Home

Cameroon vs. Equatorial Guinea

Demographics

CameroonEquatorial Guinea
Population28,524,175 (July 2021 est.)

note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected
857,008 (July 2021 est.)
Age structure0-14 years: 42.34% (male 5,927,640/female 5,820,226)

15-24 years: 20.04% (male 2,782,376/female 2,776,873)

25-54 years: 30.64% (male 4,191,151/female 4,309,483)

55-64 years: 3.87% (male 520,771/female 552,801)

65 years and over: 3.11% (male 403,420/female 460,248) (2020 est.)
0-14 years: 38.73% (male 164,417/female 159,400)

15-24 years: 19.94% (male 84,820/female 81,880)

25-54 years: 32.72% (male 137,632/female 135,973)

55-64 years: 4.69% (male 17,252/female 22,006)

65 years and over: 3.92% (male 13,464/female 19,334) (2020 est.)
Median agetotal: 18.5 years

male: 18.2 years

female: 18.8 years (2020 est.)
total: 20.3 years

male: 19.9 years

female: 20.7 years (2020 est.)
Population growth rate2.77% (2021 est.)2.29% (2021 est.)
Birth rate35.91 births/1,000 population (2021 est.)30.09 births/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Death rate7.93 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.)7.16 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Net migration rate-0.32 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.)0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Sex ratioat birth: 1.03 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.02 male(s)/female

15-24 years: 1 male(s)/female

25-54 years: 0.97 male(s)/female

55-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female

total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2020 est.)
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.03 male(s)/female

15-24 years: 1.04 male(s)/female

25-54 years: 1.01 male(s)/female

55-64 years: 0.78 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female

total population: 1 male(s)/female (2020 est.)
Infant mortality ratetotal: 50.09 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 55.01 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 45.02 deaths/1,000 live births (2021 est.)
total: 63.25 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 66.12 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 60.29 deaths/1,000 live births (2021 est.)
Life expectancy at birthtotal population: 62.79 years

male: 61.07 years

female: 64.57 years (2021 est.)
total population: 66.35 years

male: 64.96 years

female: 67.78 years (2021 est.)
Total fertility rate4.61 children born/woman (2021 est.)4.02 children born/woman (2021 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate3% (2020 est.)7.3% (2020 est.)
Nationalitynoun: Cameroonian(s)

adjective: Cameroonian
noun: Equatorial Guinean(s) or Equatoguinean(s)

adjective: Equatorial Guinean or Equatoguinean
Ethnic groupsBamileke-Bamu 24.3%, Beti/Bassa, Mbam 21.6%, Biu-Mandara 14.6%, Arab-Choa/Hausa/Kanuri 11%, Adamawa-Ubangi, 9.8%, Grassfields 7.7%, Kako, Meka/Pygmy 3.3%, Cotier/Ngoe/Oroko 2.7%, Southwestern Bantu 0.7%, foreign/other ethnic group 4.5% (2018 est.)Fang 85.7%, Bubi 6.5%, Mdowe 3.6%, Annobon 1.6%, Bujeba 1.1%, other 1.4% (1994 census)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS500,000 (2020 est.)68,000 (2020 est.)
ReligionsRoman Catholic 38.3%, Protestant 25.5%, other Christian 6.9%, Muslim 24.4%, animist 2.2%, other 0.5%, none 2.2% (2018 est.)nominally Christian and predominantly Roman Catholic, Muslim, Baha'i, animist, indigenous
HIV/AIDS - deaths14,000 (2020 est.)2,300 (2020 est.)
Languages24 major African language groups, English (official), French (official)

major-language sample(s):
The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information. (English)

The World Factbook, une source indispensable d'informations de base. (French)
Spanish (official) 67.6%, other (includes Fang, Bubi, Portuguese (official), French (official), Portuguese-based Creoles spoken in Ano Bom) 32.4% (1994 census)

major-language sample(s):
La Libreta Informativa del Mundo, la fuente indispensable de información básica. (Spanish)

