Kano vs Ouagadougou

Kano and Ouagadougou are level on the CIRA Index at 40. Kano grades better on 7 measures, Ouagadougou on 3; the same 35 measures from public sources for both.

Scores by each organisation's criteria

• CIRA Index: Kano 40, Ouagadougou 40
• OECD: Kano 39, Ouagadougou 33
• UN Tourism: Kano 41, Ouagadougou 44
• UNDRR: Kano 37, Ouagadougou 27

Theme by theme

• Demand and seasonality: Kano 50, Ouagadougou 45
• Economy and jobs: Kano 50, Ouagadougou 25
• Climate and hazards: Kano 25, Ouagadougou 15
• Water and environment: Kano 38, Ouagadougou 38
• Community and housing: Kano 25, Ouagadougou 100
• Access and continuity: Kano 33, Ouagadougou 17

Where Kano is stronger

• Hotel bed or room occupancy: 63.9 % average annual occupancy (country figure) (CoStar / Staynaija Hospitality Trends Report, January 2024). Between 55 and 65: grade 2/4.
• Unemployment rate: 7.6 % of the labour force (region figure) (National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Nigeria Labour Force Survey Annual Report 2023, 2023). Between 5 and 8: grade 3/4.
• Flood hazard: very low (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 4/4.
• Green space: 19.3 % of the urban area that is green or tree-covered (metro figure) (MDPI Land (Auwalu Faisal Koko et al., 'Thirty Years of Land Use/Land Cover Changes and Their Impact on Urban Climate: A Study of Kano Metropolis, Nigeria'), 2020). Between 10 and 20: grade 1/4.
• Access redundancy: 3 independent ways in: international airport, intercity rail, port, motorway (Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria / Nigerian Railway Corporation / Federal Ministry of Works, 2026). Between 3 and 4: grade 3/4.
• Early warning and emergency plan: An updated city plan with public early warning for heat, flood or fire (National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) / Daily Post Nigeria, 2026). Grade 3/4.
• Travel advisory: 3 stricter of the US and Canadian government advisory for the country, 1 (normal precautions) to 4 (do not travel) (country figure) (US State Department and Government of Canada travel advisories, 2026-09-29). Between 2.5 and 3: grade 1/4.

Where Ouagadougou is stronger

• Recovery against 2019: 100.2 % of 2019 visitor nights reached in the latest full year (country figure) (Institut National de la Statistique et de la Démographie (INSD) - Annuaire Statistique National 2023, Chapitre 3.9: Tourisme, 2023). Between 100 and 110: grade 3/4.
• Wastewater safely treated: 52.4 % of domestic wastewater safely treated (country figure) (WHO / UNICEF / UN-Habitat via UN SDG Country Profile (Burkina Faso), 2024). Between 50 and 70: grade 1/4.
• Rent growth: 0.1 % change in rents over the last 12 months (country figure) (Institut National de la Statistique et de la Démographie (INSD), Note IHPC Septembre 2024, 2023-09 to 2024-09). At or below 3: grade 4/4.

Country context (World Economic Forum)

• Nigeria: #104 of 110 in the WEF Travel & Tourism Development Index 2026

Kano in full · Ouagadougou in full

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