Survival rate to the last grade of primary education, both sexes in Cameroon
Cameroon: Survival rate to the last grade of primary education, both sexes was 61.8% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Survival rate to the last grade of primary education, both sexes in Cameroon, 1972–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Cameroon recorded 61.8% for survival rate to the last grade of primary education, both sexes in 2023.
That represents a change of down 6.2% on the previous year and down 5.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, survival rate to the last grade of primary education, both sexes in Cameroon peaked at 76.2% in 1999 and was at its lowest, 38.0%, in 2017.
That places Cameroon 159th out of 180 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 32 years of available data.
Survival rate to the last grade of primary education, both sexes in Cameroon, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 55.4% | — |
| 1973 | 57.2% | +3.1% |
| 1974 | 63.4% | +10.8% |
| 1975 | 58.5% | -7.6% |
| 1976 | 53.4% | -8.8% |
| 1977 | 64.3% | +20.4% |
| 1978 | 62.5% | -2.9% |
| 1979 | 62.8% | +0.5% |
| 1980 | 68.4% | +8.9% |
| 1981 | 65.2% | -4.6% |
| 1982 | 69.2% | +6.0% |
| 1983 | 58.1% | -16.0% |
| 1984 | 68.6% | +18.1% |
| 1985 | 67.5% | -1.6% |
| 1986 | 72.0% | +6.6% |
| 1987 | 68.9% | -4.3% |
| 1990 | 59.5% | -13.6% |
| 1999 | 76.2% | +28.0% |
| 2006 | 57.3% | -24.8% |
| 2007 | 56.9% | -0.8% |
| 2008 | 68.8% | +21.1% |
| 2009 | 66.2% | -3.9% |
| 2010 | 57.1% | -13.7% |
| 2011 | 69.8% | +22.2% |
| 2014 | 65.8% | -5.7% |
| 2015 | 57.1% | -13.2% |
| 2016 | 41.2% | -27.8% |
| 2017 | 38.0% | -7.7% |
| 2018 | 63.9% | +68.2% |
| 2021 | 66.4% | +3.9% |
| 2022 | 66.0% | -0.7% |
| 2023 | 61.8% | -6.2% |
Cameroon compared with similar countries
- Cameroon's 61.8% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 76.0%, 81% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Cameroon's 61.8% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 65.9%, 94% of the median. (43 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Survival rate to the last grade of primary education, both sexes 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 | +68.2% | 38.0% | 63.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 59.7% | 53.4% | 64.3% | 8 |
| 1980s | 67.2% | 58.1% | 72.0% | 8 |
| 1990s | 67.8% | 59.5% | 76.2% | 2 |
| 2000s | 62.3% | 56.9% | 68.8% | 4 |
| 2010s | 56.1% | 38.0% | 69.8% | 7 |
| 2020s | 64.7% | 61.8% | 66.4% | 3 |
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 survival rate to the last grade of primary education, both sexes in Cameroon?
- Survival rate to the last grade of primary education, both sexes in Cameroon was 61.8% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest survival rate to the last grade of primary education, both sexes recorded in Cameroon?
- The highest recorded value was 76.2% in 1999.
- What is the lowest survival rate to the last grade of primary education, both sexes recorded in Cameroon?
- The lowest recorded value was 38.0% in 2017.
- How does Cameroon rank for survival rate to the last grade of primary education, both sexes?
- Cameroon ranks 159th out of 180 countries with data for 2023.
- Is survival rate to the last grade of primary education, both sexes rising or falling in Cameroon?
- Over the last ten years it is down 5.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Cameroon data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Survival rate to the last grade of primary education, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 32 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release