Human Rights Index in Cameroon
Cameroon: Human Rights Index was 0.509 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Human Rights Index in Cameroon, 1961–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Cameroon recorded 0.509 for human rights index in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 4.9% on the previous year and down 21.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, human rights index in Cameroon peaked at 0.693 in 2001 and was at its lowest, 0.217, in 1971.
That places Cameroon 122nd out of 176 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 65 years of available data.
Human Rights Index in Cameroon, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 0.228 | — |
| 1962 | 0.228 | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 0.228 | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 0.228 | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 0.228 | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 0.221 | -3.1% |
| 1967 | 0.221 | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 0.221 | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 0.221 | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 0.221 | +0.0% |
| 1971 | 0.217 | -1.8% |
| 1972 | 0.234 | +7.8% |
| 1973 | 0.236 | +0.9% |
| 1974 | 0.236 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 0.238 | +0.8% |
| 1976 | 0.238 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 0.237 | -0.4% |
| 1978 | 0.237 | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 0.237 | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 0.299 | +26.2% |
| 1981 | 0.299 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 0.383 | +28.1% |
| 1983 | 0.443 | +15.7% |
| 1984 | 0.458 | +3.4% |
| 1985 | 0.458 | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 0.458 | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 0.458 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 0.458 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 0.458 | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 0.543 | +18.6% |
| 1991 | 0.588 | +8.3% |
| 1992 | 0.628 | +6.8% |
| 1993 | 0.671 | +6.8% |
| 1994 | 0.668 | -0.4% |
| 1995 | 0.671 | +0.4% |
| 1996 | 0.671 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 0.651 | -3.0% |
| 1998 | 0.673 | +3.4% |
| 1999 | 0.673 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 0.688 | +2.2% |
| 2001 | 0.693 | +0.7% |
| 2002 | 0.669 | -3.5% |
| 2003 | 0.669 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 0.67 | +0.1% |
| 2005 | 0.692 | +3.3% |
| 2006 | 0.692 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 0.691 | -0.1% |
| 2008 | 0.679 | -1.7% |
| 2009 | 0.69 | +1.6% |
| 2010 | 0.679 | -1.6% |
| 2011 | 0.679 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 0.673 | -0.9% |
| 2013 | 0.652 | -3.1% |
| 2014 | 0.654 | +0.3% |
| 2015 | 0.65 | -0.6% |
| 2016 | 0.586 | -9.8% |
| 2017 | 0.539 | -8.0% |
| 2018 | 0.533 | -1.1% |
| 2019 | 0.553 | +3.8% |
| 2020 | 0.554 | +0.2% |
| 2021 | 0.568 | +2.5% |
| 2022 | 0.57 | +0.4% |
| 2023 | 0.542 | -4.9% |
| 2024 | 0.535 | -1.3% |
| 2025 | 0.509 | -4.9% |
Cameroon compared with similar countries
- Cameroon's 0.509 is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.6365, 80% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Cameroon's 0.509 is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.6165, 83% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Human Rights Index 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | +28.1% | 0.299 | 0.383 |
| 1980 | +26.2% | 0.237 | 0.299 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0.2249 | 0.221 | 0.228 | 9 |
| 1970s | 0.2331 | 0.217 | 0.238 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.4172 | 0.299 | 0.458 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.6437 | 0.543 | 0.673 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.6833 | 0.669 | 0.693 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.6198 | 0.533 | 0.679 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.5463 | 0.509 | 0.57 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Cameroon
- 119 Kazakhstan 0.513 compare
- 119 Mauritania 0.513 compare
- 121 El Salvador 0.511 compare
- 123 Kuwait 0.488 compare
- 124 Mozambique 0.483 compare
- 125 Kyrgyzstan 0.478 compare
- 125 Thailand 0.478 compare
More social development data for Cameroon
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 408,613 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 140,366 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 6 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 0 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 6 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0047 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 140,366 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0137 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is human rights index in Cameroon?
- Human rights index in Cameroon was 0.509 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest human rights index recorded in Cameroon?
- The highest recorded value was 0.693 in 2001.
- What is the lowest human rights index recorded in Cameroon?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.217 in 1971.
- How does Cameroon rank for human rights index?
- Cameroon ranks 122nd out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is human rights index rising or falling in Cameroon?
- Over the last ten years it is down 21.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Cameroon data come from?
- The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Human Rights Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 65 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Central estimate of the extent to which people are free from government torture, political killings, and forced labor, they have property rights, and enjoy the freedoms of movement, religion, expression, and association.