Share of students from abroad in Cameroon
Cameroon: Share of students from abroad was 1.8% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Share of students from abroad in Cameroon, 2004–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Cameroon recorded 1.8% for share of students from abroad in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 13.6% on the previous year and up 56.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of students from abroad in Cameroon peaked at 3.7% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 0.8%, in 2010.
That places Cameroon 99th out of 134 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.
Share of students from abroad in Cameroon, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 1.8% | — |
| 2005 | 1.6% | -12.4% |
| 2006 | 1.3% | -16.4% |
| 2007 | 1.1% | -19.7% |
| 2010 | 0.8% | -21.5% |
| 2011 | 1.4% | +64.7% |
| 2012 | 1.1% | -18.4% |
| 2016 | 1.0% | -14.0% |
| 2017 | 1.4% | +39.6% |
| 2018 | 2.8% | +107.2% |
| 2019 | 3.7% | +32.4% |
| 2020 | 3.3% | -10.2% |
| 2021 | 3.2% | -5.7% |
| 2022 | 2.1% | -34.9% |
| 2023 | 1.8% | -13.6% |
Cameroon compared with similar countries
- Cameroon's 1.8% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.9%, 1.9× the median. (27 countries reporting)
- Cameroon's 1.8% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 1.6%, 1.1× the median. (26 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of students from abroad in Cameroon changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | +107.2% | 1.4% | 2.8% |
| 2011 | +64.7% | 0.8% | 1.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 1.5% | 1.1% | 1.8% | 4 |
| 2010s | 1.7% | 0.8% | 3.7% | 7 |
| 2020s | 2.6% | 1.8% | 3.3% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Cameroon
- 96 Burkina Faso 1.9% compare
- 97 Morocco 1.9% compare
- 98 Albania 1.9% compare
- 100 Chile 1.6% compare
- 101 Mauritania 1.4% compare
- 102 Cape Verde 1.4% 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 share of students from abroad in Cameroon?
- Share of students from abroad in Cameroon was 1.8% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of students from abroad recorded in Cameroon?
- The highest recorded value was 3.7% in 2019.
- What is the lowest share of students from abroad recorded in Cameroon?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.8% in 2010.
- How does Cameroon rank for share of students from abroad?
- Cameroon ranks 99th out of 134 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of students from abroad rising or falling in Cameroon?
- Over the last ten years it is up 56.7%. 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 students from abroad. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
International students as a share of the country's overall tertiary enrollment. International students are those who move from their home countries for education, identified based on their past education, residence, or distinct immigration regulations.