Cameroon's economy is the largest among the States of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central African Countries (CEMAC) using a common currency — the Central African CFA franc. Cameroon accounts for more than half of the population of CEMAC and about 40% of the total GDP of the community countries.
In addition, the country's economy is the most diversified among the states of the region. In addition to oil and gas reserves, Cameroon has large deposits of various metals and minerals, and the country is also rich in forest and land resources. Nevertheless, for a long time Cameroon has remained a State with incomes below the average level (according to the World Bank classification), which is primarily due to the poor quality of public administration.
Currently, the Government of the country is facing an acute problem of poverty. Thus, despite the decrease in the share of citizens living below the poverty line in recent decades, rapid population growth leads to an increase in the number of poor in absolute terms. The income level in the country varies greatly depending on the region (according to the World Bank, the Gini coefficient in Cameroon as a whole is 0.422). The richest regions are the southern regions, in particular the capital Yaounde and the main port of Douala, while the high level of poverty is mainly observed in the northern part of the country, which is typical for the coastal States of West and Central Africa. The economic situation is complicated by security threats from terrorist groups in the northern regions and tensions on the border with the Central African Republic in the east due to internal political instability in the neighboring State. In 2017 The so-called "English-speaking crisis" has broken out in the English-speaking provinces of Cameroon, which continues to the present day.
Cameroon has seen a moderate recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic in recent years. Real GDP growth in 2021 amounted to 3.6%, in 2022 — 3.8%, in 2023 - 4.0%. The positive dynamics of the country's economy in recent years is due to the outpacing (relative to other industries) rates of development of agriculture and the gas sector. According to forecasts, in 2024, the growth rate of Cameroon's real GDP will increase to 4.2%, including due to the expansion of the production capacity of the Hilli Episeyo floating LNG plant. At the same time, the volume of crude oil production in the country will continue to decline due to the aging of existing fields.
The main economic priorities of Cameroon in the current decade are set out in the National Development Strategy 2020-2030. (NDS30). According to the document, the government of the country plans to diversify sources of growth through investments in the industrial sector, the development of logistics (construction of railways and commissioning of the new deep-water seaport of Kribi) and energy (construction of hydroelectric power plants on the Sanaga River) infrastructure. In addition, import substitution and export development are important areas of the strategy being implemented.
The consumer price index in CEMAC countries began to grow rapidly in 2022 due to an increase in food inflation against the background of geopolitical tensions. By the end of 2022, the inflation rate in Cameroon increased to 6.3%, and in 2023 it reached 7.2%. Over the past three years, the Bank of Central African States (BEAC — the central bank of the CEMAC countries) has been pursuing a tight monetary policy. In March 2023, the key rate was increased by 50 bps to 5.0% (and by only 175 bps from November 2021). According to forecasts, in 2024 The inflation rate in Cameroon will decrease to 4.8% and in the medium term will reach the BEAC target set at 3.0%.
