Population growth in Cameroon
Cameroon: Population growth was 2.6% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Population growth in Cameroon, 1961–2025
Source: World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), note: Derived from total population, publisher: UN Population Division. Measured in annual %.
Analysis
Cameroon recorded 2.6% for population growth in 2025.
That represents a change of down 2.0% on the previous year and down 18.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, population growth in Cameroon peaked at 3.5% in 1981 and was at its lowest, 1.5%, in 1961.
Cameroon ranks 22nd of 218 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 65 years of available data.
Population growth in Cameroon, year by year
| Year | annual % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 1.5% | — |
| 1962 | 1.9% | +21.7% |
| 1963 | 2.2% | +16.4% |
| 1964 | 2.2% | +0.8% |
| 1965 | 2.2% | +1.7% |
| 1966 | 2.3% | +2.5% |
| 1967 | 2.4% | +3.2% |
| 1968 | 2.5% | +3.6% |
| 1969 | 2.5% | +3.5% |
| 1970 | 2.6% | +2.9% |
| 1971 | 2.7% | +2.2% |
| 1972 | 2.7% | +1.7% |
| 1973 | 2.8% | +1.2% |
| 1974 | 2.8% | +0.9% |
| 1975 | 2.8% | +0.5% |
| 1976 | 2.7% | -4.0% |
| 1977 | 2.6% | -3.7% |
| 1978 | 2.7% | +5.7% |
| 1979 | 2.8% | +2.8% |
| 1980 | 3.3% | +16.1% |
| 1981 | 3.5% | +7.9% |
| 1982 | 2.4% | -32.2% |
| 1983 | 2.0% | -14.0% |
| 1984 | 2.8% | +35.8% |
| 1985 | 3.0% | +7.3% |
| 1986 | 3.0% | +1.1% |
| 1987 | 3.0% | +0.9% |
| 1988 | 3.0% | -1.8% |
| 1989 | 2.9% | -1.8% |
| 1990 | 2.9% | +0.6% |
| 1991 | 2.9% | -1.0% |
| 1992 | 2.9% | -1.7% |
| 1993 | 2.8% | -0.6% |
| 1994 | 2.8% | -1.4% |
| 1995 | 2.7% | -2.2% |
| 1996 | 2.7% | -2.0% |
| 1997 | 2.7% | -1.5% |
| 1998 | 2.6% | -0.1% |
| 1999 | 2.7% | +0.2% |
| 2000 | 2.6% | -0.8% |
| 2001 | 2.6% | -0.2% |
| 2002 | 2.7% | +2.1% |
| 2003 | 2.7% | +1.7% |
| 2004 | 2.7% | +0.7% |
| 2005 | 2.8% | +0.3% |
| 2006 | 2.7% | -0.3% |
| 2007 | 2.8% | +2.1% |
| 2008 | 2.9% | +2.0% |
| 2009 | 2.9% | +0.1% |
| 2010 | 2.9% | -0.3% |
| 2011 | 2.8% | -1.0% |
| 2012 | 2.8% | -0.5% |
| 2013 | 2.8% | -0.1% |
| 2014 | 3.0% | +7.7% |
| 2015 | 3.1% | +3.7% |
| 2016 | 3.0% | -4.8% |
| 2017 | 2.8% | -5.2% |
| 2018 | 2.8% | -2.3% |
| 2019 | 2.8% | +0.4% |
| 2020 | 2.7% | -2.1% |
| 2021 | 2.7% | -2.6% |
| 2022 | 2.6% | -1.0% |
| 2023 | 2.6% | +0.5% |
| 2024 | 2.6% | -1.1% |
| 2025 | 2.6% | -2.0% |
Cameroon compared with similar countries
- Cameroon's 2.6% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 1.7%, 1.5× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Cameroon's 2.6% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 2.3%, 1.1× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Population growth in Cameroon changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | +35.8% | 2.0% | 2.8% |
| 1982 | -32.2% | 3.5% | 2.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2.2% | 1.5% | 2.5% | 9 |
| 1970s | 2.7% | 2.6% | 2.8% | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.9% | 2.0% | 3.5% | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.8% | 2.6% | 2.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.7% | 2.6% | 2.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.9% | 2.8% | 3.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.6% | 2.6% | 2.7% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Cameroon
More climate change data for Cameroon
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 90.03 million kg (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 15,120 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 5,419 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 9,701 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 20.45 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 346.46 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 1,047 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 798.71 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 248.42 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 3.01 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is population growth in Cameroon?
- Population growth in Cameroon was 2.6% in 2025, according to World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), note: Derived from total population, publisher: UN Population Division.
- What is the highest population growth recorded in Cameroon?
- The highest recorded value was 3.5% in 1981.
- What is the lowest population growth recorded in Cameroon?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.5% in 1961.
- How does Cameroon rank for population growth?
- Cameroon ranks 22nd out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is population growth rising or falling in Cameroon?
- Over the last ten years it is down 18.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Cameroon data come from?
- The figures come from World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), note: Derived from total population, publisher: UN Population Division, published as part of Population growth (annual %). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 65 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Annual population growth rate for year t is the exponential rate of growth of midyear population from year t-1 to t, expressed as a percentage. Population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship.