Cameroon population pyramid 2026
30,640,817 people in 2026 (projected). Cameroon’s pyramid is a smooth, steep triangle with no major cohort scars; births outnumber deaths almost five to one and growth continues past 2100.
- 2026 population
- 30.6Mrank 51 of 237
- Median age
- 18.2 yearsoldest rank 220
- Fertility rate
- 4.12births per woman · above replacement
- Structure
- Youthful2.8% age 65+
Cameroon population pyramid
2026 · Share of total by five-year age group and sex
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The UN series provides historical estimates through 2023. Figures from 2024 onward—including 2026—are medium-scenario projections, not counts or predictions guaranteed to occur.
Cameroon age distribution in 2026
Children under 15 account for 40.8% of the population, while 2.8% are aged 65 or older. The remaining 56.4% are in the conventional working-age range of 15–64. On these shares, the site classifies Cameroon’s age structure as youthful; the guide to expansive population pyramids explains what that shape implies.
The total age dependency ratio is 77.4: about 77 people under 15 or 65+ for every 100 people aged 15–64 (72.4 children and 5.0 older people). This is an age-balance indicator, not a literal count of economic dependants per worker.
What shapes Cameroon’s population pyramid
Fertility that rose before it fell
Cameroon is a clear example of an expansive pyramid. Fertility was already high in 1950, at about 5.7 children per woman, and climbed to around 6.6 by 1980, possibly helped by improving health, before declining gradually to about 4.1 in 2026. Because child survival was improving throughout, the base kept broadening: the median age fell from 19.3 in 1950 to 16.2 in 2000. The steep step between the bottom two bands of the 1950 pyramid, where children under five far outnumber those aged 5–9, partly reflects how many young children died at that time.
The 2026 pyramid has no notable bulges or notches. Each five-year band is smaller than the one beneath it, and the three youngest bands are the largest. Between 2000 and 2023 there were about 19.2 million births and 5.0 million deaths, while net emigration over the same period was only about 150,000, so natural increase explains almost all of the growth.
Slow gains in survival
Life expectancy rose quickly from 33 years in 1950 to 48 in 1970, then improved by less than three years between 1990 and 2010, reaching only 57. That plateau coincided with an economic crisis from the late 1980s and with the spread of HIV, both widely discussed as factors, although the chart alone cannot separate their effects. Gains resumed afterwards, to about 64 years in 2023, but infant mortality of around 44 per 1,000 in 2026 remains high.
The sexes are close to balance at most ages, with women gradually outnumbering men from the fifties onward; at 70–74 there are 82 men per 100 women. The sex ratio at birth, about 103 boys per 100 girls, is a little lower than the global norm of around 105, a pattern often observed in populations of sub-Saharan Africa.
Still growing in 2100
Under the medium scenario fertility falls to about three by 2050 and two by 2100, yet the population rises from about 31 million in 2026 to 51 million in 2050 and nearly 89 million by the end of the century, with no peak in sight; the population by country 2100 ranking puts that figure in context. The closest structural matches today include Benin, Zambia and Ivory Coast.
What to notice across the years
Distinctive cohorts and turning points
No five-year band under age 80 is more than 10% larger or smaller than both of its neighbours, so Cameroon’s 2026 pyramid has a comparatively smooth profile without sharp bulges or notches.
In the UN medium scenario births outnumber deaths in every year through 2100. Children under 15 outnumber people aged 65 and older in every pyramid year through 2100.
Births, deaths, and migration
A pyramid changes in only three ways: births add to the base, deaths remove people at every age, and migration adds or removes people mainly in young adulthood. In 2026, Cameroon is projected to record 991,664 births (about one birth every 32 seconds) and 208,554 deaths, a natural increase of 783,110. Net migration adds −18,922 people, ranking #138 in the net migration rate ranking.
Between 2000 and 2023 the UN estimates 19,197,028 births, 5,016,354 deaths, and cumulative net migration of −150,554. Over that period the balance of births and deaths moved the total more than migration did. See how migration shapes a pyramid and birth rate versus fertility rate. The medium scenario assumes net migration of −497,999 between 2026 and 2050.