The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Literacydefinition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 77.1%

male: 82.6%

female: 71.6% (2018)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 95.3%

male: 97.4%

female: 93% (2015)
Major infectious diseasesdegree of risk: very high (2020)

food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases: malaria and dengue fever

water contact diseases: schistosomiasis

animal contact diseases: rabies

respiratory diseases: meningococcal meningitis
degree of risk: very high (2020)

food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases: malaria and dengue fever

animal contact diseases: rabies
Education expenditures3.1% of GDP (2018)NA
Urbanizationurban population: 58.1% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization: 3.43% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
urban population: 73.6% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization: 3.62% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Drinking water sourceimproved: urban: 94% of population

rural: 54.6% of population

total: 76.5% of population

unimproved: urban: 6% of population

rural: 45.3% of population

total: 23.5% of population (2017 est.)
improved: urban: 81.7% of population

rural: 32.1% of population

total: 67.6% of population

unimproved: urban: 18.3% of population

rural: 67.9% of population

total: 32.4% of population (2017 est.)
Sanitation facility accessimproved: urban: 83.3% of population

rural: 25.6% of population

total: 57.7% of population

unimproved: urban: 16.7% of population

rural: 74.4% of population

total: 42.3% of population (2017 est.)
improved: urban: 81.2% of population

rural: 63.4% of population

total: 76.2% of population

unimproved: urban: 18.8% of population

rural: 36.6% of population

total: 23.8% of population (2017 est.)
Major cities - population4.164 million YAOUNDE (capital), 3.793 million Douala (2021)297,000 MALABO (capital) (2018)
Maternal mortality rate529 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)301 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight11% (2018/19)5.6% (2011)
Health expenditures3.5% (2018)3% (2018)
Physicians density0.09 physicians/1,000 population (2011)0.4 physicians/1,000 population (2017)
Hospital bed density1.3 beds/1,000 population (2010)2.1 beds/1,000 population (2010)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate11.4% (2016)8% (2016)
Demographic profile

Cameroon has a large youth population, with more than 60% of the populace under the age of 25. Fertility is falling but remains at a high level, especially among poor, rural, and uneducated women, in part because of inadequate access to contraception. Life expectancy remains low at about 55 years due to the prevalence of HIV and AIDs and an elevated maternal mortality rate, which has remained high since 1990. Cameroon, particularly the northern region, is vulnerable to food insecurity largely because of government mismanagement, corruption, high production costs, inadequate infrastructure, and natural disasters. Despite economic growth in some regions, poverty is on the rise, and is most prevalent in rural areas, which are especially affected by a shortage of jobs, declining incomes, poor school and health care infrastructure, and a lack of clean water and sanitation. Underinvestment in social safety nets and ineffective public financial management also contribute to Cameroon's high rate of poverty.  The activities of Boko Haram, other armed groups, and counterinsurgency operations have worsened food insecurity in the Far North region.  

International migration has been driven by unemployment (including fewer government jobs), poverty, the search for educational opportunities, and corruption. The US and Europe are preferred destinations, but, with tighter immigration restrictions in these countries, young Cameroonians are increasingly turning to neighboring states, such as Gabon and Nigeria, South Africa, other parts of Africa, and the Near and Far East. Cameroon's limited resources make it dependent on UN support to host more than 420,000 refugees and asylum seekers as of September 2020. These refugees and asylum seekers are primarily from the Central African Republic and Nigeria.  Internal and external displacement have grown dramatically in recent years.  Boko Haram's attacks and counterattacks by government forces in the Far North since 2014 have increased the number of internally displaced people.  Armed conflict between separatists and Cameroon's military in the the Northwest and Southwest since 2016 have displaced hundreds of thousands of the country's Anglophone minority.

Equatorial Guinea is one of the smallest and least populated countries in continental Africa and is the only independent African country where Spanish is an official language. Despite a boom in oil production in the 1990s, authoritarianism, corruption, and resource mismanagement have concentrated the benefits among a small elite. These practices have perpetuated income inequality and unbalanced development, such as low public spending on education and health care. Unemployment remains problematic because the oil-dominated economy employs a small labor force dependent on skilled foreign workers. The agricultural sector, Equatorial Guinea's main employer, continues to deteriorate because of a lack of investment and the migration of rural workers to urban areas. About three-quarters of the population lives below the poverty line.

Equatorial Guinea's large and growing youth population - about 60% are under the age of 25 - is particularly affected because job creation in the non-oil sectors is limited, and young people often do not have the skills needed in the labor market. Equatorial Guinean children frequently enter school late, have poor attendance, and have high dropout rates. Thousands of Equatorial Guineans fled across the border to Gabon in the 1970s to escape the dictatorship of MACIAS NGUEMA; smaller numbers have followed in the decades since. Continued inequitable economic growth and high youth unemployment increases the likelihood of ethnic and regional violence.

Contraceptive prevalence rate19.3% (2018)12.6% (2011)
Dependency ratiostotal dependency ratio: 81.1

youth dependency ratio: 76.2

elderly dependency ratio: 4.9

potential support ratio: 20.3 (2020 est.)
total dependency ratio: 64.4

youth dependency ratio: 60.5

elderly dependency ratio: 3.9

potential support ratio: 25.5 (2020 est.)

Source: CIA Factbook