Cameroon - Population, total

The value for Population, total in Cameroon was 26,545,860 as of 2020. As the graph below shows, over the past 60 years this indicator reached a maximum value of 26,545,860 in 2020 and a minimum value of 5,176,920 in 1960.

Definition: Total population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship. The values shown are midyear estimates.

Source: (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2019 Revision. (2) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (3) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (4) United Nations Statistical Division. Popu

See also:

Year Value
1960 5,176,920
1961 5,285,015
1962 5,398,730
1963 5,518,104
1964 5,643,039
1965 5,773,538
1966 5,909,874
1967 6,052,419
1968 6,201,410
1969 6,357,096
1970 6,519,754
1971 6,689,659
1972 6,867,170
1973 7,052,847
1974 7,247,284
1975 7,451,057
1976 7,664,398
1977 7,887,571
1978 8,121,081
1979 8,365,560
1980 8,621,409
1981 8,888,534
1982 9,166,813
1983 9,456,496
1984 9,757,849
1985 10,070,810
1986 10,395,480
1987 10,731,060
1988 11,075,420
1989 11,425,810
1990 11,780,090
1991 12,137,910
1992 12,499,500
1993 12,864,090
1994 13,230,980
1995 13,599,980
1996 13,970,810
1997 14,344,440
1998 14,723,770
1999 15,112,600
2000 15,513,940
2001 15,928,910
2002 16,357,610
2003 16,800,870
2004 17,259,320
2005 17,733,410
2006 18,223,680
2007 18,730,280
2008 19,252,670
2009 19,789,920
2010 20,341,240
2011 20,906,390
2012 21,485,270
2013 22,077,300
2014 22,681,850
2015 23,298,380
2016 23,926,550
2017 24,566,070
2018 25,216,260
2019 25,876,390
2020 26,545,860

Development Relevance: Increases in human population, whether as a result of immigration or more births than deaths, can impact natural resources and social infrastructure. This can place pressure on a country's sustainability. A significant growth in population will negatively impact the availability of land for agricultural production, and will aggravate demand for food, energy, water, social services, and infrastructure. On the other hand, decreasing population size - a result of fewer births than deaths, and people moving out of a country - can impact a government's commitment to maintain services and infrastructure.

Limitations and Exceptions: Current population estimates for developing countries that lack (i) reliable recent census data, and (ii) pre- and post-census estimates for countries with census data, are provided by the United Nations Population Division and other agencies. The cohort component method - a standard method for estimating and projecting population - requires fertility, mortality, and net migration data, often collected from sample surveys, which can be small or limited in coverage. Population estimates are from demographic modeling and so are susceptible to biases and errors from shortcomings in both the model and the data. In the UN estimates the five-year age group is the cohort unit and five-year period data are used; therefore interpolations to obtain annual data or single age structure may not reflect actual events or age composition. Because future trends cannot be known with certainty, population projections have a wide range of uncertainty.

Statistical Concept and Methodology: Population estimates are usually based on national population censuses. Estimates for the years before and after the census are interpolations or extrapolations based on demographic models. Errors and undercounting occur even in high-income countries. In developing countries errors may be substantial because of limits in the transport, communications, and other resources required to conduct and analyze a full census. The quality and reliability of official demographic data are also affected by public trust in the government, government commitment to full and accurate enumeration, confidentiality and protection against misuse of census data, and census agencies' independence from political influence. Moreover, comparability of population indicators is limited by differences in the concepts, definitions, collection procedures, and estimation methods used by national statistical agencies and other organizations that collect the data. The currentness of a census and the availability of complementary data from surveys or registration systems are objective ways to judge demographic data quality. Some European countries' registration systems offer complete information on population in the absence of a census. The United Nations Statistics Division monitors the completeness of vital registration systems. Some developing countries have made progress over the last 60 years, but others still have deficiencies in civil registration systems. International migration is the only other factor besides birth and death rates that directly determines a country's population growth. Estimating migration is difficult. At any time many people are located outside their home country as tourists, workers, or refugees or for other reasons. Standards for the duration and purpose of international moves that qualify as migration vary, and estimates require information on flows into and out of countries that is difficult to collect. Population projections, starting from a base year are projected forward using assumptions of mortality, fertility, and migration by age and sex through 2050, based on the UN Population Division's World Population Prospects database medium variant.

Aggregation method: Sum

Periodicity: Annual

General Comments: Relevance to gender indicator: disaggregating the population composition by gender will help a country in projecting its demand for social services on a gender basis.

Classification

Topic: Health Indicators

Sub-Topic: Population