Sub-Saharan Africa · Lower middle income
Cameroon: the economy in numbers
Per person: $1,972, or $5,788 at purchasing power parity. Population: 29.9 million (2025).
GDP in 2025, current US dollars: #92 of 204 economies. IMF forecast for 2026: +3.2%.
GDP
Adjusted for US inflation, in 2025 dollars: $6.69 billion in 1960, $58.9 billion in 2025.
GDP per capita
In 2025 dollars: $1,297 per person in 1960, $1,972 in 2025.
Real GDP growth
Average over 2016–2025: 3.3% a year. Years of falling GDP since 1961: 10 of 65.
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)
Inflation
Consumer prices rose by 97.5% from 2000 to 2025. Highest annual inflation: 35.1% in 1994.
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)
Government debt, % of GDP
Highest since 1998: 75.9% of GDP in 2000. IMF forecast for 2031: 34.3%.
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)
Population
1960: 5.16 million · 2025: 29.9 million.
Unemployment rate
1991: 9.0% · 2025: 3.6%.
Life expectancy at birth
1960: 34.7 years · 2024: 64.0 years.
Exports of goods and services
1965: 23.8% · 2025: 13.1%.
Data by year
Show the year-by-year table
| Year | GDP | GDP per capita | Per capita, PPP | Real growth | Inflation | Gov. debt, % GDP | Population | Unemployment | Life expectancy | Exports, % GDP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2031 | 4.4%f | 2.8%f | 34.3%f | |||||||
| 2030 | 4.3%f | 2.9%f | 35.1%f | |||||||
| 2029 | 4.2%f | 3.0%f | 36.8%f | |||||||
| 2028 | 4.1%f | 3.3%f | 38.1%f | |||||||
| 2027 | 3.6%f | 4.3%f | 39.1%f | |||||||
| 2026 | 3.2%f | 3.4%f | 40.1%f | |||||||
| 2025 | $58.9B | $1,972 | $5,788 | 3.2% | 3.4% | 40.5% | 29.9M | 3.6% | 13.1% | |
| 2024 | $53.3B | $1,830 | $5,597 | 3.5% | 4.5% | 43.4% | 29.1M | 3.6% | 64.0 | 15.7% |
| 2023 | $48.8B | $1,720 | $5,415 | 3.3% | 7.4% | 43.6% | 28.4M | 3.6% | 63.7 | 16.9% |
| 2022 | $44.3B | $1,605 | $5,188 | 3.7% | 6.2% | 45.6% | 27.6M | 3.6% | 62.4 | 19.3% |
| 2021 | $45B | $1,672 | $4,794 | 3.3% | 2.3% | 47.2% | 26.9M | 4.0% | 61.1 | 16.5% |
| 2020 | $40.8B | $1,556 | $4,365 | 0.3% | 2.4% | 44.9% | 26.2M | 3.9% | 61.7 | 15.2% |
| 2019 | $39.7B | $1,555 | $4,241 | 3.5% | 2.5% | 41.6% | 25.5M | 3.6% | 61.7 | 19.9% |
| 2018 | $40B | $1,611 | $4,011 | 4.0% | 1.1% | 38.3% | 24.8M | 3.6% | 61.2 | 18.7% |
| 2017 | $36.1B | $1,496 | $3,767 | 3.5% | 0.6% | 36.5% | 24.1M | 3.6% | 60.8 | 18.4% |
| 2016 | $33.8B | $1,442 | $3,627 | 4.5% | 0.9% | 32.1% | 23.5M | 3.5% | 60.3 | 18.9% |
| 2015 | $32.2B | $1,415 | $3,498 | 5.7% | 2.7% | 31.6% | 22.8M | 3.5% | 59.7 | 21.0% |
| 2014 | $36.4B | $1,649 | $3,422 | 5.7% | 1.9% | 20.7% | 22.1M | 3.5% | 59.1 | 23.6% |
| 2013 | $33.7B | $1,576 | $3,239 | 5.0% | 2.1% | 17.5% | 21.4M | 3.7% | 58.7 | 23.6% |
| 2012 | $30.2B | $1,449 | $3,060 | 4.6% | 2.7% | 14.9% | 20.8M | 3.8% | 58.2 | 23.9% |
| 2011 | $30.6B | $1,514 | $2,989 | 3.4% | 2.9% | 15.9% | 20.2M | 4.0% | 57.5 | 24.2% |
| 2010 | $27.5B | $1,399 | $2,914 | 2.9% | 1.3% | 14.0% | 19.7M | 4.1% | 57.0 | 22.4% |
| 2009 | $27.9B | $1,461 | $2,879 | 2.6% | 3.0% | 11.3% | 19.1M | 3.7% | 56.5 | 19.6% |
