Cameroon: Compensation of employees (% of expense)

Key figures

Over five years it is down 4.84 percentage points from 39.51% in 2016. Since 1990 it is down 20.95 percentage points from 55.62% in 1990. The World Bank has no value for 14 of the years in between; the chart leaves those gaps open rather than joining across them.

What the numbers say

In 2021, Cameroon's compensation of employees (% of expense) fell 2.5 percentage points on 2020 (from 37.17% to 34.67%).

Across the 14 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2020), the average change was −1.1 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 4.85 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 5.47 percentage points in 1992 and the biggest yearly fall was 13.11 percentage points in 1994. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2012 to 2021 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains less than 1% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2021, Cameroon had the 6th highest value of the 13 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Cameroon in the 2021 ranking

• Eswatini — 3rd of 13: 47.04%
• Gabon — 4th of 13: 45.04%
• Maldives — 5th of 13: 39.08%
• Lebanon — 7th of 13: 32.12%
• Zambia — 8th of 13: 27.96%
• Congo, Rep. — 9th of 13: 25.9%

What this measures

Compensation of employees is defined as the total remuneration, in cash or in kind, payable by an enterprise to an employee in return for work done by the latter during the accounting period. This indicator is expressed as percentage of total expenses which is any decrease in net worth resulting from a transaction.

Limitations: For most countries central government finance data have been consolidated into one account, but for others only budgetary central government accounts are available. Countries reporting budgetary data are noted in the country metadata. Because budgetary accounts may not include all central government units (such as social security funds), they usually provide an incomplete picture. In federal states the central government accounts provide an incomplete view of total public finance. Data on government revenue and expense are collected by the IMF through questionnaires to member countries and by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a median.

All 18 values

Compensation of employees (% of expense) in nearby economies

• Angola — 39.33% (2019)
• Botswana — 53.96% (2023)
• Burkina Faso — 40.71% (2023)
• Burundi — 48.09% (2021)
• Cabo Verde — 39.85% (2020)
• Central African Republic — 49.9% (2021)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 37.39% (2022)
• Congo, Rep. — 25.9% (2021)
• Côte d'Ivoire — 23.34% (2023)
• Equatorial Guinea — 21.7% (2022)

More public sector data for Cameroon

• Military expenditure (current USD) — 627.47 million (2025)
• Military expenditure (current LCU) — 364.86 billion (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 1.06% (2025)
• Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values) — 2 million (2023)
• Armed forces personnel, total — 34,000 (2020)
• Armed forces personnel (% of total labor force) — 0.34% (2020)
• Military expenditure (% of general government expenditure) — 6.53% (2025)
• CPIA business regulatory environment rating (1=low to 6=high) — 3 (2025)
• CPIA debt policy rating (1=low to 6=high) — 3.5 (2025)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Cameroon's compensation of employees (% of expense)?

34.67% in 2021, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1990?

It is down 20.95 percentage points from 55.62% in 1990. The highest value was 60.6% in 1993 and the lowest 34.67% in 2021.

How does Cameroon rank?

6th highest of 13 economies with data for 2021.

Is the latest change in compensation of employees (% of expense) unusual for Cameroon?

In 2021, Cameroon's compensation of employees (% of expense) fell 2.5 percentage points on 2020 (from 37.17% to 34.67%). Across the 14 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2020), the average change was −1.1 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 4.85 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator GC.XPN.COMP.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

Want to ask your own questions of data like this? Try AnalyzeIt: upload a file or ask about public data in plain words, and every figure comes with its working.