The structure of Cameroon’s economy

Moderate growth in output

According to the national accounts of the National Institute of Statistics (INS), Cameroon produced goods and services worth FCFA 32,316 billion at current prices in 2024. In 2023, that output stood at FCFA 29,609 billion. Stripped of the effect of prices, the volume of output grew 3.5% over the year, close to the pace of 2023 (3.3%) and 2022 (3.7%).

Trade and services come first

Among the businesses registered in Cameroon, it is neither farming nor manufacturing that dominates by number of establishments. According to the INS, trade and services alone account for the large majority of the country's enterprises, with commerce as the biggest single component. Agro-industry, energy, telecommunications, mining, construction, and banking and insurance make up the other large groupings Camerpedia tracks, each with its own regulator.

Buying more from abroad than it sells

In 2024, Cameroon sold FCFA 5,065 billion worth of goods and services to the rest of the world. That same year, it bought FCFA 6,053 billion, again according to the INS. The difference, about FCFA 988 billion, is a trade deficit: the country imports more than it exports, as in the two previous years.

One currency shared by six countries

Cameroon shares its currency, the CFA franc, with five other countries in the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC): Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea and Chad. The union also runs a common market and a shared external customs tariff. The explainer on regional integration covers both.

Where to read the detail

The figures cited here are national averages. Camerpedia's statistics hub publishes each indicator with its full series, definition and method, for anyone who wants to check a particular year or compare it with earlier ones.