Labour · Sub-Saharan Africa · Lower-middle income
Cameroon: the labour market
Labour force is 11.5m (2025), 51st of 187 in the world and 14th of 47 in Sub-Saharan Africa. Participation rate is 65.2% (2025), 57th of 187 in the world and 22nd of 47 in Sub-Saharan Africa. Women's participation is 56.6% (2025), 71st of 187 in the world and 26th of 47 in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Labour force
Cameroon
Participation rate
CameroonSub-Saharan AfricaLower-middle incomeWorld
13 indicators
Labour: Cameroon in detail
Latest reported value, world rank and rank within Sub-Saharan Africa; values around 2000, 2010, 2020; group and world columns are World Bank aggregates.
| Indicator | Latest | World rank | In region | ~2000 | ~2010 | ~2020 | 10-year change | Region | Income group | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour forceLabour force, total | 11.5m2025 | 51/187 | 14/47 | 6.7m | 8.4m | 9.9m | +25%since 2015 | 527m | 1.2bn | 3.7bn | |
| Participation rateLabour force participation, % of 15+ | 65.2%2025 | 57/187 | 22/47 | 81.9% | 76.2% | 65.9% | −6.0 ppsince 2015 | 70.3% | 58.2% | 61.0% | |
| Women's participationFemale labour force participation, % of women 15+ | 56.6%2025 | 71/187 | 26/47 | 77.9% | 70.5% | 58.1% | −9.0 ppsince 2015 | 65.2% | 39.2% | 48.9% | |
| Employment rateEmployment to population ratio, 15+ (ILO) | 62.8%2025 | 51/187 | 20/47 | 75.8% | 73.1% | 63.4% | −5.8 ppsince 2015 | 66.3% | 55.6% | 58.1% | |
| UnemploymentUnemployment, % of labour force (ILO) | 3.6%2025 | 127/187 | 29/47 | 7.5% | 4.1% | 3.9% | +0.1 ppsince 2015 | 5.7% | 4.5% | 4.8% | |
| Female unemploymentFemale unemployment, % of female labour force (ILO) | 4.1%2025 | 122/187 | 30/47 | 6.6% | 4.9% | 4.4% | +0.1 ppsince 2015 | 6.3% | 4.9% | 4.9% | |
| Youth unemploymentYouth unemployment, ages 15–24 (ILO) | 6.5%2025 | 150/187 | 29/47 | 11.4% | 6.3% | 7.4% | +0.3 ppsince 2015 | 10.1% | 13.1% | 13.4% | |
| Youth NEET rateYouth not in education, employment or training, % | 23.2%2021 | 59/170 | 25/44 | · | 10.8% | 23.2%2021 | +12.4 ppsince 2010 | — | 21.8% | — | |
| Wage workersWage and salaried workers, % of total employment | 30.7%2025 | 153/187 | 22/47 | 16.0% | 20.0% | 28.5% | +7.2 ppsince 2015 | 22.3% | 29.6% | 53.6% | |
| Vulnerable employmentVulnerable employment, % of total employment (ILO) | 67.6%2025 | 32/187 | 24/47 | 81.6% | 77.3% | 69.7% | −6.0 ppsince 2015 | 71.0% | 65.5% | 42.4% | |
| Jobs in agricultureEmployment in agriculture, % of total employment | 41.9%2025 | 37/187 | 25/47 | 64.1% | 55.1% | 44.0% | −4.8 ppsince 2015 | 49.3% | 39.8% | 25.8% | |
| Jobs in industryEmployment in industry, % of total employment | 14.6%2025 | 145/187 | 22/47 | 13.2% | 12.1% | 14.5% | +0.4 ppsince 2015 | 12.2% | 22.4% | 23.7% | |
| Jobs in servicesEmployment in services, % of total employment | 43.5%2025 | 150/187 | 22/47 | 22.8% | 32.8% | 41.4% | +4.4 ppsince 2015 | 38.5% | 37.8% | 50.6% |
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)“·” — no value reported within two years of that date. World rank counts countries with a recent value.
Better than ten years ago
- Wage workers+7.2 pp30.7% in 2025
- Vulnerable employment−6.0 pp67.6% in 2025
Worse than ten years ago
- Women's participation−9.0 pp56.6% in 2025
- Employment rate−5.8 pp62.8% in 2025
- Unemployment+0.1 pp3.6% in 2025
- Female unemployment+0.1 pp4.1% in 2025
Only indicators where higher or lower is clearly better are rated (for example, unemployment down is better, life expectancy up is better).
neighbours
Cameroon and its neighbours
Countries sharing a land border with Cameroon. Latest values since 2005; the highest in each row is marked.
| Indicator | Cameroon | Nigeria | Chad | Republic of the Congo | Central African Republic | Gabon |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour force | 11.5m2025 | 117m2025 | 6.7m2025 | 2.6m2025 | 2.1m2025 | 844,1452025 |
| Participation rate | 65.2%2025 | 82.5%2025 | 59.4%2025 | 67.8%2025 | 73.4%2025 | 51.1%2025 |
| Women's participation | 56.6%2025 | 80.7%2025 | 47.3%2025 | 65.6%2025 | 65.5%2025 | 41.6%2025 |
| Employment rate | 62.8%2025 | 80.0%2025 | 58.8%2025 | 54.3%2025 | 68.8%2025 | 40.8%2025 |
| Unemployment | 3.6%2025 | 3.1%2025 | 1.1%2025 | 19.9%2025 | 6.3%2025 | 20.2%2025 |
| Female unemployment | 4.1%2025 | 3.9%2025 | 0.7%2025 | 21.1%2025 | 7.0%2025 | 28.6%2025 |
| Youth unemployment | 6.5%2025 | 5.3%2025 | 1.5%2025 | 40.5%2025 | 10.1%2025 | 36.3%2025 |
| Youth NEET rate | 23.2%2021 | 11.9%2024 | 42.3%2022 | 22.3%2009 | — | 20.2%2024 |
| Wage workers | 30.7%2025 | 13.8%2025 | 8.4%2025 | 23.2%2025 | 14.6%2025 | 67.6%2025 |