Employee compensation as share of government spending in Cameroon
Cameroon: Employee compensation as share of government spending was 34.7% in 2021. ▼ Falling
Employee compensation as share of government spending in Cameroon, 1990–2021
Source: International Monetary Fund (IMF) Government Finance Statistics, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of expense.
Analysis
In 2021, employee compensation as share of government spending in Cameroon stood at 34.7%. That is the lowest value across all 18 years on record.
That represents a change of down 6.7% on the previous year and down 3.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, employee compensation as share of government spending in Cameroon peaked at 60.6% in 1993 and was at its lowest, 34.7%, in 2021.
That places Cameroon 47th out of 155 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 18 years of available data.
Employee compensation as share of government spending in Cameroon, year by year
| Year | % of expense | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 55.6% | — |
| 1991 | 53.7% | -3.4% |
| 1992 | 59.2% | +10.2% |
| 1993 | 60.6% | +2.4% |
| 1994 | 47.5% | -21.6% |
| 1995 | 40.4% | -14.9% |
| 1998 | 38.4% | -4.9% |
| 1999 | 37.1% | -3.5% |
| 2012 | 36.0% | -3.0% |
| 2013 | 36.7% | +1.9% |
| 2014 | 36.9% | +0.5% |
| 2015 | 38.5% | +4.5% |
| 2016 | 39.5% | +2.6% |
| 2017 | 43.9% | +11.0% |
| 2018 | 39.9% | -9.0% |
| 2019 | 35.4% | -11.4% |
| 2020 | 37.2% | +5.1% |
| 2021 | 34.7% | -6.7% |
Cameroon compared with similar countries
- Cameroon's 34.7% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 31.8%, 1.1× the median. (36 countries reporting)
- Cameroon's 34.7% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 36.9%, 94% of the median. (36 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 49.1% | 37.1% | 60.6% | 8 |
| 2010s | 38.3% | 35.4% | 43.9% | 8 |
| 2020s | 35.9% | 34.7% | 37.2% | 2 |
Countries ranked near Cameroon
- 44 Dominican Republic 35.2% compare
- 45 Tunisia 35.1% compare
- 46 Philippines 35.0% compare
- 48 Panama 34.3% compare
- 49 Afghanistan 34.0% compare
- 50 Nauru 33.9% compare
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 employee compensation as share of government spending in Cameroon?
- Employee compensation as share of government spending in Cameroon was 34.7% in 2021, according to International Monetary Fund (IMF) Government Finance Statistics, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest employee compensation as share of government spending recorded in Cameroon?
- The highest recorded value was 60.6% in 1993.
- What is the lowest employee compensation as share of government spending recorded in Cameroon?
- The lowest recorded value was 34.7% in 2021.
- How does Cameroon rank for employee compensation as share of government spending?
- Cameroon ranks 47th out of 155 countries with data for 2021.
- Is employee compensation as share of government spending rising or falling in Cameroon?
- Over the last ten years it is down 3.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Cameroon data come from?
- The figures come from International Monetary Fund (IMF) Government Finance Statistics, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Employee compensation as share of government spending. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 18 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Employee compensation includes wages, in-kind payments, and government contributions to social insurance schemes such as social security and pensions.