Annual values 1950–2100; dashed lines after 2023 are the UN medium projection. The trend table below lists the values by decade.
Life expectancy and mortality
- Life expectancy, women
- 66.8 years34.6 in 1950
- Life expectancy, men
- 62.3 years31.6 in 1950
- Further years at 65
- 13.2 yearsboth sexes
- Infant mortality
- 43.6per 1,000 births · 167 in 1950
- Under-five mortality
- 62.3per 1,000 births
- Mother’s mean age at birth
- 28.4 yearssex ratio at birth 102.9
Women in Cameroon are projected to live 4.5 years longer than men, which is why the female side of the pyramid widens relative to the other at older ages (see the life expectancy gap ranking). Infant mortality has fallen from 167 to 43.6 deaths per 1,000 live births since 1950, ranking #21 of 237 in the infant mortality ranking (highest first). A mean age at childbearing of 28.4 years sets the spacing between generations, and so how far apart echo cohorts sit in the pyramid.
Median age, fertility rate, and global ranks for Cameroon
The median age of 18.2 years splits the population into two equal halves. A total fertility rate of 4.12 births per woman is above the replacement level of roughly 2.1, and life expectancy at birth is 64.5 years.
These ranks compare all 237 countries and areas in this dataset using the same 2026 UN medium projection. Ranks use the stored source precision, so displayed rounding can make adjacent values look identical; small differences should not be overinterpreted.
| Indicator | 2026 value | Global rank | Ranking direction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 30,640,817 | #51 | Largest first |
| Median age | 18.2 years | #220 | Oldest first |
| Fertility rate | 4.12 | #18 | Highest first |
| Annual growth | +2.5% | #21 | Fastest first |
| Life expectancy | 64.5 years | #213 | Highest first |
| Population aged 65+ | 2.8% | #220 | Highest share first |
Largest age groups in Cameroon
The five largest cohorts identify where the 2026 population is concentrated. They can reflect past birth patterns, survival, and migration; the chart alone does not establish which cause dominates.
| Rank | Age group | Population | Share of total | Male / female |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0–4 | 4,554,392 | 14.9% | 2.3M / 2.3M |
| 2 | 5–9 | 4,213,888 | 13.8% | 2.1M / 2.1M |
| 3 | 10–14 | 3,730,675 | 12.2% | 1.9M / 1.9M |
| 4 | 15–19 | 3,313,923 | 10.8% | 1.7M / 1.7M |
| 5 | 20–24 | 2,811,025 | 9.2% | 1.4M / 1.4M |
Sex ratio and the balance by age
In the 2026 projection, Cameroon has 15,268,802 males and 15,372,014 females. That is 99.3 males per 100 females, ranking #89 when the dataset is ordered from the highest male-to-female ratio to the lowest.
Males account for 49.8% of the population and females for 50.2%. There are 103,212 more females than males overall. Among people aged 65 and older, the ratio is 81.1 males per 100 females.
The overall balance can conceal large differences by age; how sex ratios change with age explains the usual pattern. The ratio reflects the male/female categories in the UN source and is not a measure of gender identity. Compare all profiles in the sex-ratio ranking.
At birth, 102.9 boys are projected to be born for every 100 girls in 2026, slightly below the typical value of about 105 (compare the sex ratio at birth ranking). The ratio at birth sets the balance at the base of the pyramid; how it changes with age then depends on survival and migration.
How Cameroon has changed since 1950
The population has increased from 4,330,084 in 1950 to 30,640,817 in 2026, a change of 608%. Over the same span, median age moved from 19.3 to 18.2 years.
The under-15 share changed from 39.4% to 40.8%, while the share aged 65 and older changed from 3.5% to 2.8%. These shifts show why total population growth and age-structure change need to be read separately.
How the population could change by 2050
Under the UN medium scenario, Cameroon’s population is projected to grow by about 67%, reaching 51,096,317 in 2050. The median age changes from 18.2 to 23.1 years.
The 65+ share is projected to rise by 1.9 percentage points to 4.7%. At the same time, the under-15 share is projected at 32.9%. How UN projections work explains the assumptions behind these figures.
