Cameroon’s public debt has passed 15,607 billion FCFA, signalling a decisive shift in how the country manages its finances. The figure, confirmed by the Autonomous Amortisation Fund, reflects a year of aggressive borrowing and marks a new phase in the national debt story.
At the end of June, the outstanding public debt stood at 15,607 billion FCFA, equivalent to 44.2% of gross domestic product. A year earlier, that stock was 14,409 billion FCFA. The jump is largely explained by fresh loan commitments taken on during the first half of the year.
Yet the total amount Cameroon borrowed in 2026 cannot be reduced to a single number, because the government authorised loans, signed credit agreements and raised funds on domestic markets at different points in the year.
In January, President Paul Biya gave the Ministry of Finance the green light to contract domestic and external borrowing up to a ceiling of 1,650 billion FCFA. The authorisation covered the issuance of Treasury securities worth 400 billion FCFA, direct loans from private national institutions worth 250 billion FCFA, and fundraising on international financial markets up to 1,000 billion FCFA. The funds were intended to finance development projects and clear payment arrears.
That 1,650 billion FCFA figure is a borrowing ceiling, not money already borrowed or disbursed. By the end of June, the government had raised 800.7 billion FCFA on the domestic financial market, according to data from the Autonomous Amortisation Fund.
The government also signed new project financing during the first half of the year. Data from the same institution shows that new debt commitments reached about 514 billion FCFA over the first six months of 2026.
One of the flagship operations was a 130.4 billion FCFA loan for the construction of the Ebolowa-Akom II-Kribi road. The agreement was signed in May, with the loan from Standard Chartered Bank backed by a guarantee from the British agency UK Export Finance. A separate commercial loan of 7.8 billion FCFA had already been arranged for the same project. Cameroon kept borrowing into the second half of the year.
On 2 October, the government approved a 347.5 million euro loan from the World Bank — roughly 228 billion FCFA — to finance the Douala-Bangui economic corridor. Another financing agreement, worth about 212.35 million euros (close to 139 billion FCFA), was also approved for the rehabilitation of the Douala-Bafoussam road. Together, these two deals represent an additional authorised project financing of about 367 billion FCFA.
The government’s borrowing plans go beyond individual projects. Cameroon’s 2026 budget provides for 3,104 billion FCFA in loans and other financing needs, out of a total budget of 8,816 billion FCFA. These needs cover the fiscal deficit, debt repayment and other obligations.
The country spent about 1,059 billion FCFA on debt service in the first half of 2026, according to figures from the International Monetary Fund and the Autonomous Amortisation Fund.
This debt pressure has drawn renewed attention from the International Monetary Fund. After a mission in September, the IMF said on 1 October that its debt sustainability analysis for Cameroon still pointed to a high overall risk of debt distress, while describing the debt as sustainable over the medium term. The Fund called for tighter fiscal policy, stronger domestic revenue mobilisation and greater use of concessional financing.
The IMF also warned that Cameroon faces significant liquidity strains, driven by high debt repayments and growing reliance on commercial borrowing. In its 2026 Article IV assessment, the Fund stressed that the government needed to borrow prudently, given tight liquidity and saturation of the regional domestic debt market.
For Cameroon, the central question is no longer simply how much the government is allowed to borrow. It is about how much is actually raised and disbursed, what projects are financed, what those loans cost, and how much the country will have to repay in total. With public debt already above 15,600 billion FCFA, that distinction matters more than ever, as the government continues to fund major infrastructure projects while servicing the commitments built up over previous years.
