Poverty gap index at $3 a day in Cameroon
Cameroon: Poverty gap index at $3 a day was 8.2% in 2021. ▼ Falling
Poverty gap index at $3 a day in Cameroon, 1996–2021
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Cameroon recorded 8.2% for poverty gap index at $3 a day in 2021. That is the lowest value across all 5 years on record.
That represents a change of down 18.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, poverty gap index at $3 a day in Cameroon peaked at 19.9% in 1996 and was at its lowest, 8.2%, in 2021.
That places Cameroon 18th out of 120 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the top quarter.
Poverty gap index at $3 a day in Cameroon, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 19.9% | — |
| 2001 | 8.7% | -56.4% |
| 2007 | 11.4% | +31.0% |
| 2014 | 10.0% | -12.6% |
| 2021 | 8.2% | -18.1% |
Cameroon compared with similar countries
- Cameroon's 8.2% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 2.5%, 3.3× the median. (29 countries reporting)
- Cameroon's 8.2% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 11.1%, 73% of the median. (26 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 19.9% | 19.9% | 19.9% | 1 |
| 2000s | 10.0% | 8.7% | 11.4% | 2 |
| 2010s | 10.0% | 10.0% | 10.0% | 1 |
| 2020s | 8.2% | 8.2% | 8.2% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Cameroon
More poverty & inequality data for Cameroon
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 1 surveys (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per person (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Fertility rate vs. share living in extreme poverty 4.32 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 1,770 kg per hectare (2024)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 13.04 (2019)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 13.0% (2019)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2019)
Frequently asked questions
- What is poverty gap index at $3 a day in Cameroon?
- Poverty gap index at $3 a day in Cameroon was 8.2% in 2021, according to World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest poverty gap index at $3 a day recorded in Cameroon?
- The highest recorded value was 19.9% in 1996.
- What is the lowest poverty gap index at $3 a day recorded in Cameroon?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.2% in 2021.
- How does Cameroon rank for poverty gap index at $3 a day?
- Cameroon ranks 18th out of 120 countries with data for 2021.
- Is poverty gap index at $3 a day rising or falling in Cameroon?
- Over the last ten years it is down 18.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Cameroon data come from?
- The figures come from World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Poverty gap index at $3 a day. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 5 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The poverty gap index is a poverty measure that reflects both the prevalence and the depth of poverty. It is calculated as the share of population in poverty multiplied by the average shortfall from the poverty line (expressed as a % of the poverty line).