Life expectancy in Cameroon
Cameroon: Life expectancy was 63.7 years in 2023. ▲ Rising
Life expectancy in Cameroon, 1931–2023
Source: Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
Cameroon recorded 63.7 years for life expectancy in 2023. That is the highest value across all 75 years on record.
The figure is up 2.0% on the previous year and up 8.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, life expectancy in Cameroon peaked at 63.7 years in 2023 and was at its lowest, 28.75 years, in 1931.
Cameroon ranks 214th of 236 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 75 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1930s | 28.75 years | 28.75 years | 28.75 years | 1 |
| 1950s | 36.67 years | 33.09 years | 39.8 years | 10 |
| 1960s | 42.73 years | 34.67 years | 47.19 years | 10 |
| 1970s | 49.58 years | 47.95 years | 50.54 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 52.92 years | 50.85 years | 54.39 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 53.58 years | 53.04 years | 54.35 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 54.82 years | 53.34 years | 56.49 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 59.42 years | 56.97 years | 61.7 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 62.24 years | 61.15 years | 63.7 years | 4 |
Countries ranked near Cameroon
- 211 Eswatini 64.12 years compare
- 212 Guinea-Bissau 64.08 years compare
- 213 Equatorial Guinea 63.71 years compare
- 215 Burundi 63.65 years compare
- 216 Kenya 63.65 years compare
- 217 Madagascar 63.63 years compare
More health data for Cameroon
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 786.1 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 12,841 deaths (2100)
- Deaths in armed conflicts based on where they occurred 4 deaths (2026)
- Deaths in armed conflicts by region 4 deaths (2026)
- Age population, age 25, male, interpolated 244,584 (2025)
- Age population, age 25, female, interpolated 245,558 (2025)
- Age population, age 24, male, interpolated 251,698 (2025)
- Age population, age 24, female, interpolated 252,310 (2025)
- Age population, age 23, male, interpolated 260,306 (2025)
- Age population, age 23, female, interpolated 260,630 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is life expectancy in Cameroon?
- Life expectancy in Cameroon was 63.7 years in 2023, according to Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest life expectancy recorded in Cameroon?
- The highest recorded value was 63.7 years in 2023.
- What is the lowest life expectancy recorded in Cameroon?
- The lowest recorded value was 28.75 years in 1931.
- How does Cameroon rank for life expectancy?
- Cameroon ranks 214th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is life expectancy rising or falling in Cameroon?
- Over the last ten years it is up 8.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Cameroon data come from?
- The figures come from Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Life expectancy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 75 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Period life expectancy is the number of years the average person born in a certain year would live if they experienced the same chances of dying at each age as people did that year.