AD1222: Unemployment, pessimism, and rising interest in emigration mark Cameroon’s youth – Afrobarometer

Cameroon’s demographics make youth central to the country’s economic development.  Citizens aged 18-35 constitute 57% of the country’s labour force (World Bank, 2025a). But the  economy has struggled – and failed – to absorb the growing number of labour-market  entrants, and many youth continue to face unemployment, underemployment, or vulnerable informal employment (World Bank, 2025a; Hyéfouais, 2019).  

Despite employment and entrepreneurship initiatives implemented by the government and  development partners (World Bank, 2025a), almost one in four young Cameroonians (23.2%)  are not in education, employment, or training, according to 2021 estimates (World Bank,  2025b). 

As Tangko (2020) notes, youth unemployment contributes to economic marginalisation and  increases the risk of political instability as exclusion generates frustration, weakens confidence in institutions, and heightens social tensions. Cameroon’s “low” ranking in the  2023 Global Youth Development Index highlights persistent challenges for youth across a  wide range of sectors, from education and employment to well-being and civic  participation (Commonwealth, 2023). 

Findings from the Afrobarometer Round 10 survey (2024) reinforce these concerns. While  Cameroonian youth are more educated than older generations, they are also more likely to  be unemployed. Young people identify inadequate training, skills mismatch, and a lack of  experience as major barriers to employment. Job creation is their top priority for additional  government spending to support young people, and unemployment ranks among the most  important problems they want the government to address. 

Young citizens see the government as largely failing to address their top concerns. Most see  the country as heading in the wrong direction, and few express optimism about the near  future. 

Against this backdrop, a growing majority of young Cameroonians report considering  emigration, primarily in search of better economic prospects.