Largest cities in Burkina Faso by population
The 6 cities the United Nations Demographic Yearbook 2024 lists for Burkina Faso: the capital and every city of 100,000 or more, with the latest figure the country reported. The largest is Ouagadougou with 2,415,266 people.
Who runs cities in Burkina Faso?
Departments (about 350) / Communes (351 in 2022: 49 urban, 302 rural): Prefect appointed for each department; communes normally have an elected council that elects the mayor, but are now run by appointed special delegations. Communes provide basic services such as primary schools, health centres and markets. Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso have special status and are split into arrondissements.
How local power works in Burkina Faso · Level 3: local councils worldwide
| # | City | Population | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ouagadougou (capital) | 2,415,266 | 16 November 2019 |
| 2 | Bobo Dioulasso | 984,603 | 16 November 2019 |
| 3 | Koudougou | 160,239 | 16 November 2019 |
| 4 | Ouahigouya | 124,587 | 16 November 2019 |
| 5 | Kaya | 121,970 | 16 November 2019 |
| 6 | Banfora | 117,452 | 16 November 2019 |
Countries define a city in different ways (the city proper, or the wider urban area) and report in different years, so cities in different countries are not always comparable.
More on Burkina Faso: official statistics · government and power · regions
Sources
- United Nations Statistics Division: Demographic Yearbook 2024, Table 8: Population of capital cities and cities of 100 000 or more inhabitants, latest available year, 2005-2024, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0c6784df022e…)
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