Military personnel in Cameroon

Cameroon: Military personnel was 25,000 in 2022. ▲ Rising

Latest (2022)
25,000
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
88th
of 194 countries
All-time high
25,000
in 2020
All-time low
1,000
in 1960
Years of data
63
1960–2022

Military personnel in Cameroon, 1960–2022

05.0k10.0k15.0k20.0k25.0k196019912022

Source: Our World in Data.

Analysis

Cameroon recorded 25,000 for military personnel in 2022. That is the highest value across all 63 years on record.

The figure is up 78.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, military personnel in Cameroon peaked at 25,000 in 2020 and was at its lowest, 1,000, in 1960.

That places Cameroon 88th out of 194 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.

Military personnel in Cameroon, year by year

Annual values for Military personnel in Cameroon, 1960 to 2022.
Year Value Change
1960 1,000 —
1961 4,000 +300.0%
1962 5,000 +25.0%
1963 8,000 +60.0%
1964 6,000 -25.0%
1965 8,000 +33.3%
1966 8,000 +0.0%
1967 8,000 +0.0%
1968 7,000 -12.5%
1969 8,000 +14.3%
1970 8,000 +0.0%
1971 8,000 +0.0%
1972 8,000 +0.0%
1973 8,000 +0.0%
1974 10,000 +25.0%
1975 10,000 +0.0%
1976 10,000 +0.0%
1977 11,000 +10.0%
1978 11,000 +0.0%
1979 11,000 +0.0%
1980 11,000 +0.0%
1981 14,000 +27.3%
1982 14,000 +0.0%
1983 15,000 +7.1%
1984 15,000 +0.0%
1985 15,000 +0.0%
1986 15,000 +0.0%
1987 15,000 +0.0%
1988 21,000 +40.0%
1989 21,000 +0.0%
1990 23,000 +9.5%
1991 24,000 +4.3%
1992 12,000 -50.0%
1993 12,000 +0.0%
1994 12,000 +0.0%
1995 22,000 +83.3%
1996 15,000 -31.8%
1997 13,000 -13.3%
1998 15,000 +15.4%
1999 15,000 +0.0%
2000 7,000 -53.3%
2001 22,000 +214.3%
2002 23,000 +4.5%
2003 23,000 +0.0%
2004 23,000 +0.0%
2005 23,000 +0.0%
2006 23,000 +0.0%
2007 14,000 -39.1%
2008 14,000 +0.0%
2009 14,000 +0.0%
2010 14,000 +0.0%
2011 14,000 +0.0%
2012 14,000 +0.0%
2013 14,000 +0.0%
2014 14,000 +0.0%
2015 14,000 +0.0%
2016 14,000 +0.0%
2017 14,000 +0.0%
2018 14,000 +0.0%
2019 15,000 +7.1%
2020 25,000 +66.7%
2021 25,000 +0.0%
2022 25,000 +0.0%

Cameroon compared with similar countries

  • Cameroon's 25,000 is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 15,500, 1.6× the median. (46 countries reporting)
  • Cameroon's 25,000 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 14,000, 1.8× the median. (48 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 6,300 1,000 8,000 10
1970s 9,500 8,000 11,000 10
1980s 15,600 11,000 21,000 10
1990s 16,300 12,000 24,000 10
2000s 18,600 7,000 23,000 10
2010s 14,100 14,000 15,000 10
2020s 25,000 25,000 25,000 3

Countries ranked near Cameroon

  1. 88 El Salvador 25,000 compare
  2. 88 Norway 25,000 compare
  3. 91 Kenya 24,000 compare

See the full ranking of 194 places →

More reference data data for Cameroon

All data for Cameroon →

Frequently asked questions

What is military personnel in Cameroon?
Military personnel in Cameroon was 25,000 in 2022, according to Our World in Data.
What is the highest military personnel recorded in Cameroon?
The highest recorded value was 25,000 in 2020.
What is the lowest military personnel recorded in Cameroon?
The lowest recorded value was 1,000 in 1960.
How does Cameroon rank for military personnel?
Cameroon ranks 88th out of 194 countries with data for 2022.
Is military personnel rising or falling in Cameroon?
Over the last ten years it is up 78.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Cameroon data come from?
The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Military personnel. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Military personnel in Cameroon. Statizoid, drawing on Our World in Data. Retrieved 13 November 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/military-personnel/cameroon/

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About this data

Indicator
Military personnel
Source
Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
194 places, 15,765 data points, 1816–2022
Last refreshed