Cameroon Population 2019

Cameroon is a culturally and environmentally diverse coastal country located in Africa, which lies on the western side of Central Africa on the Bight of Biafra, which is a bay of the Eastern Atlantic Ocean. Cameroon is bordered by Chad, Nigeria, the Central African Republic, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, and the Republic of the Congo.

Cameroon's 2019 population is estimated at 25.88 million, up substantially from the 2002 census population of 17.4 million. This makes Cameroon the 52nd most populous country in the world and the 17th most populous in Africa itself. The urbanization rate is currently 3.63%; 56.2% of the country having been urbanized to date according to the World Factbook.

Cameroon Area and Population Density

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.

Largest Cities in Cameroon

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.

Cameroon Demographics

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.

Cameroon Religion, Economy and Politics

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.

Cameroon Population History

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.

Cameroon Population Growth

Cameroon is often a destination for refugees and asylum seekers in the region. In 2007, more than 97,000 refugees moved to Cameroon, most of whom were from the Central African Republic, Chad and Nigeria escaping war. This trend continues, with more than 90,000 additional refugees fleeing to Cameroon from the Central African Republic in 2014 at a rate of 2,000 per week. “Cameroon’s limited resources make it dependent on UN support to host more than 320,000 refugees and asylum seekers as of September 2017” (CIA, 2018).

Cameroon Population Projections

Cameroon's rapid growth rate is expected to persist for a quite a while, potentially doubling its population over the next 30 years. The exact rate of growth, however, is expected to slow somewhat, but not significantly. The current rate of 2.60% is expected to get down to 2.0 percent by 2045. The current projections forecast the population in Cameroon to be 25,958,184 in 2020, 32,979,644 in 2030, 41,020,839 by 2040, and it will likely surpass 50 million by 2050.

Components of Population Change