Cameroon’s public debt has climbed past 15,600 billion FCFA, and the reaction has been swift — from the International Monetary Fund’s warning chair to households wondering what it all means. With the government still signing new loan agreements and the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio at 44.2%, the question now is not just how much has been borrowed, but what comes next.
At the end of June, the national debt stock stood at 15,607 billion FCFA according to the Autonomous Sinking Fund (Caisse Autonome d’Amortissement, CAA), up sharply from 14,409 billion FCFA a year earlier. That jump reflects fresh borrowing commitments taken on during the first half of the year as the government pushed to fund infrastructure, cover budget financing needs, and service existing obligations.
But the full picture of Cameroon’s 2026 borrowing cannot be captured in a single figure. Throughout the year, the government authorized loans, signed credit agreements, and raised money on domestic markets at different points, making the total a moving target.
Back in January, President Paul Biya gave the Ministry of Finance the green light to take on domestic and external borrowing of up to 1,650 billion FCFA. That authorization included 400 billion FCFA in Treasury bills, 250 billion FCFA in direct loans from private domestic institutions, and 1,000 billion FCFA to be raised on international financial markets. The funds were earmarked for development projects and clearing payment arrears.
Importantly, 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 CAA data.
New project financing also flowed in during the first half of the year. CAA figures show new debt commitments reached roughly 514 billion FCFA over the first six months of 2026.
Among the headline deals was a 130.4 billion FCFA loan for the Ebolowa-Akom II-Kribi road. Signed in May, the Standard Chartered Bank facility is backed by 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 October 2, the government approved a 347.5 million euro World Bank loan — about 228 billion FCFA — to fund the Douala-Bangui economic corridor. Another financing agreement worth roughly 212.35 million euros, or close to 139 billion FCFA, was also approved for the rehabilitation of the Douala-Bafoussam road.
Together, these two deals alone represent about 367 billion FCFA in additional authorized project financing.
The government’s borrowing plans go beyond individual projects. Cameroon’s 2026 budget earmarks 3,104 billion FCFA for loans and other financing needs within a total budget of 8,816 billion FCFA. Those needs cover the budget deficit, debt repayment, and other obligations.
The country spent around 1,059 billion FCFA on debt service in the first half of 2026, according to figures from the IMF and the CAA.
That pressure has drawn renewed attention from the International Monetary Fund. After a September mission, the IMF said on October 1 that its debt sustainability analysis still flagged a high overall risk of debt distress for Cameroon, even as it described the debt as sustainable over the medium term. The Fund called for stricter fiscal policy, stronger domestic revenue mobilization, and greater reliance on concessional financing.
The IMF also warned that Cameroon faces significant liquidity strains, driven by large debt repayments and growing dependence on commercial borrowing. In its 2026 Article IV assessment, the Fund stressed that the government needs to borrow prudently given tight liquidity and the saturated regional domestic debt market.
So for Cameroon, the central question is no longer simply how much the government is allowed to borrow. It is how much has actually been raised and disbursed, what the projects are, what the loans cost, and how much the country will ultimately have to repay. With public debt already past 15,600 billion FCFA, that distinction matters more than ever as the government keeps funding major infrastructure while servicing the commitments of previous years.