Cameroon: Where Does State Money Go?

Cameroon’s state budget more than doubled in ten years, rising from 3,746.6 billion CFA francs in 2015 to 8,816.4 billion in 2026. An examination of budget settlement laws and assessments by the IMF and World Bank indicates that public debt, institutional operating costs and misappropriation have shaped spending decisions at the expense of productive investment and social spending. In 2024, debt service accounted for 24% of state expenditures ordered, with more than 1,600 billion CFA francs executed.