Burkina Faso vs South Africa
Burkina Faso vs South Africa: Population growth
Population growth in 2023: 2.26% a year in Burkina Faso and 1.32% a year in South Africa, by UN estimates. In 2023 the value was higher in Burkina Faso, by 0.94 percentage points, or 1.72 times that in South Africa.
% a year · UN
What the numbers say
- Burkina Faso has been higher since 1991, when it overtook South Africa.
- In 2023, Burkina Faso ranked 37 and South Africa ranked 87 of 229 countries, counting from the highest.
- The UN projection (medium variant) puts Burkina Faso at 0.03% a year and South Africa at 0.23% a year in 2100.
- The world as a whole: 0.87% a year in 2023.
Every year
% a year · UN
| Year | Burkina Faso | South Africa | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2.26 | 1.32 | 0.87 |
| 2022 | 2.28 | 1.34 | 0.88 |
| 2021 | 2.34 | 1.49 | 0.8 |
| 2020 | 2.42 | 1.6 | 0.9 |
| 2019 | 2.46 | 1.65 | 1.03 |
| 2018 | 2.61 | 1.65 | 1.07 |
| 2017 | 2.79 | 1.72 | 1.13 |
| 2016 | 2.92 | -0.42 | 1.17 |
| 2015 | 2.93 | 2.31 | 1.18 |
| 2014 | 2.99 | 1.7 | 1.22 |
| 2013 | 2.96 | 1.62 | 1.23 |
| 2012 | 3.05 | 1.69 | 1.27 |
| 2011 | 2.99 | 1.26 | 1.26 |
| 2010 | 2.93 | 1.21 | 1.27 |
| 2009 | 2.93 | 1.15 | 1.28 |
| 2008 | 2.91 | 1.24 | 1.28 |
| 2007 | 2.96 | 1.07 | 1.28 |
| 2006 | 3.1 | 1.04 | 1.28 |
| 2005 | 3.14 | 1 | 1.27 |
| 2004 | 3.16 | 1.02 | 1.28 |
| 2003 | 3.13 | 0.99 | 1.29 |
| 2002 | 3.1 | 1 | 1.3 |
| 2001 | 3.08 | 0.89 | 1.33 |
| 2000 | 3.02 | 0.83 | 1.35 |
| 1999 | 2.94 | 1 | 1.35 |
| 1998 | 2.92 | 1.18 | 1.37 |
| 1997 | 2.61 | 1.25 | 1.39 |
| 1996 | 2.55 | 1.15 | 1.42 |
| 1995 | 2.57 | 1.45 | 1.45 |
| 1994 | 2.56 | 0.98 | 1.47 |
| 1993 | 2.49 | 2.27 | 1.52 |
| 1992 | 2.49 | 1.7 | 1.57 |
| 1991 | 2.45 | 1.89 | 1.63 |
| 1990 | 2.63 | 2.69 | 1.76 |
| 1989 | 2.64 | 2.88 | 1.78 |
| 1988 | 2.67 | 3 | 1.79 |
| 1987 | 2.7 | 3.09 | 1.84 |
| 1986 | 2.77 | 3.15 | 1.83 |
| 1985 | 2.88 | 3.25 | 1.8 |
| 1984 | 2.9 | 3.42 | 1.8 |
| 1983 | 2.87 | 3.5 | 1.78 |
| 1982 | 2.79 | 3.48 | 1.86 |
| 1981 | 2.73 | 3.43 | 1.82 |
| 1980 | 2.73 | 3.38 | 1.8 |
| 1979 | 2.63 | 2.7 | 1.79 |
| 1978 | 2.55 | 2.71 | 1.74 |
| 1977 | 2.44 | 2.75 | 1.75 |
| 1976 | 2.22 | 2.66 | 1.78 |
| 1975 | 2.06 | 2.75 | 1.8 |
| 1974 | 1.97 | 2.79 | 1.88 |
| 1973 | 1.82 | 2.85 | 1.94 |
| 1972 | 1.76 | 2.87 | 1.97 |
| 1971 | 1.69 | 2.87 | 1.97 |
| 1970 | 1.77 | 2.99 | 2.06 |
| 1969 | 1.73 | 3.07 | 2.06 |
| 1968 | 1.73 | 3.11 | 2.09 |
| 1967 | 1.71 | 3.13 | 2 |
| 1966 | 1.64 | 3.11 | 2.04 |
| 1965 | 1.63 | 3.09 | 2.09 |
| 1964 | 1.57 | 3.06 | 2.16 |
| 1963 | 1.51 | 3.05 | 2.28 |
| 1962 | 1.47 | 3.02 | 2.11 |
| 1961 | 1.45 | 2.93 | 1.67 |
| 1960 | 1.44 | 2.68 | 1.58 |
| 1959 | 1.42 | 2.56 | 1.73 |
| 1958 | 1.3 | 2.43 | 2 |
| 1957 | 1.33 | 2.44 | 2.07 |
| 1956 | 1.3 | 2.39 | 1.98 |
| 1955 | 1.26 | 2.33 | 2.01 |
| 1954 | 1.22 | 2.26 | 1.99 |
| 1953 | 1.17 | 2.17 | 1.9 |
| 1952 | 1.18 | 2.16 | 1.94 |
| 1951 | 1.15 | 2.1 | 1.75 |
| 1950 | 1.08 | 2.01 | 1.74 |
UN projection (medium variant) · 2024–2100
| Year | Burkina Faso | South Africa | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2.231.6–2.78 | 1.190.34–1.98 | 0.86 |
| 2025 | 2.181.45–2.8 | 1.120.23–2.01 | 0.84 |
| 2026 | 2.151.36–2.82 | 1.050.1–1.94 | 0.83 |
| 2027 | 2.111.25–2.84 | 1.040.12–1.97 | 0.81 |
| 2028 | 2.071.17–2.81 | 1.030.07–2.02 | 0.8 |
| 2029 | 2.041.07–2.83 | 0.990.04–1.9 | 0.78 |
| 2030 | 2.011.05–2.85 | 0.94-0.03–1.93 | 0.76 |
| 2031 | 1.990.98–2.87 | 0.920–1.95 | 0.75 |
| 2032 | 1.960.92–2.87 | 0.9-0.06–1.9 | 0.73 |
| 2033 | 1.950.89–2.89 | 0.87-0.12–1.84 | 0.72 |
| 2034 | 1.920.88–2.91 | 0.84-0.19–1.83 | 0.7 |
| 2035 | 1.870.79–2.88 | 0.83-0.15–1.82 | 0.69 |
| 2036 | 1.830.72–2.84 | 0.8-0.19–1.74 | 0.67 |
| 2037 | 1.790.71–2.82 | 0.79-0.26–1.8 | 0.65 |
| 2038 | 1.750.65–2.79 | 0.76-0.27–1.73 | 0.64 |
| 2039 | 1.710.65–2.75 | 0.73-0.31–1.74 | 0.62 |
| 2040 | 1.670.62–2.74 | 0.73-0.37–1.71 | 0.61 |
| 2041 | 1.630.58–2.72 | 0.72-0.33–1.73 | 0.59 |
| 2042 | 1.60.55–2.66 | 0.71-0.31–1.81 | 0.57 |
| 2043 | 1.550.5–2.65 | 0.7-0.31–1.75 | 0.56 |
| 2044 | 1.520.42–2.62 | 0.68-0.34–1.72 | 0.54 |
| 2045 | 1.480.43–2.59 | 0.67-0.35–1.76 | 0.52 |
| 2046 | 1.430.36–2.53 | 0.68-0.29–1.74 | 0.5 |
| 2047 | 1.40.32–2.51 | 0.66-0.38–1.71 | 0.48 |
| 2048 | 1.350.31–2.5 | 0.62-0.43–1.66 | 0.46 |
| 2049 | 1.320.27–2.49 | 0.61-0.42–1.71 | 0.44 |
| 2050 | 1.280.22–2.45 | 0.6-0.46–1.66 | 0.42 |
| 2051 | 1.240.16–2.48 | 0.6-0.43–1.72 | 0.4 |
| 2052 | 1.210.11–2.41 | 0.56-0.46–1.69 | 0.38 |
| 2053 | 1.180.08–2.39 | 0.54-0.51–1.6 | 0.36 |
| 2054 | 1.140.02–2.43 | 0.54-0.55–1.62 | 0.34 |
| 2055 | 1.11-0.04–2.37 | 0.52-0.56–1.6 | 0.33 |
| 2056 | 1.08-0.08–2.37 | 0.5-0.6–1.6 | 0.31 |
