Total debt service (% of GDP) in Cameroon
Cameroon: Total debt service (% of GDP) was 1.3% in 2011. ▲ Rising
Total debt service in Cameroon, 1970–2011
Source: World Bank, Global Development Finance. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
The most recent figure for total debt service in Cameroon is 1.3%, measured in 2011.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 44.8% on the previous year and down 64.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, total debt service in Cameroon peaked at 8.0% in 1985 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1970.
Cameroon ranks 20th of 50 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 42 years of available data.
Total debt service (% of GDP) in Cameroon, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 0.0% | — |
| 1971 | 1.2% | +24425.6% |
| 1972 | 1.3% | +3.9% |
| 1973 | 1.7% | +31.5% |
| 1974 | 1.4% | -17.7% |
| 1975 | 1.6% | +16.5% |
| 1976 | 1.6% | -4.2% |
| 1977 | 2.0% | +28.5% |
| 1978 | 2.9% | +42.2% |
| 1979 | 3.1% | +7.1% |
| 1980 | 4.1% | +35.5% |
| 1981 | 4.0% | -4.2% |
| 1982 | 5.3% | +33.0% |
| 1983 | 4.7% | -10.4% |
| 1984 | 5.3% | +12.7% |
| 1985 | 8.0% | +50.4% |
| 1986 | 6.3% | -20.9% |
| 1987 | 5.3% | -16.7% |
| 1988 | 5.4% | +2.1% |
| 1989 | 3.6% | -32.5% |
| 1990 | 4.6% | +27.2% |
| 1991 | 3.4% | -27.0% |
| 1992 | 3.5% | +2.1% |
| 1993 | 3.5% | +0.7% |
| 1994 | 4.2% | +19.9% |
| 1995 | 4.9% | +18.4% |
| 1996 | 5.2% | +6.0% |
| 1997 | 5.2% | -1.0% |
| 1998 | 5.4% | +4.5% |
| 1999 | 5.2% | -3.1% |
| 2000 | 6.0% | +15.0% |
| 2001 | 3.6% | -41.0% |
| 2002 | 3.2% | -9.5% |
| 2003 | 3.2% | -0.4% |
| 2004 | 3.9% | +20.4% |
| 2005 | 4.9% | +28.0% |
| 2006 | 2.8% | -44.2% |
| 2007 | 2.4% | -13.2% |
| 2008 | 1.9% | -20.8% |
| 2009 | 1.8% | -6.6% |
| 2010 | 0.9% | -50.3% |
| 2011 | 1.3% | +44.8% |
Cameroon compared with similar countries
- Cameroon's 1.3% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 1.3%, 100% of the median. (23 countries reporting)
- Cameroon's 1.3% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.8%, 1.5× the median. (45 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Total debt service (% of GDP) in Cameroon changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | +24425.6% | 0.0% | 1.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1.7% | 0.0% | 3.1% | 10 |
| 1980s | 5.2% | 3.6% | 8.0% | 10 |
| 1990s | 4.5% | 3.4% | 5.4% | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.4% | 1.8% | 6.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.1% | 0.9% | 1.3% | 2 |
Countries ranked near Cameroon
More external debt data for Cameroon
- Net financial flows, IBRD 259.13 million NFL, current US$ (2025)
- IFC, private nonguaranteed (NFL, US$), per capita 0.8215 NFL, US$ per person (2024)
- IFC, private nonguaranteed (NFL, US$), per unit of GDP 0.0004 NFL, US$ per US$ of GDP (2024)
- IFC, private nonguaranteed (NFL, US$), per square kilometre 65.95 NFL, US$ per square kilometre (2023)
- Net financial flows, IDA (NFL, current US$), per capita 11.63 NFL, current US$ per person (2024)
- Net financial flows, IDA (NFL, current US$), per unit of GDP 0.0064 NFL, current US$ per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Net financial flows, IDA (NFL, current US$), per square kilometre 370.22 NFL, current US$ per square kilometre (2023)
- Use of IMF credit 2.27 billion DOD, current US$ (2025)
- External debt stocks, public and publicly guaranteed (PPG) 14.24 billion DOD, current US$ (2025)
- External debt stocks, long-term 14.56 billion DOD, current US$ (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is total debt service in Cameroon?
- Total debt service in Cameroon was 1.3% in 2011, according to World Bank, Global Development Finance.
- What is the highest total debt service recorded in Cameroon?
- The highest recorded value was 8.0% in 1985.
- What is the lowest total debt service recorded in Cameroon?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1970.
- How does Cameroon rank for total debt service?
- Cameroon ranks 20th out of 50 countries with data for 2011.
- Is total debt service rising or falling in Cameroon?
- Over the last ten years it is down 64.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Cameroon data come from?
- The figures come from World Bank, Global Development Finance, published as part of Total debt service (% of GDP). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 42 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Total debt service is the sum of principal repayments and interest actually paid in currency, goods, or services on long-term debt, interest paid on short-term debt, and repayments (repurchases and charges) to the IMF.