Share of government consumption in GDP vs. GDP per capita in Cameroon
Cameroon: Share of government consumption in GDP vs. GDP per capita was 14.3% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Latest (2023)
14.3%
Change on year
up 0.3%
World rank
142nd
of 184 countries
All-time high
28.5%
in 1985
All-time low
10.0%
in 1997
Years of data
64
1960–2023
Share of government consumption in GDP vs. GDP per capita in Cameroon, 1960–2023
Source: Feenstra et al. - Penn World Table (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
In 2023, share of government consumption in gdp vs. gdp per capita in Cameroon stood at 14.3%.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.3% on the previous year and up 9.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of government consumption in gdp vs. gdp per capita in Cameroon peaked at 28.5% in 1985 and was at its lowest, 10.0%, in 1997.
That places Cameroon 142nd out of 184 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 64 years of available data.
Share of government consumption in GDP vs. GDP per capita in Cameroon, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 15.2% | — |
| 1961 | 15.5% | +2.1% |
| 1962 | 16.3% | +5.2% |
| 1963 | 16.2% | -0.5% |
| 1964 | 16.2% | -0.4% |
| 1965 | 18.4% | +13.9% |
| 1966 | 19.1% | +3.8% |
| 1967 | 21.3% | +11.5% |
| 1968 | 21.7% | +1.5% |
| 1969 | 23.6% | +9.1% |
| 1970 | 21.9% | -7.4% |
| 1971 | 22.3% | +2.0% |
| 1972 | 21.7% | -2.9% |
| 1973 | 20.9% | -3.4% |
| 1974 | 20.0% | -4.7% |
| 1975 | 18.9% | -5.1% |
| 1976 | 22.2% | +17.3% |
| 1977 | 17.1% | -22.8% |
| 1978 | 15.8% | -7.9% |
| 1979 | 22.4% | +41.7% |
| 1980 | 22.0% | -1.4% |
| 1981 | 23.7% | +7.6% |
| 1982 | 25.2% | +6.1% |
| 1983 | 25.9% | +3.1% |
| 1984 | 27.0% | +4.2% |
| 1985 | 28.5% | +5.5% |
| 1986 | 23.3% | -18.3% |
| 1987 | 19.1% | -17.8% |
| 1988 | 16.6% | -13.4% |
| 1989 | 15.0% | -9.8% |
| 1990 | 15.5% | +3.7% |
| 1991 | 15.5% | -0.1% |
| 1992 | 13.8% | -11.1% |
| 1993 | 12.9% | -6.2% |
| 1994 | 12.0% | -7.4% |
| 1995 | 10.8% | -10.1% |
| 1996 | 10.4% | -3.4% |
| 1997 | 10.0% | -3.9% |
| 1998 | 10.6% | +6.4% |
| 1999 | 10.7% | +0.3% |
| 2000 | 10.4% | -2.0% |
| 2001 | 11.1% | +6.7% |
| 2002 | 10.9% | -2.0% |
| 2003 | 11.5% | +5.1% |
| 2004 | 11.3% | -1.2% |
| 2005 | 11.4% | +0.9% |
| 2006 | 11.3% | -1.2% |
| 2007 | 12.0% | +6.2% |
| 2008 | 12.4% | +3.1% |
| 2009 | 12.7% | +2.4% |
| 2010 | 12.9% | +2.2% |
| 2011 | 12.8% | -0.9% |
| 2012 | 12.5% | -2.5% |
| 2013 | 13.0% | +4.4% |
| 2014 | 13.4% | +2.4% |
| 2015 | 13.8% | +3.2% |
| 2016 | 13.9% | +0.5% |
| 2017 | 13.9% | +0.6% |
| 2018 | 14.5% | +4.4% |
| 2019 | 14.9% | +2.1% |
| 2020 | 15.4% | +3.7% |
| 2021 | 15.8% | +2.5% |
| 2022 | 14.3% | -9.7% |
| 2023 | 14.3% | +0.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 18.4% | 15.2% | 23.6% | 10 |
| 1970s | 20.3% | 15.8% | 22.4% | 10 |
| 1980s | 22.6% | 15.0% | 28.5% | 10 |
| 1990s | 12.2% | 10.0% | 15.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 11.5% | 10.4% | 12.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 13.6% | 12.5% | 14.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 14.9% | 14.3% | 15.8% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Cameroon
More economy & growth data for Cameroon
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 04 - Annual real GDP 2.05 Percent per annum (2029)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 02 - Annual real GDP 4.53 Percent per annum (2029)
- Gross capital formation (current US$), annual growth rate 13.13 % change on previous year (2025)
- Gross capital formation (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.1934 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Gross capital formation (current US$), per capita 381.51 current US$ per person (2025)
- Gross capital formation (current LCU), annual growth rate 8.58 % change on previous year (2025)
- Gross capital formation (current LCU), per unit of GDP 112.56 current LCU per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Gross capital formation (current LCU), per capita 222,011 current LCU per person (2025)
- Gross capital formation (constant 2015 US$), annual growth rate 10.09 % change on previous year (2025)
- Gross capital formation (constant 2015 US$), per unit of GDP 0.1536 constant 2015 US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of government consumption in gdp vs. gdp per capita in Cameroon?
- Share of government consumption in gdp vs. gdp per capita in Cameroon was 14.3% in 2023, according to Feenstra et al. - Penn World Table (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of government consumption in gdp vs. gdp per capita recorded in Cameroon?
- The highest recorded value was 28.5% in 1985.
- What is the lowest share of government consumption in gdp vs. gdp per capita recorded in Cameroon?
- The lowest recorded value was 10.0% in 1997.
- How does Cameroon rank for share of government consumption in gdp vs. gdp per capita?
- Cameroon ranks 142nd out of 184 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of government consumption in gdp vs. gdp per capita rising or falling in Cameroon?
- Over the last ten years it is up 9.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Cameroon data come from?
- The figures come from Feenstra et al. - Penn World Table (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of government consumption in GDP vs. GDP per capita. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Government consumption divided by gross domestic product, expressed as a percentage.