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Burkina Faso vs. Ghana

Demographics

Burkina FasoGhana
Population21,382,659 (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
32,372,889 (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: 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.)
0-14 years: 37.44% (male 5,524,932/female 5,460,943)

15-24 years: 18.64% (male 2,717,481/female 2,752,601)

25-54 years: 34.27% (male 4,875,985/female 5,177,959)

55-64 years: 5.21% (male 743,757/female 784,517)

65 years and over: 4.44% (male 598,387/female 703,686) (2020 est.)
Median agetotal: 17.9 years

male: 17 years

female: 18.7 years (2020 est.)
total: 21.4 years

male: 21 years

female: 21.9 years (2020 est.)
Population growth rate2.58% (2021 est.)2.26% (2021 est.)
Birth rate34.34 births/1,000 population (2021 est.)29.08 births/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Death rate7.92 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.)6.3 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Net migration rate-0.62 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.)-0.17 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Sex ratioat 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.)
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female

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

15-24 years: 0.99 male(s)/female

25-54 years: 0.94 male(s)/female

55-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female

total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2020 est.)
Infant mortality ratetotal: 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.)
total: 33.33 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 36.86 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 29.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2021 est.)
Life expectancy at birthtotal population: 63.06 years

male: 61.28 years

female: 64.89 years (2021 est.)
total population: 69.01 years

male: 67.33 years

female: 70.74 years (2021 est.)
Total fertility rate4.39 children born/woman (2021 est.)3.71 children born/woman (2021 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate0.7% (2020 est.)1.7% (2020 est.)
Nationalitynoun: Burkinabe (singular and plural)

adjective: Burkinabe
noun: Ghanaian(s)

adjective: Ghanaian
Ethnic groupsMossi 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.)Akan 47.5%, Mole-Dagbon 16.6%, Ewe 13.9%, Ga-Dangme 7.4%, Gurma 5.7%, Guan 3.7%, Grusi 2.5%, Mande 1.1%, other 1.4% (2010 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS97,000 (2020 est.)350,000 (2020 est.)
ReligionsMuslim 63.2%, Roman Catholic 24.6%, Protestant 6.9%, traditional/animist 4.2%, none 0.7%, unspecified 0.4% (2017-18 est.)Christian 71.2% (Pentecostal/Charismatic 28.3%, Protestant 18.4%, Catholic 13.1%, other 11.4%), Muslim 17.6%, traditional 5.2%, other 0.8%, none 5.2% (2010 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths3,300 (2020 est.)13,000 (2020 est.)
LanguagesFrench (official), native African languages belonging to Sudanic family spoken by 90% of the populationAsante 16%, Ewe 14%, Fante 11.6%, Boron (Brong) 4.9%, Dagomba 4.4%, Dangme 4.2%, Dagarte (Dagaba) 3.9%, Kokomba 3.5%, Akyem 3.2%, Ga 3.1%, other 31.2% (2010 est.)

note: English is the official language
Literacydefinition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 41.2%

male: 50.1%

female: 32.7% (2018)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 76.6%

male: 82%

female: 71.4% (2015)
Major infectious diseasesdegree 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
degree of risk: very high (2020)

food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal 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
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)total: 9 years

male: 9 years

female: 9 years (2019)
total: 12 years

male: 12 years

female: 12 years (2019)
Education expenditures5.4% of GDP (2018)4% of GDP (2018)
Urbanizationurban population: 31.2% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization: 4.75% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
urban population: 58% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization: 3.06% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Drinking water sourceimproved: 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.)
improved: urban: 97.4% of population

rural: 80.6% of population

total: 89.9% of population

unimproved: urban: 2.6% of population

rural: 19.4% of population

total: 10.1% of population (2017 est.)
Sanitation facility accessimproved: 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.)
improved: urban: 84.2% of population

rural: 49.5% of population

total: 68.7% of population

unimproved: urban: 15.8% of population

rural: 50.5% of population

total: 31.3% of population (2017 est.)
Major cities - population2.915 million OUAGADOUGOU (capital), 1.020 million Bobo-Dioulasso (2021)3.390 million Kumasi, 2.557 million ACCRA (capital), 991,000 Sekondi Takoradi (2021)
Maternal mortality rate320 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)308 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight16.4% (2019)12.6% (2017/18)
Health expenditures5.6% (2018)3.5% (2018)
Physicians density0.09 physicians/1,000 population (2017)0.14 physicians/1,000 population (2017)
Hospital bed density0.4 beds/1,000 population (2010)0.9 beds/1,000 population (2011)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate5.6% (2016)10.9% (2016)
Mother's mean age at first birth19.4 years (2010 est.)

note: median age at first birth among women 25-29
20.7 years (2014 est.)

note: median age at first birth among women 25-49
Demographic profile

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)

Ghana has a young age structure, with approximately 57% of the population under the age of 25. Its total fertility rate fell significantly during the 1980s and 1990s but has stalled at around four children per woman for the last few years. Fertility remains higher in the northern region than the Greater Accra region. On average, desired fertility has remained stable for several years; urban dwellers want fewer children than rural residents. Increased life expectancy, due to better health care, nutrition, and hygiene, and reduced fertility have increased Ghana's share of elderly persons; Ghana's proportion of persons aged 60+ is among the highest in Sub-Saharan Africa. Poverty has declined in Ghana, but it remains pervasive in the northern region, which is susceptible to droughts and floods and has less access to transportation infrastructure, markets, fertile farming land, and industrial centers. The northern region also has lower school enrollment, higher illiteracy, and fewer opportunities for women.

Ghana was a country of immigration in the early years after its 1957 independence, attracting labor migrants largely from Nigeria and other neighboring countries to mine minerals and harvest cocoa - immigrants composed about 12% of Ghana's population in 1960. In the late 1960s, worsening economic and social conditions discouraged immigration, and hundreds of thousands of immigrants, mostly Nigerians, were expelled.

During the 1970s, severe drought and an economic downturn transformed Ghana into a country of emigration; neighboring Cote d'Ivoire was the initial destination. Later, hundreds of thousands of Ghanaians migrated to Nigeria to work in its booming oil industry, but most were deported in 1983 and 1985 as oil prices plummeted. Many Ghanaians then turned to more distant destinations, including other parts of Africa, Europe, and North America, but the majority continued to migrate within West Africa. Since the 1990s, increased emigration of skilled Ghanaians, especially to the US and the UK, drained the country of its health care and education professionals. Internally, poverty and other developmental disparities continue to drive Ghanaians from the north to the south, particularly to its urban centers.

Contraceptive prevalence rate30.1% (2020)27.2% (2017/18)
Dependency ratiostotal dependency ratio: 87.9

youth dependency ratio: 83.4

elderly dependency ratio: 4.5

potential support ratio: 22.1 (2020 est.)
total dependency ratio: 67.4

youth dependency ratio: 62.2

elderly dependency ratio: 5.3

potential support ratio: 17.1 (2020 est.)

Source: CIA Factbook