Economy · Population · Cameroon
Cameroon’s population rose to 29.9 m people in 2025.
29.9 m people
2025
Up 0.76 m people from 2024.
Updated 8 Oct 2026
In plain words
29.9 m people
What it is. This is the total number of people living in Cameroon at the middle of the year, counted as one headline figure. Between censuses the number is an estimate that rolls earlier counts forward, so it is only as sound as the assumptions behind it. The total carries no detail on age, where people live or how well they live, so it describes scale rather than conditions.
Neither way is good in itself. A rising population can mean a bigger workforce and domestic market, and it can also mean heavier demand on schools, clinics and jobs, so the direction carries no verdict by itself. The latest figure is 29.9 million for 2025, up from 29.1 million a year earlier. That is a rise of 0.76 million people, or 2.6%. Since 2016 the figure has climbed from a low of 23.5 million in 2016 to its highest point in the period, which is the latest reading.
Why it matters. Each extra year of growth at this pace means more children needing school places and more young adults looking for work in Cameroon. Firms selling to local buyers gain a larger customer base. The state has to extend water, health and road services to a population of 29.9 million that is still growing.
| Period | Population · Cameroon |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 23.5 m people |
| 2017 | 24.1 m people |
| 2018 | 24.8 m people |
| 2019 | 25.5 m people |
| 2020 | 26.2 m people |
| 2021 | 26.9 m people |
| 2022 | 27.6 m people |
| 2023 | 28.4 m people |
| 2024 | 29.1 m people |
| 2025 | 29.9 m people |
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0) · Licence: CC BY 4.0
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Every change is logged in Corrections. How the figure is made: Methodology.
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Strata-AF™ Data, Population, Cameroon, 2025; source World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0), retrieved 8 Oct 2026; https://data.strata-af.com/economy/population/cameroon
Data insights · Worked out from the published figures
What this means
Working this out from the published figures…
Strata AI commentary is coming — reviewed, dated, and generated only from the figures on this page.
Methodology
Total population, mid-year estimate. Unit: m people.
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (series SP.POP.TOTL), retrieved through the World Bank API and published under CC BY 4.0. Updated annually; the World Bank's own source notes apply.