Rural population growth in Cameroon
Cameroon: Rural population growth was 2.0% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Rural population growth in Cameroon, 1961–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in annual %.
Analysis
Cameroon recorded 2.0% for rural population growth in 2025.
That represents a change of down 1.8% on the previous year and down 18.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population growth in Cameroon peaked at 2.4% in 2015 and was at its lowest, 0.7%, in 1974.
Cameroon ranks 19th of 209 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 65 years of available data.
Rural population growth in Cameroon, year by year
| Year | annual % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 1.2% | — |
| 1962 | 1.4% | +18.3% |
| 1963 | 1.6% | +14.2% |
| 1964 | 1.5% | -5.3% |
| 1965 | 1.4% | -3.7% |
| 1966 | 1.4% | -1.7% |
| 1967 | 1.4% | +0.1% |
| 1968 | 1.4% | +1.8% |
| 1969 | 1.5% | +2.6% |
| 1970 | 1.5% | +2.4% |
| 1971 | 1.3% | -12.9% |
| 1972 | 1.0% | -25.5% |
| 1973 | 0.8% | -20.1% |
| 1974 | 0.7% | -5.2% |
| 1975 | 0.9% | +16.7% |
| 1976 | 1.0% | +19.3% |
| 1977 | 1.1% | +6.7% |
| 1978 | 1.3% | +16.1% |
| 1979 | 1.4% | +9.1% |
| 1980 | 1.9% | +35.2% |
| 1981 | 2.2% | +15.5% |
| 1982 | 1.1% | -50.4% |
| 1983 | 0.8% | -27.8% |
| 1984 | 1.5% | +98.0% |
| 1985 | 1.8% | +14.9% |
| 1986 | 1.8% | +3.3% |
| 1987 | 1.9% | +2.6% |
| 1988 | 1.8% | -2.5% |
| 1989 | 1.8% | -2.9% |
| 1990 | 1.8% | +1.1% |
| 1991 | 1.8% | -1.4% |
| 1992 | 1.7% | -2.5% |
| 1993 | 1.7% | -0.5% |
| 1994 | 1.7% | -1.6% |
| 1995 | 1.6% | -2.9% |
| 1996 | 1.6% | -2.3% |
| 1997 | 1.6% | -1.3% |
| 1998 | 1.6% | +1.1% |
| 1999 | 1.6% | +1.8% |
| 2000 | 1.6% | +0.4% |
| 2001 | 1.7% | +1.4% |
| 2002 | 1.7% | +5.2% |
| 2003 | 1.8% | +4.6% |
| 2004 | 1.9% | +3.1% |
| 2005 | 2.0% | +5.1% |
| 2006 | 1.5% | -22.5% |
| 2007 | 1.8% | +18.7% |
| 2008 | 2.1% | +15.2% |
| 2009 | 2.1% | -0.4% |
| 2010 | 2.1% | -0.0% |
| 2011 | 2.1% | -1.0% |
| 2012 | 2.1% | -0.4% |
| 2013 | 2.1% | +0.2% |
| 2014 | 2.3% | +10.9% |
| 2015 | 2.4% | +5.4% |
| 2016 | 2.3% | -5.8% |
| 2017 | 2.1% | -6.3% |
| 2018 | 2.1% | -2.5% |
| 2019 | 2.1% | +1.1% |
| 2020 | 2.1% | -2.1% |
| 2021 | 2.0% | -2.8% |
| 2022 | 2.0% | -0.6% |
| 2023 | 2.0% | +1.4% |
| 2024 | 2.0% | -0.7% |
| 2025 | 2.0% | -1.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.4% | 1.2% | 1.6% | 9 |
| 1970s | 1.1% | 0.7% | 1.5% | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.7% | 0.8% | 2.2% | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.7% | 1.6% | 1.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.8% | 1.5% | 2.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.2% | 2.1% | 2.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.0% | 2.0% | 2.1% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Cameroon
More agriculture & rural data for Cameroon
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 0.9031 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.1685 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 332.28 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 1.98 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.4433 units per person (2025)
- Agriculture share gdp 16.85 (2025)
- Value added in the agricultural sector as of gdp vs gdp per capita 16.85 (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 14.9% (2023)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.0% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population growth in Cameroon?
- Rural population growth in Cameroon was 2.0% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population growth recorded in Cameroon?
- The highest recorded value was 2.4% in 2015.
- What is the lowest rural population growth recorded in Cameroon?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.7% in 1974.
- How does Cameroon rank for rural population growth?
- Cameroon ranks 19th out of 209 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population growth rising or falling in Cameroon?
- Over the last ten years it is down 18.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Cameroon data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Rural population growth (annual %). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Annual rural population growth rate for year t is the exponential rate of growth of midyear rural population from year t-1 to t, expressed as a percentage. Rural population refers to people living in rural areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated as the difference between total population and urban population.