Total natural resource rents in Cameroon
Cameroon: Total natural resource rents was 5.5% in 2021. ▲ Rising
Total natural resource rents in Cameroon, 1970–2021
Source: The Changing Wealth of Nations, World Bank staff estimates, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Cameroon recorded 5.5% for total natural resource rents in 2021.
The figure is up 27.3% on the previous year and down 32.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, total natural resource rents in Cameroon peaked at 12.0% in 1985 and was at its lowest, 3.4%, in 1972.
Cameroon ranks 71st of 211 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 52 years of available data.
Total natural resource rents in Cameroon, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 3.9% | — |
| 1971 | 3.4% | -11.7% |
| 1972 | 3.4% | -1.4% |
| 1973 | 4.2% | +22.4% |
| 1974 | 4.5% | +7.2% |
| 1975 | 4.1% | -7.1% |
| 1976 | 4.3% | +3.4% |
| 1977 | 5.5% | +28.3% |
| 1978 | 5.3% | -4.5% |
| 1979 | 8.7% | +65.0% |
| 1980 | 10.7% | +22.9% |
| 1981 | 9.2% | -13.6% |
| 1982 | 6.9% | -25.2% |
| 1983 | 9.0% | +31.1% |
| 1984 | 10.4% | +15.4% |
| 1985 | 12.0% | +15.3% |
| 1986 | 4.4% | -63.2% |
| 1987 | 6.5% | +46.0% |
| 1988 | 5.8% | -9.8% |
| 1989 | 10.2% | +74.3% |
| 1990 | 11.9% | +17.2% |
| 1991 | 7.8% | -34.8% |
| 1992 | 7.8% | +0.4% |
| 1993 | 5.3% | -32.1% |
| 1994 | 8.7% | +63.3% |
| 1995 | 9.0% | +3.8% |
| 1996 | 9.2% | +2.3% |
| 1997 | 8.9% | -3.1% |
| 1998 | 5.5% | -38.1% |
| 1999 | 5.2% | -6.6% |
| 2000 | 8.3% | +61.8% |
| 2001 | 5.7% | -31.8% |
| 2002 | 5.3% | -7.1% |
| 2003 | 5.1% | -3.7% |
| 2004 | 4.7% | -6.9% |
| 2005 | 7.4% | +56.2% |
| 2006 | 8.5% | +15.6% |
| 2007 | 9.0% | +5.1% |
| 2008 | 10.1% | +12.2% |
| 2009 | 5.8% | -42.2% |
| 2010 | 6.9% | +18.8% |
| 2011 | 8.2% | +18.0% |
| 2012 | 8.4% | +3.0% |
| 2013 | 7.3% | -12.8% |
| 2014 | 7.0% | -4.1% |
| 2015 | 5.6% | -19.9% |
| 2016 | 5.4% | -4.8% |
| 2017 | 6.1% | +13.3% |
| 2018 | 6.1% | +0.3% |
| 2019 | 5.6% | -9.0% |
| 2020 | 4.3% | -21.8% |
| 2021 | 5.5% | +27.3% |
Cameroon compared with similar countries
- Cameroon's 5.5% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 4.4%, 1.3× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Cameroon's 5.5% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 7.7%, 72% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 4.7% | 3.4% | 8.7% | 10 |
| 1980s | 8.5% | 4.4% | 12.0% | 10 |
| 1990s | 7.9% | 5.2% | 11.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 7.0% | 4.7% | 10.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 6.7% | 5.4% | 8.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.9% | 4.3% | 5.5% | 2 |
Countries ranked near Cameroon
More reference data data for Cameroon
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.4076 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 3.49 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 4.56 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.199 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 4.56 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.37 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.54 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 17.29 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 23.23 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.08 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is total natural resource rents in Cameroon?
- Total natural resource rents in Cameroon was 5.5% in 2021, according to The Changing Wealth of Nations, World Bank staff estimates, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest total natural resource rents recorded in Cameroon?
- The highest recorded value was 12.0% in 1985.
- What is the lowest total natural resource rents recorded in Cameroon?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.4% in 1972.
- How does Cameroon rank for total natural resource rents?
- Cameroon ranks 71st out of 211 countries with data for 2021.
- Is total natural resource rents rising or falling in Cameroon?
- Over the last ten years it is down 32.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Cameroon data come from?
- The figures come from The Changing Wealth of Nations, World Bank staff estimates, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Total natural resource rents. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 52 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Natural resources rents are estimated as the difference between the price of a commodity and the average cost of producing it. Total natural resources rents are the sum of oil rents, natural gas rents, coal rents, mineral rents, and forest rents.