Share of the population with at least some formal education in Cameroon
Cameroon: Share of the population with at least some formal education was 87.7% in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2020)
87.7%
World rank
85th
of 111 countries
All-time high
87.7%
in 2020
All-time low
0.1%
in 1870
Years of data
31
1870–2020
Share of the population with at least some formal education in Cameroon, 1870–2020
Source: Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2020, share of the population with at least some formal education in Cameroon stood at 87.7%. That is the highest value across all 31 years on record.
That represents a change of up 6.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the population with at least some formal education in Cameroon peaked at 87.7% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 0.1%, in 1870.
That places Cameroon 85th out of 111 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Share of the population with at least some formal education in Cameroon, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1870 | 0.1% | — |
| 1875 | 0.2% | +100.0% |
| 1880 | 0.2% | +0.0% |
| 1885 | 0.3% | +50.0% |
| 1890 | 0.4% | +33.3% |
| 1895 | 0.8% | +100.0% |
| 1900 | 1.2% | +50.0% |
| 1905 | 1.5% | +25.0% |
| 1910 | 1.7% | +13.3% |
| 1915 | 1.9% | +11.8% |
| 1920 | 2.8% | +47.4% |
| 1925 | 3.8% | +35.7% |
| 1930 | 4.8% | +26.3% |
| 1935 | 6.3% | +31.2% |
| 1940 | 8.1% | +28.6% |
| 1945 | 10.1% | +24.7% |
| 1950 | 14.0% | +38.6% |
| 1955 | 17.7% | +26.4% |
| 1960 | 21.4% | +20.9% |
| 1965 | 27.3% | +27.6% |
| 1970 | 34.1% | +24.9% |
| 1975 | 43.5% | +27.6% |
| 1980 | 52.0% | +19.5% |
| 1985 | 60.5% | +16.3% |
| 1990 | 68.5% | +13.2% |
| 1995 | 75.6% | +10.4% |
| 2000 | 79.8% | +5.6% |
| 2005 | 81.1% | +1.6% |
| 2010 | 82.3% | +1.5% |
| 2015 | 86.5% | +5.1% |
| 2020 | 87.7% | +1.4% |
Cameroon compared with similar countries
- Cameroon's 87.7% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 85.2%, 1.0× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Cameroon's 87.7% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 78.0%, 1.1× the median. (23 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1870s | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.2% | 2 |
| 1880s | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 2 |
| 1890s | 0.6% | 0.4% | 0.8% | 2 |
| 1900s | 1.4% | 1.2% | 1.5% | 2 |
| 1910s | 1.8% | 1.7% | 1.9% | 2 |
| 1920s | 3.3% | 2.8% | 3.8% | 2 |
| 1930s | 5.5% | 4.8% | 6.3% | 2 |
| 1940s | 9.1% | 8.1% | 10.1% | 2 |
| 1950s | 15.8% | 14.0% | 17.7% | 2 |
| 1960s | 24.4% | 21.4% | 27.3% | 2 |
| 1970s | 38.8% | 34.1% | 43.5% | 2 |
| 1980s | 56.2% | 52.0% | 60.5% | 2 |
| 1990s | 72.0% | 68.5% | 75.6% | 2 |
| 2000s | 80.4% | 79.8% | 81.1% | 2 |
| 2010s | 84.4% | 82.3% | 86.5% | 2 |
| 2020s | 87.7% | 87.7% | 87.7% | 1 |
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 share of the population with at least some formal education in Cameroon?
- Share of the population with at least some formal education in Cameroon was 87.7% in 2020, according to Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of the population with at least some formal education recorded in Cameroon?
- The highest recorded value was 87.7% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of the population with at least some formal education recorded in Cameroon?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.1% in 1870.
- How does Cameroon rank for share of the population with at least some formal education?
- Cameroon ranks 85th out of 111 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of the population with at least some formal education rising or falling in Cameroon?
- Over the last ten years it is up 6.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Cameroon data come from?
- The figures come from Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of the population with at least some formal education. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 31 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Based on the population aged 15 years and older.