Share of population with no formal education in Cameroon
Cameroon: Share of population with no formal education was 12.3% in 2020. ▼ Falling
Share of population with no 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 population with no formal education in Cameroon stood at 12.3%. That is the lowest value across all 31 years on record.
That represents a change of down 30.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population with no formal education in Cameroon peaked at 99.9% in 1870 and was at its lowest, 12.3%, in 2020.
Cameroon ranks 27th of 111 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 31 years of available data.
Share of population with no formal education in Cameroon, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1870 | 99.9% | — |
| 1875 | 99.8% | -0.1% |
| 1880 | 99.8% | +0.0% |
| 1885 | 99.7% | -0.1% |
| 1890 | 99.6% | -0.1% |
| 1895 | 99.2% | -0.4% |
| 1900 | 98.8% | -0.4% |
| 1905 | 98.5% | -0.3% |
| 1910 | 98.3% | -0.2% |
| 1915 | 98.1% | -0.2% |
| 1920 | 97.2% | -0.9% |
| 1925 | 96.2% | -1.0% |
| 1930 | 95.2% | -1.0% |
| 1935 | 93.7% | -1.6% |
| 1940 | 91.9% | -1.9% |
| 1945 | 89.9% | -2.2% |
| 1950 | 86.0% | -4.3% |
| 1955 | 82.3% | -4.3% |
| 1960 | 78.6% | -4.5% |
| 1965 | 72.7% | -7.5% |
| 1970 | 65.9% | -9.4% |
| 1975 | 56.5% | -14.3% |
| 1980 | 48.0% | -15.0% |
| 1985 | 39.5% | -17.7% |
| 1990 | 31.5% | -20.3% |
| 1995 | 24.4% | -22.5% |
| 2000 | 20.2% | -17.2% |
| 2005 | 18.9% | -6.4% |
| 2010 | 17.7% | -6.3% |
| 2015 | 13.5% | -23.7% |
| 2020 | 12.3% | -8.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1870s | 99.8% | 99.8% | 99.9% | 2 |
| 1880s | 99.8% | 99.7% | 99.8% | 2 |
| 1890s | 99.4% | 99.2% | 99.6% | 2 |
| 1900s | 98.7% | 98.5% | 98.8% | 2 |
| 1910s | 98.2% | 98.1% | 98.3% | 2 |
| 1920s | 96.7% | 96.2% | 97.2% | 2 |
| 1930s | 94.5% | 93.7% | 95.2% | 2 |
| 1940s | 90.9% | 89.9% | 91.9% | 2 |
| 1950s | 84.2% | 82.3% | 86.0% | 2 |
| 1960s | 75.7% | 72.7% | 78.6% | 2 |
| 1970s | 61.2% | 56.5% | 65.9% | 2 |
| 1980s | 43.8% | 39.5% | 48.0% | 2 |
| 1990s | 27.9% | 24.4% | 31.5% | 2 |
| 2000s | 19.5% | 18.9% | 20.2% | 2 |
| 2010s | 15.6% | 13.5% | 17.7% | 2 |
| 2020s | 12.3% | 12.3% | 12.3% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Cameroon
More education data for Cameroon
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), gaps filled 1.06 million (2023)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), annual growth rate 1.2 % change on previous year (2023)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 644,367 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), annual 2.64 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) 447,513 (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) 7.35 % change on previous year (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, female (number), gaps filled 74,549 (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, male (number), gaps filled 46,904 (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) 219,663 (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) 16.33 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population with no formal education in Cameroon?
- Share of population with no formal education in Cameroon was 12.3% 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 population with no formal education recorded in Cameroon?
- The highest recorded value was 99.9% in 1870.
- What is the lowest share of population with no formal education recorded in Cameroon?
- The lowest recorded value was 12.3% in 2020.
- How does Cameroon rank for share of population with no formal education?
- Cameroon ranks 27th out of 111 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of population with no formal education rising or falling in Cameroon?
- Over the last ten years it is down 30.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- 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 population with no formal education. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
The share of adults aged between 15 and 64 years old with no formal education.