Cameroon Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute recently announced that the counting of people, houses, and livestock in the country will begin on April 24.
However, many have raised doubts about the actual data that can be obtained, and as well as the timing. This is because the country is currently plagued by an armed conflict in its North West and South West regions, as well as the Boko Haram insurgency in the Far North region.
These security challenges have forced many people out of their homes and regions. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, as of June 2025, nearly one million people have been displaced internally and externally as a result of the ongoing separatist war in the Northwest and Southwest.
While 700,000 people are displaced within Cameroon, over 87,754 are refugees in Nigeria, including asylum seekers.
Experts have argued that conducting a census at this time will not truly reflect the number of people in Cameroon, which the United Nations Population Fund estimates at 29 million.
Why does it matter?
According to the Prime Minister, the census will help the government make informed choices on how to better manage the country’s resources and avoid waste. That means, through the census, the government will know where to build schools, hospitals, roads, and electricity, among other basic amenities.
Aside from that, when it comes to funding, political representation, and the creation of municipalities, the census is what determines it.
The challenge likely to be encountered
The last time Cameroon conducted a population census was in 2005, the results of which were published in 2008, indicating the country’s population at 22 million. At that time, there was no armed conflict in any region.
But today, the populations of the Northwest and Southwest have relocated to other regions and safer zones within the country. Aside from that, the hinterlands—Bui, Ngoketunjia, Lebialem, and Manyu—in these regions are still heavily suffering from separatists who believe they are operating in a breakaway nation called Ambazonia.
So, by conducting the count, not only will the people of these regions not be truly represented, but also the people doing the counting are likely to face security issues accessing some of those areas. Coupled with that is the state of the roads. Some places are totally disconnected owing to bad roads, and there is a high chance that the May 29 deadline might pass before the counting is finished.
So, if the government continues with the plan, the people of the two regions will be further affected because when the war is over, they will lack infrastructure, funding, and accurate political representation, since the census did not provide accurate data for the allocation of resources.
