Military personnel in Cameroon

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

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

Military personnel in Cameroon, 1960–2022

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

Source: Correlates of War - National Material Capabilities Version 7.0 (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in people.

Analysis

Cameroon recorded 25,000 people 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 people in 2020 and was at its lowest, 1,000 people, 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.

Averages by decade

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

Countries ranked near Cameroon

  1. 88 El Salvador 25,000 people compare
  2. 88 Norway 25,000 people compare
  3. 91 Kenya 24,000 people 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 people in 2022, according to Correlates of War - National Material Capabilities Version 7.0 (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest military personnel recorded in Cameroon?
The highest recorded value was 25,000 people in 2020.
What is the lowest military personnel recorded in Cameroon?
The lowest recorded value was 1,000 people 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 Correlates of War - National Material Capabilities Version 7.0 (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Military personnel. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 63 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Military personnel
Unit
people
Source
Correlates of War - National Material Capabilities Version 7.0 (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
194 places, 15,765 data points, 1816–2022
Last refreshed

Troops under the command of the national government, intended for use against foreign adversaries, and held ready for combat as of January 1 of the given year.