Share of children who have completed primary school in Cameroon
Cameroon: Share of children who have completed primary school was 77.8% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Share of children who have completed primary school in Cameroon, 1981–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Cameroon recorded 77.8% for share of children who have completed primary school in 2025. That is the highest value across all 45 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.5% on the previous year and up 6.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children who have completed primary school in Cameroon peaked at 77.8% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 52.3%, in 1981.
That places Cameroon 128th out of 165 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 45 years of available data.
Share of children who have completed primary school in Cameroon, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 52.3% | — |
| 1982 | 52.9% | +1.1% |
| 1983 | 53.6% | +1.2% |
| 1984 | 54.1% | +1.0% |
| 1985 | 54.7% | +1.2% |
| 1986 | 55.3% | +1.0% |
| 1987 | 55.9% | +1.0% |
| 1988 | 56.3% | +0.8% |
| 1989 | 56.7% | +0.7% |
| 1990 | 57.1% | +0.7% |
| 1991 | 57.6% | +0.9% |
| 1992 | 58.0% | +0.7% |
| 1993 | 58.4% | +0.6% |
| 1994 | 58.6% | +0.5% |
| 1995 | 59.0% | +0.6% |
| 1996 | 59.5% | +0.8% |
| 1997 | 59.9% | +0.8% |
| 1998 | 60.5% | +1.0% |
| 1999 | 61.2% | +1.1% |
| 2000 | 61.9% | +1.1% |
| 2001 | 62.6% | +1.1% |
| 2002 | 63.3% | +1.2% |
| 2003 | 64.0% | +1.1% |
| 2004 | 64.6% | +0.9% |
| 2005 | 65.3% | +1.0% |
| 2006 | 65.9% | +1.0% |
| 2007 | 66.7% | +1.1% |
| 2008 | 67.5% | +1.3% |
| 2009 | 68.5% | +1.4% |
| 2010 | 69.4% | +1.3% |
| 2011 | 70.0% | +1.0% |
| 2012 | 70.8% | +1.0% |
| 2013 | 71.4% | +0.9% |
| 2014 | 72.1% | +0.9% |
| 2015 | 72.7% | +0.9% |
| 2016 | 73.3% | +0.8% |
| 2017 | 74.0% | +0.8% |
| 2018 | 74.6% | +0.8% |
| 2019 | 75.1% | +0.7% |
| 2020 | 75.5% | +0.6% |
| 2021 | 76.1% | +0.7% |
| 2022 | 76.5% | +0.6% |
| 2023 | 77.0% | +0.6% |
| 2024 | 77.4% | +0.5% |
| 2025 | 77.8% | +0.5% |
Cameroon compared with similar countries
- Cameroon's 77.8% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 86.1%, 90% of the median. (45 countries reporting)
- Cameroon's 77.8% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 72.2%, 1.1× the median. (45 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 54.6% | 52.3% | 56.7% | 9 |
| 1990s | 59.0% | 57.1% | 61.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 65.0% | 61.9% | 68.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 72.3% | 69.4% | 75.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 76.7% | 75.5% | 77.8% | 6 |
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 children who have completed primary school in Cameroon?
- Share of children who have completed primary school in Cameroon was 77.8% in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of children who have completed primary school recorded in Cameroon?
- The highest recorded value was 77.8% in 2025.
- What is the lowest share of children who have completed primary school recorded in Cameroon?
- The lowest recorded value was 52.3% in 1981.
- How does Cameroon rank for share of children who have completed primary school?
- Cameroon ranks 128th out of 165 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of children who have completed primary school rising or falling in Cameroon?
- Over the last ten years it is up 6.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Cameroon data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of children who have completed primary school. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Share of children who are three to five years older than the official age for the last grade of primary education who have successfully completed it. This broader age band is used to include children who started school late or had to resit particular years.