Overview
Cameroon has experienced steady, though slow, growth over the past 20 years. According to World Bank statistics, Cameroon’s real gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 3.7 percent in 2024 and is projected to reach 4.2 percent in 2025, despite ongoing domestic economic challenges. Inflation has remained moderate, falling from 7.4 percent in 2023 to 3.7 percent in 2024, as the Central African Franc (XAF)—pegged to the Euro—helped stabilize prices.
Although Cameroon is a member of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC), it maintains minimal official trade with the other five CEMAC member states: Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, the Central African Republic, and the Republic of Congo (Brazzaville). Nevertheless, the CEMAC countries share deep economic ties. Cameroon serves as a transit corridor for its landlocked neighbors and facilitates substantial informal and re-export trade, as well as cross-border flows of labor, goods, and services that rarely appear in official statistics.
In 2024, Cameroon’s estimated population reached 29 million, with a per capita GDP of $1,821 (IMF). Most income and wealth are concentrated in Yaoundé, the capital, and Douala, the country’s commercial center.
In 2025, Cameroon ranked 92nd globally in nominal GDP ($56 billion) and 152nd in nominal GDP per capita ($1,870), according to IMF/OECD data. The Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) placed Cameroon 119th on the Economic Complexity Index in 2023.
Cameroon will host the bi-annual WTO Ministerial Conference March 26–29, 2026, bringing global leaders together to address key trade challenges.
Table 1: Cameroon’s Leading Exports (2024)
Rank | Export Category / Product | 2024 Value (US$) | % of total exports (2024) |
1 | Mineral fuels including oil | 3.50 billion | 48.6% |
2 | Cocoa (beans / cocoa products) | 2.00 billion | 27.1% |
3 | Wood (wood products / timber) | 746.6 million | 10.2% |
4 | Fruits and nuts | 279.1 million | 3.8% |
5 | Gems & precious metals (e.g., gold) | 249.0 million | 3.4% |
6 | Aluminum | 85.8 million | 1.2% |
7 | Rubber & rubber articles | 81.2 million | 1.1% |
8 | Dairy, eggs, honey | 43.3 million | 0.6% |
9 | Cotton | 41.8 million | 0.6% |
10 | Copper (and copper products) | 33.8 million | 0.5% |
Source: World’s Top Exports
These 10 categories account for approximately 97.1 percent of Cameroon’s export value in 2024.
From 2023 to 2024, Cameroon’s primary exports included crude petroleum, gold, aluminum, cocoa, bananas, cotton, palm oil, rubber, coffee, and timber. Crude petroleum exports declined from $2.43 billion to $2.1 billion, while cocoa exports rose from $719 million to over $1 billion, underscoring the growing importance of agriculture. Gold exports dropped sharply from $951 million to $122 million, a change driven mainly by revised reporting methods rather than actual production losses.
In 2024, several new products gained prominence: bananas ($543 million), aluminum ($478 million), and cotton ($354 million), along with palm oil, rubber, and coffee. Timber exports also increased significantly, rising from $488 million to $678 million.
Table 2: Top Export Destinations – 2023
Rank | Country | Value (USD) | Share (%) |
1 | Netherlands | 1.15B | 23.2 % |
2 | France | 615M | 12.4 % |
3 | India | 476M | 9.6 % |
4 | China | 385M | 7.8 % |
5 | Chad | 248M | 5.0 % |
Source: World Integrated Trade Solution
Table 3: Top Export Destinations – 2024
Rank | Country | Value (USD) | Share (%) |
1 | Netherlands | 1.04B | 19.2 % |
2 | China | 900M | 16.5 % |
3 | India | 550M | 10.1 % |
4 | Italy | 350M | 6.4 % |
5 | France | 310M | 5.7 % |
Source: National Institute of Statistics
Shifts in export destinations reflect changing geopolitical and commercial alignments. In 2023, the Netherlands, France, the UAE, India, and China accounted for more than 70 percent of Cameroon’s exports. By 2024, however, China recorded $1.8 billion in trade with Cameroon, surpassing each of Europe’s leading individual partners.
