5,018 km of land border against just 402 km of coast — this country faces its neighbors far more than it faces the sea.
coastline 402 km · 114th/229 · land borders 5,018 km · 36th/230 CIA World Factbook · 2026-02-01 · ranks computed across the countries in this atlas that carry the value
Population
25,876,380
Natural Earth population estimate.
Area
475,440 km²
Official total area (land + water) from the CIA World Factbook. Computed from the Natural Earth boundary: ≈ 463,872 km².
Field “Economy → GDP (official exchange rate)” in the CIA World Factbook archive (frozen 2026-02-01). Public domain. The Factbook stopped publishing in February 2026; the year shows when the value was estimated.
GDP per capita (PPP)
$4,900
Field “Economy → Real GDP per capita → Real GDP per capita 2024” in the CIA World Factbook archive (frozen 2026-02-01). Public domain. The Factbook stopped publishing in February 2026; the year shows when the value was estimated.
Each line is every country in this atlas that carries the value, ordered smallest to largest. The line down the middle is the world median; the mark on each line is this country.
median
Median age19.4 years204th of 224 · median 32.6 years
Life expectancy64.2 years205th of 224 · median 76.2 years
Fertility rate3.87 children per woman24th of 225 · median 1.92 children per woman
Population25,876,38052nd of 235 · median 5,454,073
Total area475,440 km²55th of 228 · median 83,736 km²
Coastline402 km114th of 229 · median 402 km
Overview
Name
In the 16th century, Portuguese explorers named an estuary near the mouth of the Wouri River "Rio dos Camaroes" ("River of Prawns") after the abundant shrimp in the water. The name "Camaroes" evolved into "Cameroon".
Source: CIA World Factbook · 2026-02-01 · text generated from this source, approved by a person
People and society
People are concentrated in the west and north, while the country's interior is sparsely populated. The ethnic groups include Bamileke-Bamu, Biu-Mandara, Arab-Choa/Hausa/Kanuri, Beti/Bassa, Mbam, and Grassfields. They also include Adamawa-Ubangi, Cotier/Ngoe/Oroko, Southwestern Bantu, Kako/Meka, and others.
English and French are official languages alongside major African language groups. Religious affiliations include Roman Catholic, Muslim, Protestant, other Christian, animist, other, and none.
Source: CIA World Factbook · 2026-02-01 · text generated from this source, approved by a person
Key figures
CIA World Factbook
Economy
GDP (nominal)
$51.33 billion
Field “Economy → GDP (official exchange rate)” in the CIA World Factbook archive (frozen 2026-02-01). Public domain. The Factbook stopped publishing in February 2026; the year shows when the value was estimated.
GDP (PPP)
$143.26 billion
Field “Economy → Real GDP (purchasing power parity) → Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2024” in the CIA World Factbook archive (frozen 2026-02-01). Public domain. The Factbook stopped publishing in February 2026; the year shows when the value was estimated.
GDP per capita (PPP)
$4,900
Field “Economy → Real GDP per capita → Real GDP per capita 2024” in the CIA World Factbook archive (frozen 2026-02-01). Public domain. The Factbook stopped publishing in February 2026; the year shows when the value was estimated.
GDP growth
+3.7%
Field “Economy → Real GDP growth rate → Real GDP growth rate 2024” in the CIA World Factbook archive (frozen 2026-02-01). Public domain. The Factbook stopped publishing in February 2026; the year shows when the value was estimated.
Inflation (consumer prices)
4.5%
Field “Economy → Inflation rate (consumer prices) → Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2024” in the CIA World Factbook archive (frozen 2026-02-01). Public domain. The Factbook stopped publishing in February 2026; the year shows when the value was estimated.
Unemployment
3.6%
Field “Economy → Unemployment rate → Unemployment rate 2024” in the CIA World Factbook archive (frozen 2026-02-01). Public domain. The Factbook stopped publishing in February 2026; the year shows when the value was estimated.
Exports
$8.35 billion
Field “Economy → Exports → Exports 2023” in the CIA World Factbook archive (frozen 2026-02-01). Public domain. The Factbook stopped publishing in February 2026; the year shows when the value was estimated.
Imports
$10.29 billion
Field “Economy → Imports → Imports 2023” in the CIA World Factbook archive (frozen 2026-02-01). Public domain. The Factbook stopped publishing in February 2026; the year shows when the value was estimated.
People
Life expectancy
64.2 years
Field “People and Society → Life expectancy at birth → total population” in the CIA World Factbook archive (frozen 2026-02-01). Public domain. The Factbook stopped publishing in February 2026; the year shows when the value was estimated.
Median age
19.4 years
Field “People and Society → Median age → total” in the CIA World Factbook archive (frozen 2026-02-01). Public domain. The Factbook stopped publishing in February 2026; the year shows when the value was estimated.
Birth rate
30.79 per 1,000
Field “People and Society → Birth rate” in the CIA World Factbook archive (frozen 2026-02-01). Public domain. The Factbook stopped publishing in February 2026; the year shows when the value was estimated.
Death rate
6.73 per 1,000
Field “People and Society → Death rate” in the CIA World Factbook archive (frozen 2026-02-01). Public domain. The Factbook stopped publishing in February 2026; the year shows when the value was estimated.
Fertility rate
3.87 children per woman
Field “People and Society → Total fertility rate” in the CIA World Factbook archive (frozen 2026-02-01). Public domain. The Factbook stopped publishing in February 2026; the year shows when the value was estimated.
Population growth
+2.37% a year
Field “People and Society → Population growth rate” in the CIA World Factbook archive (frozen 2026-02-01). Public domain. The Factbook stopped publishing in February 2026; the year shows when the value was estimated.
Urban population
59.3%
Field “People and Society → Urbanization → urban population” in the CIA World Factbook archive (frozen 2026-02-01). Public domain. The Factbook stopped publishing in February 2026; the year shows when the value was estimated.
Literacy
72.6%
Field “People and Society → Literacy → total population” in the CIA World Factbook archive (frozen 2026-02-01). Public domain. The Factbook stopped publishing in February 2026; the year shows when the value was estimated.
Land
Total area
475,440 km²Land 472,710 km² · Water 2,730 km²
Field “Geography → Area → total” in the CIA World Factbook archive (frozen 2026-02-01). Public domain. The Factbook stopped publishing in February 2026; the year shows when the value was estimated.
Coastline
402 km
Field “Geography → Coastline” in the CIA World Factbook archive (frozen 2026-02-01). Public domain. The Factbook stopped publishing in February 2026; the year shows when the value was estimated.
Land borders
5,018 km
Field “Geography → Land boundaries → total” in the CIA World Factbook archive (frozen 2026-02-01). Public domain. The Factbook stopped publishing in February 2026; the year shows when the value was estimated.
Mean elevation
667 m
Field “Geography → Elevation → mean elevation” in the CIA World Factbook archive (frozen 2026-02-01). Public domain. The Factbook stopped publishing in February 2026; the year shows when the value was estimated.
Highest point
4,045 m Fako on Mont Cameroun
Field “Geography → Elevation → highest point” in the CIA World Factbook archive (frozen 2026-02-01). Public domain. The Factbook stopped publishing in February 2026; the year shows when the value was estimated.
Values from the CIA World Factbook archive. Each carries the year it describes; open a year for the exact source field.