According to current projections, Cameroon’s population is projected to increase throughout the rest of the century. Cameroon’s current population of about 26.55 million is expected to increase to 50 million by 2050 and then 89.62 million by 2099.
Despite negative net migration, Cameroon’s population growth rate is 2.59%, adding over 600,000 people to the population every year. This is likely because of Cameroon’s high fertility rate of 4.60 births per woman. Additionally, the birth rate is 34.71 births per 1,000 people and the death rate is 9.028 deaths per 1,000 people.
Cameroon has a young population with a median age of 18.7 years and 41.25% of the population being between zero to 14 years old. With high birth rates expected to continue, the population is also expected to remain relatively young in the future.
| Cameroon Population (as of 8/16/2024) | 29,220,563 |
| Last UN Estimate (July 1, 2024) | 29,123,744 |
| Births per Day | 2,659 |
| Deaths per Day | 561 |
| Migrations per Day | -38 |
| Net Change per Day | 2,060 |
| Population Change Since Jan. 1 | 471,740 |
Net increase of 1 person every 42 seconds
Population estimates based on interpolation of data from World Population Prospects
| One birth every 32 seconds | |
| One death every 2.57 minutes | |
| One emigrant every 37.9 minutes | |
| Net gain of one person every 42 seconds |
City | 2024 Population |
|---|---|
| Douala | 1,338,082 |
| Yaounde | 1,299,369 |
| Garoua | 436,899 |
| Kousseri | 435,547 |
| Bamenda | 393,835 |
| Maroua | 319,941 |
| Bafoussam | 290,768 |
| Mokolo | 275,239 |
| Ngaoundere | 231,357 |
| Bertoua | 218,111 |
In addition, Cameroon is the 24th largest country with a land area of 475,442 square kilometers (183,521 square miles). The country is sparsely populated, however, with merely 40 people per square kilometer (103/square mile), which ranks 167th in the world for population density.
Yaoundé is Cameroon's capital. It was claimed in the latter part of the 19th century by German traders during the ivory industry’s peak. “The country’s name is derived from Rio dos Camarões (“River of Prawns”)—the name given to the Wouri River estuary by Portuguese explorers of the 15th and 16th centuries. In 1884 the Germans extended the word Kamerun to their entire protectorate, which largely corresponded to the present state” (Britannica, 2018). This evolved into the name ‘Cameroon’ that we are familiar with now. Yaoundé’s population is 2.5 million, which makes it the second-largest city in the country after Douala, which has more than 3 million residents. Douala is the 27th most expensive city on earth, and the most expensive African city.
Year | Population | Growth Rate | Density (/km²) | Population Rank | Density Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 29,123,744 | 2.69% | 62 | 52 | 151 |
| 2023 | 28,372,687 | 2.72% | 60 | 52 | 151 |
| 2020 | 26,210,558 | 2.76% | 55 | 53 | 153 |
| 2019 | 25,506,095 | 2.82% | 54 | 54 | 154 |
| 2018 | 24,806,383 | 2.81% | 52 | 55 | 156 |
| 2017 | 24,128,601 | 2.88% | 51 | 55 | 156 |
| 2015 | 22,763,414 | 2.97% | 48 | 56 | 158 |
| 2010 | 19,668,066 | 2.87% | 42 | 59 | 164 |
| 2005 | 17,074,594 | 2.74% | 36 | 59 | 165 |
| 2000 | 14,912,631 | 2.69% | 32 | 62 | 168 |
| 1995 | 13,058,516 | 2.88% | 28 | 62 | 170 |
| 1990 | 11,331,821 | 3.03% | 24 | 61 | 170 |
| 1985 | 9,761,730 | 2.78% | 21 | 68 | 171 |
| 1980 | 8,512,219 | 2.85% | 18 | 67 | 173 |
| 1975 | 7,397,120 | 2.78% | 16 | 70 | 175 |
| 1970 | 6,449,793 | 2.49% | 14 | 70 | 174 |
| 1965 | 5,704,686 | 2.03% | 12 | 72 | 175 |
| 1960 | 5,159,057 | 1.88% | 11 | 72 | 174 |
| 1955 | 4,700,257 | 1.65% | 10 | 72 | 170 |
Year | Population | Growth Rate | Density (/km²) | Population Rank | Density Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 29,123,744 | 2.69% | 62 | 52 | 151 |
| 2025 | 29,879,337 | 2.66% | 63 | 51 | 149 |
| 2030 | 33,777,190 | 2.48% | 71 | 51 | 145 |
| 2035 | 37,893,818 | 2.33% | 80 | 48 | 139 |
| 2040 | 42,208,003 | 2.18% | 89 | 47 | 132 |
| 2045 | 46,629,039 | 2.01% | 99 | 44 | 123 |
| 2050 | 51,096,317 | 1.85% | 108 | 41 | 117 |
| 2055 | 55,557,082 | 1.69% | 118 | 39 | 115 |
| 2060 | 59,960,896 | 1.54% | 127 | 37 | 111 |
| 2065 | 64,266,376 | 1.4% | 136 | 35 | 107 |
| 2070 | 68,458,220 | 1.27% | 145 | 34 | 100 |
| 2075 | 72,513,577 | 1.16% | 153 | 33 | 95 |
| 2080 | 76,344,375 | 1.03% | 162 | 31 | 91 |
| 2085 | 79,916,765 | 0.92% | 169 | 30 | 89 |
| 2090 | 83,203,329 | 0.81% | 176 | 29 | 86 |
| 2095 | 86,190,175 | 0.71% | 182 | 28 | 84 |
18.5
Total
18.2
Male
18.8
Female
There are people over age 18 in Cameroon.
Year | Date |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 2016 |
| 2005 | 30 November 2005 |
| 1987 | 10 April 1987 |
Cameroon’s population is made up of its indigenous ethnicity, the Baka, also known as the pygmies. These are the longest, continuously residing indigenous peoples next to the Cameroon Highlanders which comprise approximately 31% of the population. Equatorial Bantu make up an estimated 19% of the population. Kirdi and Fulani peoples are also a good percentage of the residents of Cameroon.
Cameroonians usually have large, extended families with both polygamous and monogamous marriages in practice. Thanks to the encouragement of large families with many children, more than 60% of the current Cameroonian population is under 25 years of age. The current median age of those residing in Cameroon is 18.5 years of age, with a total life expectancy of approximately 59 years.
Languages in use here include the official use of English and French, with at least 24 major African language groups that are used regularly.
Religious affiliation within Cameroon boasts a whopping 70% Christian belief base. 21% is of the Islamic faith, and a marginal 6% still maintain indigenous belief systems dating back to the cultural inception thousands of years ago (CIA, 2018). Islamic believers are concentrated in the north of Cameroon while Christian believers are dense in the southern and western region of the country.
After a 2017 ranking of 107 and a happiness rating of 4.695, Cameroon has jumped to position 99 in 2018 on the World Happiness Report with an overall happiness rating of 4.975 out of a possible 10.
The indigenous people, called the Baka (or Pygmies), have inhabited the land of Cameroon for more than 2000 years. Europeans started trading with the nation in the late 1400s, with the Germans eventually laying claim to the land in the late 1800s. However, after Germany's defeat in the first world war, the land was split between the French and the British. The people of Cameroon gained independence on the first day of 1960.
Since their independence, the growth rate increase to over 2% annually, and was even higher than 3% in the 1980s.