Cameroon Economy
Is Cameroon a wealthy country?
Cameroon’s market-based, diversified economy features oil and gas, timber, aluminum, agriculture, mining, and the service sector. Oil remains Cameroon’s main export commodity, and despite falling global oil prices, still accounts for nearly 40% of exports. Cameroon’s economy suffers from factors that often impact underdeveloped countries, such as stagnant per capita income, relatively inequitable distribution of income, a top-heavy civil service, endemic corruption, continuing inefficiencies of a large parastatal system in key sectors, and a generally unfavorable climate for business enterprise.
Since 1990, the government has embarked on various IMF and World Bank programs designed to spur business investment, increase efficiency in agriculture, improve trade, and recapitalize the nation's banks. The IMF continues to press for economic reforms, including increased budget transparency, privatization, and poverty reduction programs. The Government of Cameroon provides subsidies for electricity, food, and fuel that have strained the federal budget and diverted funds from education, healthcare, and infrastructure projects, as low oil prices have led to lower revenues.
Cameroon devotes significant resources to several large infrastructure projects currently under construction, including a deep seaport in Kribi and the Lom Pangar Hydropower Project. Cameroon’s energy sector continues to diversify, recently opening a natural gas-powered electricity generating plant. Cameroon continues to seek foreign investment to improve its inadequate infrastructure, create jobs, and improve its economic footprint, but its unfavorable business environment remains a significant deterrent to foreign investment.
Cameroon Economy Data
What is the GDP of Cameroon?
| Currency Name and Code | Cooperation Financiere en Afrique Centrale francs (XAF) |
| GDP - Gross Domestic Product (PPP) | $94,940,000,000 (USD) |
| GDP - official exchange rate | $30,870,000,000 (USD) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 4.8% |
| GDP Per Capita | $3,300.00 (USD) |
| GDP by Sector- agriculture | 21.3% |
| GDP by Sector- Industry | 30.8% |
| GDP by Sector- services | 47.9% |
| GDP - composition, by end use |
Household Consumption: 76.8% Government Consumption: 12.1% Investment in Fixed Capital: 22.7% Investment in Inventories: 0.2% Exports of Goods and Services: 20.3% Imports of Goods and Services: -32.1% |
| Population Below Poverty Line | 48% |
| Inflation Rate | 2.4% |
| Labor Force | 9,612,000 |
| Labor Force By Occupation- agriculture | 70% |
| Labor Force By Occupation- industry | 13% |
| Labor Force By Occupation- services | 17% |
| Unemployment Rate | 30% |
| Fiscal Year | 1 July - 30 June |
| Annual Budget | $4,765,000,000 (USD) |
| Budget Surplus or Deficit - percent of GDP | -5.6% |
| Public Debt (% of GDP) | 31.1% |
| Taxes and other revenues - percent of GDP | 15.4% |
| Major Industries | Petroleum production and refining, aluminum production, food processing, light consumer goods, textiles, lumber, ship repair |
| Industrial Growth Rate | 5.2% |
| Agriculture Products | Coffee, cocoa, cotton, rubber, bananas, oilseed, grains, cassava (manioc, tapioca); livestock; timber |
| Exchange Rate per US Dollar | 605.7 |
| Child Labor - % of children ages 5-14 | 31% |
| Child Labor - # of children ages 5-14 | 1,396,281 |
| Commercial Bank Prime Lending Rate | 12.5% |