The population is still rising at the end of the UN medium projection in 2100, when it reaches 88,875,688. The page therefore does not assign a peak year beyond the available horizon.
Population trend: 1950–2100
Mid-year population for every year. Estimates through 2023; dashed line shows the UN medium projection.
| Year | Population | Median age | Fertility | Life exp. | Births | Deaths | Net migration | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 4,330,084 | 19.3 | 5.73 | 33.1 | 190,920 | 127,644 | 0 | +1.5% |
| 1960 | 5,159,058 | 19.5 | 5.72 | 34.7 | 225,997 | 148,051 | 0 | +1.5% |
| 1970 | 6,449,793 | 18.1 | 6.20 | 48.0 | 289,434 | 118,722 | −367 | +2.6% |
| 1980 | 8,512,219 | 16.7 | 6.61 | 50.9 | 386,028 | 138,222 | +70,589 | +3.7% |
| 1990 | 11,331,821 | 15.7 | 6.36 | 54.3 | 494,558 | 151,650 | −8,163 | +3.0% |
| 2000 | 14,912,631 | 16.2 | 5.51 | 53.3 | 609,606 | 197,970 | −21,221 | +2.6% |
| 2010 | 19,668,066 | 16.8 | 5.15 | 57.0 | 783,507 | 213,597 | −9,366 | +2.9% |
| 2020 | 26,210,558 | 17.4 | 4.56 | 61.7 | 928,861 | 212,482 | −9,888 | +2.7% |
| 2023 | 28,372,687 | 17.8 | 4.32 | 63.7 | 957,392 | 202,882 | −4,798 | +2.6% |
| 2024* | 29,123,744 | 17.9 | 4.26 | 64.0 | 971,107 | 204,805 | −13,892 | +2.6% |
| 2026* | 30,640,817 | 18.2 | 4.12 | 64.5 | 991,664 | 208,554 | −18,922 | +2.5% |
| 2030* | 33,777,190 | 18.9 | 3.88 | 65.5 | 1,038,634 | 217,966 | −16,474 | +2.4% |
| 2040* | 42,208,003 | 20.9 | 3.35 | 67.6 | 1,152,820 | 255,461 | −21,462 | +2.1% |
| 2050* | 51,096,317 | 23.1 | 2.96 | 69.5 | 1,228,280 | 310,041 | −28,025 | +1.7% |
| 2060* | 59,960,896 | 25.2 | 2.68 | 71.1 | 1,280,591 | 382,304 | −24,420 | +1.5% |
| 2070* | 68,458,220 | 27.5 | 2.48 | 72.7 | 1,316,418 | 463,568 | −27,879 | +1.2% |
| 2080* | 76,344,375 | 29.7 | 2.32 | 74.2 | 1,324,078 | 552,833 | −21,792 | +1.0% |
| 2090* | 83,203,329 | 31.9 | 2.20 | 75.7 | 1,316,268 | 654,088 | −34,012 | +0.8% |
| 2100* | 88,875,688 | 34.0 | 2.10 | 77.1 | 1,293,547 | 757,585 | −28,102 | +0.6% |
* 2024 onward is the UN medium projection. Fertility is births per woman; life expectancy is years at birth; births, deaths, and net migration are counts for that calendar year.
Download every year, 1950–2100 (CSV)
2026 population by age and sex
The table provides the counts behind the chart. Age groups are five-year bands, with everyone aged 100 or older combined.
