Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside in Cameroon
Cameroon: Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside was 42.9% in 2023. ◆ Volatile
Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside in Cameroon, 1960–2023
Source: Staff estimates, World Bank (WB). Measured in % of total merchandise imports.
Analysis
In 2023, merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside in Cameroon stood at 42.9%. That is the highest value across all 63 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.3% on the previous year and up 36.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside in Cameroon peaked at 42.9% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 1.3%, in 1968.
That places Cameroon 24th out of 206 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside in Cameroon, year by year
| Year | % of total merchandise imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 5.3% | — |
| 1961 | 5.3% | -1.1% |
| 1963 | 2.8% | -46.3% |
| 1964 | 1.6% | -43.1% |
| 1965 | 3.0% | +88.9% |
| 1966 | 3.6% | +18.5% |
| 1967 | 3.1% | -14.8% |
| 1968 | 1.3% | -57.4% |
| 1969 | 2.4% | +84.6% |
| 1970 | 2.0% | -15.9% |
| 1971 | 2.0% | -0.9% |
| 1972 | 2.2% | +7.7% |
| 1973 | 5.0% | +133.2% |
| 1974 | 4.7% | -7.1% |
| 1975 | 2.4% | -48.8% |
| 1976 | 3.5% | +46.6% |
| 1977 | 3.7% | +6.1% |
| 1978 | 4.9% | +31.2% |
| 1979 | 4.5% | -8.9% |
| 1980 | 5.0% | +12.3% |
| 1981 | 4.8% | -5.0% |
| 1982 | 3.6% | -24.0% |
| 1983 | 3.9% | +6.9% |
| 1984 | 2.9% | -25.4% |
| 1985 | 3.5% | +19.8% |
| 1986 | 3.4% | -2.6% |
| 1987 | 6.0% | +78.4% |
| 1988 | 6.7% | +11.3% |
| 1989 | 7.2% | +7.2% |
| 1990 | 8.5% | +18.7% |
| 1991 | 8.5% | -0.6% |
| 1992 | 4.6% | -46.3% |
| 1993 | 9.3% | +104.7% |
| 1994 | 11.6% | +24.9% |
| 1995 | 9.2% | -20.5% |
| 1996 | 8.5% | -8.4% |
| 1997 | 8.9% | +5.2% |
| 1998 | 9.4% | +5.6% |
| 1999 | 10.3% | +9.3% |
| 2000 | 8.3% | -19.0% |
| 2001 | 9.0% | +7.3% |
| 2002 | 11.7% | +31.0% |
| 2003 | 15.1% | +28.6% |
| 2004 | 16.1% | +6.7% |
| 2005 | 17.6% | +9.5% |
| 2006 | 18.8% | +6.6% |
| 2007 | 27.5% | +46.4% |
| 2008 | 28.0% | +1.9% |
| 2009 | 32.3% | +15.2% |
| 2010 | 24.0% | -25.5% |
| 2011 | 29.2% | +21.5% |
| 2012 | 26.0% | -11.0% |
| 2013 | 31.4% | +20.9% |
| 2014 | 32.3% | +2.9% |
| 2015 | 35.8% | +10.8% |
| 2016 | 39.1% | +9.0% |
| 2017 | 37.5% | -4.0% |
| 2018 | 38.2% | +1.9% |
| 2019 | 36.7% | -4.0% |
| 2020 | 38.9% | +6.0% |
| 2021 | 40.2% | +3.4% |
| 2022 | 42.3% | +5.2% |
| 2023 | 42.9% | +1.3% |
Cameroon compared with similar countries
- Cameroon's 42.9% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 29.9%, 1.4× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Cameroon's 42.9% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 33.0%, 1.3× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | +133.2% | 2.2% | 5.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 3.2% | 1.3% | 5.3% | 9 |
| 1970s | 3.5% | 2.0% | 5.0% | 10 |
| 1980s | 4.7% | 2.9% | 7.2% | 10 |
| 1990s | 8.9% | 4.6% | 11.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 18.4% | 8.3% | 32.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 33.0% | 24.0% | 39.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 41.1% | 38.9% | 42.9% | 4 |
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 merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside in Cameroon?
- Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside in Cameroon was 42.9% in 2023, according to Staff estimates, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside recorded in Cameroon?
- The highest recorded value was 42.9% in 2023.
- What is the lowest merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside recorded in Cameroon?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.3% in 1968.
- How does Cameroon rank for merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside?
- Cameroon ranks 24th out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside rising or falling in Cameroon?
- Over the last ten years it is up 36.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Cameroon data come from?
- The figures come from Staff estimates, World Bank (WB), published as part of Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside region (% of total merchandise imports). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 63 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside region are the sum of merchandise imports by the reporting economy from other low- and middle-income economies in other World Bank regions according to the World Bank classification of economies. Data are expressed as a percentage of total merchandise imports by the economy. Data are computed only if at least half of the economies in the partner country group had non-missing data.