Introduction

The United Nations standard recommends that a General Population and Housing Census (GPHC) be conducted every 10 years. However, over a span of 49 years (1976–2025), Cameroon has only carried out three censuses: in 1976, 1987, and 2005. It is therefore urgent to understand the age and gender structure of Cameroon’s population, knowing that without relevant statistics, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to plan any long-term development process. This article aims to show how updated GPHC information can serve as a starting point to boost Cameroon’s development.

Development

The GPHC consists of all operations aimed at collecting, analyzing, compiling, publishing, and disseminating demographic and socio-economic data related to all inhabitants of a country at a given point in time. This operation allows the collection of a wide range of data on sex, age, family, housing, health, education, employment, training, migration, civil status, and more. It captures all socio-statistical elements necessary for planning development across all sectors. From managing natural resources to improving quality of life and preparing to face future challenges, mastering demography is at the heart of everything. However, it must be noted that, until now, this has been more of a wish than a reality in Cameroon, leading to several public development actions lagging behind. Nevertheless, considering population data proves cross-cutting and beneficial, particularly in:

Public policy formulation

GPHC data enables effective planning for the construction of public service infrastructure. This ensures optimal allocation of resources based on actual population numbers, the identity characteristics of each community, and natural assets. Roads, garbage bins, drains, training centers, street lighting, and lowland development are among them.

Technical and financial partnerships

Having updated and accurate data is an asset for securing international government funding when formulating development projects at disaggregated administrative levels.

Reducing poverty and inequalities

Data on the most vulnerable and marginalized groups, ethnolinguistic minorities, and people living with disabilities allow strategies to reduce poverty levels to be clearly defined.

Crisis prevention

Whether humanitarian (famine), natural, environmental, or even man-made, crises can be avoided if reliable data is available.

Conclusion

Failing to master demography hinders development on all fronts because humans must be at the center. Knowing the population size helps to better design and implement inclusive social policies and long-term programs. Cameroon would therefore benefit greatly by fully committing to carrying out its GPHC.