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Cote d'Ivoire vs. Burkina Faso

Demographics

Cote d'IvoireBurkina Faso
Population28,088,455 (July 2021 est.)

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
21,382,659 (July 2021 est.)

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
Age structure0-14 years: 38.53% (male 5,311,971/female 5,276,219)

15-24 years: 20.21% (male 2,774,374/female 2,779,012)

25-54 years: 34.88% (male 4,866,957/female 4,719,286)

55-64 years: 3.53% (male 494,000/female 476,060)

65 years and over: 2.85% (male 349,822/female 433,385) (2020 est.)
0-14 years: 43.58% (male 4,606,350/female 4,473,951)

15-24 years: 20.33% (male 2,121,012/female 2,114,213)

25-54 years: 29.36% (male 2,850,621/female 3,265,926)

55-64 years: 3.57% (male 321,417/female 423,016)

65 years and over: 3.16% (male 284,838/female 374,057) (2020 est.)
Median agetotal: 20.3 years

male: 20.3 years

female: 20.3 years (2020 est.)
total: 17.9 years

male: 17 years

female: 18.7 years (2020 est.)
Population growth rate2.21% (2021 est.)2.58% (2021 est.)
Birth rate28.67 births/1,000 population (2021 est.)34.34 births/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Death rate7.75 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.)7.92 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Net migration rate1.21 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.)-0.62 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Sex ratioat birth: 1.03 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.01 male(s)/female

15-24 years: 1 male(s)/female

25-54 years: 1.03 male(s)/female

55-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female

total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2020 est.)
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.03 male(s)/female

15-24 years: 1 male(s)/female

25-54 years: 0.87 male(s)/female

55-64 years: 0.76 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female

total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2020 est.)
Infant mortality ratetotal: 57.36 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 64.83 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 49.66 deaths/1,000 live births (2021 est.)
total: 50.71 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 55.05 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 46.24 deaths/1,000 live births (2021 est.)
Life expectancy at birthtotal population: 61.8 years

male: 59.62 years

female: 64.05 years (2021 est.)
total population: 63.06 years

male: 61.28 years

female: 64.89 years (2021 est.)
Total fertility rate3.6 children born/woman (2021 est.)4.39 children born/woman (2021 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate2.1% (2020 est.)0.7% (2020 est.)
Nationalitynoun: Ivoirian(s)

adjective: Ivoirian
noun: Burkinabe (singular and plural)

adjective: Burkinabe
Ethnic groupsAkan 28.9%, Voltaique or Gur 16.1%, Northern Mande 14.5%, Kru 8.5%, Southern Mande 6.9%, unspecified 0.9%, non-Ivoirian 24.2% (2014 est.)Mossi 52%, Fulani 8.4%, Gurma 7%, Bobo 4.9%, Gurunsi 4.6%, Senufo 4.5%, Bissa 3.7%, Lobi 2.4%, Dagara 2.4%, Tuareg/Bella 1.9%, Dioula 0.8%, unspecified/no answer 0.3%, other 7.2% (2010 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS380,000 (2020 est.)97,000 (2020 est.)
ReligionsMuslim 42.9%, Catholic 17.2%, Evangelical 11.8%, Methodist 1.7%, other Christian 3.2%, animist 3.6%, other religion 0.5%, none 19.1% (2014 est.)

note: the majority of foreign migrant workers are Muslim (72.7%) and Christian (17.7%)
Muslim 63.2%, Roman Catholic 24.6%, Protestant 6.9%, traditional/animist 4.2%, none 0.7%, unspecified 0.4% (2017-18 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths13,000 (2020 est.)3,300 (2020 est.)
LanguagesFrench (official), 60 native dialects of which Dioula is the most widely spoken

major-language sample(s):
The World Factbook, une source indispensable d'informations de base. (French)

The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
French (official), native African languages belonging to Sudanic family spoken by 90% of the population
Literacydefinition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 47.2%

male: 53.7%

female: 40.5% (2018)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 41.2%

male: 50.1%

female: 32.7% (2018)
Major infectious diseasesdegree of risk: very high (2020)

food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases: malaria, dengue fever, and yellow fever

water contact diseases: schistosomiasis

animal contact diseases: rabies

respiratory diseases: meningococcal meningitis
degree of risk: very high (2020)

food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases: dengue fever and malaria

water contact diseases: schistosomiasis

animal contact diseases: rabies

respiratory diseases: meningococcal meningitis
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)total: 11 years

male: 10 years

female: 9 years (2017)
total: 9 years

male: 9 years

female: 9 years (2019)
Education expenditures3.3% of GDP (2018)5.4% of GDP (2018)
Urbanizationurban population: 52.2% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization: 3.38% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
urban population: 31.2% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization: 4.75% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Drinking water sourceimproved: urban: 90.4% of population

