Demographics of Cameroon
Population pyramid of Cameroon in 2020
Population29,321,637 (2022 est.)
Growth rate2.75% (2022 est.)
Birth rate35.53 births/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Death rate7.73 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Life expectancy63.27 years
 • male61.49 years
 • female65.09 years
Fertility rate4.55 children born/woman (2022 est.)
Infant mortality rate48.73 deaths/1,000 live births
Net migration rate-0.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Age structure
0–14 years42.34%
65 and over3.11%
Sex ratio
Total0.99 male(s)/female (2022 est.)
At birth1.03 male(s)/female
Under 151.02 male(s)/female
65 and over0.74 male(s)/female
Nationality
NationalityCameroonian
Language
OfficialEnglish, French

The demographic profile of Cameroon is complex for a country of its population. Cameroon comprises an estimated 250 distinct ethnic groups, which may be formed into five large regional-cultural divisions:

  • western highlanders (Semi-Bantu or grassfielders), including the Bamileke, Bamum (or Bamoun), and many smaller Tikar groups in the Northwest (est. 38% of total population);
  • coastal tropical forest peoples, including the Bassa, Duala (or Douala), and many smaller groups in the Southwest (12%);
  • southern tropical forest peoples, including the Beti-Pahuin, Bulu (a subgroup of Beti-Pahuin), Fang (subgroup of Beti-Pahuin), Maka, Njem, and Baka pygmies (18%);
  • predominantly Islamic peoples of the northern semi-arid regions (the Sahel) and central highlands, including the Fulani (French: Peul or Peuhl; Fula: Fulɓe) (14%); and
  • the "Kirdi", non-Islamic or recently Islamic peoples of the northern desert and central highlands (18%).

113,000[1] Igbo people live in Cameroon. The Cameroon government held two national censuses during the country's first 44 years as an independent country, in 1976 and again in 1987. Results from the second head count were never published. A third census, expected to take years to produce results, began on November 11, 2005, with a three-week interviewing phase. It is one of a series of projects and reforms required by the International Monetary Fund as prerequisites for foreign debt relief. The first results were published in 2010.[2]

A Tikar family in the Northwest Province

Population

Population, fertility rate and net reproduction rate, United Nations estimates

According to the 2022 revision of the World Population Prospects[3][4] the total population was 27,198,628 in 2021, compared to only 4 466 000 in 1950. The proportion of children below the age of 15 in 2010 was 40.6%, 55.9% was between 15 and 65 years of age, while 3.5% was 65 years or older.[5]

Total population Population aged 0–14 (%) Population aged 15–64 (%) Population aged 65+ (%)
1950 4 466 00039.656.93.5
1955 4 901 00040.156.43.5
1960 5 409 00040.655.93.6
1965 6 049 00041.554.93.6
1970 6 842 00042.454.03.6
1975 7 838 00043.652.73.7
1980 9 110 00044.651.83.6
1985 10 519 00045.251.23.6
1990 12 181 00045.251.33.6
1995 13 940 00044.452.13.5
2000 15 678 00042.853.73.5
2005 17 554 00041.654.93.5
2010 19 599 00040.655.93.5

Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.I.2010) (Data refer to national projections.):[6]

Age Group Male Female Total %
Total 9 599 224 9 806 876 19 406 100 100
0–4 1 662 298 1 624 936 3 287 234 16.94
5–9 1 412 467 1 370 992 2 783 459 14.34
10–14 1 227 470 1 167 201 2 394 671 12.34
15–19 1 068 509 1 101 526 2 170 035 11.18
20–24 855 334 981 955 1 837 289 9.47
25–29 712 550 813 266 1 525 816 7.86
30–34 588 210 621 397 1 209 607 6.23
35–39 460 394 482 319 942 713 4.86
40–44 388 539 405 307 793 846 4.09
45–49 323 507 316 740 640 247 3.30
50–54 261 626 260 284 521 910 2.69
55–59 178 876 159 112 337 988 1.74
60–64 155 208 160 671 315 879 1.63
65-69 110 645 116 645 227 290 1.17
70-74 88 969 100 602 189 571 0.98
75-79 47 173 50 905 98 078 0.51
80-84 31 609 39 976 71 585 0.37
85-89 12 109 14 455 26 564 0.14
90-94 6 942 8 773 15 715 0.08
95+ 6 789 9 814 16 603 0.09
Age group Male Female Total Percent
0–14 4 302 235 4 163 129 8 465 364 43.62
15–64 4 992 753 5 302 577 10 295 330 53.05
65+ 304 236 341 170 645 406 3.33

Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.VII.2019) (Source: Population projections and estimates of priority targets for the various health programs and interventions, National Institute of Statistics (2016).):[7]

Age Group Male Female Total %
Total 12 609 256 12 883 098 25 492 354 100
0–4 1 904 057 1 975 656 3 879 713 15.22
5–9 1 720 605 1 757 707 3 478 312 13.64
10–14 1 574 388 1 524 415 3 098 803 12.16
15–19 1 386 436 1 346 672 2 733 108 10.72
20–24 1 213 959 1 171 500 2 385 459 9.36
25–29 1 035 624 985 314 2 020 938 7.93
30–34 888 422 967 529 1 855 951 7.28
35–39 684 460 786 728 1 471 188 5.77
40–44 584 695 650 891 1 235 586 4.85
45–49 438 096 447 171 885 267 3.47
50–54 352 927 392 864 745 791 2.93
55–59 275 690 281 896 557 586 2.19
60–64 220 891 242 450 463 341 1.82
65-69 143 542 141 522 285 064 1.12
70-74 101 474 110 948 212 422 0.83
75-79 49 486 55 219 104 705 0.41
80+ 34 504 44 616 79 120 0.31
Age group Male Female Total Percent
0–14 5 199 050 5 257 778 10 456 828 41.02
15–64 7 130 686 7 273 015 14 403 701 56.50
65+ 279 520 352 305 631 825 2.48

Fertility and births

Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR):[8]

Year CBR (Total) TFR (Total) CBR (Urban) TFR (Urban) CBR (Rural) TFR (Rural)
1991 39 5.82 (5.17) 5.17 (4.52) 6.29 (5.66)
1998 37.4 5.2 (4.6) 31.5 3.9 (3.4) 40.1 5.8 (5.3)
2004 37.8 5.0 (4.5) 34.9 4.0 (3.7) 40.5 6.1 (5.6)
2011 38.1 5.1 (4.5) 34.6 4.0 41.3 6.4
2018 36.8 4.8 (4.3) 32.9 3.8 (3.4) 40.7 6.0 (5.5)

Fertility data as of 2011 (DHS Program):[9]

Region Total fertility rate Percentage of women age 15–49 currently pregnant Mean number of children ever born to women age 40–49
Adamaoua5.28.66.5
Centre (except Yaoundé)5.68.85.5
Douala3.28.14.5
Est5.412.05.6
Extrême-Nord6.814.87.3
Littoral (except Douala)4.68.45.1
Nord6.512.47.1
Nord-Ouest4.46.95.4
Ouest6.010.15.8
Sud4.69.65.2
Sud-Ouest4.07.65.5
Yaoundé3.56.54.4

Vital statistics

Registration of vital events is in Cameroon not complete. The Population Departement of the United Nations prepared the following estimates.[10]

