Self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Cameroon
Cameroon: Self-employed, total (% of total employment) was 69.3% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Cameroon, 1991–2025
Source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
In 2025, self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Cameroon stood at 69.3%. That is the lowest value across all 35 years on record.
The figure is down 0.4% on the previous year and down 9.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Cameroon peaked at 85.0% in 1995 and was at its lowest, 69.3%, in 2025.
That places Cameroon 35th out of 186 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 35 years of available data.
Self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Cameroon, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 84.6% | — |
| 1992 | 84.7% | +0.1% |
| 1993 | 84.9% | +0.2% |
| 1994 | 85.0% | +0.1% |
| 1995 | 85.0% | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 84.9% | -0.1% |
| 1997 | 84.7% | -0.2% |
| 1998 | 84.5% | -0.2% |
| 1999 | 84.3% | -0.3% |
| 2000 | 84.0% | -0.3% |
| 2001 | 83.7% | -0.3% |
| 2002 | 83.4% | -0.4% |
| 2003 | 83.1% | -0.4% |
| 2004 | 82.8% | -0.4% |
| 2005 | 82.4% | -0.4% |
| 2006 | 82.1% | -0.4% |
| 2007 | 81.7% | -0.5% |
| 2008 | 81.1% | -0.7% |
| 2009 | 80.5% | -0.7% |
| 2010 | 80.0% | -0.7% |
| 2011 | 79.4% | -0.7% |
| 2012 | 78.8% | -0.7% |
| 2013 | 78.3% | -0.8% |
| 2014 | 77.7% | -0.8% |
| 2015 | 76.5% | -1.5% |
| 2016 | 75.3% | -1.5% |
| 2017 | 74.1% | -1.5% |
| 2018 | 73.0% | -1.6% |
| 2019 | 71.8% | -1.6% |
| 2020 | 71.5% | -0.4% |
| 2021 | 70.2% | -1.9% |
| 2022 | 69.9% | -0.3% |
| 2023 | 69.8% | -0.3% |
| 2024 | 69.6% | -0.3% |
| 2025 | 69.3% | -0.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 84.7% | 84.3% | 85.0% | 9 |
| 2000s | 82.5% | 80.5% | 84.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 76.5% | 71.8% | 80.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 70.0% | 69.3% | 71.5% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Cameroon
More work & labour data for Cameroon
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual 0.5809 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth 0.5736 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth 0.588 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate 0.1629 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 2.48 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 36,415 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 13,402 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 45,113 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 43,763 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 88,876 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Cameroon?
- Self-employed, total (% of total employment) in Cameroon was 69.3% in 2025, according to ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
- What is the highest self-employed, total (% of total employment) recorded in Cameroon?
- The highest recorded value was 85.0% in 1995.
- What is the lowest self-employed, total (% of total employment) recorded in Cameroon?
- The lowest recorded value was 69.3% in 2025.
- How does Cameroon rank for self-employed, total (% of total employment)?
- Cameroon ranks 35th out of 186 countries with data for 2025.
- Is self-employed, total (% of total employment) rising or falling in Cameroon?
- Over the last ten years it is down 9.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Cameroon data come from?
- The figures come from ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO), published as part of Self-employed, total (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 35 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Self-employed workers are those workers who, working on their own account or with one or a few partners or in cooperative, hold the type of jobs defined as a "self-employment jobs." i.e. jobs where the remuneration is directly dependent upon the profits derived from the goods and services produced. Self-employed workers include sub-categories of employers, own-account workers and members of producers' cooperatives and contributing family workers.