Cameroon: Secondary education, general pupils

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2016, Cameroon's secondary education, general pupils rose 5% on 2015 (from 1.65 million to 1.73 million).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1978 to 2015), the average change was +8.7% and a typical year strayed about 8% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.5 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 36.5% in 2007 and the biggest yearly fall was 9.3% in 2006. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2007 to 2016 the straight-line trend is upward, about 105,058 a year. A straight line explains 100% of the movement over 9 observed years.

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

A straight-line projection, tested first

Extending that straight line gives about 2.08 million for 2019. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2014 to 2016 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 70,673, against 215,253 for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.

See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.

How it compares

In 2016, Cameroon had the 5th highest value of the 15 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 2016 ranking

• Kenya — 1st of 15: 4.99 million
• Yemen, Rep. — 2nd of 15: 1.91 million
• Angola — 3rd of 15: 1.75 million
• Benin — 5th of 15: 965,124
• Guinea — 6th of 15: 673,633
• Chad — 7th of 15: 527,321

What this measures

Secondary general pupils are the number of secondary students enrolled in general education programs, including teacher training.

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

All 42 values

Secondary education, general pupils in nearby economies

• Angola — 1.75 million (2016)
• Benin — 965,124 (2016)
• Botswana — 169,489 (2015)
• Burkina Faso — 1.25 million (2018)
• Burundi — 606,024 (2018)
• Cabo Verde — 52,143 (2018)
• Central African Republic — 132,695 (2017)
• Chad — 527,321 (2016)
• Comoros — 73,695 (2018)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 3.75 million (2015)
• Côte d'Ivoire

More education data for Cameroon

• Primary school starting age (years) — 6 (2025)
• Primary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• Lower secondary school starting age (years) — 12 (2025)
• Secondary education, duration (years) — 7 (2025)
• Primary education, pupils — 5.29 million (2024)
• School enrollment, primary (% gross) — 114.41% (2024)
• School enrollment, primary, female (% gross) — 109.53% (2024)
• School enrollment, primary, male (% gross) — 119.22% (2024)
• Primary education, teachers — 121,453 (2024)
• School enrollment, preprimary (% gross) — 35.62% (2019)

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 secondary education, general pupils?

1.73 million in 2016, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1971?

It is up 2,987% from 56,031 in 1971 (7.92% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 1.73 million in 2016 and the lowest 56,031 in 1971.

How does Cameroon rank?

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SE.SEC.ENRL.GC, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Stat Bulk Data Download Service, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), uri: https://uis.unesco.org/bdds, publisher: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) 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.

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