Year Mid-year population Live births Deaths per Natural change CBR* CDR* NC* IMR* TFR* Life expectancy (years)
1950 4 316 000   187 000   121 000   66 000 43.2 28.1 15.2 194.2 5.54 34.46
1951   4 382 000   189 000   122 000   67 000 43.2 27.9 15.2 193.1 5.52 34.64
1952   4 450 000   192 000   123 000   68 000 43.0 27.7 15.4 190.9 5.49 35.01
1953   4 519 000   194 000   123 000   71 000 43.0 27.3 15.6 188.5 5.47 35.43
1954   4 592 000   197 000   122 000   76 000 42.9 26.5 16.5 182.7 5.47 36.42
1955   4 671 000   201 000   120 000   81 000 43.0 25.7 17.3 177.3 5.47 37.36
1956   4 754 000   205 000   119 000   86 000 43.1 25.0 18.1 172.0 5.49 38.35
1957   4 841 000   209 000   122 000   88 000 43.3 25.1 18.2 167.0 5.51 38.26
1958   4 932 000   214 000   121 000   94 000 43.5 24.5 19.0 162.4 5.55 39.10
1959   5 028 000   220 000   121 000   99 000 43.7 24.0 19.8 158.3 5.59 39.84
1960   5 118 000   226 000   147 000   80 000 44.2 28.6 15.5 154.8 5.65 34.82
1961   5 200 000   232 000   146 000   86 000 44.7 28.2 16.5 151.9 5.71 35.41
1962   5 304 000   239 000 118 000   121 000 45.1 22.3 22.8 149.6 5.77 42.52
1963   5 428 000   246 000   120 000   126 000 45.3 22.0 23.3 147.5 5.83 42.92
1964   5 556 000   252 000   121 000   131 000 45.4 21.8 23.6 145.3 5.89 43.31
1965   5 690 000   258 000   122 000   137 000 45.4 21.4 24.0 142.7 5.95 43.89
1966   5 830 000   265 000   122 000   142 000 45.4 21.0 24.4 139.6 6.00 44.44
1967   5 975 000   271 000   122 000   149 000 45.3 20.4 24.9 135.8 6.06 45.18
1968   6 127 000   277 000   121 000   156 000 45.2 19.8 25.4 131.7 6.11 45.98
1969   6 286 000   283 000   121 000   163 000 45.1 19.2 25.9 127.5 6.14 46.82
1970   6 453 000   291 000   120 000   171 000 45.1 18.6 26.5 123.4 6.20 47.58
1971   6 627 000   299 000   120 000   179 000 45.1 18.1 27.0 119.9 6.26 48.25
1972   6 809 000   306 000   120 000   186 000 45.0 17.6 27.3 117.0 6.28 48.90
1973   6 999 000   315 000   121 000   193 000 44.9 17.3 27.6 115.0 6.31 49.32
1974   7 195 000   323 000   123 000   200 000 44.9 17.1 27.7 113.8 6.34 49.57
1975   7 397 000   332 000   126 000   206 000 44.9 17.0 27.9 113.1 6.39 49.72
1976   7 598 000   344 000   129 000   215 000 45.2 16.9 28.3 112.6 6.45 49.88
1977   7 797 000   355 000   132 000   223 000 45.4 16.9 28.6 111.9 6.52 50.00
1978   8 013 000   365 000   134 000   232 000 45.6 16.7 28.9 110.9 6.56 50.28
1979   8 243 000   378 000   136 000   242 000 45.8 16.5 29.3 109.4 6.61 50.58
1980   8 520 000   390 000   137 000   253 000 45.9 16.2 29.8 107.3 6.66 51.04
1981   8 829 000   407 000   139 000   267 000 46.1 15.8 30.3 104.6 6.64 51.52
1982   9 047 000   421 000   141 000   281 000 46.2 15.4 30.8 101.6 6.62 52.09
1983   9 241 000   422 000   138 000   284 000 45.6 14.9 30.7 98.3 6.61 52.76
1984   9 509 000   431 000   138 000   293 000 45.3 14.5 30.8 95.1 6.59 53.22
1985   9 804 000   444 000   138 000   306 000 45.2 14.0 31.2 92.0 6.58 53.90
1986   10 113 000   459 000   140 000   318 000 45.3 13.9 31.5 89.6 6.59 54.04
1987   10 434 000   471 000   140 000   332 000 45.2 13.4 31.8 87.2 6.56 54.72
1988   10 760 000   482 000   142 000   340 000 44.7 13.2 31.5 85.9 6.50 54.93
1989   11 089 000   492 000   145 000   347 000 44.4 13.1 31.3 85.3 6.44 54.95
1990   11 431 000   505 000   150 000   355 000 44.1 13.1 31.0 85.5 6.39 54.87
1991   11 778 000   517 000   155 000   362 000 43.9 13.2 30.7 86.3 6.35 54.66
1992   12 129 000   528 000   160 000   368 000 43.5 13.2 30.3 87.4 6.29 54.48
1993   12 487 000   538 000   167 000   372 000 43.1 13.4 29.7 88.7 6.19 54.06
1994   12 849 000   549 000   174 000   374 000 42.7 13.6 29.1 89.9 6.08 53.53
1995   13 212 000   556 000   180 000   376 000 42.1 13.6 28.5 90.7 5.96 53.22
1996   13 575 000   564 000   187 000   377 000 41.5 13.8 27.7 91.4 5.83 52.82
1997   13 941 000   573 000   191 000   382 000 41.1 13.7 27.4 91.6 5.72 52.74
1998   14 315 000   588 000   197 000   391 000 41.1 13.7 27.3 91.5 5.67 52.58
1999   14 699 000   607 000   200 000   407 000 41.3 13.6 27.7 90.6 5.63 52.70
2000   15 092 000   620 000   203 000   417 000 41.0 13.4 27.6 89.4 5.53 52.93
2001   15 493 000   632 000   205 000   427 000 40.8 13.2 27.5 87.9 5.44 53.14
2002   15 914 000   652 000   208 000   445 000 41.0 13.0 27.9 86.1 5.46 53.42
2003   16 354 000   674 000   209 000   465 000 41.2 12.8 28.4 84.3 5.46 53.88
2004   16 809 000   694 000   211 000   483 000 41.3 12.6 28.7 82.5 5.45 54.18
2005   17 275 000   711 000   215 000   496 000 41.1 12.4 28.7 80.8 5.41 54.36
2006   17 751 000   728 000   215 000   513 000 41.0 12.1 28.9 79.1 5.35 54.86
2007   18 252 000   745 000   217 000   528 000 40.8 11.9 28.9 77.4 5.33 55.17
2008   18 777 000   762 000   218 000   544 000 40.6 11.6 29.0 75.5 5.28 55.66
2009   19 319 000   779 000   218 000   561 000 40.3 11.3 29.0 73.7 5.23 56.10
2010   19 878 000   795 000   219 000   576 000 40.0 11.0 29.0 71.4 5.16 56.58
2011   20 449 000   805 000   218 000   588 000 39.4 10.6 28.7 69.1 5.06 57.13
2012   21 033 000   815 000   215 000   600 000 38.8 10.2 28.5 66.6 4.99 57.79
2013   21 633 000   827 000   213 000   615 000 38.2 9.8 28.4 64.0 4.91 58.48
2014   22 300 000   842 000   212 000   629 000 37.8 9.5 28.3 61.6 4.86 58.94
2015   23 013 000   869 000   211 000   658 000 37.8 9.2 28.6 59.1 4.83 59.66
2016   23 712 000   895 000   211 000   684 000 37.7 8.9 28.9 56.9 4.82 60.23
2017   24 393 000   913 000   210 000   703 000 37.4 8.6 28.8 54.8 4.77 60.81
2018   25 077 000   921 000   210 000   711 000 36.7 8.4 28.3 53.0 4.69 61.18
2019   25 782 000   932 000   210 000   722 000 36.1 8.2 28.0 51.4 4.62 61.58
2020   26 491 000   941 000   223 000   718 000 35.5 8.4 27.1 49.9 4.54 60.83
2021   27 199 000   951 000   233 000   717 000 34.9 8.6 26.4 48.5 4.46 60.33
* CBR = crude birth rate (per 1,000); CDR = crude death rate (per 1,000); NC = natural change (per 1,000); IMR = infant mortality rate per 1,000 births; TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman)

