Burkina Faso vs Sri Lanka: Share of urban population who live in the largest city
Burkina Faso
27.7%
in 2020
Sri Lanka
26.0%
in 2020
Burkina Faso rank
84th
Sri Lanka rank
87th
Share of urban population who live in the largest city over time
- Burkina Faso
- Sri Lanka
How they compare
Burkina Faso currently reports 27.7% against 26.0% in Sri Lanka, a difference of 1.7%.
That makes Burkina Faso's figure about 1.1 times Sri Lanka's.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 14 shared years of data; in 1955 it was Sri Lanka ahead.
Burkina Faso ranks 84th and Sri Lanka ranks 87th of 179 countries.
Across the 8 decades both report, Burkina Faso averaged higher in 1 and Sri Lanka in 7.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Burkina Faso | Sri Lanka | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 4.7% | 25.4% | 20.8% | Sri Lanka |
| 1960s | 5.3% | 23.8% | 18.5% | Sri Lanka |
| 1970s | 6.3% | 21.7% | 15.4% | Sri Lanka |
| 1980s | 11.3% | 21.6% | 10.3% | Sri Lanka |
| 1990s | 13.6% | 23.3% | 9.7% | Sri Lanka |
| 2000s | 18.7% | 24.6% | 6.0% | Sri Lanka |
| 2010s | 24.1% | 25.2% | 1.1% | Sri Lanka |
| 2020s | 27.7% | 26.0% | 1.7% | Burkina Faso |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of urban population who live in the largest city, Burkina Faso or Sri Lanka?
- Burkina Faso, at 27.7% against 26.0% in Sri Lanka as of 2020.
- What is the difference in share of urban population who live in the largest city between Burkina Faso and Sri Lanka?
- 1.7%, with Burkina Faso ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Burkina Faso and Sri Lanka?
- 14 years are reported by both, from 1955 to 2020.
- How do Burkina Faso and Sri Lanka rank globally for share of urban population who live in the largest city?
- Burkina Faso ranks 84th and Sri Lanka ranks 87th of 179 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Share of urban population who live in the largest city. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Percentage of the urban population living in the country's largest city (by population). City boundaries are defined using a consistent global approach based on satellite imagery and population data.