Flag of Burkina Faso
Location of Burkina Faso on the globe

Burkina Faso

BF

West Africa

Burkina Faso is home to 5 documented ethnic groups in West Africa — led by Mossi (~52%), Burkina Faso Other (~25%), Fulani Burkina Faso (~9%), Bobo (~7%). This page blends their phenotype and demographic data into one weighted reference: skin tone, facial features, hair texture and build, drawn from published census and ancestry sources.

Demographic Composition

Composition weights are derived from self-identification in published census and demographic surveys. Each row links to the source ethnic-group atlas page.

Ethnic groupWeightSource
MossiMossi52.0%INSD Burkina Faso 2019 Census; Mossi (~52%, ~11M+ of ~21M+ total). Niger-Congo / Voltaic / Mooré language. Concentrated in central Burkina Faso plus Ouagadougou. Founders of the historic Mossi kingdoms (~12th-19th c. CE)
Burkina Faso OtherBurkina Faso Other25.0%Burkina Faso 2019 Census residual; includes Senufo, Lobi, Bissa, Mande, Tuareg, plus other groups across Burkina Faso's approximately 60+ ethnic groups
Fulani Burkina FasoFulani Burkina Faso9.0%Burkina Faso 2019 Census; Fulani / Peulh (~9%); pastoral nomadic, cross-border populations
BoboBobo7.0%Burkina Faso 2019 Census; Bobo (~7%); concentrated in western Burkina Faso
GurmaGurma7.0%Burkina Faso 2019 Census; Gurma / Gourmantche (~7%); concentrated in eastern Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso Phenotype Profile

Burkina Faso has a Mossi-majority demographic structure (~52%) with substantial Fulani (~9%), Gurma (~7%), Bobo (~7%), and other (~25%) communities. Skin tone Fitzpatrick V-VI. Hair texture predominantly Andre Walker 4A-4C.

A descriptive view, not a claim about individuals

This page shows a weighted aggregate of phenotype observations across the Burkina Faso population, based on demographic composition from published census and ancestry sources. Phenotypes within any country are far more varied than the aggregate suggests; this is a descriptive reference, not a deterministic claim about any individual. For source-level detail on individual ethnic groups, see the constituent atlas pages linked below.

Methodology Notes

Composition weights derived from INSD Burkina Faso 2019 Census.

See full project methodology →

Primary Sources

  1. 1.Institut National de la Statistique et de la Démographie Burkina Faso. RGPH 2019. Ouagadougou: INSD; 2022.
  2. 2.Skinner EP. The Mossi of Upper Volta. Stanford University Press; 1964.
  3. 3.Englebert P. Burkina Faso: Unsteady Statehood in West Africa. Westview; 1996.
  4. 4.Izard M. Le Yatenga précolonial: Un ancien royaume du Burkina. Karthala; 2003.
  5. 5.McFarland DM. Historical Dictionary of Burkina Faso. Scarecrow; 1998.

Other countries in West Africa

Aggregate phenotype references for neighbouring West Africa nations, weighted by demographic composition.

Browse all West Africaethnic groups & countries →