Domestic credit to private sector by banks in Cameroon
Cameroon: Domestic credit to private sector by banks was 14.1% in 2019. ▼ Falling
Domestic credit to private sector by banks in Cameroon, 1960–2019
Source: International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
In 2019, domestic credit to private sector by banks in Cameroon stood at 14.1%.
The figure is down 4.0% on the previous year and up 46.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, domestic credit to private sector by banks in Cameroon peaked at 31.2% in 1982 and was at its lowest, 5.5%, in 1997.
That places Cameroon 154th out of 187 countries with data for 2019, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 60 years of available data.
Domestic credit to private sector by banks in Cameroon, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 9.7% | — |
| 1961 | 9.8% | +1.1% |
| 1962 | 11.6% | +18.1% |
| 1963 | 13.3% | +14.8% |
| 1964 | 14.1% | +5.8% |
| 1965 | 13.7% | -2.6% |
| 1966 | 14.3% | +4.5% |
| 1967 | 14.8% | +3.7% |
| 1968 | 13.4% | -9.4% |
| 1969 | 13.8% | +2.8% |
| 1970 | 14.2% | +2.8% |
| 1971 | 14.1% | -0.5% |
| 1972 | 15.3% | +8.0% |
| 1973 | 15.3% | +0.3% |
| 1974 | 17.2% | +12.3% |
| 1975 | 18.7% | +9.0% |
| 1976 | 20.8% | +11.0% |
| 1977 | 24.5% | +17.9% |
| 1978 | 25.4% | +3.4% |
| 1979 | 25.7% | +1.4% |
| 1980 | 29.5% | +14.9% |
| 1981 | 31.2% | +5.5% |
| 1982 | 31.2% | +0.3% |
| 1983 | 30.9% | -1.1% |
| 1984 | 25.2% | -18.3% |
| 1985 | 22.9% | -9.3% |
| 1986 | 24.0% | +5.0% |
| 1987 | 25.9% | +7.7% |
| 1988 | 24.4% | -5.7% |
| 1989 | 25.1% | +2.8% |
| 1990 | 26.4% | +5.2% |
| 1991 | 26.4% | +0.2% |
| 1992 | 12.5% | -52.6% |
| 1993 | 8.0% | -35.7% |
| 1994 | 7.5% | -7.1% |
| 1995 | 6.8% | -8.4% |
| 1996 | 6.8% | -0.7% |
| 1997 | 5.5% | -18.7% |
| 1998 | 6.4% | +16.4% |
| 1999 | 6.8% | +5.1% |
| 2000 | 7.2% | +7.2% |
| 2001 | 7.8% | +8.2% |
| 2002 | 8.1% | +2.8% |
| 2003 | 8.2% | +2.2% |
| 2004 | 7.8% | -5.4% |
| 2005 | 8.4% | +7.8% |
| 2006 | 8.1% | -3.3% |
| 2007 | 8.3% | +2.0% |
| 2008 | 9.2% | +11.3% |
| 2009 | 9.6% | +4.4% |
| 2010 | 10.8% | +11.7% |
| 2011 | 12.3% | +14.2% |
| 2012 | 12.4% | +0.7% |
| 2013 | 12.9% | +4.5% |
| 2014 | 13.7% | +5.9% |
| 2015 | 14.2% | +3.4% |
| 2016 | 14.3% | +1.3% |
| 2017 | 14.0% | -2.1% |
| 2018 | 14.6% | +4.4% |
| 2019 | 14.1% | -4.0% |
Cameroon compared with similar countries
- Cameroon's 14.1% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 23.4%, 60% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Cameroon's 14.1% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 15.6%, 90% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Domestic credit to private sector by banks in Cameroon changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | -52.6% | 26.4% | 12.5% |
| 1993 | -35.7% | 12.5% | 8.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 12.9% | 9.7% | 14.8% | 10 |
| 1970s | 19.1% | 14.1% | 25.7% | 10 |
| 1980s | 27.0% | 22.9% | 31.2% | 10 |
| 1990s | 11.3% | 5.5% | 26.4% | 10 |
| 2000s | 8.3% | 7.2% | 9.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 13.3% | 10.8% | 14.6% | 10 |
Countries ranked near Cameroon
More financial sector data for Cameroon
- Reserve position in the IMF, US dollar, annual growth rate 27.34 % change on previous year (2025)
- Reserve position in the IMF, US dollar, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Reserve position in the IMF, US dollar, per capita 0.0753 units per person (2025)
- Reserve position in the IMF, SDR, annual growth rate 21.26 % change on previous year (2025)
- Reserve position in the IMF, SDR, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Reserve position in the IMF, SDR, per capita 0.055 units per person (2025)
- Reserve tranche position, US dollar, annual growth rate 27.34 % change on previous year (2025)
- Reserve tranche position, US dollar, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Reserve tranche position, US dollar, per capita 0.0753 units per person (2025)
- Reserve tranche position, SDR, annual growth rate 21.26 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is domestic credit to private sector by banks in Cameroon?
- Domestic credit to private sector by banks in Cameroon was 14.1% in 2019, according to International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest domestic credit to private sector by banks recorded in Cameroon?
- The highest recorded value was 31.2% in 1982.
- What is the lowest domestic credit to private sector by banks recorded in Cameroon?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.5% in 1997.
- How does Cameroon rank for domestic credit to private sector by banks?
- Cameroon ranks 154th out of 187 countries with data for 2019.
- Is domestic credit to private sector by banks rising or falling in Cameroon?
- Over the last ten years it is up 46.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Cameroon data come from?
- The figures come from International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Domestic credit to private sector by banks (% of GDP). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 60 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Domestic credit to private sector by banks refers to financial resources provided to the private sector by other depository corporations (deposit taking corporations except central banks), such as through loans, purchases of nonequity securities, and trade credits and other accounts receivable, that establish a claim for repayment. For some countries these claims include credit to public enterprises. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period.