conférence de presse de lancement des cahiers économiques du Cameroun

With this Cameroon Economic Update, the World Bank is pursuing a program of short, crisp and frequent country economic reports. These Economic Updates provide an analysis of the trends and constraints in Cameroon’s economic development. Each issue, produced bi-annually, provides an update of recent economic developments as well as a special focus on a topical issue.

The Economic Updates aim to share knowledge and stimulate debate among those interested in improving the economic management of Cameroon and unleashing its enormous potential. The notes thereby offer another voice on economic issues in Cameroon, and an additional platform for engagement, learning and change.

This third issue of the Cameroon Economic Update is titled “Unlocking the Labor Force – An Economic Update of Cameroon, with a special focus on employment”. This title reflects the country’s difficulties in unlocking the huge potential embodied in its population. As in many African countries, Cameroon’s labor market is characterized by a large share of the labor force occupied in the informal sector with few formal jobs. Unemployment is low, because most Cameroonians cannot afford not to be working. Most of these jobs, however, have extremely low productivity and generate very little money. The challenge is thus to enhance the productivity – hence the earnings – of those already employed, while at the same time creating more formal jobs. In this regard, education may be at fault with many children leaving school without mastering basic skills such as literacy and numeracy. An unfavorable investment climate, particularly inappropriate infrastructure, is also holding the country back. Against this backdrop, a cross-sectoral strategy dealing with both the supply and demand constraints would be needed to make Cameroon’s economic growth faster and more inclusive. 

The Cameroon Economic Updates are produced by the World Bank Country Office in Cameroon by a Team led by Raju Jan Singh. The Team included Abel Bove, Gilberto de Barros, Fadila Caillaud, Bjorn Dahlin van Wees, Sebastien Dessus, Patrick Eozenou, Louise Fox, Faustin Ange Koyassé, Sara Giannozzi, Norma Gomez, Mombert Hoppe, Maureen Lewis, Victoria Monchuk, Paul Moreno, Amadou Nchare, Sylvie Ndze, Hannah Nielsen, Carlo Del Ninno, Peter Osei, Vincent Perrot, Gael Raballand, Jacob Robyn, Manievel Sene, and Gaston Sorgho. Greg Binkert (Country Director for Cameroon), Eric Bell (Acting Sector Manager), and Cia Sjetnan (Senior Country Officer) provided guidance and advice, and have been an invaluable source of encouragement.

The Team also benefited greatly from consultations with Cameroon’s key policy makers and analysts, who provided important insights, in particular the following institutions: the BEAC, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Economy and Planning, and the National Institute of Statistics. Particular thanks go to the Director General Joseph Tedou for his support on the employment chapter. The Team is also grateful to the Cameroon country team at the International