Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, female in Cameroon
Cameroon: Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, female was 12.3% in 2019. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, female in Cameroon, 1971–2019
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, female in Cameroon is 12.3%, measured in 2019.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 18.3% on the previous year and down 17.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, female in Cameroon peaked at 45.3% in 1974 and was at its lowest, 10.4%, in 2017.
Cameroon ranks 49th of 180 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 16 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, female in Cameroon, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 43.9% | — |
| 1972 | 43.4% | -1.2% |
| 1973 | 44.6% | +2.9% |
| 1974 | 45.3% | +1.6% |
| 1975 | 39.5% | -12.8% |
| 1976 | 38.1% | -3.4% |
| 1977 | 39.2% | +2.7% |
| 1978 | 38.1% | -2.6% |
| 1979 | 37.1% | -2.8% |
| 1980 | 36.8% | -0.6% |
| 1988 | 30.5% | -17.2% |
| 1990 | 30.7% | +0.8% |
| 1991 | 32.1% | +4.5% |
| 2011 | 14.8% | -53.8% |
| 2017 | 10.4% | -30.2% |
| 2019 | 12.3% | +18.3% |
Cameroon compared with similar countries
- Cameroon's 12.3% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 9.6%, 1.3× the median. (45 countries reporting)
- Cameroon's 12.3% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 16.1%, 76% of the median. (44 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, female 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | -53.8% | 32.1% | 14.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 41.0% | 37.1% | 45.3% | 9 |
| 1980s | 33.7% | 30.5% | 36.8% | 2 |
| 1990s | 31.4% | 30.7% | 32.1% | 2 |
| 2010s | 12.5% | 10.4% | 14.8% | 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 rate for children of primary school age, female in Cameroon?
- Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, female in Cameroon was 12.3% in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, female recorded in Cameroon?
- The highest recorded value was 45.3% in 1974.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, female recorded in Cameroon?
- The lowest recorded value was 10.4% in 2017.
- How does Cameroon rank for out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, female?
- Cameroon ranks 49th out of 180 countries with data for 2019.
- Is out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, female rising or falling in Cameroon?
- Over the last ten years it is down 17.3%. 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, female (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 16 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release