Burkina Faso Demographics Profile 2008

Population

15,264,735
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2008 est.)

Age structure

0-14 years: 46.3% (male 3,549,034/female 3,521,684)
15-64 years: 51.1% (male 3,885,124/female 3,922,198)
65 years and over: 2.5% (male 154,476/female 232,219) (2008 est.)

Median age

total: 16.7 years
male: 16.5 years
female: 16.9 years (2008 est.)

Population growth rate

3.109% (2008 est.)

Birth rate

44.68 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate

13.59 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Net migration rate

NA

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female
total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate

total: 86.02 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 93.68 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 78.12 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 52.55 years
male: 50.67 years
female: 54.49 years (2008 est.)

Total fertility rate

6.34 children born/woman (2008 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

4.2% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS

300,000 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths

29,000 (2003 est.)

Major infectious diseases

degree of risk: very high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne disease: malaria
water contact disease: schistosomiasis
respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis
note: highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identified in this country; it poses a negligible risk with extremely rare cases possible among US citizens who have close contact with birds (2008)

Nationality

noun: Burkinabe (singular and plural)
adjective: Burkinabe

Ethnic groups

Mossi over 40%, other approximately 60% (includes Gurunsi, Senufo, Lobi, Bobo, Mande, and Fulani)

Religions

Muslim 50%, indigenous beliefs 40%, Christian (mainly Roman Catholic) 10%

Languages

French (official), native African languages belonging to Sudanic family spoken by 90% of the population

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 21.8%
male: 29.4%
female: 15.2% (2003 est.)