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🇧🇫 Burkina Faso vs 🇬🇭 Ghana

Ghana has 11M more people — 35,064,272 against 24,074,580. Below, 34 indicators both countries publish, side by side.

🇧🇫 Burkina Faso
24,074,580
Africa · rank #59 · +2.21%
World Bank, 2025
🇬🇭 Ghana
35,064,272
Africa · rank #47 · +1.83%
World Bank, 2025

Every Shared Indicator

34 indicators published for both countries. Ranks are out of the countries that report each indicator.

Values are each country's most recent published observation, so the two sides of a row may be from different years — the country pages show the year for each.
IndicatorBurkina FasoGhana
Population24,074,58059th of 24035,064,27247th of 240
Annual Growth Rate+2.21%41st of 240+1.83%61st of 240
Population Density/km²84/km²127th of 240148/km²85th of 240
Land Areakm²273,600 km²74th of 240227,533 km²83rd of 240
Urban Population28.9%217th of 24058.9%148th of 240
GDP per Capita$1,148219th of 240$3,257181st of 240
GDP Growth+5.3%46th of 210+6.0%35th of 210
Life Expectancyyears61.3 years231st of 24065.7 years211th of 240
Fertility Ratebirths per woman4.11 births per woman23rd of 2403.34 births per woman47th of 240
Birth Rateper 1,00031.3 per 1,00025th of 21325.9 per 1,00046th of 213
Death Rateper 1,0007.9 per 1,00080th of 2137.0 per 1,000116th of 213
Infant Mortalityper 1,000 live births43.6 per 1,000 live births20th of 19427.5 per 1,000 live births52nd of 194
Unemployment Rate3.5%131st of 1863.0%147th of 186
Inflation Rate-0.6%185th of 19114.2%15th of 191
Poverty Rate43.2%30th of 16423.4%73rd of 164
Gini Index37.468th of 17043.527th of 170
Health Spendingof GDP7.8% of GDP67th of 1922.9% of GDP177th of 192
Physiciansper 1,0000.15 per 1,000187th of 2060.27 per 1,000165th of 206
Hospital Bedsper 1,0000.20 per 1,000198th of 1990.69 per 1,000175th of 199
Literacy Rate41.6%168th of 17576.5%132nd of 175
Education Spendingof GDP5.3% of GDP46th of 2022.9% of GDP153rd of 202
School Enrollmentgross, secondary30.0% gross, secondary198th of 20775.7% gross, secondary150th of 207
Renewable Energyof final consumption71.4% of final consumption26th of 21139.0% of final consumption63rd of 211
Forest Coverageof land area22.2% of land area127th of 21135.2% of land area87th of 211
Internet Penetration28.3%185th of 21172.2%128th of 211
Mobile Subscriptionsper 100 people116.6 per 100 people100th of 212113.6 per 100 people108th of 212
Maternal Mortalityper 100,000 live births242 per 100,000 live births29th of 193234 per 100,000 live births32nd of 193
Military Spendingof GDP4.68% of GDP16th of 1630.38% of GDP156th of 163
Protected Areasof land area16.8% of land area108th of 21115.3% of land area123rd of 211
Median Ageyears17.7 years226th of 24021.3 years189th of 240
Human Development Index0.459185th of 1920.628142nd of 192
Happiness Index/ 104.46/ 10131st of 1644.55/ 10123rd of 164
CO₂ Emissionstonnes per capita0.28 tonnes per capita191st of 2120.61 tonnes per capita171st of 212
Obesity Rate7.0%184th of 19813.8%146th of 198

Not Comparable

Published for one country but not the other, so no comparison is shown.

  • Mean Years of Schooling 8.4 years for Ghana, not published for Burkina Faso

Population, 1950–2100

Observed to 2024, then the UN medium-variant projection.

Burkina FasoGhana
010M20M30M40M50M60M70M19501971199320142036205720792100projected →
Source: UN World Population Prospects 2024. Values from 2025 onward are projections, not observations.
Burkina Faso and Ghana population, 1950 to 2100
SeriesYearValue
Burkina Faso19504.21M
Burkina Faso19756.15M
Burkina Faso200011.9M
Burkina Faso202524.1M
Burkina Faso205037.3M
Burkina Faso207546.8M
Burkina Faso210049.9M
Ghana19505.08M
Ghana197510.3M
Ghana200019.6M
Ghana202535.1M
Ghana205050.6M
Ghana207562M
Ghana210067.5M

Reading This Comparison

Size is not the same as rate

Totals and per-capita measures answer different questions. A country can have a far larger economy and a far lower GDP per capita at the same time — both facts are in the table.

Mind the vintages

Each value is the latest available for that country, which is not always the same year on both sides. For indicators that move slowly this rarely matters; for inflation or GDP growth it can.

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