Religion in Burkina Faso (2019 census)[1]
  1. Islam (63.8%)
  2. Christianity (26.3%)
  3. Traditional faiths (9.00%)
  4. Others / None (0.90%)
Dominant religion by province in Burkina Faso, 2019.

Burkina Faso is a religiously diverse society, with Islam being the dominant religion. According to the latest 2019 census, 63.8% of the population adheres to Islam.[1] Around 26.3% of the population practises Christianity, 9.0% follow Animism/Folk Religion (African traditional religion), and that 0.9% are unaffiliated or follow other faiths.[2][3] The vast majority of Muslims in Burkina Faso are Sunni Muslims who follow Maliki school of law, deeply influenced by Sufism.[2][3] The Shi'a and Ahmadiyya branches of Islam also have a presence in the country. A significant number of Sunni Muslims identify with the Tijaniyah Sufi order.[citation needed]

Mosque in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso.

Since independence from France in 1960, Burkina Faso, formerly known as Upper Volta, has experienced a continuous decline in identification with traditional faiths (referred to as 'animism') alongside a simultaneous expansion of Islam and Christianity.[4] The 1960 government survey found the majority (68.7%) of the total population identified as adherents of traditional religion, with Muslims and Christians forming minorities in the new state. The survey report noted that the country's religious composition differentiated it from neighboring Muslim-majority Mali and Niger, which were historically ruled by Islamic empires for centuries. In less than half a century, the religious landscape of Burkina Faso would see a complete reversal. Muslims rose from 27.5% of Burkinabé in 1960 to over half of the population by 1996, while Christians similarly increased from 3.8% of Burkinabe to a fifth. This shift is highly pronounced among the Mossi people, the country's largest ethnic group; the 1960 survey found only 21.9% of Mossi identified as Muslim (75.3% adhered to traditional beliefs),[5][6] but around 80% are Muslim today.[7]

The Ouagadougou Cathedral

Legally a secular state, Burkina Faso provides for religious freedom through its constitution.[8] Although the state is formally laic, it has traditionally subsidised private religious schools and the Hajj–the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca.[9] Both Islamic and Christian festivals are officially recognised as public holidays in Burkina Faso.[3] There has been a documented rise in religiosity among Burkinabé Muslims and Christians, particularly Protestants.[9]

Statistics

Censuses

The share of Muslims in Burkina Faso increased from 55.9% to 63.8% of the total population between the 1996 and 2019 general population and housing censuses. In the same time span, the proportion of Burkinabe Christians likewise grew from 19.6% to 26.3% of the population. Conversely, practitioners of traditional religions decreased both in absolute numbers and proportionally, falling from 23.7% to 9.0% of the population in the same period.[6][10]

Religious affiliation by official census year
Religion 1960[5] 1996[6] 2006[6][9][2] 2019[10][1]
# % # % # % # %
Muslim 1,226,500 27.5 5,764,748 55.9 8,485,149 60.5 13,082,289 63.8
Christian 169,480 3.8 2,021,271 19.6 3,249,390 23.2 5,392,856 26.3
—Catholic 165,020 3.7 1,711,893 16.6 2,664,236 19.0 4,121,536 20.1
—Protestant 4,460 0.1 309,378 3.0 585,154 4.2 1,271,320 6.2
Traditional 3,064,020 68.7 2,444,088 23.7 2,150,309 15.3 1,845,464 9.0
No religion N/a N/a 61,876 0.6 52,929 0.4 143,536 0.7
Other N/a N/a 20,626 0.2 79,485 0.6 41,010 0.2
Total 4,460,000 100 10,312,609 100 14,017,262 100 20,505,155 100

Statistics on religion in Burkina Faso are considered approximate because Islam and Christianity are often practised in tandem with African traditional religions. The Government of Burkina Faso stated in its most recent census (2019) that 63.8% of the population practises Islam, and that the majority of this group belong to the Sunni branch,[8][1] while a small minority adheres to the Shi'a branch. A significant number of Sunni Muslims identify with the Tijaniyah Sufi order.[9] The Government has also recorded that some 26.3% are Christians (20.1% being Roman Catholics and 6.2% members of various Protestant denominations), 9.0% follow Traditional indigenous beliefs such as the Lobi and Dogon religions, 0.2% have other religions, and 0.7% have none (atheism is virtually nonexistent).[11][1]

Geography

Grand Mosque of Ouagadougou.

