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 4.9% in 2018. ▼ Falling
Latest (2018)
4.9%
World rank
17th
of 37 countries
All-time high
8.7%
in 2011
All-time low
4.9%
in 2018
Years of data
5
2004–2018
Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Cameroon, 2004–2018
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2018, out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Cameroon stood at 4.9%. That is the lowest value across all 5 years on record.
The figure is down 42.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Cameroon peaked at 8.7% in 2011 and was at its lowest, 4.9%, in 2018.
That places Cameroon 17th out of 37 countries with data for 2018, putting it in the middle of the range.
Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Cameroon, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 8.5% | — |
| 2006 | 8.6% | +1.3% |
| 2011 | 8.7% | +0.4% |
| 2014 | 6.6% | -23.4% |
| 2018 | 4.9% | -25.5% |
Cameroon compared with similar countries
- Cameroon's 4.9% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 7.3%, 67% of the median. (15 countries reporting)
- Cameroon's 4.9% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 9.6%, 51% of the median. (16 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 8.6% | 8.5% | 8.6% | 2 |
| 2010s | 6.7% | 4.9% | 8.7% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Cameroon
- 14 Sierra Leone 6.4% compare
- 15 Nigeria 6.3% compare
- 16 Guatemala 5.5% compare
- 18 Malawi 4.5% compare
- 19 Congo, Democratic Republic of the 4.0% compare
- 20 El Salvador 3.3% 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 4.9% in 2018, 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 8.7% in 2011.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age recorded in Cameroon?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.9% in 2018.
- How does Cameroon rank for out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age?
- Cameroon ranks 17th out of 37 countries with data for 2018.
- Is out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age rising or falling in Cameroon?
- Over the last ten years it is down 42.7%. 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, urban, richest quintile, both sexes (household survey data) (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 5 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release