Demographics of Cameroon

A Tikar family in the Northwest Province

The demographic profile of Cameroon is complex for a country of its population. Cameroon comprises an estimated 250 distinct ethnic groups, which may be formed into five large regional-cultural divisions:

An up-to-date demographic profile is unavailable from the country's government, which hasn't published census data since 1976.

The Cameroon government held two national censuses during the country's first 44 years as an independent country, in 1976 and again in 1987. Results from the second head count were never published. A third census, expected to take years to produce results, began on November 11, 2005, with a three-week interviewing phase. It is one of a series of projects and reforms required by the International Monetary Fund as prerequisites for foreign debt relief.

Population

According to the 2010 revison of the World Population Prospects the total population was 19 599 000 in 2010, compared to only 4 466 000 in 1950. The proportion of children below the age of 15 in 2010 was 40.6%, 55.9% was between 15 and 65 years of age, while 3.5% was 65 years or older .[1]

Total population (x 1000) Population aged 0–14 (%) Population aged 15–64 (%) Population aged 65+ (%)
1950 4 46639.656.968.4
1955 4 90140.156.43.5
1960 5 40940.655.93.6
1965 6 04941.554.93.6
1970 6 84242.454.03.6
1975 7 83843.652.73.7
1980 9 11044.651.83.6
1985 10 51945.251.23.6
1990 12 18145.251.33.6
1995 13 94044.452.13.5
2000 15 67842.853.73.5
2005 17 55441.654.93.5
2010 19 59940.655.93.5

Vital statistics

Registration of vital events is in Cameroon not complete. The Population Departement of the United Nations prepared the following estimates. [1]

Period Live births per year Deaths per year Natural change per year CBR* CDR* NC* TFR* IMR*
1950-1955 203 000 117 000 86 00043.424.918.55.68169
1955-1960 222 000 120 000 102 00043.023.319.75.68158
1960-1965 252 000 124 000 128 00044.021.622.35.90145
1965-1970 287 000 130 000 157 00044.620.124.56.10133
1970-1975 332 000 136 000 196 00045.218.326.86.30120
1975-1980 382 000 143 000 239 00045.116.528.66.40108
1980-1985 439 000 143 000 296 00044.715.029.76.4098
1985-1990 487 000 148 000 339 00042.914.128.96.1093
1990-1995 536 000 172 000 364 00041.014.027.05.7094
1995-2000 563 000 204 000 359 00038.014.623.55.1096
2000-2005 632 000 243 000 389 00038.015.322.74.9297
2005-2010 691 000 270 000 421 00037.215.022.24.6794
* CBR = crude birth rate (per 1000); CDR = crude death rate (per 1000); NC = natural change (per 1000); IMR = infant mortality rate per 1000 births; TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman)

Fertility and Births

Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR):[2]

Year CBR (Total) TFR (Total) CBR (Urban) TFR (Urban) CBR (Rural) TFR (Rural)
1991 39 5,82 (5,17) 5,17 (4,52) 6,29 (5,66)
1998 37,4 5,2 (4,6) 31,5 3,9 (3,4) 40,1 5,8 (5,3)
2004 37,8 5,0 (4,5) 34,9 4,0 (3,7) 40,5 6,1 (5,6)
2011 38,1 5,1 (4,1) 34,6 4,0 (3,2) 41,3 6,4 (5,1)

Ethnic groups

Speakers of Makaa–Njem languages in Cameroon and neighbouring countries.
The ethnic groups of Cameroon who speak Duala languages.

Languages

Linguistic survey of Nigeria, Cameroon, and Benin
Main article: Languages of Cameroon

There are 24 major African language groups in Cameroon; additionally, English and French are official languages. Cameroonian Pidgin English is also widely spoken.

Peoples concentrated in the Southwest and Northwest Provinces — around Buea and Bamenda — use standard English and Cameroonian Pidgin English, as well as their local languages. In the three northern provinces — Adamawa, North, and Far North — either French or Fulfulde (the language of the Fulani) is widely spoken. Elsewhere, French is the principal second language, although pidgin and some local languages such as Ewondo, the dialect of a Beti clan from the Yaoundé area, have a wide currency.

Indigenous languages of Cameroon include:

CIA World Factbook demographic statistics

Estimated number of inhabitants (in thousands), based on 2005 data from the Food and Agriculture Organization.

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.

Population

19,294,149(2010 est.)
Note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2009 est.)

Median age

total: 19.3 years
male: 19.2 years
female: 19.4 years (2010 est.)

Population growth rate

3.129% (2013 est.)

Urbanization

Urban population: 58% of total population (2010)
Rate of urbanization: 3.3% annual rate of change (2010–15 est.)

Sex ratio

At birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
Under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female
Total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2009 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 54.04 years
male: 53.21 years
female: 54.9 years (2010 est.)

Total Fertility Rate

According to Cameroon government website, average children per woman was 5.0 in 2004.[3]

HIV/AIDS

Adult prevalence rate: 5.1% (2007 est.)
People living with HIV/AIDS: 540,000 (2007 est.)
Deaths: 39,000 (2007 est.)

People living with HIV/AIDS: 370,000 (2010 est.)

Major infectious diseases

Degree of risk: very high
Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A and hepatitis E, and typhoid fever
Vectorborne diseases: malaria and yellow fever
Water contact disease: schistosomiasis
Respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis
Animal contact disease: rabies (2009)

Nationality

Noun: Cameroonian(s)
Adjective: Cameroonian

Religions

Indigenous beliefs 40%, Christian 40%, Muslim 20%

Literacy

Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 67.9% (2004 est.; source: UNDP 2006; NB- this figure is given without reference to which languages are considered)
Male: 77.0%
Female: 59.45

Education expenditure

3.3% of GDP (2006)

References

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