Society · Adult literacy rate · Cameroon
Cameroon’s adult literacy rate was 72.6% of adults in 2018.
72.6% of adults
2018
Up 1.4 pp from 2010.
Stale — last updated 18 Oct 2026
In plain words
72.6% of adults
What it is. People aged 15 and over who can read and write a short, simple statement about everyday life, as a share of that age group.
Higher is better. A rise in adult literacy rate is generally good news; a fall, bad news.
Why it matters. A percentage puts countries of different sizes on the same footing, so it can be compared across borders and over time.
| Period | Adult literacy rate · Cameroon |
|---|---|
| 1976 | 41.2% of adults |
| 2000 | 68.4% of adults |
| 2007 | 70.7% of adults |
| 2010 | 71.2% of adults |
| 2018 | 72.6% of adults |
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0) · Licence: CC BY 4.0
How to read this number
- Source
- Who published the figure
- Published
- When they released it
- Verified
- When we last checked it against the source
Every change is logged in Corrections. How the figure is made: Methodology.
Cite this number
Show text
Strata-AF™ Data, Adult literacy rate, Cameroon, 2018; source World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0), retrieved 18 Oct 2026; https://data.strata-af.com/society/adult-literacy/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
People aged 15 and over who can read and write a short, simple statement about everyday life, as a share of that age group. Unit: % of adults. Literacy is measured in surveys and censuses, so new figures arrive every few years.
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (series SE.ADT.LITR.ZS), retrieved through the World Bank API and published under CC BY 4.0. Updated annually; the World Bank's own source notes apply.