Burkina Faso vs Zimbabwe: Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas
Burkina Faso
10.87 million people
in 2020
Zimbabwe
10.31 million people
in 2020
Burkina Faso rank
33rd
Zimbabwe rank
34th
Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas over time
- Burkina Faso
- Zimbabwe
How they compare
Burkina Faso currently reports 10.87 million people against 10.31 million people in Zimbabwe, a difference of 563,200 people.
That makes Burkina Faso's figure about 1.1 times Zimbabwe's.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 15 shared years of data; in 1950 it was Burkina Faso ahead.
Burkina Faso ranks 33rd and Zimbabwe ranks 34th of 236 countries.
Across the 8 decades both report, Burkina Faso averaged higher in 5 and Zimbabwe in 3.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Burkina Faso | Zimbabwe | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 3.26 million people | 2.30 million people | 959,370 people | Burkina Faso |
| 1960s | 3.68 million people | 2.99 million people | 697,560 people | Burkina Faso |
| 1970s | 4.26 million people | 3.84 million people | 418,605 people | Burkina Faso |
| 1980s | 5.02 million people | 5.17 million people | 150,750 people | Zimbabwe |
| 1990s | 5.94 million people | 6.62 million people | 684,950 people | Zimbabwe |
| 2000s | 6.94 million people | 7.61 million people | 678,115 people | Zimbabwe |
| 2010s | 8.84 million people | 8.82 million people | 14,305 people | Burkina Faso |
| 2020s | 10.87 million people | 10.31 million people | 563,200 people | Burkina Faso |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas, Burkina Faso or Zimbabwe?
- Burkina Faso, at 10.87 million people against 10.31 million people in Zimbabwe as of 2020.
- What is the difference in number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas between Burkina Faso and Zimbabwe?
- 563,200 people, with Burkina Faso ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Burkina Faso and Zimbabwe?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do Burkina Faso and Zimbabwe rank globally for number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas?
- Burkina Faso ranks 33rd and Zimbabwe ranks 34th of 236 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Estimated number of people living in rural areas. Rural areas are identified using satellite imagery and population data, applying the same definitions across countries.