Cameroon Population 2023 (Live)

28,756,825

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
2023 World Percentage
Land Area
472,710
The current population of Cameroon is 28,756,825 based on projections of the latest United Nations data. The UN estimates the July 1, 2023 population at 28,647,293.

Cameroon Growth Rate

Cameroon Population 2023 (Live)

Cameroon Population Clock

Cameroon Population (as of 8/24/2023)28,756,825
Last UN Estimate (July 1, 2023)28,647,293
Births per Day2,650
Deaths per Day608
Migrations per Day-13
Net Change per Day2,028
Population Change Since Jan. 1476,580

Components of Population Change

One birth every 33 seconds
One death every 2.37 minutes
One emigrant every 110.77 minutes
Net gain of one person every 43 seconds

Cameroon Population Clock

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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Cameroon Population by Year (Historical)

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Cameroon Population by Year (Projections)

Cameroon Population Pyramid 2023

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

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 2023
Area
475,442
2023 Growth Rate
Capital
GDP (IMF)
$40.86
GDP (UN)
$32.22 Bn

Cameroon - General Info

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

Sources