Ethnic groups

Speakers of Makaa–Njem languages in Cameroon and neighbouring countries.
The ethnic groups of Cameroon who speak Duala languages.

Languages

Linguistic survey of Nigeria, Cameroon, and Benin

There are 24 major African language groups in Cameroon; additionally, English and French are official languages. Cameroonian Pidgin English is also widely spoken.

Peoples concentrated in the Southwest and Northwest Provinces—around Buea and Bamenda—use standard English and Cameroonian Pidgin English, as well as their local languages. In the three northern provinces—Adamawa, North, and Far North—either French or Fulfulde (the language of the Fulani) is widely spoken. Elsewhere, French is the principal second language, although pidgin and some local languages such as Ewondo, the dialect of a Beti clan from the Yaoundé area, have a wide currency. In Far North Region the northernmost constituent province of Cameroon, Mafa Language Arab Shuwa (an Arab dialect) and is spoken by the Baggara Arabs (also called Arab Shuwa).[13]

Indigenous languages of Cameroon include:

Other demographic statistics

Estimated number of inhabitants (in thousands), based on 2005 data from the Food and Agriculture Organization.

Demographic statistics according to the World Population Review in 2022.[14]

  • One birth every 34 seconds
  • One death every 2 minutes
  • One net migrant every 111 minutes
  • Net gain of one person every 46 seconds

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook.[15]

Population

29,321,637 (2022 est.)
25,640,965 (July 2018 est.)
24,994,885 (2017 est.)
Note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2018 est.)

Religion

Roman Catholic 38.3%, Protestant 25.5%, other Christian 6.9%, Muslim 24.4%, animist 2.2%, other 0.5%, none 2.2% (2018 est.)

Age structure

Population pyramid of Cameroon in 2020
0-14 years: 42.34% (male 5,927,640/female 5,820,226)
15-24 years: 20.04% (male 2,782,376/female 2,776,873)
25-54 years: 30.64% (male 4,191,151/female 4,309,483)
55-64 years: 3.87% (male 520,771/female 552,801)
65 years and over: 3.11% (male 403,420/female 460,248) (2020 est.)
0-14 years: 42.15% (male 5,445,142 /female 5,362,166)
15-24 years: 19.6% (male 2,524,031 /female 2,502,072)
25-54 years: 31.03% (male 4,001,963 /female 3,954,258)
55-64 years: 3.99% (male 499,101 /female 524,288)
65 years and over: 3.23% (male 384,845 /female 443,099) (2018 est.)

Birth rate

35.53 births/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 14th
35 births/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 21st
35.4 births/1,000 population (2017 est.)