Table 4: Cameroon Top Import Products (2024)
HS6 code | Product (World Integrated Trade Solution- WITS label) | WITS value | MINFI / gov’t note (2024–25 context) |
— | Total annual imports (annual, WITS) | US$ 8.3 million (imports, CIF). | MINFI highlights fuels & lubricants as a large share of imports in Q2 2024. |
271000 | Petroleum oils, etc. (excl. crude) | US$ 19 billion | MINFI flags fuels as a major import category. |
100630 | Semi-milled or wholly milled rice | US$ 331,000 | MINFI points to rice as one of the food staples whose imports rose in 2024 (impact on import bill and food security). |
100190 | Spelt, common wheat & meslin (wheat) | US$ 296,000 | Wheat imports also increased in 2024 (MINFI notes higher cereal import costs). |
030379 | Frozen fish, Nes | US$ 264,000 | Fish & seafood are important in the import mix; MINFI’s trade bulletins show seafood among top imported food items. minfi.gov.cm |
300490 | Other medicaments (mixed/unmixed) | US$ 19,000 | MINFI Q2 bulletins highlight pharmaceuticals as a notable import sub-category in Q2 2024. |
— | Product group summary | Consumer goods ~ US$ 4,087 million; Intermediate goods ~ US$ 2,013 million; Capital goods ~ US$ 1,488 million. | MINFI quarterly notes confirm consumer goods and fuels made up large shares of Q2 imports; industrial/equipment imports showed increases in some quarters (machinery, electrical equipment). |
Source: World Bank / MINFI
Table 5: Cameroon’s Main Import Partners – 2023
Rank | Country | Import Value (USD) | Share (%) |
1 | China | 1.5B | 18.9% |
2 | India | 960M | 11.6% |
3 | France | 632M | 7.6% |
4 | United States | 401M | 4.8% |
5 | Belgium | 367M | 4.4% |
Source: World Integrated Trade Solution
Table 6: Cameroon’s Main Import Partners – 2024
Rank | Country | Import Value (2024) | Share (%) |
1 | China | 1.21 billion | 47.7 % |
2 | France | 617 million | 24.3 % |
3 | Nigeria | 554 million | 21.8 % |
4 | India | 388 million | 15.3 % |
5 | Russia | 311 million | 12.3 % |
Source: WTO Tariff & Trade Data
Table 7: Cameroon – U.S. Trade (2023–2024)
Year | Cameroon Imports from U.S. (US$) | U.S. Imports from Cameroon (US$) | U.S. Trade Balance (US$) | Notes |
| 2023 | 218.9M | 127.8M | +91.1M | Surplus for U.S. |
| 2024 | 193.1M | 248.8M | -55.7M | Trade deficit for U.S.; imports down 11.8%, exports up 94.6% |
Source: USTR/Census bureau
U.S.–Cameroon trade shifted from a $91 million surplus in 2023 to a $55.7 million deficit in 2024, as U.S. exports to Cameroon fell nearly 12 percent and U.S. imports from Cameroon almost doubled. Cameroon sharply increased crude oil and aluminum exports to the United States amid higher global prices. Meanwhile, U.S. exports of machinery, vehicles, and agricultural products declined due to tighter Cameroonian import controls, currency pressures, and growing competition from China and the EU.
President Paul Biya, in office since 1982, was inaugurated for his eighth consecutive term in November 2025. Freedom House rated Cameroon “Not Free” in both its 2024 and 2025 Freedom in the World reports, assigning an overall score of 15 out of 100 each year. The breakdown remained 6 out of 40 for political rights and 9 out of 60 for civil liberties, reflecting persistent restrictions on democratic governance and individual freedoms.
In 2025, Cameroon faced several concurrent crises. Boko Haram continued to launch attacks in the Far North Region. Unrest in neighboring countries has driven a significant increase in refugee arrivals, with Cameroon hosting 407,097 refugees as of November 30, 2025, primarily from the Central African Republic and Nigeria. More detailed information on refugee arrival trends over the past decade is available from UNHCR. Meanwhile, the conflict between government forces and separatist armed groups persisted in the Northwest and Southwest Regions.
Despite these challenges, Cameroon remains one of the most stable countries in Central Africa. Strategically located on the Gulf of Guinea and within the oil-rich CEMAC region of over 50 million consumers, Cameroon is the largest economy in CEMAC. The country already serves as a hub for regional energy and transportation infrastructure, such as the Chad–Cameroon oil pipeline and the Port of Douala, and its role could expand as new cross-border projects develop.
In July 2021, Cameroon entered a hybrid arrangement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), combining the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) and the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) in Special Drawing Rights (SDR)—an international reserve asset created by the IMF to supplement member countries’ official reserves. This blended financial support program delivered $689.5 million in SDR to help Cameroon stabilize its economy, support post-COVID recovery, and advance structural reforms. Following the combined effects of Russia’s war in Ukraine, higher global commodity prices, and tighter financing conditions, the IMF approved a 12-month extension of Cameroon’s program in December 2023, along with an additional 110.4 million SDR (US$145.4 million).
In January 2024, Cameroon secured an 18-month Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) worth $181.7 million in SDR to address climate change and promote sustainable development. In July 2024, the IMF completed its sixth review of the ECF/EFF and its first RSF review, unlocking disbursements of 55.2 million SDR (US$72.7 million) and 34.5 million SDR (US$45.4 million), respectively. The IMF noted that Cameroon’s economic performance under these programs remained broadly on track, with GDP growth estimated at about 3.5 percent in 2024 and approximately 3.1 percent in 2025, reflecting disruptions linked to post-election unrest late in the year. The IMF projects growth to strengthen to around 3.3 percent in 2026, alongside moderating inflation - with the 12-month average easing to about 3.4 percent in 2025 and inflation expected to decline further in 2026 - and ongoing reforms in fiscal management and climate resilience. Cameroon does not currently have an IMF program, having completed the final review in July 2025.
Visit the State Department’s website for background on Cameroon’s political and economic environment incorporated in the 2025 Investment Climate Statements.