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 12.7% 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 12.7%, measured in 2019.
The figure is up 19.0% on the previous year and down 23.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, female in Cameroon peaked at 46.1% in 1974 and was at its lowest, 9.2%, in 2016.
That places Cameroon 40th out of 166 countries with data for 2019, putting it 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 of primary school age, female in Cameroon, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 43.7% | — |
| 1972 | 43.6% | -0.3% |
| 1973 | 45.2% | +3.6% |
| 1974 | 46.1% | +1.9% |
| 1975 | 40.3% | -12.6% |
| 1976 | 38.5% | -4.3% |
| 1977 | 39.4% | +2.3% |
| 1978 | 38.2% | -3.0% |
| 1979 | 37.0% | -3.2% |
| 1980 | 36.6% | -1.0% |
| 1988 | 31.1% | -15.2% |
| 1990 | 31.8% | +2.5% |
| 1991 | 33.5% | +5.3% |
| 2011 | 16.6% | -50.3% |
| 2016 | 9.2% | -44.6% |
| 2017 | 10.7% | +15.9% |
| 2019 | 12.7% | +19.0% |
Cameroon compared with similar countries
- Cameroon's 12.7% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 9.3%, 1.4× the median. (43 countries reporting)
- Cameroon's 12.7% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 13.0%, 98% of the median. (43 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 | -50.3% | 33.5% | 16.6% |
| 2016 | -44.6% | 16.6% | 9.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 41.3% | 37.0% | 46.1% | 9 |
| 1980s | 33.9% | 31.1% | 36.6% | 2 |
| 1990s | 32.7% | 31.8% | 33.5% | 2 |
| 2010s | 12.3% | 9.2% | 16.6% | 4 |
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 12.7% 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 46.1% 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 9.2% in 2016.
- How does Cameroon rank for out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, female?
- Cameroon ranks 40th out of 166 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 23.6%. 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 — 17 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
The number of female students of the official age for primary education is subtracted from the total female population of the same age. The result is expressed as a percentage of the female population of the official age for primary education. For more information, consult the UNESCO Institute of Statistics website: http://www.uis.unesco.org/Education/