Death rate

7.73 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 101st
9.4 deaths/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 49th
9.6 deaths/1,000 population (2017 est.)

Total fertility rate

4.55 children born/woman (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 19th
4.58 children born/woman (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 24th
According to Cameroon government website, average children per woman was 5.0 in 2004,[16] 4.7 in 2016.

Net migration rate

-0.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 119th
-0.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2017 est.) Country comparison to the world: 104th
-0.1 migrants/1,000 population (2017 est.)

Mother's mean age at first birth

20.1 years (2018 est.)
note: median age at first birth among women 25-49
19.7 years (2011 est.)
note: median age at first birth among women 25-29

Median age

total: 18.5 years. Country comparison to the world: 209th
male: 18.2 years
female: 18.8 years (2020 est.)
total: 18.6 years. Country comparison to the world: 208th
male: 18.5 years
female: 18.7 years (2018 est.)
total: 18.5 years
male: 18.4 years
female: 18.7 years (2017 est.)

Population growth rate

2.75% (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 15th
2.54% (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 20th
2.56% (2013 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 58.7% of total population (2022)
rate of urbanization: 3.43% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
urban population: 56.4% of total population (2018)
rate of urbanization: 3.63% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)
Urban population: 58% of total population (2010)
Rate of urbanization: 3.3% annual rate of change (2010–15 est.)

Sex ratio

At birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
Under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female
Total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2009 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 63.27 years Country comparison to the world: 210th
male: 61.49 years
female: 65.09 years (2022 est.)
total population: 59 years
male: 57.6 years
female: 60.4 years (2017 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

19.3% (2018)
34.4% (2014)

Dependency ratios

total dependency ratio: 85.9 (2015 est.)
youth dependency ratio: 80 (2015 est.)
elderly dependency ratio: 5.9 (2015 est.)
potential support ratio: 17 (2015 est.)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

total: 12 years
male: 13 years
female: 11 years (2016)

HIV/AIDS

Adult prevalence rate: 3.7% (2017 est.)
People living with HIV/AIDS: 510,000 (2017 est.)
Deaths: 24,000 (2017 est.)

Major infectious diseases

Degree of risk: very high
Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A and hepatitis E, and typhoid fever
Vectorborne diseases: malaria and yellow fever
Water contact disease: schistosomiasis
Respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis
Animal contact disease: rabies (2009)

Nationality

Noun: Cameroonian(s)
Adjective: Cameroonian

Literacy

Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 77.1% (2018 est.)
Male: 82.6%
Female: 71.6%

Education expenditure

2.8% of GDP (2013)

References

  1. ↑ "PeopleGroups.org - Igbo".
  2. ↑ Cameroon - Third General Census of Population and Housing 2005 - IPUMS Subset (download first findings "Rapport de presentation des résultats définitifs" - pdf)
  3. ↑ "World Population Prospects 2022". population.un.org. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  4. ↑ "World Population Prospects 2022: Demographic indicators by region, subregion and country, annually for 1950-2100" (XSLX). population.un.org ("Total Population, as of 1 July (thousands)"). United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  5. ↑ "Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, World Population Prospects: The 2022 Revision". Esa.un.org. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
  6. ↑ "UNSD — Demographic and Social Statistics".
  7. ↑ "UNSD — Demographic and Social Statistics".
  8. ↑ "MEASURE DHS: Demographic and Health Surveys". microdata.worldbank.org.
  9. ↑ "Cameroun : Enquête Démographique et de Santé et à Indicateurs Multiples 2011" (PDF). Dhsprogram.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-10-09. Retrieved 2017-08-27.
  10. ↑ United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs Population Division (2022). "World Population Prospects 2022 Demographic indicators by region, subregion and country, annually for 1950-2100" (XLS (91MB)). United Nations Population Division. 27 (Online ed.). New York: United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. rows 3317:3388, cols M,X,AE,S,AH,S,AA,AV,AI. Archived from the original on 2022-08-09.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Africa ::CAMEROON". CIA The World Factbook. 14 April 2022.
  12. ↑ "Africa ::CAMEROON". CIA The World Factbook. 14 April 2022.
  13. ↑ Gordon, Raymond G., Jr. (ed.) (2005): "Languages of Cameroon". Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 15th ed. Dallas: SIL International. Accessed 25 June 2006.
  14. ↑ "Cameroon Population 2022", World Population Review
  15. ↑ Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: "The World FactBook - Cameroon", The World Factbook, July 12, 2018
  16. ↑ "LA POPULATION DU CAMEROUN EN 2010" (PDF). Statistics-cameroon.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-05-28. Retrieved 2017-08-27.

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