Cameroon: Taxes on goods and services (% of revenue)

Key figures

Over five years it is up 4.66 percentage points from 38.63% in 2016. Since 1990 it is up 21.05 percentage points from 22.24% 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 taxes on goods and services (% of revenue) rose 1 percentage points on 2020 (from 42.29% to 43.29%).

Across the 14 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2020), the average change was +1.48 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.22 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 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 4.87 percentage points in 1999 and the biggest yearly fall was 3.15 percentage points in 1991. 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 the straight-line trend is upward, about 1.56 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 91% of the movement over 10 observed years.

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

How it compares

See how every economy compares in the full ranking.

Closest to Cameroon in the 2021 ranking

• Burundi — 1st of 8: 46.42%
• Bangladesh — 3rd of 8: 43.22%
• Maldives — 4th of 8: 42.27%
• Peru — 5th of 8: 36.33%

What this measures

General taxes on goods and services are taxes levied on the production, leasing, delivery, sale, purchase or other change of ownership of a wide range of goods and the provision of a wide range of services. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of revenue which includes all transactions that add to the amount of economic value of a unit or sector.

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

Taxes on goods and services (% of revenue) in nearby economies

• Angola — 9.44% (2024)
• Botswana — 14.54% (2023)
• Burkina Faso — 42.28% (2024)
• Burundi — 46.42% (2021)
• Cabo Verde — 36.17% (2020)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 19.55% (2022)
• Congo, Rep. — 13.8% (2021)
• Côte d'Ivoire — 35.57% (2023)
• Equatorial Guinea — 3.95% (2022)
• Eswatini — 25.78% (2021)

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 taxes on goods and services (% of revenue)?

43.29% in 2021, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1990?

It is up 21.05 percentage points from 22.24% in 1990. The highest value was 43.29% in 2021 and the lowest 17.53% in 1992.

Is the latest change in taxes on goods and services (% of revenue) unusual for Cameroon?

In 2021, Cameroon's taxes on goods and services (% of revenue) rose 1 percentage points on 2020 (from 42.29% to 43.29%). Across the 14 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2020), the average change was +1.48 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.22 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Where does this data come from?

The World Bank's World Development Indicators, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator GC.TAX.GSRV.RV.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.