Urban population growth in Cameroon
Cameroon: Urban population growth was 3.0% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Urban population growth in Cameroon, 1961–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in annual %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for urban population growth in Cameroon is 3.0%, measured in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 65 years on record.
The figure is down 2.2% on the previous year and down 19.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban population growth in Cameroon peaked at 9.2% in 1973 and was at its lowest, 3.0%, in 2025.
Cameroon ranks 44th of 218 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 65 years of available data.
Urban population growth in Cameroon, year by year
| Year | annual % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 3.9% | — |
| 1962 | 4.9% | +25.8% |
| 1963 | 5.8% | +17.2% |
| 1964 | 6.2% | +7.5% |
| 1965 | 6.5% | +5.4% |
| 1966 | 6.8% | +3.8% |
| 1967 | 7.0% | +2.5% |
| 1968 | 7.1% | +1.5% |
| 1969 | 7.1% | +0.6% |
| 1970 | 7.1% | -0.4% |
| 1971 | 7.8% | +10.8% |
| 1972 | 8.9% | +13.2% |
| 1973 | 9.2% | +3.4% |
| 1974 | 8.9% | -3.1% |
| 1975 | 8.1% | -8.3% |
| 1976 | 7.0% | -14.4% |
| 1977 | 6.2% | -10.7% |
| 1978 | 6.1% | -1.7% |
| 1979 | 6.0% | -2.7% |
| 1980 | 6.2% | +3.9% |
| 1981 | 6.2% | +1.0% |
| 1982 | 4.9% | -20.9% |
| 1983 | 4.5% | -9.9% |
| 1984 | 5.0% | +13.3% |
| 1985 | 5.1% | +1.5% |
| 1986 | 5.0% | -1.6% |
| 1987 | 5.0% | -1.5% |
| 1988 | 4.8% | -2.5% |
| 1989 | 4.7% | -2.3% |
| 1990 | 4.7% | -0.9% |
| 1991 | 4.6% | -1.9% |
| 1992 | 4.5% | -2.3% |
| 1993 | 4.4% | -1.7% |
| 1994 | 4.3% | -2.2% |
| 1995 | 4.2% | -2.8% |
| 1996 | 4.1% | -2.6% |
| 1997 | 4.0% | -2.4% |
| 1998 | 3.9% | -1.5% |
| 1999 | 3.9% | -1.3% |
| 2000 | 3.8% | -2.0% |
| 2001 | 3.7% | -1.7% |
| 2002 | 3.7% | -0.1% |
| 2003 | 3.7% | -0.3% |
| 2004 | 3.7% | -1.0% |
| 2005 | 3.6% | -2.7% |
| 2006 | 4.0% | +12.1% |
| 2007 | 3.8% | -5.1% |
| 2008 | 3.6% | -4.8% |
| 2009 | 3.6% | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 3.6% | -0.7% |
| 2011 | 3.6% | -1.3% |
| 2012 | 3.5% | -0.9% |
| 2013 | 3.5% | -0.6% |
| 2014 | 3.7% | +5.7% |
| 2015 | 3.8% | +2.6% |
| 2016 | 3.6% | -4.4% |
| 2017 | 3.5% | -4.7% |
| 2018 | 3.4% | -2.4% |
| 2019 | 3.4% | -0.2% |
| 2020 | 3.3% | -2.2% |
| 2021 | 3.2% | -2.7% |
| 2022 | 3.2% | -1.4% |
| 2023 | 3.2% | -0.1% |
| 2024 | 3.1% | -1.5% |
| 2025 | 3.0% | -2.2% |
Cameroon compared with similar countries
- Cameroon's 3.0% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 2.7%, 1.1× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Cameroon's 3.0% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 3.4%, 90% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Urban 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | +25.8% | 3.9% | 4.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 6.1% | 3.9% | 7.1% | 9 |
| 1970s | 7.5% | 6.0% | 9.2% | 10 |
| 1980s | 5.2% | 4.5% | 6.2% | 10 |
| 1990s | 4.3% | 3.9% | 4.7% | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.7% | 3.6% | 4.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.6% | 3.4% | 3.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.2% | 3.0% | 3.3% | 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 urban population growth in Cameroon?
- Urban population growth in Cameroon was 3.0% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest urban population growth recorded in Cameroon?
- The highest recorded value was 9.2% in 1973.
- What is the lowest urban population growth recorded in Cameroon?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.0% in 2025.
- How does Cameroon rank for urban population growth?
- Cameroon ranks 44th out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is urban population growth rising or falling in Cameroon?
- Over the last ten years it is down 19.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Cameroon data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Urban 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 urban population growth rate for year t is the exponential rate of growth of midyear urban population from year t-1 to t, expressed as a percentage. Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated using World Bank total population estimates and urban ratios from the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects.