Burkina Faso vs Zambia
Burkina Faso vs Zambia: Government debt
Government debt in 2025: 53.2% of GDP in Burkina Faso and 100.6% of GDP in Zambia, by IMF estimates. In 2025 the value was higher in Zambia, by 47.4 percentage points, or 1.89 times that in Burkina Faso.
% of GDP · IMF
What the numbers say
- Zambia has been higher since 2013, when it overtook Burkina Faso.
- In 2025, Burkina Faso ranked 74 and Zambia ranked 13 of 149 countries, counting from the highest.
- The IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) puts Burkina Faso at 49.7% of GDP and Zambia at 56.7% of GDP in 2031.
Every year
% of GDP · IMF
| Year | Burkina Faso | Zambia |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 53.2 | 100.6 |
| 2024 | 57.3 | 125.5 |
| 2023 | 56.8 | 136.8 |
| 2022 | 59.2 | 99.5 |
| 2021 | 55.5 | 111 |
| 2020 | 45 | 140 |
| 2019 | 41.7 | 103.3 |
| 2018 | 38.1 | 81.2 |
| 2017 | 33.9 | 66.6 |
| 2016 | 32.9 | 61.2 |
| 2015 | 31.3 | 61.9 |
| 2014 | 26.1 | 33.9 |
| 2013 | 25.9 | 25.9 |
| 2012 | 25.2 | 24.9 |
| 2011 | 24.5 | 20.8 |
| 2010 | 23.7 | 18.9 |
| 2009 | 25.9 | 20.5 |
| 2008 | 24.9 | 19.2 |
| 2007 | 22.4 | 21.9 |
| 2006 | 20.1 | 25 |
| 2005 | 39.2 | 75.8 |
| 2004 | 40.7 | 129.9 |
| 2003 | 39.7 | 159.5 |
| 2002 | 43.3 | 180.2 |
| 2001 | – | 210.2 |
| 2000 | – | 261 |
IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) · 2026–2031
| Year | Burkina Faso | Zambia |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 51 | 82.1 |
| 2027 | 50.9 | 77 |
| 2028 | 51 | 72.3 |
| 2029 | 50.4 | 67.2 |
| 2030 | 50 | 61.9 |
| 2031 | 49.7 | 56.7 |
Each country on its own
Good to know
- What the government owes, as a share of the economy’s yearly output.
- Source: IMF, World Economic Outlook, October 2026.
- The dashed line is the IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026), a scenario rather than a forecast.
- Ranks count the 149 countries with a value in 2025, highest first.
How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Countries through time
Burkina Faso vs Zambia
Health
- Life expectancyBurkina Faso: 61.1 years in 2023Zambia: 66.4 years in 2023
- Child mortalityBurkina Faso: 7.5 per 100 live births in 2024Zambia: 4.8 per 100 live births in 2024
- Infant mortalityBurkina Faso: 52.3 per 1,000 live births in 2023Zambia: 38.2 per 1,000 live births in 2023
- DepressionBurkina Faso: 3.69% in 2017Zambia: 3.64% in 2017
- Suicide rateBurkina Faso: 13.2 per 100,000 people in 2017Zambia: 13.1 per 100,000 people in 2017
People
- PopulationBurkina Faso: 23 million people in 2023Zambia: 20.7 million people in 2023
- Population growthBurkina Faso: 2.26% a year in 2023Zambia: 2.83% a year in 2023
- Fertility rateBurkina Faso: 4.19 births per woman in 2023Zambia: 4.1 births per woman in 2023
- Urban populationBurkina Faso: 28.9% in 2025Zambia: 45.9% in 2025
- Median ageBurkina Faso: 17.3 years in 2023Zambia: 17.5 years in 2023
- People aged 65 and overBurkina Faso: 2.6% in 2023Zambia: 1.9% in 2023
- Net migration rateBurkina Faso: -1.1 per 1,000 people in 2023Zambia: 0.5 per 1,000 people in 2023
Economy
Education
Politics
Conflict
Military
- Military spendingBurkina Faso: 3.3% of GDP in 2025Zambia: 1.26% of GDP in 2025
- Military spending in US dollarsBurkina Faso: $844M in 2025Zambia: $343M in 2025
- Military spending per personBurkina Faso: $37 in 2025Zambia: $19 in 2025
- Military share of state spendingBurkina Faso: 13.2% of government spending in 2025Zambia: 4.5% of government spending in 2025
- Armed forces personnelBurkina Faso: 11,000 people in 2020Zambia: 16,000 people in 2020
- National powerBurkina Faso: 0.09% of world capability in 2022Zambia: 0.1% of world capability in 2022
- Armed forces, share of workersBurkina Faso: 0.12% of the labour force in 2020Zambia: 0.24% of the labour force in 2020
- Arms importsBurkina Faso: 34 million TIV in 2025Zambia: 1 million TIV in 2024