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2021
Economic Complexity
Trade -1.36Rank 121 of 131
2021
Economic Complexity
Research -0.65Rank 101 of 140
2021
Product
Exports | Imports $4.92B | $7.96B121 of 226 |  117 of 226
2021
Per Capita Product
Exports | Imports $181 | $293127 of 220 |  196 of 220

About

Overview In 2021, Cameroon was the number 89 economy in the world in terms of GDP (current US$), the number 121 in total exports, the number 117 in total imports, the number 170 economy in terms of GDP per capita (current US$) and the number 121 most complex economy according to the Economic Complexity Index (ECI) .

Exports The top exports of Cameroon are Crude Petroleum ($1.87B), Petroleum Gas ($795M), Cocoa Beans ($563M), Sawn Wood ($437M), and Gold ($312M), exporting mostly to China ($1.43B), Netherlands ($668M), India ($421M), Italy ($350M), and United Arab Emirates ($278M).

Imports The top imports of Cameroon are Special Purpose Ships ($495M), Refined Petroleum ($382M), Other Furniture ($333M), Rice ($327M), and Wheat ($256M), importing mostly from China ($2.71B), France ($621M), Nigeria ($551M), India ($391M), and Russia ($308M).

Location Cameroon borders Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and Nigeria by land.

Latest Trends

Latest Trade

Flow
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Y-AXIS SCALE

The following section uses the most recent trade data from partners of Cameroon.

Disclaimer: data is presented based on availability and only countries that use the harmonized system are being shown.

*All data is converted to USD using January 2020 exchange rates when data is reported in local currency.

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Latest Data

Flow
Color
Depth

The data obtained is mirror data. The trade of countries that do not report current data can be reconstructed based on data reported by partner countries with current data available.

*All data is converted to USD using January 2020 exchange rates when data is reported in local currency.

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Historical Data

Yearly Trade

Flow
Color
Depth
Top Export (2021)Crude Petroleum$1.87B
Top Destination (2021)China$1.43B

In 2021, Cameroon exported a total of $4.92B, making it the number 121 exporter in the world. During the last five reported years the exports of Cameroon have changed by $1.09B from $3.84B in 2016 to $4.92B in 2021.

The most recent exports are led by Crude Petroleum ($1.87B), Petroleum Gas ($795M), Cocoa Beans ($563M), Sawn Wood ($437M), and Gold ($312M). The most common destination for the exports of Cameroon are China ($1.43B), Netherlands ($668M), India ($421M), Italy ($350M), and United Arab Emirates ($278M).

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Exports (2021)
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Destinations (2021)
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Market Growth

Flow
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Fastest Growing Export Markets (2020 - 2021)
China$754M (+ 112%)
Chinese Taipei$126M (+ 1.87k%)
United Arab Emirates$114M (+ 69.8%)
Fastest Growing Import Markets (2020 - 2021)
China$692M (+ 34.2%)
Lebanon$274M (+ 3.17k%)
Russia$186M (+ 151%)

Total Export Growth by Market (2020 - 2021)

Service Trade

Service Trade

Cameroon Exports Services (2018)$2.12B
Cameroon Imports Services (2018)$2.7B

In 2018, Cameroon exported $2.12B worth of services. The top services exported by Cameroon in 2018 were Transportation ($666M), Personal travel ($348M), Other business services ($310M), Business travel ($233M), and Computer and information services ($144M).

The top services imported by Cameroon in 2018 were Transportation ($989M), Other business services ($566M), Personal travel ($375M), Business travel ($312M), and Insurance services ($142M).

Service Exports (2018)

Service Imports (2018)

Economic Complexity

Overview

Economic Complexity (Trade)-1.36Rank 121 of 131
Economic Complexity (Research)-0.65Rank 101 of 140

Most Specialized Products by RCA Index

Cameroon has a high level of specialization in Cocoa Beans (251), Cocoa Paste (83.7), Cocoa Butter (74.9), Rough Wood (45.7), and Veneer Sheets (40.3). Specialization is measured using RCA, an index that takes the ratio between Cameroon observed and expected exports in each product.

Most Complex Products by PCI

The highest complexity exports of Cameroon according to the product complexity index (PCI) are Soups and broths and preparations therefor; homogenised composite food preparations (-0.52), Hypochlorites; commercial calcium hypochlorite; chlorites; hypobromites (-0.56), Sheets for veneering (including those obtained by slicing laminated wood), for plywood... (-0.61), Cocoa; paste; whether or not defatted (-0.66), and Vegetables (uncooked or cooked by steaming or boiling in water); frozen (-0.8). PCI measures the knowledge intensity of a product by considering the knowledge intensity of its exporters.

Export Opportunities by Relatedness

The top export opportunities for Cameroon according to the relatedness index, were Manganese Ore (0.079), Tin Ores (0.078), Coconuts, Brazil Nuts, and Cashews (0.072), Palm Oil (0.069), and Niobium, Tantalum, Vanadium and Zirconium Ore (0.066). Relatedness measures the distance between a country's current exports and each product. The barchart show only products that Cameroon is not specialized in.

Product Space

The product space is a network connecting products that are likely to be co-exported. The product space can be used to predict future exports, since countries are more likely to start exporting products that are related to current exports. Relatedness measures the distance between a product, and all of the products a country currently specializes in.

Relatedness Space

This network shows the products most related to the production structure of Cameroon. These are products that tend to be co-exported with the products that Cameroon exports. Higher relatedness values ​​indicate greater knowledge, which predicts a greater probability of exporting that product in the future.

Diversification Frontier

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Depth

The Complexity-Relatedness diagram compares the risk vs strategic value of a country's potential export oppotunities. Relatedness is predictive of the probability that a country increases its exports in a product. Complexity, is associated with higher levels of income, economic growth, less income inequality, and lower greenhouse emissions.

Economic Complexity Ranking

Scale

During the last 20 years Cameroon's⁩ ⁨economy has become relatively less complex, moving from the ⁩⁨99th to the 121st⁩ position in the ECI rank.

These economic complexity rankings use 6 digit exports classified according to the HS96 classification. We consider only countries with population of at least 1 million and exports of at least $1 billion, and products with world trade over $500 million. To explore different rankings and vary these parameters visit the custom rankings section.

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ECI Ranking by Country

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