Cost of Living inDouala, Cameroon
Image credit: MarcJP46
Purchasing Power vs. United States
Based on GDP per capita (PPP). Cameroon: $4,917/capita.
How Far Your Money Goes
Prices are 59% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).
Using the country-level NYC comparison for now. We do not have a defensible city-level aggregate cost index for this city yet.
Income Category
Happiness
4.9 / 10
#103 globally
GDP per Capita
City Population
Child Education
Public-schooling rules and international-school pricing are not sourced for Cameroon yet. Quality, expat-access, instruction language, and tuition will appear here once verified.
Childcare & Domestic Help
Nanny, housekeeper, and driver pricing is not yet sourced for Douala. We publish this section only when we can tie it to local job-board, agency, or country fallback evidence.
Getting Around
Neighborhood mobility profiles are rolling out city by city.Douala is still missing a verified walkability, transit, airport, and rideshare profile.
Healthcare
System strength, outcome signals, facility coverage, and self-pay visibility in Cameroon.
Method: country metrics come from public system indicators, facility coverage reflects mapped providers we can inventory, direct pricing only reflects observed self-pay pages, and relative care cost can fall back to broad cost-of-living healthcare indices. Sparse pricing does not imply sparse healthcare availability.
Healthcare system
LimitedCoverage looks thinner, doctor staffing is lighter, and households still pay a large share themselves weigh on this rating.
Public care
LimitedPublic coverage looks thinner, public funding looks lighter, and patients still shoulder a meaningful share of costs weigh on this rating.
Private care
MixedA meaningful tracked hospital and clinic network and a clearly private facility base help, but self-pay pricing transparency is still sparse.
UHC coverage
48/100
2023
Physicians
0.14/1k
2022
Hospital beds
2.65/1k
2016
Out of pocket
68%
2023
Outcome signals
Life expectancy
64.0 yrs
2024
Maternal mortality
258/100k
2023
Neonatal mortality
24.8/1k
2024
International patient readiness
MixedA visible private hospital base and there is visible specialty depth help, but price transparency is still sparse and headline outcomes are less reassuring.
Pricing transparency
LimitedPublished self-pay prices are scarce weigh on this rating.
Facility coverage
Self-pay pricing visibility
No verified self-pay prices are published for the tracked facilities in Cameroon yet.
This usually reflects low online price transparency rather than a lack of healthcare providers.
Notable facilities
System metrics: World Bank WDI · Updated 2026-06-01
Safety & Governance
Street Safety
Source: Numbeo where a city row is matched; otherwise World Bank WGI and country-level safety context.
Political Stability
World Bank WGI scale: -2.5 to +2.5.
Wages by Sector
| Sector | Median |
|---|---|
| Administrative & Support Services | — |
| Agriculture & Farming | — |
| Arts, Entertainment & Recreation | — |
| Construction | — |
| Education | — |
| Finance & Insurance | — |
| Healthcare & Social Work | — |
| Hospitality & Food Service | — |
| Information & Technology | — |
| Manufacturing | — |
| Mining & Quarrying | — |
| Other Services | — |
| Professional & Scientific Services | — |
| Public Administration & Defence | — |
| Retail & Wholesale Trade | — |
| Transport & Logistics | — |
| Utilities | — |
2014 annual wages in Douala, Cameroon · Source: ILO ILOSTAT (national)
Price Comparison vs. US
Visa Information (US passport)
Short-stay entry
US passport holders need advance travel authorization or a visa before entry.
Quick comparison FAQ
Structured from the deltas already shown on this page — no invented facts, no extra data sources.
How far does your money go in Douala compared with the US?
Your money goes about 2.8x further in Douala than in the US, based on the current PPP estimate. We are using the country-level cost index for Cameroon here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
Is Douala cheaper or more expensive overall than New York City?
Douala is cheaper overall than New York City — overall living costs are about 59% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City) for Douala. We are using the country-level cost index for Cameroon here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
How does rent in Douala compare with New York City?
Rent in Douala is about 81% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City). We are using the country-level cost index for Cameroon here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
How expensive are groceries and restaurants in Douala?
Groceries in Douala are about 62% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City), and restaurant prices are about 55% cheaper than the same benchmark. We are using the country-level cost index for Cameroon here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
About Douala
Douala is the largest city in Cameroon and the country's economic capital, a coastal Atlantic port of about 1.34 million on the Wouri River estuary that handles most of the country's import-export traffic and also serves landlocked Chad and the Central African Republic. The economy concentrates on port logistics, oil-services, manufacturing, agro-processing, and the headquarters of most large Cameroonian and regional firms. Relocators should weigh an equatorial climate with high humidity year-round and one of the wettest rainy seasons on the continent (roughly March to October), French-dominant daily life with English used in some business contexts, and infrastructure (roads, drainage, power) that lags the country's official capital Yaounde. The international airport offers connections to Europe and African hubs; the formal expat community is concentrated in oil, logistics, and diplomacy.
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