Urban population in Cameroon
Cameroon: Urban population was 55.7% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Urban population in Cameroon, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in % of total population.
Analysis
Cameroon recorded 55.7% for urban population in 2025. That is the highest value across all 66 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.5% on the previous year and up 5.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban population in Cameroon peaked at 55.7% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 13.6%, in 1960.
Cameroon ranks 142nd of 218 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Urban population in Cameroon, year by year
| Year | % of total population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 13.6% | — |
| 1961 | 13.9% | +2.4% |
| 1962 | 14.4% | +3.1% |
| 1963 | 14.9% | +3.6% |
| 1964 | 15.5% | +4.1% |
| 1965 | 16.2% | +4.4% |
| 1966 | 16.9% | +4.6% |
| 1967 | 17.7% | +4.7% |
| 1968 | 18.6% | +4.7% |
| 1969 | 19.4% | +4.7% |
| 1970 | 20.3% | +4.6% |
| 1971 | 21.4% | +5.3% |
| 1972 | 22.7% | +6.3% |
| 1973 | 24.2% | +6.6% |
| 1974 | 25.8% | +6.3% |
| 1975 | 27.2% | +5.5% |
| 1976 | 28.4% | +4.4% |
| 1977 | 29.4% | +3.7% |
| 1978 | 30.4% | +3.5% |
| 1979 | 31.4% | +3.2% |
| 1980 | 32.3% | +3.0% |
| 1981 | 33.2% | +2.8% |
| 1982 | 34.1% | +2.6% |
| 1983 | 34.9% | +2.4% |
| 1984 | 35.7% | +2.3% |
| 1985 | 36.5% | +2.2% |
| 1986 | 37.3% | +2.0% |
| 1987 | 38.0% | +1.9% |
| 1988 | 38.7% | +1.9% |
| 1989 | 39.4% | +1.8% |
| 1990 | 40.1% | +1.8% |
| 1991 | 40.8% | +1.7% |
| 1992 | 41.4% | +1.6% |
| 1993 | 42.1% | +1.6% |
| 1994 | 42.7% | +1.5% |
| 1995 | 43.4% | +1.5% |
| 1996 | 44.0% | +1.4% |
| 1997 | 44.6% | +1.4% |
| 1998 | 45.1% | +1.3% |
| 1999 | 45.7% | +1.2% |
| 2000 | 46.2% | +1.2% |
| 2001 | 46.8% | +1.1% |
| 2002 | 47.3% | +1.1% |
| 2003 | 47.7% | +1.0% |
| 2004 | 48.2% | +0.9% |
| 2005 | 48.6% | +0.8% |
| 2006 | 49.2% | +1.3% |
| 2007 | 49.7% | +1.0% |
| 2008 | 50.1% | +0.8% |
| 2009 | 50.5% | +0.8% |
| 2010 | 50.9% | +0.8% |
| 2011 | 51.2% | +0.7% |
| 2012 | 51.6% | +0.7% |
| 2013 | 51.9% | +0.7% |
| 2014 | 52.3% | +0.7% |
| 2015 | 52.6% | +0.7% |
| 2016 | 53.0% | +0.6% |
| 2017 | 53.3% | +0.6% |
| 2018 | 53.6% | +0.6% |
| 2019 | 53.9% | +0.6% |
| 2020 | 54.3% | +0.6% |
| 2021 | 54.6% | +0.6% |
| 2022 | 54.8% | +0.5% |
| 2023 | 55.1% | +0.5% |
| 2024 | 55.4% | +0.5% |
| 2025 | 55.7% | +0.5% |
Cameroon compared with similar countries
- Cameroon's 55.7% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 50.9%, 1.1× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Cameroon's 55.7% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 44.9%, 1.2× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 16.1% | 13.6% | 19.4% | 10 |
| 1970s | 26.1% | 20.3% | 31.4% | 10 |
| 1980s | 36.0% | 32.3% | 39.4% | 10 |
| 1990s | 43.0% | 40.1% | 45.7% | 10 |
| 2000s | 48.4% | 46.2% | 50.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 52.4% | 50.9% | 53.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 55.0% | 54.3% | 55.7% | 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 urban population in Cameroon?
- Urban population in Cameroon was 55.7% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest urban population recorded in Cameroon?
- The highest recorded value was 55.7% in 2025.
- What is the lowest urban population recorded in Cameroon?
- The lowest recorded value was 13.6% in 1960.
- How does Cameroon rank for urban population?
- Cameroon ranks 142nd out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is urban population rising or falling in Cameroon?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Cameroon data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Urban population (% of total population). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 66 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. The data are collected and smoothed by United Nations Population Division.