Cameroon

Cameroon: steady but modest growth, 1980–2025

Central Africa's most diversified economy spans oil, agriculture, and timber exports, though growth has been constrained by infrastructure gaps and, in recent years, regional security conflicts. Between 1980 and 2025, Cameroon's GDP per capita grew from $784 to $1,972 (current US$), a compound annual growth rate of 2.1% — steady but modest growth. Annual GDP growth averaged 3.1% with a year-to-year standard deviation of 4.3 points, reflecting considerable volatility and periodic crises. Structurally, agriculture's share of the economy moved from 28.7% to 16.8% of GDP (a classic decline as the economy industrialized/modernized), while services rose from 39.6% to 50.4% of GDP, underscoring a shift toward a services-driven economy. On human development, life expectancy rose from 50.9 to 64.0 years, while tertiary school enrollment moved from 1.8% to 16.7%, while the urban population share grew from 32.3% to 55.7%.

What this growth cost: Growth was not without cost: per-capita CO2 emissions rose from 0.24 to 0.35 tonnes CO2e per person; income inequality (Gini index) narrowed from 44.4 to 42.2; the poverty headcount ratio fell from 56.5% to 26.7%.