| Age group | Male | Female | Total | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0–4 | 2,298,918 | 2,255,474 | 4,554,392 | 14.9% |
| 5–9 | 2,124,436 | 2,089,452 | 4,213,888 | 13.8% |
| 10–14 | 1,876,961 | 1,853,714 | 3,730,675 | 12.2% |
| 15–19 | 1,661,195 | 1,652,728 | 3,313,923 | 10.8% |
| 20–24 | 1,405,506 | 1,405,519 | 2,811,025 | 9.2% |
| 25–29 | 1,179,440 | 1,186,590 | 2,366,030 | 7.7% |
| 30–34 | 1,037,426 | 1,048,525 | 2,085,951 | 6.8% |
| 35–39 | 903,581 | 916,533 | 1,820,114 | 5.9% |
| 40–44 | 747,848 | 761,159 | 1,509,007 | 4.9% |
| 45–49 | 593,602 | 608,888 | 1,202,490 | 3.9% |
| 50–54 | 459,486 | 477,182 | 936,668 | 3.1% |
| 55–59 | 344,613 | 365,439 | 710,052 | 2.3% |
| 60–64 | 245,613 | 269,766 | 515,379 | 1.7% |
| 65–69 | 174,006 | 200,444 | 374,450 | 1.2% |
| 70–74 | 111,334 | 136,316 | 247,650 | 0.8% |
| 75–79 | 61,291 | 80,729 | 142,020 | 0.5% |
| 80–84 | 29,960 | 42,794 | 72,754 | 0.2% |
| 85–89 | 10,617 | 16,294 | 26,911 | 0.1% |
| 90–94 | 2,559 | 3,903 | 6,462 | 0.0% |
| 95–99 | 381 | 530 | 911 | 0.0% |
| 100+ | 30 | 38 | 68 | 0.0% |
Countries with the most similar age structure
These profiles have the 2026 age distributions closest to Cameroon’s, measured by the total difference in the share of the population in each five-year band. Similar shapes can arise from very different histories, so the match is a starting point for comparison, not an explanation.
- Benin99% overlap · median age 18.2
- Zambia98% overlap · median age 18.2
- Tanzania98% overlap · median age 17.6
- Ivory Coast98% overlap · median age 18.5
- Mauritania98% overlap · median age 17.5
- Yemen98% overlap · median age 18.5
To calculate school-age, working-age, or older groups with other boundaries, use the age-group calculator for Cameroon.
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APA
World Population Pyramid. (2026, October 19). Cameroon Population Pyramid 2026. https://worldpopulationpyramid.com/countries/cameroon/
MLA
“Cameroon Population Pyramid 2026.” World Population Pyramid, 19 Oct. 2026, worldpopulationpyramid.com/countries/cameroon/.
Chicago
World Population Pyramid. “Cameroon Population Pyramid 2026.” Last modified October 19, 2026. https://worldpopulationpyramid.com/countries/cameroon/.
Underlying data: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2024). World Population Prospects 2024.
Frequently asked questions
What is the population of Cameroon in 2026?
Under the UN World Population Prospects 2024 medium scenario, Cameroon's population in 2026 is projected at 30,640,817.
What is the median age in Cameroon?
The projected median age in Cameroon in 2026 is 18.2 years: half the population is younger and half is older.
What is the fertility rate in Cameroon?
The projected total fertility rate in 2026 is 4.12 births per woman, above the replacement level of about 2.1 in low-mortality populations.
Is Cameroon's population projected to grow?
Between 2026 and 2050, the UN medium scenario indicates the population will grow by about 67%, from 30.6M to 51.1M.
What share of Cameroon is aged 65 or older?
In 2026, 2.8% of the projected population is aged 65 or older. By 2050, the medium scenario places the share at 4.7%.
How many babies are born in Cameroon each year?
The UN medium scenario projects 991,664 births and 208,554 deaths in 2026, about one birth every 32 seconds. Births exceed deaths by 783,110.
What is life expectancy in Cameroon for men and women?
Life expectancy at birth in 2026 is projected at 66.8 years for women and 62.3 years for men, a gap of 4.5 years in favour of women.
Does Cameroon have more immigrants or emigrants?
Cameroon is projected to lose about 18,922 more people through emigration than it gains in 2026. Between 2000 and 2023 the UN estimates cumulative net migration of −150,554.
What is the sex ratio in Cameroon?
The projected 2026 population sex ratio is 99.3 males per 100 females. This all-age ratio is different from the sex ratio at birth and can vary substantially by age.
Sources and notes
- United Nations, DESA, Population Division: World Population Prospects 2024, medium scenario.
- Population values are mid-year figures. Source values published in thousands are converted to people; displayed figures may imply more precision than is appropriate for planning.
- Historical values through 2023 are estimates. Values from 2024 onward are projections.
- Calculations follow the site methodology.