The economy of Cameroon: growth drivers and investment

Defining the economy of Cameroon

The economy of Cameroon rests on services, agriculture, industry and hydrocarbon extraction, within the CFA franc zone of CEMAC. As the largest economy of this monetary union, it records a nominal gross domestic product of 34,474 billion CFA francs in 2025 according to the National Institute of Statistics, with real growth of 3.5%.

Growth and the structure of output

According to the National Institute of Statistics, real growth reaches 3.5% in 2024 as in 2025. Services are the main driver, contributing 2.2 points in 2025, ahead of industry (0.6 points) and the primary sector (0.3 points). For its part, the World Bank estimates growth in 2025 at 3.4%, a slightly lower figure than that of the National Institute of Statistics.

The breakdown of nominal GDP in 2025 gives 50.6% to services, 22.7% to the secondary sector, 18.9% to the primary sector and 7.8% to net taxes on products. Hydrocarbon extraction now accounts for only 2.3% of GDP, because its real output fell by 6.6% in 2025 after 9.7% in 2024, owing to ageing oil fields.

Sectors: agriculture, hydrocarbons and services

Agriculture supplies cocoa, coffee, cotton, maize and cassava, while forests feed timber exports. Cameroon became the world's fourth-largest cocoa exporter in 2024-2025, according to the French Treasury. Oil production fell from about 180,000 barrels per day in 1985 to about 58,000 in 2024, while liquefied natural gas has grown strongly since 2015.

Telecommunications, transport, trade and financial services dominate the tertiary sector. The World Bank notes that workers are leaving agriculture for low-productivity urban services, which has been the main driver of growth since the devaluation of the CFA franc.

Foreign trade in the economy of Cameroon

About 85% of exports are raw materials with little or no processing: crude oil, cocoa, timber, liquefied natural gas and cotton. The country imports heavily, hence a structural trade deficit. In 2024, China remains the leading supplier with 22.2% of the market, ahead of India (7.6%), Belgium (6.1%) and France (5.9%).

According to the World Bank, the current account deficit reaches 4.2% of GDP in 2025, against 3.4% in 2024. The Central African CFA franc, issued by the Bank of Central African States, remains pegged to the euro, which frames trade with the euro area.

Investment, debt and the financial framework

In July 2021 the International Monetary Fund approved a programme under the Extended Credit Facility and the Extended Fund Facility, supplemented in January 2024 by a Resilience and Sustainability Facility arrangement. Its eighth review, in July 2025, released about 76 million dollars. Its priorities were non-oil revenue, public investment management, reform of the electricity sector and restructuring of the refinery.

Public debt represents about 42.9% of GDP in March 2026 according to the World Bank, which considers it sustainable despite a high risk of debt distress. The ports of Douala and Kribi, energy infrastructure and agro-industry account for most of the investment projects.