| 2057 | 1.06-0.12–2.39 | 0.5-0.66–1.66 | 0.3 |
| 2058 | 1.03-0.16–2.39 | 0.49-0.58–1.71 | 0.28 |
| 2059 | 0.99-0.23–2.33 | 0.47-0.66–1.64 | 0.27 |
| 2060 | 0.97-0.22–2.27 | 0.46-0.65–1.62 | 0.25 |
| 2061 | 0.95-0.24–2.33 | 0.44-0.69–1.57 | 0.24 |
| 2062 | 0.91-0.3–2.3 | 0.44-0.73–1.59 | 0.23 |
| 2063 | 0.88-0.38–2.25 | 0.43-0.75–1.56 | 0.22 |
| 2064 | 0.86-0.41–2.25 | 0.42-0.74–1.6 | 0.21 |
| 2065 | 0.82-0.47–2.19 | 0.39-0.74–1.52 | 0.2 |
| 2066 | 0.8-0.48–2.21 | 0.39-0.76–1.53 | 0.19 |
| 2067 | 0.78-0.55–2.21 | 0.37-0.8–1.52 | 0.18 |
| 2068 | 0.75-0.6–2.19 | 0.36-0.86–1.53 | 0.17 |
| 2069 | 0.73-0.62–2.19 | 0.35-0.89–1.54 | 0.16 |
| 2070 | 0.7-0.61–2.19 | 0.38-0.87–1.6 | 0.15 |
| 2071 | 0.67-0.65–2.18 | 0.37-0.83–1.6 | 0.14 |
| 2072 | 0.65-0.73–2.18 | 0.32-0.85–1.52 | 0.13 |
| 2073 | 0.62-0.77–2.13 | 0.32-0.88–1.45 | 0.12 |
| 2074 | 0.58-0.84–2.1 | 0.32-0.92–1.58 | 0.1 |
| 2075 | 0.55-0.88–2.06 | 0.31-0.94–1.44 | 0.09 |
| 2076 | 0.53-0.9–2.03 | 0.3-0.96–1.37 | 0.08 |
| 2077 | 0.5-0.94–2.03 | 0.31-0.93–1.51 | 0.07 |
| 2078 | 0.47-0.98–2 | 0.31-0.93–1.53 | 0.06 |
| 2079 | 0.44-0.99–1.98 | 0.3-1.05–1.53 | 0.05 |
| 2080 | 0.41-1.05–2.01 | 0.3-1.01–1.52 | 0.04 |
| 2081 | 0.39-1.06–1.97 | 0.3-0.99–1.52 | 0.03 |
| 2082 | 0.36-1.17–1.95 | 0.29-1.04–1.49 | 0.02 |
| 2083 | 0.34-1.16–1.93 | 0.29-1.04–1.51 | 0.01 |
| 2084 | 0.31-1.2–1.93 | 0.27-1.01–1.55 | -0 |
| 2085 | 0.29-1.24–1.94 | 0.25-1.1–1.51 | -0.01 |
| 2086 | 0.27-1.34–1.89 | 0.28-1.09–1.53 | -0.02 |
| 2087 | 0.26-1.38–1.93 | 0.27-1.06–1.54 | -0.03 |
| 2088 | 0.23-1.43–1.91 | 0.26-1.13–1.51 | -0.04 |
| 2089 | 0.21-1.48–1.88 | 0.26-1.11–1.51 | -0.05 |
| 2090 | 0.19-1.55–1.81 | 0.25-1.16–1.52 | -0.05 |
| 2091 | 0.16-1.61–1.83 | 0.27-1.09–1.45 | -0.06 |
| 2092 | 0.15-1.66–1.82 | 0.24-1.17–1.46 | -0.07 |
| 2093 | 0.13-1.69–1.83 | 0.24-1.19–1.54 | -0.07 |
| 2094 | 0.11-1.7–1.85 | 0.24-1.21–1.48 | -0.08 |
| 2095 | 0.1-1.73–1.86 | 0.22-1.12–1.52 | -0.09 |
| 2096 | 0.09-1.75–1.9 | 0.21-1.14–1.48 | -0.1 |
| 2097 | 0.08-1.8–1.82 | 0.2-1.23–1.49 | -0.11 |
| 2098 | 0.06-1.88–1.8 | 0.22-1.19–1.5 | -0.11 |
| 2099 | 0.05-1.94–1.83 | 0.22-1.1–1.46 | -0.12 |
| 2100 | 0.03-1.96–1.82 | 0.23-1.2–1.45 | -0.13 |
Each country on its own
Good to know
- How fast the population grew or shrank in a year: births minus deaths, plus people moving in minus people moving out.
