Social situation Millions of people dependent on international assistance

It is estimated that about 40 per cent of Cameroon's roughly 29 million people are living in poverty. According to the United Nations, about 3.4 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance, and at least 2.5 million are affected by acute food insecurity.

Poverty is particularly severe in the rural areas of the Far North and the eastern part of the country. These regions are not only structurally underdeveloped, they are also exposed to recurring extreme weather events such as periods of drought and floods.

Experts have warned that the food situation might further deteriorate, especially in the crisis areas – the Northwest, Southwest and Far North Regions. In these regions, people are already struggling with lower agricultural yields than usual and sharply increased food prices.

Although the official unemployment rate is relatively low at four per cent (2022), large proportions of the workforce are considered underemployed. This affects, in particular, informal workers in micro enterprises and smallholder farmers engaged in subsistence farming.

Development progress has been made on infant and child mortality and drinking water supply. However, there are still great deficits in the field of sanitation. In rural regions, nearly 80 per cent of the people do not have basic sanitation.

Development is also needed in the education sector. Some 30 per cent of all children drop out of primary school. Dropout rates for girls are higher than for boys. One reason is the poor equipment of education facilities. About three quarters of all primary schools have no drinking water supply, and over half have no sanitation facilities.

The latest United Nations Human Development Index (HDI) ranked Cameroon 155th out of 193 nations.

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As at: 27/02/2024