Africa
To which language should you translate to localize in Cameroon?
What the 150 top websites do
Of the top 150 website (Global by design ranking):
- 31/150 translate into English.
- 17/150 translate into French.
- 1/150 translates into Cameroon Sign Language.
If you need others information, below you can find a selection of economic/social/cultural data
Overview
Language
Official language
French, English
T-index
0.048%
T-Index ranks countries according to their potential for online sales.
Other languages
Cameroon is home to nearly 250 languages. These include 55 Afro-Asiatic languages, two Nilo-Saharan languages, four Ubangian languages, and 169 Niger-Congo languages.
English
Very low proficiency (EF) – 94 of 113 countries/regions in the world- 14/23 position in Africa.
Demography
Capital: Yaounde
Currency: Central African CFA franc
Population: 27,9 m
Population density: 58/km2
Economy
GDP: 44.34 billion USD (2022)
GDP per capita: 1,588.5 USD (2022)
Exports: $4.92 billion (2021)
Statistics
Internet users: 45.6% penetration, 12.89 million
Unemployment rate: 3.34% (2020)
Urbanisation: 59% (2022)
Literacy: 78% (2020)
Conventions
Numbering system
Arabic numbering system and comma as decimal separator
Date format: yyyy-mm-dd/ dd-mm-yyyy
Time: 24h time system
Country code: 00237
Language data sources: Worldatlas/Britannica//EF/Wikipedia; Demography data sources: IMF/Worldometers; Conventions data source: Wikipedia; Economy data sources: WTO/OEC/CIA/Esomar/Datareportal; Statistics data sources: Datareportal/WorldBank/UN/UNESCO/CEIC/IMF/Culturalatlas/Commisceoglobal
Facts and data
Economy
Imports
$7.96 billion (2021). Special Purpose Ships ($495M), Refined Petroleum ($382M), Other Furniture ($333M), Rice ($327M), and Wheat ($256M), importing mostly from China ($2.71B), France ($621M), Nigeria ($551M), India ($391M), and Russia ($308M).
Financial inclusion factors (over 15 years of age)
• 23.5% have an account with a financial institution
• 1.6% have a credit card
• 42.4% have a mobile money account
• 19% make online purchases
Ease of doing business
Below average, it is not easy to conduct business (rated 46.1 out of 100), ranked 34th out of 48 Sub-Saharan African countries and ranked 167th worldwide out of 190 countries (2020, World Bank).
Exports
$4.92 billion (2021). Crude Petroleum ($1.87B), Petroleum Gas ($795M), Cocoa Beans ($563M), Sawn Wood ($437M), and Gold ($312M), exporting mostly to China ($1.43B), Netherlands ($668M), India ($421M), Italy ($350M), and United Arab Emirates ($278M).
Main local online stores
jumia.cm, kaymu.cm, lamudi.cm, cdiscount.cm, and lazoto.com.cm
Economic freedom
‘Mostly not free’ (rated 51.9 out of 100), ranked 29th out of 46 Sub-Sharan African countries and ranked 135th worldwide out of 186 countries (2023, Heritage Foundation and Wall Street Journal).
Economy data sources: WTO/OEC/CIA/Esomar/Datareportal
Service Imports (2018)
Service Exports (2018)
Source: OEC
Historical Data Trade Imports
The following section uses historical trade data imports from partners of Cameroon.
Historical Data Trade Exports
The following section uses historical trade data exports from partners of Cameroon.
Source: OEC
Trade balance of goods from 2012 to 2022
The Top Export Opportunities for Cameroon by Relatedness
Relatedness measures the distance between a country's current exports and each product by showing only products that Cameroon is not specialized in.
Cameroon's Most Complex Exports
The Product Complexity Index (PCI) measures the knowledge intensity of a product by considering the knowledge intensity of its exporters.
Cameroon's Most Specialized Products
Specialization is measured using Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA), an index that takes the ratio between Cameroon observed and expected exports in each product.
Source: OEC
Market Growth Imports (2018)
This score represents the likelihood that the given country will start importing that product in the next few years. It forecasts the opening of a new specific market.
