Cameroon: Trade in services (% of GDP)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Cameroon's trade in services (% of GDP) fell 1.45 percentage points on 2023 (from 9.35% to 7.9%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +0.08 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.59 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.6 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 6.48 percentage points in 1996 and the biggest yearly fall was 7.06 percentage points in 2003. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2015 to 2024 the straight-line trend is downward, about 0.45 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 67% 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

In 2024, Cameroon had the 27th highest value of the 30 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 2024 ranking

• Mali — 23rd of 30: 8.65%
• Sierra Leone — 24th of 30: 8.08%
• Papua New Guinea — 25th of 30: 8.02%
• Niger — 27th of 30: 6.5%
• Liberia — 28th of 30: 6.18%
• Zimbabwe — 29th of 30: 5.1%

What this measures

Total trade in services includes services provided by residents to non-residents plus services provided by non-residents to residents. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period.

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

All 48 values

Trade in services (% of GDP) in nearby economies

• Angola — 7.02% (2025)
• Benin — 10.17% (2023)
• Botswana — 11.79% (2025)
• Burkina Faso — 9.09% (2024)
• Burundi — 16.48% (2025)
• Cabo Verde — 42.18% (2025)
• Comoros — 21.95% (2023)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 6.11% (2025)
• Congo, Rep. — 13.13% (2021)
• Côte d'Ivoire — 9.01% (2024)
• Eswatini — 20.27% (2025)

More economic policy & debt data for Cameroon

• General government final consumption expenditure (constant 2015 US$) — US$5.05 billion (2025)
• General government final consumption expenditure (constant LCU) — 3.02 trillion (2025)
• Households and NPISHs final consumption expenditure (constant 2015 US$) — US$34.19 billion (2025)
• Households and NPISHs final consumption expenditure (constant LCU) — 20.13 trillion (2025)
• Households and NPISHs final consumption expenditure per capita (constant 2015 US$) — US$1,144 (2025)
• Final consumption expenditure (constant 2015 US$) — US$39.23 billion (2025)
• Final consumption expenditure (constant LCU) — 23.14 trillion (2025)
• Gross national expenditure (constant 2015 US$)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Cameroon's trade in services (% of GDP)?

7.9% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1977?

It is down 6.74 percentage points from 14.64% in 1977. The highest value was 19.07% in 2001 and the lowest 7% in 1993.

How does Cameroon rank?

27th highest of 30 economies with data for 2024.

Is the latest change in trade in services (% of GDP) unusual for Cameroon?

In 2024, Cameroon's trade in services (% of GDP) fell 1.45 percentage points on 2023 (from 9.35% to 7.9%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +0.08 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.59 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.6 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 BG.GSR.NFSV.GD.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF); World Development Indicators Database, World Bank (WB); National Accounts data files, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) 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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