Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Cameroon
Cameroon: Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower was 19.9% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Cameroon, 1971–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Cameroon stood at 19.9%.
That represents a change of up 0.1% on the previous year and up 17.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Cameroon peaked at 44.5% in 1973 and was at its lowest, 15.2%, in 2015.
Cameroon ranks 30th of 181 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 17 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Cameroon, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 43.0% | — |
| 1972 | 43.2% | +0.4% |
| 1973 | 44.5% | +3.1% |
| 1974 | 41.2% | -7.4% |
| 1975 | 39.9% | -3.1% |
| 1976 | 39.0% | -2.3% |
| 1977 | 39.9% | +2.2% |
| 1978 | 38.7% | -3.0% |
| 1979 | 37.9% | -2.1% |
| 1980 | 37.7% | -0.5% |
| 2012 | 16.9% | -55.3% |
| 2014 | 15.8% | -6.2% |
| 2015 | 15.2% | -3.9% |
| 2016 | 15.4% | +1.4% |
| 2021 | 20.6% | +33.4% |
| 2022 | 19.8% | -3.5% |
| 2023 | 19.9% | +0.1% |
Cameroon compared with similar countries
- Cameroon's 19.9% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 9.0%, 2.2× the median. (39 countries reporting)
- Cameroon's 19.9% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 19.3%, 1.0× the median. (35 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | -55.3% | 37.7% | 16.9% |
| 2021 | +33.4% | 15.4% | 20.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 40.8% | 37.9% | 44.5% | 9 |
| 1980s | 37.7% | 37.7% | 37.7% | 1 |
| 2010s | 15.8% | 15.2% | 16.9% | 4 |
| 2020s | 20.1% | 19.8% | 20.6% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Cameroon
- 27 Lao People's Democratic Republic 21.6% compare
- 28 Kuwait 20.9% compare
- 29 Guyana 20.8% compare
- 31 Côte d'Ivoire 19.3% compare
- 32 Madagascar 18.5% compare
- 33 Mauritania 18.3% 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 children and adolescents of primary and lower in Cameroon?
- Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Cameroon was 19.9% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower recorded in Cameroon?
- The highest recorded value was 44.5% in 1973.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower recorded in Cameroon?
- The lowest recorded value was 15.2% in 2015.
- How does Cameroon rank for out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower?
- Cameroon ranks 30th out of 181 countries with data for 2023.
- Is out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower rising or falling in Cameroon?
- Over the last ten years it is up 17.8%. 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 children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary school age, both sexes (%). 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