Out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary in Cameroon
Cameroon: Out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary was 818,957 in 2023. ▲ Rising
Out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary in Cameroon, 1971–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
The most recent figure for out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary in Cameroon is 818,957, measured in 2023.
That represents a change of up 1.7% on the previous year and up 39.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary in Cameroon peaked at 826,808 in 2021 and was at its lowest, 406,433, in 1971.
That places Cameroon 12th out of 170 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 17 years of available data.
Out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary in Cameroon, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 406,433 | — |
| 1972 | 411,750 | +1.3% |
| 1973 | 432,481 | +5.0% |
| 1974 | 415,164 | -4.0% |
| 1975 | 419,335 | +1.0% |
| 1976 | 421,842 | +0.6% |
| 1977 | 440,075 | +4.3% |
| 1978 | 444,919 | +1.1% |
| 1979 | 448,732 | +0.9% |
| 1980 | 461,450 | +2.8% |
| 2012 | 587,811 | +27.4% |
| 2014 | 581,897 | -1.0% |
| 2015 | 574,101 | -1.3% |
| 2016 | 595,943 | +3.8% |
| 2021 | 826,808 | +38.7% |
| 2022 | 805,246 | -2.6% |
| 2023 | 818,957 | +1.7% |
Cameroon compared with similar countries
- Cameroon's 818,957 is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 120,860, 6.8× the median. (38 countries reporting)
- Cameroon's 818,957 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 286,094, 2.9× the median. (35 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary in Cameroon changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | +38.7% | 595,943 | 826,808 |
| 2012 | +27.4% | 461,450 | 587,811 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 426,748 | 406,433 | 448,732 | 9 |
| 1980s | 461,450 | 461,450 | 461,450 | 1 |
| 2010s | 584,938 | 574,101 | 595,943 | 4 |
| 2020s | 817,004 | 805,246 | 826,808 | 3 |
Countries ranked near Cameroon
More education data for Cameroon
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 118,092 (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 611,326 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 321,494 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 322,873 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.01 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 5.29 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 2.6 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1816 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary in Cameroon?
- Out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary in Cameroon was 818,957 in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary recorded in Cameroon?
- The highest recorded value was 826,808 in 2021.
- What is the lowest out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary recorded in Cameroon?
- The lowest recorded value was 406,433 in 1971.
- How does Cameroon rank for out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary?
- Cameroon ranks 12th out of 170 countries with data for 2023.
- Is out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary rising or falling in Cameroon?
- Over the last ten years it is up 39.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Cameroon data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary school age, female (number). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 17 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release