School life expectancy, primary, both sexes (years) (School both) in Cameroon
Cameroon: School life expectancy, primary, both sexes (years) (School both) was 6.9 years in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
6.9 years
Change on year
up 0.1%
World rank
32nd
of 218 countries
All-time high
7.19 years
in 2016
All-time low
4.66 years
in 1996
Years of data
51
1971–2024
School life expectancy, primary, both sexes in Cameroon, 1971–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
The most recent figure for school life expectancy, primary, both sexes in Cameroon is 6.9 years, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of up 0.1% on the previous year and down 1.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary, both sexes in Cameroon peaked at 7.19 years in 2016 and was at its lowest, 4.66 years, in 1996.
That places Cameroon 32nd out of 218 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 51 years of available data.
School life expectancy, primary, both sexes (years) (School both) in Cameroon, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 5.75 years | — |
| 1972 | 5.63 years | -1.9% |
| 1973 | 5.63 years | -0.0% |
| 1974 | 5.93 years | +5.3% |
| 1975 | 5.89 years | -0.7% |
| 1976 | 5.94 years | +0.9% |
| 1977 | 5.85 years | -1.5% |
| 1978 | 5.91 years | +1.0% |
| 1979 | 5.94 years | +0.6% |
| 1980 | 5.95 years | +0.2% |
| 1981 | 5.82 years | -2.3% |
| 1982 | 5.89 years | +1.2% |
| 1983 | 6.07 years | +3.1% |
| 1984 | 5.98 years | -1.4% |
| 1985 | 6.05 years | +1.1% |
| 1986 | 6.1 years | +0.9% |
| 1987 | 6.2 years | +1.7% |
| 1988 | 6.5 years | +4.7% |
| 1989 | 6.04 years | -7.0% |
| 1990 | 6.29 years | +4.2% |
| 1991 | 6.15 years | -2.3% |
| 1992 | 5.6 years | -9.0% |
| 1994 | 5.21 years | -6.9% |
| 1995 | 5.09 years | -2.3% |
| 1996 | 4.66 years | -8.3% |
| 1997 | 4.88 years | +4.7% |
| 1998 | 5.02 years | +2.7% |
| 1999 | 5.17 years | +3.1% |
| 2000 | 5.31 years | +2.7% |
| 2001 | 6.26 years | +17.8% |
| 2002 | 6.26 years | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 6.28 years | +0.3% |
| 2004 | 6.57 years | +4.6% |
| 2005 | 6.44 years | -2.0% |
| 2006 | 6.34 years | -1.5% |
| 2007 | 6.45 years | +1.7% |
| 2008 | 6.52 years | +1.1% |
| 2009 | 6.63 years | +1.7% |
| 2010 | 6.72 years | +1.3% |
| 2011 | 6.7 years | -0.2% |
| 2012 | 6.97 years | +4.0% |
| 2014 | 6.96 years | -0.1% |
| 2015 | 7.11 years | +2.1% |
| 2016 | 7.19 years | +1.1% |
| 2017 | 6.78 years | -5.6% |
| 2018 | 6.29 years | -7.2% |
| 2019 | 6.43 years | +2.2% |
| 2021 | 6.64 years | +3.1% |
| 2022 | 6.78 years | +2.2% |
| 2023 | 6.89 years | +1.6% |
| 2024 | 6.9 years | +0.1% |
Cameroon compared with similar countries
- Cameroon's 6.9 years is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 6.02 years, 1.1× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Cameroon's 6.9 years is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 6.13 years, 1.1× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 5.83 years | 5.63 years | 5.94 years | 9 |
| 1980s | 6.06 years | 5.82 years | 6.5 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 5.34 years | 4.66 years | 6.29 years | 9 |
| 2000s | 6.31 years | 5.31 years | 6.63 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 6.79 years | 6.29 years | 7.19 years | 9 |
| 2020s | 6.8 years | 6.64 years | 6.9 years | 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 school life expectancy, primary, both sexes in Cameroon?
- School life expectancy, primary, both sexes in Cameroon was 6.9 years in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary, both sexes recorded in Cameroon?
- The highest recorded value was 7.19 years in 2016.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary, both sexes recorded in Cameroon?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.66 years in 1996.
- How does Cameroon rank for school life expectancy, primary, both sexes?
- Cameroon ranks 32nd out of 218 countries with data for 2024.
- Is school life expectancy, primary, both sexes rising or falling in Cameroon?
- Over the last ten years it is down 1.0%. 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, both sexes (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 51 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release