Cost of Living inYaounde, Cameroon
Image credit: Gtankam
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
International and private school tuition + curriculum mix for relocating families.
International & private schools
Childcare & Domestic Help
Nanny, housekeeper, and driver pricing is not yet sourced for Yaounde. 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.Yaounde 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
LimitedA visible public hospital footprint help, but public coverage looks thinner and public funding looks lighter.
Private care
GoodA large 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 Yaounde, 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 Yaounde compared with the US?
Your money goes about 2.8x further in Yaounde 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 Yaounde cheaper or more expensive overall than New York City?
Yaounde is cheaper overall than New York City — overall living costs are about 59% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City) for Yaounde. 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 Yaounde compare with New York City?
Rent in Yaounde 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 Yaounde?
Groceries in Yaounde 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 Yaounde
Yaounde is the capital of Cameroon, a highland inland city of about 1.3 million sitting on rolling hills at roughly 750 meters in the country's south-center, the political and administrative counterpart to coastal Douala's commercial role. As the seat of government, it concentrates ministries, embassies, multilateral organizations, and a substantial student and academic population around Yaounde I and II universities. Relocators should weigh a tropical climate moderated by elevation that gives Yaounde milder, less humid weather than Douala, with two rainy seasons typical of equatorial central Africa, French-dominant daily life with English used in some business and government contexts, and infrastructure (roads, power, water) that is improving but inconsistent. The international airport offers regional and European connections; the foreign community is concentrated in diplomacy, NGOs, and aid.
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