Market Growth Exports (2018)
This score represents the likelihood that the given country will start exporting that product in the next few years. It forecasts the opening of a new specific market.
Source: OEC
T-index
Reach most of the online purchasing power
T-Index ranks countries according to their potential for online sales. It estimates the market share of each country in relation to global e-commerce.
Try it nowMedia
Media language English, French
Information channels
Cameroon has a busy media environment. State-run CRTV operates national TV and radio networks and provincial radio stations. There are dozens of private radio and TV stations and hundreds of press titles. Journalists reporting on sensitive subjects face pressure and the risk of detention or arrest, says US NGO Freedom House. It states the authorities have clamped down on media coverage of protests and unrest in Cameroon’s English-speaking regions. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) says officials have “imposed a climate of fear and self-censorship”. The anglophone crisis led to the emergence of separatist media, including online and satellite TV outlets, in response to the government crackdown on coverage. BBC World Service radio is available via local relays (98.4 FM in Yaounde).
Amid protests in English-speaking regions, internet access in these areas was suspended for three months in early 2017. The authorities went on to impose targeted restrictions on social media and messaging applications.
RSF said the curbs were an attempt to prevent local people from exchanging information about protests.
The press
Cameroon Tribune – state-owned daily in French, English
Mutations – privately-owned French-language daily
The Sun – English-language
The Post – private, English-language
La Nouvelle Expression – private, French-language
Television
Cameroon Radio Television – state-run
Canal 2 – private, focuses on news, entertainment and sports; broadcasts some of the most popular talkshows in the anglophone region.
Equinoxe TV – one of the oldest private channels and broadcasts in English, French and Pidgin.
Spectrum TV (STV) – private, its STV1 and 2 channels broadcast in French and English, respectively.
Radio
Cameroon Radio Television – state-run
Radio Reine – Catholic station
Radio Siantou – private
Internet
Journal du Cameroun – news site, originally published in French, but launched an English version in 2017
Cameroon-Info.net – news site
Camer.be – based in Belgium, and is one of the top 10 most visited websites in Cameroon. carries news in French on politics, economics, society, culture
Cameroon Concord – based in Germany, published in English
Media data source: BBC
Internet Data
Internet users
45.6% penetration, 12.89 million
Share of web traffic by device
79.34% mobile phones, 19.82% computers (laptops and desktops), 0.84% tablet devices.
Average speed of mobile Internet connection
10.55 Mbps
Average speed of fixed Internet connection
8.41 Mbps
Mobile connection as a percentage of total population: 84.6%
Percentage of mobile connections that are broadband (3G-5G): 54.5%
Most popular web search engines
Google (98.35%), Bing (1.4%), Yahoo! (0.12%), DuckduckGo (0.04%), Yandex (0.02%), other (0.07%).
Most used social media
Facebook (78.49%), Twitter (12.67%), Pinterest (5.07%), YouTube (2.15%), Instagram (1.29%), LinkedIn (0.16%), Tumblr (0.07%), other (0.11%).
Internet data sources: Datareportal/Statcounter
Social statistics
Life expectancy
60 yrs (2021)
Corruption perceptions Index
Cameroon scored 26 out of 100, ranked 142 out of 180 countries worldwide.
CO2 emissions
0.4 metric tons per capita
Current education expenditure
86.4% of total expenditure in public institutions
Current health expenditure
3.77% of GDP
World Happiness Index
Cameroon ranked 102 out of 137 countries, with a score of 5.048.
Social statistics sources: WorldBank/UN/UNESCO/CEIC/IMF
The Data Factbook is a work in progress project. Our community is helping us to fill it up always with new and updated data. Your contribution is precious. If you want to help us, please write your advices at imminent@translated.com
Languages research
Main languages families in Cameroon
The geographical distribution of languages that you will find in the maps published in this section is a work in progress. Our community is helping us to fill it up with always new and updated data. Your contribution is precious. If you want to help us, please write to imminent.factbook@translated.com
Photo credit: Ariel Nathan, Unsplash