Share of urban population who live in the largest city in Cameroon
Cameroon: Share of urban population who live in the largest city was 22.8% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Share of urban population who live in the largest city in Cameroon, 1950–2020
Source: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of urban population who live in the largest city in Cameroon is 22.8%, measured in 2020. That is the highest value across all 15 years on record.
That represents a change of up 23.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of urban population who live in the largest city in Cameroon peaked at 22.8% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 4.1%, in 1950.
Cameroon ranks 104th of 179 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 15 years of available data.
Share of urban population who live in the largest city in Cameroon, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 4.1% | — |
| 1955 | 4.4% | +8.3% |
| 1960 | 5.2% | +19.1% |
| 1965 | 6.3% | +19.6% |
| 1970 | 7.7% | +23.4% |
| 1975 | 9.3% | +20.7% |
| 1980 | 10.7% | +14.9% |
| 1985 | 11.9% | +11.0% |
| 1990 | 12.7% | +6.8% |
| 1995 | 13.7% | +7.8% |
| 2000 | 14.8% | +8.4% |
| 2005 | 16.7% | +12.5% |
| 2010 | 18.5% | +10.7% |
| 2015 | 20.6% | +11.2% |
| 2020 | 22.8% | +11.0% |
Cameroon compared with similar countries
- Cameroon's 22.8% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 24.9%, 92% of the median. (45 countries reporting)
- Cameroon's 22.8% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 28.9%, 79% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 4.2% | 4.1% | 4.4% | 2 |
| 1960s | 5.7% | 5.2% | 6.3% | 2 |
| 1970s | 8.5% | 7.7% | 9.3% | 2 |
| 1980s | 11.3% | 10.7% | 11.9% | 2 |
| 1990s | 13.2% | 12.7% | 13.7% | 2 |
| 2000s | 15.8% | 14.8% | 16.7% | 2 |
| 2010s | 19.5% | 18.5% | 20.6% | 2 |
| 2020s | 22.8% | 22.8% | 22.8% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Cameroon
More population data for Cameroon
- Un population 2024 vs 2022, annual growth rate 0.5077 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population long run with projections, annual growth rate 0.5809 % change on previous year (2100)
- Urban and rural population 2050, annual growth rate 1.75 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population regions with projections, annual growth rate 0.5809 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population growth rate, by level of development 0.6% (2100)
- Number of children under 5, by world region 6.42 million people (2100)
- Population density 188.01 people per km² (2100)
- World population growth 0.6% (2100)
- Projected population under age 5, annual growth rate -0.1831 % change on previous year (2100)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 03 - Annual population 2.39 Percent per annum (2030)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of urban population who live in the largest city in Cameroon?
- Share of urban population who live in the largest city in Cameroon was 22.8% in 2020, according to European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of urban population who live in the largest city recorded in Cameroon?
- The highest recorded value was 22.8% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of urban population who live in the largest city recorded in Cameroon?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.1% in 1950.
- How does Cameroon rank for share of urban population who live in the largest city?
- Cameroon ranks 104th out of 179 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of urban population who live in the largest city rising or falling in Cameroon?
- Over the last ten years it is up 23.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Cameroon data come from?
- The figures come from European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of urban population who live in the largest city. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Percentage of the urban population living in the country's largest city (by population). City boundaries are defined using a consistent global approach based on satellite imagery and population data.