most densely populated urban areas. Ouagadougou Thomas Sankara International Airport (OUA) serves as the main aviation hub for the country and the surrounding region, facilitating both domestic and international travel.
This summary is AI-generated from the figures on this page. The figures themselves come from the sources cited beside each value.
Metro population
3,055,000
0.037% of world population
Archive estimateAnnual growth
+4.75%
Archive estimateDensity
5,898/km²
518 km² metro area
Key Facts
Country
Region
Rank in region
#1of 5
Founded
1050
Leadership
Armand Béouindé
Coordinates
12.366, -1.534
Record updated
20 June 2025
Entry edited, not measured
City population, GeoNames. GeoNames publishes no year for its population figures, so “record updated” is when the entry was last edited — not the date the population was measured. Elevation is modelled from a digital elevation model rather than surveyed, so it is approximate.
Nearby Cities
All 74 in Burkina FasoClosest listed cities by great-circle distance from the city centre.
Compared with the World's Largest Cities
City-proper population against the fifteen largest cities in the dataset.
| Name | City population |
|---|---|
| Shanghai | 24.9M |
| Beijing | 19M |
| Shenzhen | 17.5M |
| Guangzhou | 16.1M |
| Kinshasa | 16M |
| Istanbul | 15.7M |
| Lagos | 15.4M |
| Ho Chi Minh City | 14M |
| Chengdu | 13.6M |
| Lahore | 13M |
| Mumbai | 12.7M |
| São Paulo | 12.4M |
| Mexico City | 12.3M |
| Karachi | 11.6M |
| Tianjin | 11.1M |
| Ouagadougou | 2.42M |
Airports
Scheduled-service airports within 100 km, nearest first.
- Ouagadougou Thomas Sankara International AirportOUA
3 km from the city centre
Source: OurAirports, matched by distance.
Population Trend in Burkina Faso
No free source publishes city population back to 1950, so the parent country's series is shown instead.
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1950 | 4,213,152 |
| 1960 | 4,778,621 |
| 1970 | 5,610,304 |
| 1980 | 6,947,900 |
| 1990 | 9,159,356 |
| 2000 | 11,925,546 |
| 2010 | 16,176,498 |
| 2020 | 21,478,690 |
| 2030 | 26,730,324 |
| 2040 | 32,193,645 |
| 2050 | 37,304,383 |
| 2060 | 41,703,264 |
| 2070 | 45,317,075 |
| 2080 | 47,909,726 |
| 2090 | 49,338,636 |
| 2100 | 49,854,228 |
Ouagadougou Population FAQ
Where is Ouagadougou?
Ouagadougou is in Centre, Burkina Faso. Its coordinates are 12.366, -1.534.
How big is Ouagadougou compared with other cities in Burkina Faso?
It is the 1st largest of the 74 cities listed in Burkina Faso, holding 10.0% of the national population.