Rural population in Cameroon
Cameroon: Rural population was 44.3% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Rural population in Cameroon, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in % of total population.
Analysis
In 2025, rural population in Cameroon stood at 44.3%. That is the lowest value across all 66 years on record.
The figure is down 0.6% on the previous year and down 6.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Cameroon peaked at 86.4% in 1960 and was at its lowest, 44.3%, in 2025.
That places Cameroon 74th out of 215 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 66 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 83.9% | 80.6% | 86.4% | 10 |
| 1970s | 73.9% | 68.6% | 79.7% | 10 |
| 1980s | 64.0% | 60.6% | 67.7% | 10 |
| 1990s | 57.0% | 54.3% | 59.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 51.6% | 49.5% | 53.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 47.6% | 46.1% | 49.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 45.0% | 44.3% | 45.7% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Cameroon
More agriculture & rural data for Cameroon
- Agricultural raw materials exports 14.9% (2023)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.0% (2023)
- Rural population growth 2.0% (2025)
- Rural population 13.25 million (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 16.8% (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 9.93 billion current US$ (2025)
- Land under cereal production 2.17 million hectares (2024)
- Cereal yield 1,770 kg per hectare (2024)
- Cereal production 3.85 million metric tons (2024)
- Fertilizer consumption 16.4 kilograms per hectare of arable land (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Cameroon?
- Rural population in Cameroon was 44.3% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Cameroon?
- The highest recorded value was 86.4% in 1960.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Cameroon?
- The lowest recorded value was 44.3% in 2025.
- How does Cameroon rank for rural population?
- Cameroon ranks 74th out of 215 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Cameroon?
- Over the last ten years it is down 6.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Cameroon data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Rural population (% of total population). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 66 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
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.