School life expectancy, primary and lower … life both sexes lower in Cameroon
Cameroon: School life expectancy, primary and lower … life both sexes lower was 8.83 years in 2023. ▲ Rising
School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in Cameroon, 2003–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2023, school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in Cameroon stood at 8.83 years.
That represents a change of up 0.1% on the previous year and down 7.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in Cameroon peaked at 10.15 years in 2016 and was at its lowest, 7.56 years, in 2006.
That places Cameroon 109th out of 200 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 15 years of available data.
School life expectancy, primary and lower … life both sexes lower in Cameroon, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 7.81 years | — |
| 2004 | 7.88 years | +0.9% |
| 2005 | 7.78 years | -1.2% |
| 2006 | 7.56 years | -2.8% |
| 2007 | 8.08 years | +6.8% |
| 2008 | 8.29 years | +2.7% |
| 2009 | 8.63 years | +4.1% |
| 2011 | 9.22 years | +6.7% |
| 2012 | 9.51 years | +3.2% |
| 2014 | 9.82 years | +3.3% |
| 2015 | 10.02 years | +2.0% |
| 2016 | 10.15 years | +1.3% |
| 2021 | 8.56 years | -15.7% |
| 2022 | 8.82 years | +3.0% |
| 2023 | 8.83 years | +0.1% |
Cameroon compared with similar countries
- Cameroon's 8.83 years is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 8.68 years, 1.0× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Cameroon's 8.83 years is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 8.5 years, 1.0× the median. (43 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 8 years | 7.56 years | 8.63 years | 7 |
| 2010s | 9.75 years | 9.22 years | 10.15 years | 5 |
| 2020s | 8.74 years | 8.56 years | 8.83 years | 3 |
Countries ranked near Cameroon
- 106 Malta 8.88 years compare
- 107 Dominican Republic 8.86 years compare
- 108 Kazakhstan 8.85 years compare
- 110 Bosnia and Herzegovina 8.82 years compare
- 111 Nicaragua 8.81 years compare
- 112 Israel 8.8 years 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 school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in Cameroon?
- School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in Cameroon was 8.83 years in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes recorded in Cameroon?
- The highest recorded value was 10.15 years in 2016.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes recorded in Cameroon?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.56 years in 2006.
- How does Cameroon rank for school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes?
- Cameroon ranks 109th out of 200 countries with data for 2023.
- Is school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes rising or falling in Cameroon?
- Over the last ten years it is down 7.2%. 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, published as part of School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release