Demographics of Cameroon
The demographic profile of Cameroon is complex for a country of its population. Cameroon comprises an estimated 250 distinct ethnic groups, which may be formed into five large regional-cultural divisions:
- western highlanders, including the Bamileke, Bamum, and many smaller Tikar groups in the Northwest ;
- coastal tropical forest peoples, including the Bassa, Duala, and many smaller groups in the Southwest ;
- southern tropical forest peoples, including the Beti-Pahuin, Bulu, Fang, Maka, Njem, and Baka pygmies ;
- predominantly Islamic peoples of the northern semi-arid regions and central highlands, including the Fulani ; and
- the "Kirdi", non-Islamic or recently Islamic peoples of the northern desert and central highlands.
Population
According to the total population was in, compared to only 4 466 000 in 1950. The proportion of children below the age of 15 in 2010 was 40.6%, 55.9% was between 15 and 65 years of age, while 3.5% was 65 years or older.| Total population | Population aged 0–14 | Population aged 15–64 | Population aged 65+ | |
| 1950 | 4 466 000 | 39.6 | 56.9 | 3.5 |
| 1955 | 4 901 000 | 40.1 | 56.4 | 3.5 |
| 1960 | 5 409 000 | 40.6 | 55.9 | 3.6 |
| 1965 | 6 049 000 | 41.5 | 54.9 | 3.6 |
| 1970 | 6 842 000 | 42.4 | 54.0 | 3.6 |
| 1975 | 7 838 000 | 43.6 | 52.7 | 3.7 |
| 1980 | 9 110 000 | 44.6 | 51.8 | 3.6 |
| 1985 | 10 519 000 | 45.2 | 51.2 | 3.6 |
| 1990 | 12 181 000 | 45.2 | 51.3 | 3.6 |
| 1995 | 13 940 000 | 44.4 | 52.1 | 3.5 |
| 2000 | 15 678 000 | 42.8 | 53.7 | 3.5 |
| 2005 | 17 554 000 | 41.6 | 54.9 | 3.5 |
| 2010 | 19 599 000 | 40.6 | 55.9 | 3.5 |
Fertility and births
Total Fertility Rate and Crude Birth Rate :| Year | CBR | TFR | CBR | TFR | CBR | TFR |
| 1991 | 39 | 5.82 | 5.17 | 6.29 | ||
| 1998 | 37.4 | 5.2 | 31.5 | 3.9 | 40.1 | 5.8 |
| 2004 | 37.8 | 5.0 | 34.9 | 4.0 | 40.5 | 6.1 |
| 2011 | 38.1 | 5.1 | 34.6 | 4.0 | 41.3 | 6.4 |
| 2018 | 36.8 | 4.8 | 32.9 | 3.8 | 40.7 | 6.0 |
Fertility data as of 2011 :
| Region | Total fertility rate | Percentage of women age 15–49 currently pregnant | Mean number of children ever born to women age 40–49 |
| Adamaoua | 5.2 | 8.6 | 6.5 |
| Centre | 5.6 | 8.8 | 5.5 |
| Douala | 3.2 | 8.1 | 4.5 |
| Est | 5.4 | 12.0 | 5.6 |
| Extrême-Nord | 6.8 | 14.8 | 7.3 |
| Littoral | 4.6 | 8.4 | 5.1 |
| Nord | 6.5 | 12.4 | 7.1 |
| Nord-Ouest | 4.4 | 6.9 | 5.4 |
| Ouest | 6.0 | 10.1 | 5.8 |
| Sud | 4.6 | 9.6 | 5.2 |
| Sud-Ouest | 4.0 | 7.6 | 5.5 |
| Yaoundé | 3.5 | 6.5 | 4.4 |
Vital statistics
Registration of vital events is in Cameroon not complete. The Population Departement of the United Nations prepared the following estimates.Life expectancy
Ethnic groups
- Cameroon Highlanders 31%
- Equatorial Bantu 19%
- Kirdi 11%
- Fulani 10%
- Northwestern Bantu 8%
- Eastern Nigritic 7%
- Other African 13%
- Non-African less than 1%
Languages
Peoples concentrated in the Southwest and Northwest Provinces—around Buea and Bamenda—use standard English and Cameroonian Pidgin English, as well as their local languages. In the three northern provinces—Adamawa, North, and Far North—either French or Fulfulde is widely spoken. Elsewhere, French is the principal second language, although pidgin and some local languages such as Ewondo, the dialect of a Beti clan from the Yaoundé area, have a wide currency.
Indigenous languages of Cameroon include:
- Basaa
- Bikya
- Bung
- Kanuri
- Ngumba
- Yeni
- Bamum
Other demographic statistics
- One birth every 36 seconds
- One death every 2 minutes
- One net migrant every 111 minutes
- Net gain of one person every 50 seconds