Central Africa

Cameroon

Cameroon is a centralern African country of roughly 30.2M people, covering 475,442 km² with its capital at Yaoundé. Its economy is worth about $50B in nominal terms, anchored by oil, cocoa, timber.

Population: 30.2M; Projected population, 2026
Source: UN World Population Prospects
Capital: Yaoundé
GDP: $50B
Area: 475,442 km²
Currency: Central African CFA franc

Map

Interactive map of Cameroon — Central Africa

Overview

Cameroon is a centralern African country of roughly 30.2M people, covering 475,442 km² with its capital at Yaoundé. Its economy is worth about $50B in nominal terms, anchored by oil, cocoa, timber.

Government

Cameroon operates as a presidential republic. Independence: 1960. Executive, legislative and judicial functions are exercised from Yaoundé.

Economy

Nominal GDP is approximately $50B, or around $1,654 per capita. The currency in circulation is the Central African CFA franc. Leading sectors are oil, cocoa, timber.

Population

Cameroon has a projected population, 2026 of 30,220,983 people (United Nations Population Division, World Population Prospects 2024 Revision, Online Edition — medium variant), a density of roughly 64 people per km². Values from 2024 onwards are medium-variant projections rather than live counts.

Cities

The largest urban centres are Douala, Yaoundé, Garoua. Yaoundé serves as the seat of government.

History

Modern Cameroon took shape through pre-colonial states, the colonial partition of the late nineteenth century, and independence in 1960. Our History section covers each period in depth.

Languages

Widely used languages include French, English. Official-language policy shapes schooling, courts and broadcasting.

Culture

Music, cuisine, film, textiles and sport in Cameroon form part of a fast-growing creative economy with an expanding export footprint.

Education

Primary enrolment is near-universal in most of the region; the constraints sit at secondary completion, technical training and higher-education funding.

Healthcare

Health spending across Africa averages about 5.7% of GDP. Cameroon's system combines public facilities, private providers and donor-funded programmes.

Business

Company registration, tax administration and access to finance are the practical determinants of doing business in Cameroon. See our Business section for sector reporting.

Investment

Investors typically look at oil, infrastructure and consumer services. Regulatory clarity and FX access are the recurring diligence questions.

Tourism

Visitors come for landscape, heritage and city life. Entry requirements, seasonality and internal transport are covered in our Travel guides.

Transportation

Road remains dominant; rail, ports and aviation capacity vary sharply and are the focus of most current infrastructure investment.

Infrastructure

Electricity access, broadband coverage and logistics quality are the three infrastructure metrics most closely tied to Cameroon's growth outlook.

Statistics

Full time series for population, GDP, trade, inflation, internet usage, education, health, tourism, agriculture and climate are published in The360Africa Data Center.