State Capacity Index in Cameroon

Cameroon: State Capacity Index was -0.4069 in 2015. ▲ Rising

Latest (2015)
-0.4069
Change on year
up 1.7%
World rank
143rd
of 166 countries
All-time high
-0.0151
in 1989
All-time low
-1.11
in 1960
Years of data
56
1960–2015

State Capacity Index in Cameroon, 1960–2015

-1-0.75-0.5-0.250196019872015

Source: Jonathan Hanson and Rachel Sigman (2021); Population based on various sources (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data.

Analysis

In 2015, state capacity index in Cameroon stood at -0.4069.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.7% on the previous year and up 16.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, state capacity index in Cameroon peaked at -0.0151 in 1989 and was at its lowest, -1.11, in 1960.

Cameroon ranks 143rd of 166 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 56 years of available data.

State Capacity Index in Cameroon, year by year

Annual values for State Capacity Index in Cameroon, 1960 to 2015.
Year Value Change
1960 -1.11
1961 -0.4954 -55.3%
1962 -0.4581 -7.5%
1963 -0.4148 -9.5%
1964 -0.4303 +3.7%
1965 -0.4296 -0.2%
1966 -0.4276 -0.5%
1967 -0.3975 -7.0%
1968 -0.402 +1.1%
1969 -0.4003 -0.4%
1970 -0.4051 +1.2%
1971 -0.4505 +11.2%
1972 -0.3713 -17.6%
1973 -0.5203 +40.1%
1974 -0.4334 -16.7%
1975 -0.6087 +40.4%
1976 -0.5241 -13.9%
1977 -0.5755 +9.8%
1978 -0.5539 -3.8%
1979 -0.4864 -12.2%
1980 -0.4882 +0.4%
1981 -0.3285 -32.7%
1982 -0.3147 -4.2%
1983 -0.1326 -57.9%
1984 -0.1223 -7.8%
1985 -0.0692 -43.4%
1986 -0.0811 +17.3%
1987 -0.1361 +67.8%
1988 -0.0304 -77.7%
1989 -0.0151 -50.4%
1990 -0.233 +1444.1%
1991 -0.2934 +25.9%
1992 -0.4299 +46.5%
1993 -0.5129 +19.3%
1994 -0.5145 +0.3%
1995 -0.4619 -10.2%
1996 -0.4022 -12.9%
1997 -0.429 +6.7%
1998 -0.4733 +10.3%
1999 -0.4109 -13.2%
2000 -0.5019 +22.1%
2001 -0.5039 +0.4%
2002 -0.4665 -7.4%
2003 -0.4767 +2.2%
2004 -0.5727 +20.1%
2005 -0.4855 -15.2%
2006 -0.315 -35.1%
2007 -0.2984 -5.3%
2008 -0.2361 -20.9%
2009 -0.3017 +27.8%
2010 -0.2979 -1.3%
2011 -0.3115 +4.6%
2012 -0.3344 +7.4%
2013 -0.4355 +30.2%
2014 -0.4139 -5.0%
2015 -0.4069 -1.7%

Cameroon compared with similar countries

  • Cameroon's -0.4069 is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.0123. (43 countries reporting)
  • Cameroon's -0.4069 is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is -0.0931, 4.4× the median. (46 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where State Capacity Index 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.

YearChange FromTo
1990 -1444.1% -0.0151 -0.233

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s -0.4965 -1.11 -0.3975 10
1970s -0.4929 -0.6087 -0.3713 10
1980s -0.1718 -0.4882 -0.0151 10
1990s -0.4161 -0.5145 -0.233 10
2000s -0.4158 -0.5727 -0.2361 10
2010s -0.3667 -0.4355 -0.2979 6

Countries ranked near Cameroon

  1. 140 Papua New Guinea -0.2505 compare
  2. 141 Myanmar -0.3026 compare
  3. 142 Nigeria -0.39 compare
  4. 144 Djibouti -0.4288 compare
  5. 145 Congo -0.4654 compare
  6. 146 Liberia -0.5134 compare

See the full ranking of 166 places →

More reference data data for Cameroon

All data for Cameroon →

Frequently asked questions

What is state capacity index in Cameroon?
State capacity index in Cameroon was -0.4069 in 2015, according to Jonathan Hanson and Rachel Sigman (2021); Population based on various sources (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest state capacity index recorded in Cameroon?
The highest recorded value was -0.0151 in 1989.
What is the lowest state capacity index recorded in Cameroon?
The lowest recorded value was -1.11 in 1960.
How does Cameroon rank for state capacity index?
Cameroon ranks 143rd out of 166 countries with data for 2015.
Is state capacity index rising or falling in Cameroon?
Over the last ten years it is up 16.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Cameroon data come from?
The figures come from Jonathan Hanson and Rachel Sigman (2021); Population based on various sources (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of State Capacity Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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State Capacity Index in Cameroon. Statizoid, drawing on Jonathan Hanson and Rachel Sigman (2021); Population based on various sources (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 22 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/state-capacity-index/cameroon/

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About this data

Indicator
State Capacity Index
Source
Jonathan Hanson and Rachel Sigman (2021); Population based on various sources (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
166 places, 8,015 data points, 1960–2015
Last refreshed

Measures state capacity by combining 21 different indicators related to three key dimensions: extractive capacity, coercive capacity, and administrative capacity. Higher values indicate greater state capacity.