The headline figure is straightforward enough: growth in the region of four per cent, broadly in line with the previous year and slightly ahead of the CEMAC average. Read on its own it suggests an economy holding steady. Read against the composition of that growth, it suggests something more uneven.
The expansion is concentrated in extractives and construction, both of which are sensitive to a small number of large projects and to commodity prices set well outside the country. Manufacturing's share has barely moved in a decade, which is the number that determines whether growth turns into employment.
What the aggregate hides
National accounts in the region rest on survey infrastructure that is thin, and the informal sector — by most estimates the larger share of employment — is estimated rather than measured. Treat a decimal point in a Cameroonian GDP figure as a range, not a value.
Inflation and the household
Food price inflation has run persistently above the headline rate, which means the average household experienced a materially worse year than the aggregate implies. For anyone modelling consumer demand, the food basket is the more useful series.
What to watch
Non-oil revenue as a share of the budget, and the pace at which the government clears arrears to domestic suppliers. Both tell you more about the operating environment for an actual business than the growth rate does.