| 2008 | $27.7B | $1,492 | $2,870 | 2.8% | 5.3% | 11.2% | 18.6M | 3.4% | 56.1 | 27.0% |
| 2007 | $23.9B | $1,326 | $2,818 | 4.3% | 0.9% | 13.8% | 18M | 3.1% | 55.7 | 27.0% |
| 2006 | $20.9B | $1,191 | $2,704 | 3.8% | 5.1% | 18.4% | 17.6M | 3.7% | 55.3 | 24.2% |
| 2005 | $19.5B | $1,143 | $2,598 | 2.2% | 2.0% | 43.8% | 17.1M | 4.4% | 54.9 | 22.2% |
| 2004 | $18.8B | $1,133 | $2,533 | 7.0% | 0.2% | 51.7% | 16.6M | 5.1% | 54.6 | 20.5% |
| 2003 | $16B | $988 | $2,368 | 5.5% | 0.6% | 51.5% | 16.2M | 5.9% | 54.3 | 19.4% |
| 2002 | $12.4B | $790 | $2,263 | 4.5% | 2.8% | 56.6% | 15.7M | 6.7% | 53.9 | 23.0% |
| 2001 | $11B | $715 | $2,191 | 4.3% | 4.4% | 62.2% | 15.3M | 7.5% | 53.6 | 25.3% |
| 2000 | $10.6B | $709 | $2,108 | 3.8% | 1.2% | 75.9% | 14.9M | 7.5% | 53.3 | 24.9% |
| 1999 | $11.6B | $796 | $2,039 | 4.5% | 1.9% | 68.4% | 14.5M | 7.6% | 53.2 | 19.4% |
| 1998 | $11.3B | $799 | $1,975 | 4.7% | 3.2% | 67.8% | 14.1M | 7.7% | 53.0 | 22.0% |
| 1997 | $10.8B | $783 | $1,915 | 4.5% | 4.8% | 13.8M | 7.9% | 53.1 | 26.7% | |
| 1996 | $11.1B | $827 | $1,850 | 4.2% | 3.9% | 13.4M | 8.1% | 53.2 | 24.3% | |
| 1995 | $10.9B | $832 | $1,790 | 2.9% | 9.1% | 13.1M | 8.6% | 53.3 | 21.6% | |
| 1994 | $8.9B | $701 | $1,752 | 1.9% | 35.1% | 12.7M | 8.9% | 53.5 | 21.5% | |
| 1993 | $16.2B | $1,310 | $1,731 | −7.9% | −3.2% | 12.4M | 9.2% | 53.9 | 16.4% | |
| 1992 | $12.1B | $1,005 | $1,890 | −3.1% | −0.0% | 12M | 9.1% | 54.1 | 20.5% | |
| 1991 | $11.8B | $1,015 | $1,963 | −3.8% | 0.1% | 11.7M | 9.0% | 54.2 | 20.0% | |
| 1990 | $12.3B | $1,087 | $2,032 | −6.1% | 1.1% | 11.3M | 54.3 | 20.2% | ||
| 1989 | $11B | $1,001 | −1.8% | −1.7% | 11M | 54.4 | 20.7% | |||
| 1988 | $12.2B | $1,145 | −7.8% | 1.7% | 10.7M | 54.4 | 16.0% | |||
| 1987 | $13B | $1,258 | −2.1% | 13.1% | 10.4M | 54.2 | 16.7% | |||
| 1986 | $11.9B | $1,179 | 6.8% | 7.8% | 10.1M | 53.6 | 23.3% | |||
| 1985 | $8.54B | $875 | 8.1% | 8.5% | 9.76M | 53.5 | 33.4% | |||
| 1984 | $7.31B | $772 | 7.5% | 11.4% | 9.48M | 52.9 | 33.5% | |||
| 1983 | $6.87B | $746 | 6.9% | 16.6% | 9.22M | 52.4 | 30.4% | |||
| 1982 | $6.61B | $732 | 7.5% | 13.3% | 9.03M | 51.8 | 33.2% | |||
| 1981 | $6.61B | $750 | 17.1% | 10.7% | 8.82M | 51.2 | 21.9% | |||
| 1980 | $6.67B | $784 | −2.0% | 9.6% | 8.51M | 50.9 | 27.9% | |||
| 1979 | $5.92B | $718 | 6.0% | 6.6% | 8.24M | 50.5 | 21.1% | |||
| 1978 | $4.66B | $582 | 22.0% | 12.5% | 8.01M | 50.3 | 23.7% | |||
| 1977 | $3.39B | $435 | 13.7% | 14.7% | 7.8M | 50.1 | 25.1% | |||
| 1976 | $2.9B | $381 | −5.5% | 9.9% | 7.6M | 50.0 | 22.6% | |||
| 1975 | $2.86B | $386 | 11.2% | 13.6% | 7.4M | 49.9 | 22.7% | |||
| 1974 | $2.16B | $300 | 10.7% | 17.2% | 7.19M | 49.7 | 25.4% | |||
| 1973 | $1.9B | $272 | 5.4% | 10.4% | 7.0M | 49.5 | 20.7% | |||
| 1972 | $1.5B | $220 | 2.7% | 8.1% | 6.81M | 49.1 | 20.4% | |||
| 1971 | $1.24B | $187 | 3.5% | 4.0% | 6.62M | 48.6 | 23.0% | |||
| 1970 | $1.15B | $178 | 3.1% | 5.9% | 6.45M | 48.0 | 26.2% | |||
| 1969 | $1.1B | $175 | 4.9% | −1.1% | 6.28M | 47.2 | 23.4% | |||
| 1968 | $1.05B | $171 | 6.3% | 6.13M | 46.4 | 22.1% | ||||
