World Factbook
Cameroon
République du Cameroun (French)/Republic of Cameroon (English)
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Literacy
male
79.7% (2018 est.)
female
66.2% (2018 est.)
total population
72.6% (2018 est.)
Languages
Languages
24 major African language groups, English (official), French (official)
major-language sample(s)
The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information. (English) The World Factbook, une source indispensable d'informations de base. (French)
Religions
Roman Catholic 33.1%, Muslim 30.6%, Protestant 27.1% other Christian 6.1%, animist 1.3%, other 0.7%, none 1.2% (2022 est.)
Sex ratio
at birth
1.03 male(s)/female
0-14 years
1.02 male(s)/female
15-64 years
0.98 male(s)/female
total population
0.99 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
65 years and over
0.87 male(s)/female
Birth rate
30.79 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Death rate
6.73 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Median age
male
18.6 years
total
19.4 years (2025 est.)
female
19.2 years
Population
male
15,683,611
total
31,518,954 (2025 est.)
female
15,835,343
Nationality
noun
Cameroonian(s)
adjective
Cameroonian
Tobacco use
male
9.2% (2025 est.)
total
5% (2025 est.)
female
0.9% (2025 est.)
Urbanization
urban population
59.3% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization
3.43% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Age structure
0-14 years
41.5% (male 6,477,438/female 6,364,987)
15-64 years
55.3% (male 8,488,522/female 8,638,519)
65 years and over
3.2% (2024 est.) (male 463,628/female 533,011)
Ethnic groups
Bamileke-Bamu 22.2%, Biu-Mandara 16.4%, Arab-Choa/Hausa/Kanuri 13.5%, Beti/Bassa, Mbam 13.1%, Grassfields 9.9%, Adamawa-Ubangi, 9.8%, Cotier/Ngoe/Oroko 4.6%, Southwestern Bantu 4.3%, Kako/Meka 2.3%, foreign/other ethnic group 3.8% (2022 est.)
Child marriage
men married by age 18
2.9% (2018)
women married by age 15
10.7% (2018)
women married by age 18
29.8% (2018)
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio
77.6 (2025 est.)
youth dependency ratio
71.8 (2025 est.)
potential support ratio
17.3 (2025 est.)
elderly dependency ratio
5.8 (2025 est.)
Physician density
0.14 physicians/1,000 population (2022)
Health expenditure
Health expenditure (as % of GDP)
3.8% of GDP (2021)
Health expenditure (as % of national budget)
3.9% of national budget (2022 est.)
Net migration rate
-0.32 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Hospital bed density
2.6 beds/1,000 population (2016 est.)
Total fertility rate
3.87 children born/woman (2025 est.)
Drinking water source
improved: rural
rural: 52.5% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 69.6% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 81.6% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 47.5% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 30.4% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 18.4% of population (2022 est.)
Education expenditure
Education expenditure (% GDP)
2.8% of GDP (2023 est.)
Education expenditure (% national budget)
13.8% national budget (2024 est.)
Infant mortality rate
male
50.8 deaths/1,000 live births
total
44.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)
female
41.3 deaths/1,000 live births
Population growth rate
2.37% (2025 est.)
Gross reproduction rate
1.91 (2025 est.)
Population distribution
population concentrated in the west and north, with the interior of the country sparsely populated, as shown in this population distribution map
Life expectancy at birth
male
62.3 years
female
66.1 years
total population
64.2 years (2024 est.)
Maternal mortality ratio
258 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
Sanitation facility access
improved: rural
rural: 27.4% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 60.2% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 83.2% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 72.6% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 39.8% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 16.8% of population (2022 est.)
Alcohol consumption per capita
beer
2.36 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine
0.16 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
total
4.09 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits
0.01 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols
1.56 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Major urban areas - population
4.509 million YAOUNDE (capital), 4.063 million Douala (2023)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
11.4% (2016)
Mother's mean age at first birth
20.1 years (2018 est.)
note: data represents median age at first birth among women 25-49
Currently married women (ages 15-49)
58.1% (2018 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight
11% (2018 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
male
12 years (2023 est.)
total
11 years (2023 est.)
female
10 years (2023 est.)