Burkina Faso’s GDP per capita has climbed from $248.9 in 2000 to an all-time high of $987.3 in 2024, a 297% increase over 25 years despite notable swings along the way. After an early 2000s growth and a sharp 2008 surge, the economy contracted during the global financial crisis, hitting a low of $630.1 in 2015. From 2022 onward, the country entered its fastest growth phase in over a decade, with GDP per capita rising from $836.1 to $987.3 in just two years.
This acceleration was fueled by a boom in industrial-scale gold production, which accounts for roughly 70% of export earnings, alongside resilient agricultural performance and stronger cross-border trade. In 2024, Burkina Faso’s GDP per capita placed it in Africa’s lower-middle tier, higher than several West African neighbors such as Mali, Niger, and Sierra Leone, reflecting steady progress despite persistent structural challenges.
Burundi recorded its highest GDP per capita in 2015 ($280.97).
By 2024, GDP per capita dropped to $153.93, a decline of nearly 45% from its peak.
Burundi’s population exceeds 13 million (2024), which dilutes income per person even when overall GDP grows.
Structural challenges like limited industrialization, reliance on subsistence farming, and political instability contribute to stagnation.
Since 2015, Burundi has held the lowest GDP per capita in Africa—and at $153.9 in 2024, it is the poorest country in the world by GDP per capita.
