Cameroon: 2026 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Cameroon

IMF Staff Country Reports, April 3, 2026

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Canonical URL: Cameroon: 2026 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Cameroon

Cameroon is described as the Central African Economic and Monetary Community’s (CEMAC) largest economy and a Fragile and Conflict Affected State (FCS).
The country has established generally sound fiscal policies but faces structural and policy challenges that hamper economic growth.
Infrastructure gaps and a shallow financial sector are identified as the main bottlenecks to growth.
A large state-owned enterprise sector with weak governance, and regulatory obstacles, aggravate these constraints.
The 2026 budget aims at reversing some of the election-related fiscal slippages in 2025.

Main bottlenecks to growth:
- Infrastructure gaps.
- A shallow financial sector.
- A large state-owned enterprise sector with weak governance.
- Regulatory obstacles.
Fiscal and financing constraints:
- Efforts to raise capital spending for infrastructure face constraints from tight liquidity conditions and the high risk of debt distress.
Public investment management (PIM) weaknesses:
- PIM suffers from slow and inefficient project planning and implementation, limiting the ability to upscale public investment.

The 2026 Article IV discussions focused on finding the right balance between preserving sustainable fiscal policy while unlocking growth and employment.
Discussions took place in a fragile environment, heightened by the unrest after the 2025 presidential elections.
Priority themes included:
- Preserving sustainable fiscal policy.
- Unlocking growth and employment.
- Managing fiscal risks associated with infrastructure scaling and debt distress.

1. Real Sector Developments, 2019– 25
- 1. Real Sector Developments, 2019– 25 (Markdown version)
- 1. Real Sector Developments, 2019– 25 (PDF)