Muslims reside largely around the northern, eastern, and western borders, while Christians live in the centre of the country. People practise traditional indigenous religious beliefs throughout the country, especially in rural communities.[12] The region with the largest Animist population is Sud-Ouest at 48.1%,[1] where the traditional Lobi religion is practised.[13] Ouagadougou, the capital, has a mixed Muslim and Christian population;[12] however, Bobo-Dioulasso, the country's second-largest city, is mostly Muslim. In 2010, small Syrian and Lebanese immigrant communities resided in the two largest cities and were overwhelmingly (more than 90 percent) Christian.[3]

Ethnicity

In 2010, there were more than 60 different ethnicities in the country.[3] Most ethnic groups are religiously heterogeneous, although the Fula, Tuareg, and Dyula are almost entirely Muslim.[14][15] The Mossi are approximately 80% Muslim, with many also practising traditional religions or Christianity (primarily Catholicism).[7] Lobi people largely practise their traditional religion, though the related Wala people in northwestern Ghana have mostly accepted Islam.[13] Along the border with Ghana, there are Christian Gurunsi and Bobo communities.[14]

Freedom of religion

In 2023, Open Doors ranked Burkina Faso as the 23rd worst country to be a Christian.[16] It also scored 3 out of 4 for religious freedom.[17]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Aib, Az (2022-07-01). "Burkina : 48,1% de la population du Sud-ouest pratique l'Animisme (officiel)". AIB - Agence d'Information du Burkina (in French). Archived from the original on 2023-03-26. Retrieved 2022-10-16.
  2. 1 2 3 Comité national du recensement (July 2008). "Recensement général de la population et de l'habitation de 2006" (PDF). Conseil national de la statistique. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 May 2011. Retrieved 20 January 2011.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "International Religious Freedom Report 2010: Burkina Faso". United States Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. November 17, 2010. Archived from the original on November 23, 2010. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  4. ↑ Madore, Frédérick (21 May 2020). "Francophone Muslim intellectuals, Islamic associational life and religious authority in Burkina Faso". Africa [Journal of the International African Institute / Journal de l’Institut Africain International]. 90 (3): 625–646. doi:10.1017/s0001972020000108. ISSN 0001-9720.
  5. 1 2 "Enquête démographique par sondage en République de Haute-Volta 1960-1961 (Tome I)" (PDF). Service de la Statistique et de la Mécanographie. 1970. p. 168. Retrieved 9 August 2026 – via Observatoire démographique et statistique de l'espace francophone (ODSEF).
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Population by religion, sex and urban/rural residence - Burkina Faso". UNdata. 26 February 2026. pp. 1–2. Retrieved 4 August 2026.
  7. 1 2 Murzik Kobo, Ousman (2013). "The Gun and the Rosary: The Peaceful Jihad of Sheikh Boubacar Sawadogo and French colonialism in Burkina Faso, 1920-46". Mershon Center for International Security Studies. Retrieved 9 August 2026. ...while 80 percent of Mossi identified as Muslim.
  8. 1 2 "US State Dept 2022 report". Archived from the original on 2025-08-18. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  9. 1 2 3 4 "Burkina Faso: Preserving the Religious Balance". www.crisisgroup.org. 2016-09-06. Archived from the original on 2024-05-28. Retrieved 2022-10-19.
  10. 1 2 "Cinquième Recensement Général de la Population et de l'Habitation du Burkina Faso - Synthèse des Résultats Définitifs" (PDF). Comité National du Recensement, Institut National de la Statistique et de la Démographie. August 2022. p. 47. Retrieved 4 August 2026. La religion musulmane (l'Islam) est la plus pratiquée au Burkina (63,8% de musulmans). Suivent dans l'ordre décroissant les religions catholique (20,1%), animiste (9,0%) et protestante (6,2%). [The Muslim religion (Islam) is the most practised in Burkina (63.8% Muslim). It is followed in descending order by the Catholic (20.1%), animist (9.0%), and Protestant (6.2%) religious groups.]
  11. ↑ "Enquête Démographique et de Santé et à Indicateurs Multiples (EDSBF-MICS IV) 2010" (PDF). April 2012. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2025-07-15. Retrieved 2015-12-21.
  12. 1 2 "Burkina Faso". United States Department of State. Archived from the original on 2024-05-07. Retrieved 2022-10-16.
  13. 1 2 Asante, Molefi Kete; Mazama, Ama, eds. (2009). "Lobi". Encyclopedia of African Religion. SAGE Publications: 382. doi:10.4135/9781412964623.n245. Retrieved 9 August 2026.
  14. 1 2 "Burkina Faso". Minority Rights Group. Retrieved 9 August 2026.
  15. ↑ "US State Dept 2022 report". Archived from the original on 2025-08-18. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  16. ↑ "Open Doors website, Retrieved 2023-08-01". Archived from the original on 2025-05-18. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  17. ↑ "Freedom House website, Retrieved 2023-08-01". Archived from the original on 2025-07-08. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Burkina_Faso