In-Depth Analysis
Cameroon
Cameroon is a country with abundant natural resources, but the cumbersome business environment and infrastructure gaps are major obstacles. The centralised power structure keeps political risk elevated at a time of increasing demands for autonomy from the English-speaking region.
Economic growth is expected to pick up in 2018 relative to real GDP growth in 2017. We expect economic growth to reach 3.9% in 2018, down from an earlier forecast of 4%. The main reasons for a lower GDP growth forecast are weaker global growth as well as below-expected GDP growth figures in H1 2018. On the political front, the ageing and absent President Paul Biya was re-elected in October to another term in office. This will be his sixth full term; he has been president since 1982 and will turn 86 in February. The election took place in a stressed national environment owing to the separatist insurgency in the English-speaking regions of the country. Mr Biya’s rule is corrupt and capricious, which makes the operating environment difficult and unpredictable for business. (Source: Cameroon Quarterly Update, November 2018.)
Macroeconomic Data
(2018)
|
Fiscal Balance (as a % of GDP) |
-3.7 |
|
Consumer Price Index (% change y-o-y, avg) |
0.9 |
|
Current Account Balance (as a % of GDP) |
-3.1 |
|
Real GDP (annual % change) |
3.9 |
|
GDP per Capita, US$ |
1,567 |
|
Import Cover (months) |
5.5 |
|
Population, million |
24.7 |
| Total External Debt (as a % of GDP) |
27.5 |