Labor force, total in Cameroon
Cameroon: Labor force, total was 11.47 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Labor force, total in Cameroon, 1990–2025
Source: International Labour Organization (ILO), type: estimates based on external database.
Analysis
In 2025, labor force, total in Cameroon stood at 11.47 million. That is the highest value across all 36 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.6% on the previous year and up 24.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, labor force, total in Cameroon peaked at 11.47 million in 2025 and was at its lowest, 5.02 million, in 1990.
That places Cameroon 51st out of 186 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 36 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 5.74 million | 5.02 million | 6.54 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 7.66 million | 6.73 million | 8.40 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 9.12 million | 8.44 million | 9.85 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 10.67 million | 9.93 million | 11.47 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Cameroon
More education data for Cameroon
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 12 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 56.1% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 41.1% (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 114.4% (2024)
- Primary education, teachers 121,453 (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 109.5% (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, male 119.2% (2024)
- Labor force, female 43.9% (2025)
- School enrollment, primary (gross), gender parity index 0.9012 GPI (2019)
Frequently asked questions
- What is labor force, total in Cameroon?
- Labor force, total in Cameroon was 11.47 million in 2025, according to International Labour Organization (ILO), type: estimates based on external database.
- What is the highest labor force, total recorded in Cameroon?
- The highest recorded value was 11.47 million in 2025.
- What is the lowest labor force, total recorded in Cameroon?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.02 million in 1990.
- How does Cameroon rank for labor force, total?
- Cameroon ranks 51st out of 186 countries with data for 2025.
- Is labor force, total rising or falling in Cameroon?
- Over the last ten years it is up 24.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Cameroon data come from?
- The figures come from International Labour Organization (ILO), type: estimates based on external database, published as part of Labor force, total. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 36 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Labor force comprises people ages 15 and older who supply labor for the production of goods and services during a specified period. It includes people who are currently employed and people who are unemployed but seeking work as well as first-time job-seekers. Not everyone who works is included, however. Unpaid workers, family workers, and students are often omitted, and some countries do not count members of the armed forces. Labor force size tends to vary during the year as seasonal workers enter and leave.