According to the government of Cameroon, the population of Cameroon is now officially 19.4 million (19,406,100) as of January 1, 2010. This figure is a projection derived from the Population & Housing Census of November 2005, and based on an estimated national population growth rate of 2.6% since then.
Given the important role that census figures play in national life, from the allocation of state finances to the of distribution social and other services such as hospitals, schools, roads, including the allocation of parliamentary seats, etc., it is no surprise that these results are already mired in controversy with some either questioning the accuracy of the projections for the last five years, or simply accusing the government of having manipulated the results with an eye on future elections...
Critics point out, for example, that the "opposition" NW province, which had a population of 1.7 million in 2005, is now projected to have increased by a mere 75,000 to about 1.8 million inhabitants, while the "pro-regime" North province with a population of 1.6 million in 2005 now has 2 million inhabitants - a startling increase of about 362,000 inhabitants - even more than that of the Littoral province, Cameroon's economic nerve center...). Government officials have refuted these claims, pointing out that the projections were done by statisticians whose work has been validated by the Resident Representative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
1. Regional breakdown of national population according to 2005 census results and 2010 projections