| 1967 | $936M | $157 | −10.9% | 5.98M | 45.6 | 20.6% | ||||
| 1966 | $851M | $146 | 4.6% | 5.84M | 44.8 | 21.0% | ||||
| 1965 | $814M | $143 | 2.0% | 5.7M | 44.2 | 23.8% | ||||
| 1964 | $777M | $139 | 3.5% | 5.58M | 43.6 | |||||
| 1963 | $718M | $132 | 3.7% | 5.46M | 43.1 | |||||
| 1962 | $694M | $130 | 3.0% | 5.34M | 42.6 | |||||
| 1961 | $653M | $125 | 1.2% | 5.24M | 35.2 | |||||
| 1960 | $614M | $119 | 5.16M | 34.7 |
e: IMF estimate; f: IMF forecast.
Nearby economies in Sub-Saharan Africa
Nearest by distance between capitals, with GDP per capita.
Angola · Benin · Botswana · Burkina Faso · Burundi · Cabo Verde · Cameroon · Central African Republic · Chad · Comoros · Côte d’Ivoire · DR Congo · Equatorial Guinea · Eritrea · Eswatini · Ethiopia · Gabon · Gambia · Ghana · Guinea · Guinea-Bissau · Kenya · Lesotho · Liberia · Madagascar · Malawi · Mali · Mauritania · Mauritius · Mozambique · Namibia · Niger · Nigeria · Republic of the Congo · Rwanda · Senegal · Seychelles · Sierra Leone · Somalia · South Africa · South Sudan · Sudan · São Tomé and Príncipe · Tanzania · Togo · Uganda · Zambia · Zimbabwe
Rankings
GDP by country · GDP per capita · Real GDP growth · Inflation by country · Government debt to GDP · Stock market to GDP · Population by country · Unemployment by country
Data and methods
- GDP: gross domestic product in current US dollars, converted from the local currency at market exchange rates (World Bank); not adjusted for inflation.
- Purchasing power parity (PPP): GDP per person in international dollars, which buy the same basket of goods and services in every country. It compares living standards across countries in the same year; it is not adjusted for inflation over time.
- In 2025 dollars: the charts can remove US inflation (US consumer price index, annual average) so that dollar amounts from different years compare in today's money. Exchange rate swings still show.
- Growth and inflation: World Bank data (calendar years). Years the World Bank does not cover yet, and the estimates and forecasts, come from the IMF World Economic Outlook (October 2026): its forecasts start in 2026, and the years after a country's last actual year are IMF estimates.
- Government debt: gross debt of the general government (central, state and local government and social security funds) as a percentage of GDP, IMF. The World Bank's central government debt is narrower and covers fewer countries.
- Stock market capitalization: the end-of-year value of domestic companies listed on the country's exchanges (World Federation of Exchanges via the World Bank; before 2016, Standard & Poor's), as a percentage of GDP: the “Buffett indicator”. Investment funds are excluded, and so are companies listed only abroad; companies from elsewhere that list on an exchange count for its country (Hong Kong lists many mainland Chinese companies).
- Unemployment: ILO modeled estimates (share of the labor force); comparable across countries, but they may differ from national figures.
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)