School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Cameroon
Cameroon: School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes was 10.09 years in 2023. ▲ Rising
School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Cameroon, 1971–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
The most recent figure for school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Cameroon is 10.09 years, measured in 2023.
The figure is up 0.4% on the previous year and down 6.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Cameroon peaked at 11.58 years in 2016 and was at its lowest, 6.29 years, in 1972.
That places Cameroon 170th out of 213 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 45 years of available data.
School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Cameroon, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 6.34 years | — |
| 1972 | 6.29 years | -0.8% |
| 1973 | 6.36 years | +1.1% |
| 1974 | 6.71 years | +5.5% |
| 1975 | 6.76 years | +0.6% |
| 1976 | 6.89 years | +2.1% |
| 1977 | 6.91 years | +0.2% |
| 1978 | 7.06 years | +2.2% |
| 1979 | 7.15 years | +1.3% |
| 1980 | 7.21 years | +0.9% |
| 1981 | 7.15 years | -0.9% |
| 1982 | 7.2 years | +0.7% |
| 1983 | 7.47 years | +3.8% |
| 1984 | 7.45 years | -0.4% |
| 1985 | 7.6 years | +2.1% |
| 1986 | 7.67 years | +0.8% |
| 1987 | 7.9 years | +3.1% |
| 1988 | 8.26 years | +4.5% |
| 1989 | 7.84 years | -5.1% |
| 1990 | 8.1 years | +3.3% |
| 1991 | 8.06 years | -0.5% |
| 1992 | 7.58 years | -6.0% |
| 1994 | 7.11 years | -6.1% |
| 1995 | 6.92 years | -2.7% |
| 1997 | 6.6 years | -4.7% |
| 1998 | 6.8 years | +2.9% |
| 1999 | 7.06 years | +3.9% |
| 2000 | 7.3 years | +3.5% |
| 2001 | 8.61 years | +17.9% |
| 2002 | 8.31 years | -3.4% |
| 2003 | 8.44 years | +1.6% |
| 2004 | 8.49 years | +0.6% |
| 2005 | 8.4 years | -1.1% |
| 2006 | 8.05 years | -4.1% |
| 2007 | 8.79 years | +9.2% |
| 2008 | 9.23 years | +5.0% |
| 2009 | 9.62 years | +4.2% |
| 2011 | 10.3 years | +7.1% |
| 2012 | 10.76 years | +4.5% |
| 2014 | 11.19 years | +4.0% |
| 2015 | 11.43 years | +2.2% |
| 2016 | 11.58 years | +1.3% |
| 2021 | 9.91 years | -14.5% |
| 2022 | 10.05 years | +1.5% |
| 2023 | 10.09 years | +0.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 6.72 years | 6.29 years | 7.15 years | 9 |
| 1980s | 7.58 years | 7.15 years | 8.26 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 7.28 years | 6.6 years | 8.1 years | 8 |
| 2000s | 8.53 years | 7.3 years | 9.62 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 11.05 years | 10.3 years | 11.58 years | 5 |
| 2020s | 10.02 years | 9.91 years | 10.09 years | 3 |
Countries ranked near Cameroon
More education data for Cameroon
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 121,453 (2024)
- Duration of pre primary education, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Duration of pre primary education 2 (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre primary education 4 (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 56.1% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 41.1% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 12 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- Primary secondary enrollment completion rates, gaps filled 114.41 (2024)
- School enrollment, primary 114.4% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Cameroon?
- School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Cameroon was 10.09 years in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes recorded in Cameroon?
- The highest recorded value was 11.58 years in 2016.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes recorded in Cameroon?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.29 years in 1972.
- How does Cameroon rank for school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes?
- Cameroon ranks 170th out of 213 countries with data for 2023.
- Is school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes rising or falling in Cameroon?
- Over the last ten years it is down 6.2%. 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 secondary, both sexes (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 45 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release