- Source: UN DESA, World Population Prospects 2024.
- The dashed line is the UN projection (medium variant), a scenario rather than a forecast; the band is its 95% prediction interval.
- Ranks count the 229 countries with a value in 2023, highest first.
- The faint line is the world as a whole, as the same source counts it.
How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Countries through time
Burkina Faso vs South Africa
Health
- Life expectancyBurkina Faso: 61.1 years in 2023South Africa: 66.1 years in 2023
- Child mortalityBurkina Faso: 7.5 per 100 live births in 2024South Africa: 3.5 per 100 live births in 2024
- Infant mortalityBurkina Faso: 52.3 per 1,000 live births in 2023South Africa: 27.9 per 1,000 live births in 2023
- DepressionBurkina Faso: 3.69% in 2017South Africa: 3.75% in 2017
- Suicide rateBurkina Faso: 13.2 per 100,000 people in 2017South Africa: 11.2 per 100,000 people in 2017
People
- PopulationBurkina Faso: 23 million people in 2023South Africa: 63.2 million people in 2023
- Fertility rateBurkina Faso: 4.19 births per woman in 2023South Africa: 2.22 births per woman in 2023
- Urban populationBurkina Faso: 28.9% in 2025South Africa: 63.8% in 2025
- Median ageBurkina Faso: 17.3 years in 2023South Africa: 28.2 years in 2023
- People aged 65 and overBurkina Faso: 2.6% in 2023South Africa: 6.5% in 2023
- Net migration rateBurkina Faso: -1.1 per 1,000 people in 2023South Africa: 3.6 per 1,000 people in 2023
Economy
- GDP per personBurkina Faso: $787 in 2025South Africa: $5,713 in 2025
- GDP growthBurkina Faso: 5.3% a year in 2025South Africa: 1.1% a year in 2025
- InflationBurkina Faso: -0.6% a year in 2025South Africa: 3.2% a year in 2025
- Government debtBurkina Faso: 53.2% of GDP in 2025South Africa: 76% of GDP in 2024
Education
Politics
Conflict
Military
- Military spendingBurkina Faso: 3.3% of GDP in 2025South Africa: 0.74% of GDP in 2025
- Military spending in US dollarsBurkina Faso: $844M in 2025South Africa: $3B in 2025
- Military spending per personBurkina Faso: $37 in 2025South Africa: $49 in 2025
- Military share of state spendingBurkina Faso: 13.2% of government spending in 2025South Africa: 2.2% of government spending in 2025
- Armed forces personnelBurkina Faso: 11,000 people in 2020South Africa: 89,000 people in 2020
- National powerBurkina Faso: 0.09% of world capability in 2022South Africa: 0.55% of world capability in 2022
- Armed forces, share of workersBurkina Faso: 0.12% of the labour force in 2020South Africa: 0.4% of the labour force in 2020
- Arms importsBurkina Faso: 34 million TIV in 2025South Africa: 30 million TIV in 2025