Insurance and financial services in Cameroon
Cameroon: Insurance and financial services was 3.9% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Insurance and financial services in Cameroon, 1977–2024
Source: Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of commercial service exports.
Analysis
In 2024, insurance and financial services in Cameroon stood at 3.9%.
That represents a change of up 18.5% on the previous year and down 28.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, insurance and financial services in Cameroon peaked at 10.1% in 2017 and was at its lowest, 0.4%, in 1988.
Cameroon ranks 79th of 190 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 48 years of available data.
Insurance and financial services in Cameroon, year by year
| Year | % of commercial service exports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | 6.7% | — |
| 1978 | 5.6% | -17.2% |
| 1979 | 6.0% | +7.3% |
| 1980 | 5.9% | -0.3% |
| 1981 | 4.9% | -17.3% |
| 1982 | 6.6% | +34.8% |
| 1983 | 5.1% | -22.9% |
| 1984 | 7.8% | +53.0% |
| 1985 | 7.9% | +1.4% |
| 1986 | 7.1% | -11.0% |
| 1987 | 6.8% | -4.2% |
| 1988 | 0.4% | -94.6% |
| 1989 | 8.2% | +2120.1% |
| 1990 | 9.4% | +15.0% |
| 1991 | 4.2% | -55.6% |
| 1992 | 3.9% | -5.8% |
| 1993 | 9.1% | +132.4% |
| 1994 | 5.5% | -39.9% |
| 1995 | 7.2% | +30.8% |
| 1996 | 2.8% | -61.0% |
| 1997 | 2.3% | -19.6% |
| 1998 | 2.3% | +2.1% |
| 1999 | 1.9% | -18.2% |
| 2000 | 2.5% | +35.5% |
| 2001 | 6.0% | +134.0% |
| 2002 | 1.3% | -78.4% |
| 2003 | 6.3% | +390.8% |
| 2004 | 4.7% | -25.2% |
| 2005 | 5.9% | +25.7% |
| 2006 | 1.7% | -70.9% |
| 2007 | 3.5% | +101.5% |
| 2008 | 4.3% | +22.6% |
| 2009 | 5.3% | +24.5% |
| 2010 | 4.0% | -25.1% |
| 2011 | 2.7% | -31.1% |
| 2012 | 5.2% | +90.8% |
| 2013 | 5.5% | +4.7% |
| 2014 | 5.5% | +0.3% |
| 2015 | 5.6% | +1.6% |
| 2016 | 6.1% | +10.1% |
| 2017 | 10.1% | +64.4% |
| 2018 | 9.7% | -3.6% |
| 2019 | 8.2% | -15.7% |
| 2020 | 6.3% | -22.8% |
| 2021 | 3.8% | -40.6% |
| 2022 | 4.3% | +13.1% |
| 2023 | 3.3% | -21.7% |
| 2024 | 3.9% | +18.5% |
Cameroon compared with similar countries
- Cameroon's 3.9% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 1.8%, 2.3× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Cameroon's 3.9% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 3.3%, 1.2× the median. (45 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Insurance and financial services 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | +2120.1% | 0.4% | 8.2% |
| 2003 | +390.8% | 1.3% | 6.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 6.1% | 5.6% | 6.7% | 3 |
| 1980s | 6.1% | 0.4% | 8.2% | 10 |
| 1990s | 4.9% | 1.9% | 9.4% | 10 |
| 2000s | 4.2% | 1.3% | 6.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 6.3% | 2.7% | 10.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.3% | 3.3% | 6.3% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Cameroon
More private sector data for Cameroon
- Merchandise trade 24.6% (2025)
- Food imports 21.7% (2023)
- Manufactures imports 51.6% (2023)
- Merchandise imports 9.40 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 22.8% (2023)
- Manufactures exports 6.0% (2023)
- Merchandise exports 5.10 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 170.69 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.0865 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate -4.92 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is insurance and financial services in Cameroon?
- Insurance and financial services in Cameroon was 3.9% in 2024, according to Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest insurance and financial services recorded in Cameroon?
- The highest recorded value was 10.1% in 2017.
- What is the lowest insurance and financial services recorded in Cameroon?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.4% in 1988.
- How does Cameroon rank for insurance and financial services?
- Cameroon ranks 79th out of 190 countries with data for 2024.
- Is insurance and financial services rising or falling in Cameroon?
- Over the last ten years it is down 28.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Cameroon data come from?
- The figures come from Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Insurance and financial services (% of commercial service exports). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 48 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Financial services covers services related to financial intermediation, financial risk management, liquidity transformation or auxiliary financial activities. It also includes insurance and pension scheme services which are services related to providing life insurance and annuities, non-life insurance, reinsurance, pensions, standardised guarantees and auxiliary services to insurance, pension schemes, and standardised guarantee schemes. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of service exports which are commercial services provided by residents to non-residents.