Burkina Faso vs Cameroon
Burkina Faso vs Cameroon: Government debt
Government debt in 2025: 53.2% of GDP in Burkina Faso and 40.5% of GDP in Cameroon, by IMF estimates. In 2025 the value was higher in Burkina Faso, by 12.7 percentage points, or 1.31 times that in Cameroon.
% of GDP · IMF
What the numbers say
- Burkina Faso has been higher since 2019, when it overtook Cameroon.
- In 2025, Burkina Faso ranked 74 and Cameroon ranked 102 of 149 countries, counting from the highest.
- The IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) puts Burkina Faso at 49.7% of GDP and Cameroon at 34.3% of GDP in 2031.
Every year
% of GDP · IMF
| Year | Burkina Faso | Cameroon |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 53.2 | 40.5 |
| 2024 | 57.3 | 43.4 |
| 2023 | 56.8 | 43.6 |
| 2022 | 59.2 | 45.6 |
| 2021 | 55.5 | 47.2 |
| 2020 | 45 | 44.9 |
| 2019 | 41.7 | 41.6 |
| 2018 | 38.1 | 38.3 |
| 2017 | 33.9 | 36.5 |
| 2016 | 32.9 | 32.1 |
| 2015 | 31.3 | 31.6 |
| 2014 | 26.1 | 20.7 |
| 2013 | 25.9 | 17.5 |
| 2012 | 25.2 | 14.9 |
| 2011 | 24.5 | 15.9 |
| 2010 | 23.7 | 14 |
| 2009 | 25.9 | 11.3 |
| 2008 | 24.9 | 11.2 |
| 2007 | 22.4 | 13.8 |
| 2006 | 20.1 | 18.4 |
| 2005 | 39.2 | 43.8 |
| 2004 | 40.7 | 51.7 |
| 2003 | 39.7 | 51.5 |
| 2002 | 43.3 | 56.6 |
| 2001 | – | 62.2 |
| 2000 | – | 75.9 |
| 1999 | – | 68.4 |
| 1998 | – | 67.8 |
IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) · 2026–2031
| Year | Burkina Faso | Cameroon |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 51 | 40.1 |
| 2027 | 50.9 | 39.1 |
| 2028 | 51 | 38.1 |
| 2029 | 50.4 | 36.8 |
| 2030 | 50 | 35.2 |
| 2031 | 49.7 | 34.3 |
Each country on its own
Good to know
- What the government owes, as a share of the economy’s yearly output.
- Source: IMF, World Economic Outlook, October 2026.
- The dashed line is the IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026), a scenario rather than a forecast.
- Ranks count the 149 countries with a value in 2025, highest first.
How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Countries through time
Burkina Faso vs Cameroon
Health
- Life expectancyBurkina Faso: 61.1 years in 2023Cameroon: 63.7 years in 2023
- Child mortalityBurkina Faso: 7.5 per 100 live births in 2024Cameroon: 6.5 per 100 live births in 2024
- Infant mortalityBurkina Faso: 52.3 per 1,000 live births in 2023Cameroon: 47.4 per 1,000 live births in 2023
- DepressionBurkina Faso: 3.69% in 2017Cameroon: 3.75% in 2017
- Suicide rateBurkina Faso: 13.2 per 100,000 people in 2017Cameroon: 14 per 100,000 people in 2017
People
- PopulationBurkina Faso: 23 million people in 2023Cameroon: 28.4 million people in 2023
- Population growthBurkina Faso: 2.26% a year in 2023Cameroon: 2.64% a year in 2023
- Fertility rateBurkina Faso: 4.19 births per woman in 2023Cameroon: 4.32 births per woman in 2023
- Urban populationBurkina Faso: 28.9% in 2025Cameroon: 55.7% in 2025
- Median ageBurkina Faso: 17.3 years in 2023Cameroon: 17.8 years in 2023
- People aged 65 and overBurkina Faso: 2.6% in 2023Cameroon: 2.8% in 2023
- Net migration rateBurkina Faso: -1.1 per 1,000 people in 2023Cameroon: -0.2 per 1,000 people in 2023
Economy
Education
Politics
Conflict
Military
- Military spendingBurkina Faso: 3.3% of GDP in 2025Cameroon: 1.06% of GDP in 2025
- Military spending in US dollarsBurkina Faso: $844M in 2025Cameroon: $580M in 2025
- Military spending per personBurkina Faso: $37 in 2025Cameroon: $21 in 2025
- Military share of state spendingBurkina Faso: 13.2% of government spending in 2025Cameroon: 6.5% of government spending in 2025
- Armed forces personnelBurkina Faso: 11,000 people in 2020Cameroon: 34,000 people in 2020
- National powerBurkina Faso: 0.09% of world capability in 2022Cameroon: 0.16% of world capability in 2022
- Armed forces, share of workersBurkina Faso: 0.12% of the labour force in 2020Cameroon: 0.34% of the labour force in 2020
- Arms importsBurkina Faso: 34 million TIV in 2025Cameroon: 2 million TIV in 2023