Cameroon

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).

Source: Statista

Source: OEC

Media

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

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%).

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.