Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Cameroon
Cameroon: Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age was 49.0% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Cameroon, 1971–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Cameroon recorded 49.0% for out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.5% on the previous year and up 18.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Cameroon peaked at 66.0% in 1971 and was at its lowest, 38.2%, in 2015.
Cameroon ranks 11th of 162 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 17 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Cameroon, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 66.0% | — |
| 1972 | 64.7% | -2.0% |
| 1973 | 65.3% | +0.9% |
| 1974 | 54.1% | -17.2% |
| 1975 | 61.5% | +13.7% |
| 1976 | 60.5% | -1.7% |
| 1977 | 59.9% | -1.0% |
| 1978 | 58.8% | -1.8% |
| 1979 | 57.4% | -2.4% |
| 1980 | 56.9% | -0.9% |
| 2012 | 41.2% | -27.5% |
| 2014 | 39.4% | -4.5% |
| 2015 | 38.2% | -2.9% |
| 2016 | 39.1% | +2.3% |
| 2021 | 50.5% | +29.0% |
| 2022 | 48.7% | -3.4% |
| 2023 | 49.0% | +0.5% |
Cameroon compared with similar countries
- Cameroon's 49.0% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 12.9%, 3.8× the median. (39 countries reporting)
- Cameroon's 49.0% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 28.7%, 1.7× the median. (35 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age 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 | +29.0% | 39.1% | 50.5% |
| 2012 | -27.5% | 56.9% | 41.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 60.9% | 54.1% | 66.0% | 9 |
| 1980s | 56.9% | 56.9% | 56.9% | 1 |
| 2010s | 39.5% | 38.2% | 41.2% | 4 |
| 2020s | 49.4% | 48.7% | 50.5% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Cameroon
- 8 Senegal 58.5% compare
- 9 Burkina Faso 55.5% compare
- 10 Ethiopia 54.2% compare
- 12 Syrian Arab Republic 48.5% compare
- 13 Cape Verde 48.2% compare
- 14 Tanzania, United Republic of 47.8% compare
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 rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Cameroon?
- Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Cameroon was 49.0% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age recorded in Cameroon?
- The highest recorded value was 66.0% in 1971.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age recorded in Cameroon?
- The lowest recorded value was 38.2% in 2015.
- How does Cameroon rank for out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age?
- Cameroon ranks 11th out of 162 countries with data for 2023.
- Is out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age rising or falling in Cameroon?
- Over the last ten years it is up 18.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Cameroon data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age, female (%). 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