Based on projections made by BUCREP, based on data from the 3rd General Population and Housing Census of 2005, the total population of Cameroon is about 24,348,251 inhabitants in 2019, spread over an area of 475,000 km2, or an average density of 51 inhabitants per km2. This population is mostly young, since the under-15s represent 43% of the total. It is logical to expect a high demand for education, requiring public authorities to respond in terms of the creation of schools, infrastructure and equipment, and the allocation of human, financial and material resources. The number of children of primary school age (6 to 11 years old) was 3,608,908 children in 2016, and that of secondary school (12 to 18 years old) was 3,704,590 inhabitants, or 15.9 and 16.3% of the population, respectively. Cameroon’s population continues to grow, but at a declining rate, as the demographic transition began to be observed in the 1990s. For the period 2010-2020, the annual growth rate is estimated at 2.4% and the birth rate at 22.5%. For several decades, the urban population has grown at an accelerated rate, from 14% in 1950 to 58% in 2010, with the largest cities of Douala and Yaoundé as the largest cities. According to BUCREP projections, this trend is expected to continue over the years.
The population of Cameroon is unevenly distributed across the national territory. The average population density in 2005 was 37.5 inhabitants per square kilometre. The highest densities are recorded in the Littoral (124.0 inhabitants per km²) and West (123.8 inhabitants per km²) regions and the lowest in the North (25.5 inhabitants per km²), Adamawa (13.9 inhabitants per km²), South (13.4 inhabitants per km²) and East (7.1 inhabitants per km²) regions. This generates disparities in education.