Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Cameroon
Cameroon: Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes was 5.5% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Cameroon, 2000–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Cameroon recorded 5.5% for out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 26 years on record.
The figure is down 17.9% on the previous year and down 65.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Cameroon peaked at 35.5% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 5.5%, in 2025.
Cameroon ranks 88th of 206 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 26 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Cameroon, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 35.5% | — |
| 2001 | 32.2% | -9.3% |
| 2002 | 29.4% | -8.7% |
| 2003 | 27.0% | -8.2% |
| 2004 | 24.6% | -8.9% |
| 2005 | 22.5% | -8.5% |
| 2006 | 20.7% | -8.0% |
| 2007 | 18.9% | -8.7% |
| 2008 | 17.3% | -8.5% |
| 2009 | 16.1% | -6.9% |
| 2010 | 15.3% | -5.0% |
| 2011 | 14.8% | -3.3% |
| 2012 | 14.7% | -0.7% |
| 2013 | 15.0% | +2.0% |
| 2014 | 15.5% | +3.3% |
| 2015 | 15.9% | +2.6% |
| 2016 | 16.4% | +3.1% |
| 2017 | 16.9% | +3.0% |
| 2018 | 16.7% | -1.2% |
| 2019 | 15.5% | -7.2% |
| 2020 | 13.9% | -10.3% |
| 2021 | 12.3% | -11.5% |
| 2022 | 10.6% | -13.8% |
| 2023 | 8.5% | -19.8% |
| 2024 | 6.7% | -21.2% |
| 2025 | 5.5% | -17.9% |
Cameroon compared with similar countries
- Cameroon's 5.5% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 9.6%, 57% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Cameroon's 5.5% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 16.5%, 33% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 24.4% | 16.1% | 35.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 15.7% | 14.7% | 16.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 9.6% | 5.5% | 13.9% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Cameroon
- 85 South Africa 5.7% compare
- 86 Bangladesh 5.6% compare
- 86 India 5.6% compare
- 88 Bhutan 5.5% compare
- 88 Timor-Leste 5.5% compare
- 88 Samoa 5.5% 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 of primary school age, both sexes in Cameroon?
- Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Cameroon was 5.5% in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes recorded in Cameroon?
- The highest recorded value was 35.5% in 2000.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes recorded in Cameroon?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.5% in 2025.
- How does Cameroon rank for out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes?
- Cameroon ranks 88th out of 206 countries with data for 2025.
- Is out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes rising or falling in Cameroon?
- Over the last ten years it is down 65.4%. 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 of primary school age, both sexes (modelled data) (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 26 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release