Cameroon Population 2024 (Live)

29,165,468

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.

Population Rank
Growth Rate
2024 World Percentage
Land Area
472,710
The current population of Cameroon is 29,165,468 based on projections of the latest United Nations data. The UN estimates the July 1, 2024 population at 29,394,433.

Cameroon Growth Rate

Cameroon Population 2024 (Live)

Cameroon Population Clock

Cameroon Population (as of 3/11/2024)29,165,468
Next UN Estimate (July 1, 2024)29,394,433
Births per Day2,680
Deaths per Day604
Migrations per Day-13
Net Change per Day2,063
Population Change Since Jan. 1146,473

Components of Population Change

One birth every 32 seconds
One death every 2.38 minutes
One emigrant every 110.77 minutes
Net gain of one person every 42 seconds

Cameroon Population Clock

City
2024 Population
Douala1,338,082
Yaounde1,299,369
Garoua436,899
Kousseri435,547
Bamenda393,835
Maroua319,941
Bafoussam290,768
Mokolo275,239
Ngaoundere231,357
Bertoua218,111

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 Population Density Map

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Year
Population
Growth Rate
Density (/km²)
Population Rank
Density Rank
202429,394,4332.66%6253151
202328,647,2932.7%6153152
202026,491,0872.75%5653154
201925,782,3412.81%5553154
201825,076,7472.8%5354155
201724,393,1812.87%5255156
201523,012,6462.97%4956157
201019,878,0362.85%4259161
200517,275,1712.74%3759164
200015,091,5942.7%3262168
199513,211,6472.94%2862169
199011,430,5203.12%2461170
19859,804,2542.85%2169171
19808,519,8912.87%1868172
19757,397,4172.77%1671175
19706,452,7872.55%1470174
19655,690,0862.14%1273175
19605,117,6081.85%1172174
19554,670,5381.59%1072171

Cameroon Population by Year (Historical)

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Year
Population
Growth Rate
Density (/km²)
Population Rank
Density Rank
202429,394,4332.66%6253151
202530,150,7812.62%6452150
203034,051,1032.46%7252145
203538,142,7892.3%8149141
204042,424,0312.15%9047135
204546,825,2631.99%9943125
205051,279,5601.83%10842118
205555,681,6551.66%11838113
206059,993,3511.5%12736109
206564,199,4451.36%13635105
207068,255,1181.23%14432101
207572,118,0451.11%1533195
208075,738,6470.98%1603091
208579,067,7840.86%1672991
209082,094,7350.75%1742890
209584,765,0580.64%1792786

Cameroon Population by Year (Projections)

Cameroon Population Pyramid 2024

Cameroon Median Age

18.5

Total

18.2

Male

18.8

Female

Cameroon Population by Age

There are people over age 18 in Cameroon.

Census Years

Year
Date
20162016
200530 November 2005
198710 April 1987

Cameroon Population Pyramid

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 Rank 2024
Area (km²)
475,442
2024 Growth Rate
Capital
GDP (IMF '23)
$49.26
GDP (UN '22)
$44.34 Bn

Cameroon - General Info

  1. National Institute of Statistics
  2. World Population Prospects (2022 Revision) - United Nations population estimates and projections.
  3. GeoNames

Sources