Cameroon vs Zambia
Cameroon vs Zambia: Government debt
Government debt in 2025: 40.5% of GDP in Cameroon and 100.6% of GDP in Zambia, by IMF estimates. In 2025 the value was higher in Zambia, by 60.1 percentage points, or 2.48 times that in Cameroon.
% of GDP · IMF
What the numbers say
- Zambia has been higher in every year both have figures for since 2000.
- In 2025, Cameroon ranked 102 and Zambia ranked 13 of 149 countries, counting from the highest.
- The IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) puts Cameroon at 34.3% of GDP and Zambia at 56.7% of GDP in 2031.
Every year
% of GDP · IMF
| Year | Cameroon | Zambia |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 40.5 | 100.6 |
| 2024 | 43.4 | 125.5 |
| 2023 | 43.6 | 136.8 |
| 2022 | 45.6 | 99.5 |
| 2021 | 47.2 | 111 |
| 2020 | 44.9 | 140 |
| 2019 | 41.6 | 103.3 |
| 2018 | 38.3 | 81.2 |
| 2017 | 36.5 | 66.6 |
| 2016 | 32.1 | 61.2 |
| 2015 | 31.6 | 61.9 |
| 2014 | 20.7 | 33.9 |
| 2013 | 17.5 | 25.9 |
| 2012 | 14.9 | 24.9 |
| 2011 | 15.9 | 20.8 |
| 2010 | 14 | 18.9 |
| 2009 | 11.3 | 20.5 |
| 2008 | 11.2 | 19.2 |
| 2007 | 13.8 | 21.9 |
| 2006 | 18.4 | 25 |
| 2005 | 43.8 | 75.8 |
| 2004 | 51.7 | 129.9 |
| 2003 | 51.5 | 159.5 |
| 2002 | 56.6 | 180.2 |
| 2001 | 62.2 | 210.2 |
| 2000 | 75.9 | 261 |
| 1999 | 68.4 | – |
| 1998 | 67.8 | – |
IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) · 2026–2031
| Year | Cameroon | Zambia |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 40.1 | 82.1 |
| 2027 | 39.1 | 77 |
| 2028 | 38.1 | 72.3 |
| 2029 | 36.8 | 67.2 |
| 2030 | 35.2 | 61.9 |
| 2031 | 34.3 | 56.7 |
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
Cameroon vs Zambia
Health
- Life expectancyCameroon: 63.7 years in 2023Zambia: 66.4 years in 2023
- Child mortalityCameroon: 6.5 per 100 live births in 2024Zambia: 4.8 per 100 live births in 2024
- Infant mortalityCameroon: 47.4 per 1,000 live births in 2023Zambia: 38.2 per 1,000 live births in 2023
- DepressionCameroon: 3.75% in 2017Zambia: 3.64% in 2017
- Suicide rateCameroon: 14 per 100,000 people in 2017Zambia: 13.1 per 100,000 people in 2017
People
- PopulationCameroon: 28.4 million people in 2023Zambia: 20.7 million people in 2023
- Population growthCameroon: 2.64% a year in 2023Zambia: 2.83% a year in 2023
- Fertility rateCameroon: 4.32 births per woman in 2023Zambia: 4.1 births per woman in 2023
- Urban populationCameroon: 55.7% in 2025Zambia: 45.9% in 2025
- Median ageCameroon: 17.8 years in 2023Zambia: 17.5 years in 2023
- People aged 65 and overCameroon: 2.8% in 2023Zambia: 1.9% in 2023
- Net migration rateCameroon: -0.2 per 1,000 people in 2023Zambia: 0.5 per 1,000 people in 2023
Economy
Education
Politics
Conflict
Military
- Military spendingCameroon: 1.06% of GDP in 2025Zambia: 1.26% of GDP in 2025
- Military spending in US dollarsCameroon: $580M in 2025Zambia: $343M in 2025
- Military spending per personCameroon: $21 in 2025Zambia: $19 in 2025
- Military share of state spendingCameroon: 6.5% of government spending in 2025Zambia: 4.5% of government spending in 2025
- Armed forces personnelCameroon: 34,000 people in 2020Zambia: 16,000 people in 2020
- National powerCameroon: 0.16% of world capability in 2022Zambia: 0.1% of world capability in 2022
- Armed forces, share of workersCameroon: 0.34% of the labour force in 2020Zambia: 0.24% of the labour force in 2020
- Arms importsCameroon: 2 million TIV in 2023Zambia: 1 million TIV in 2024