rural: 67.8% of population

total: 79.2% of population

unimproved: urban: 9.6% of population

rural: 32.2% of population

total: 20.8% of population (2017 est.)
improved: urban: 94.9% of population

rural: 67.9% of population

total: 75.6% of population

unimproved: urban: 4.5% of population

rural: 32.1% of population

total: 24.4% of population (2017 est.)
Sanitation facility accessimproved: urban: 75.9% of population

rural: 32.7% of population

total: 54.5% of population

unimproved: urban: 24.1% of population

rural: 67.3% of population

total: 45.5% of population (2017 est.)
improved: urban: 88.2% of population

rural: 30.2% of population

total: 46.9% of population

unimproved: urban: 11.8% of population

rural: 69.8% of population

total: 53.1% of population (2017 est.)
Major cities - population231,000 YAMOUSSOUKRO (capital) (2018), 5.355 million ABIDJAN (seat of government) (2021)2.915 million OUAGADOUGOU (capital), 1.020 million Bobo-Dioulasso (2021)
Maternal mortality rate617 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)320 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight12.8% (2016)16.4% (2019)
Health expenditures4.2% (2018)5.6% (2018)
Physicians density0.23 physicians/1,000 population (2014)0.09 physicians/1,000 population (2017)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate10.3% (2016)5.6% (2016)
Mother's mean age at first birth19.6 years (2011/12 est.)

note: median age at first birth among women 20-49
19.4 years (2010 est.)

note: median age at first birth among women 25-29
Demographic profile

Cote d'Ivoire's population is likely to continue growing for the foreseeable future because almost 60% of the populace is younger than 25, the total fertility rate is holding steady at about 3.5 children per woman, and contraceptive use is under 20%. The country will need to improve education, health care, and gender equality in order to turn its large and growing youth cohort into human capital. Even prior to 2010 unrest that shuttered schools for months, access to education was poor, especially for women. As of 2015, only 53% of men and 33% of women were literate. The lack of educational attainment contributes to Cote d'Ivoire's high rates of unskilled labor, adolescent pregnancy, and HIV/AIDS prevalence.

Following its independence in 1960, Cote d'Ivoire's stability and the blossoming of its labor-intensive cocoa and coffee industries in the southwest made it an attractive destination for migrants from other parts of the country and its neighbors, particularly Burkina Faso. The HOUPHOUET-BOIGNY administration continued the French colonial policy of encouraging labor immigration by offering liberal land ownership laws. Foreigners from West Africa, Europe (mainly France), and Lebanon composed about 25% of the population by 1998.

Ongoing economic decline since the 1980s and the power struggle after HOUPHOUET-BOIGNY's death in 1993 ushered in the politics of "Ivoirite," institutionalizing an Ivoirian identity that further marginalized northern Ivoirians and scapegoated immigrants. The hostile Muslim north-Christian south divide snowballed into a 2002 civil war, pushing tens of thousands of foreign migrants, Liberian refugees, and Ivoirians to flee to war-torn Liberia or other regional countries and more than a million people to be internally displaced. Subsequently, violence following the contested 2010 presidential election prompted some 250,000 people to seek refuge in Liberia and other neighboring countries and again internally displaced as many as a million people. By July 2012, the majority had returned home, but ongoing inter-communal tension and armed conflict continue to force people from their homes.

Burkina Faso has a young age structure - the result of declining mortality combined with steady high fertility - and continues to experience rapid population growth, which is putting increasing pressure on the country's limited arable land. More than 65% of the population is under the age of 25, and the population is growing at 3% annually. Mortality rates, especially those of infants and children, have decreased because of improved health care, hygiene, and sanitation, but women continue to have an average of almost 6 children. Even if fertility were substantially reduced, today's large cohort entering their reproductive years would sustain high population growth for the foreseeable future. Only about a third of the population is literate and unemployment is widespread, dampening the economic prospects of Burkina Faso's large working-age population.

Migration has traditionally been a way of life for Burkinabe, with seasonal migration being replaced by stints of up to two years abroad. Cote d'Ivoire remains the top destination, although it has experienced periods of internal conflict. Under French colonization, Burkina Faso became a main labor source for agricultural and factory work in Cote d'Ivoire. Burkinabe also migrated to Ghana, Mali, and Senegal for work between the world wars. Burkina Faso attracts migrants from Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, and Mali, who often share common ethnic backgrounds with the Burkinabe. Despite its food shortages and high poverty rate, Burkina Faso has become a destination for refugees in recent years and hosts about 33,500 Malians as of May 2017.

(2018)

Contraceptive prevalence rate23.3% (2018)30.1% (2020)
Dependency ratiostotal dependency ratio: 79.8

youth dependency ratio: 74.6

elderly dependency ratio: 5.2

potential support ratio: 19.3 (2020 est.)
total dependency ratio: 87.9

youth dependency ratio: 83.4

elderly dependency ratio: 4.5

potential support ratio: 22.1 (2020 est.)

Source: CIA Factbook