Douala vs Yaoundé
Yaoundé leads Douala by 8 points on the CIRA Index, 57 to 49. Douala grades better on 2 measures, Yaoundé on 5; the same 35 measures from public sources for both.
Scores by each organisation's criteria
- CIRA Index: Douala 49, Yaoundé 57
- OECD: Douala 44, Yaoundé 55
- UN Tourism: Douala 50, Yaoundé 64
- UNDRR: Douala 35, Yaoundé 47
Theme by theme
- Demand and seasonality: Douala 50, Yaoundé 56
- Economy and jobs: Douala 42, Yaoundé 50
- Climate and hazards: Douala 30, Yaoundé 45
- Water and environment: Douala 50, Yaoundé 75
- Community and housing: Douala 75, Yaoundé 88
- Access and continuity: Douala 42, Yaoundé 38
Where Douala is stronger
- Average length of stay: 2.4 nights per visitor (region figure) (Ministère du Tourisme et des Loisirs (MINTOUL) / Institut National de la Statistique (INS) - Annuaire des statistiques du tourisme et des loisirs, 2016). Between 2.2 and 2.8: grade 2/4.
- Early warning and emergency plan: An updated city plan with public early warning for heat, flood or fire (Cameroon-Tribune, December 2025). Grade 3/4.
Where Yaoundé is stronger
- Unemployment rate: 11.7 % of the labour force (Institut National de la Statistique du Cameroun (INS), Troisième Recensement Général des Entreprises (RGE3) / EESI3, 2021). Between 8 and 12: grade 2/4.
- Flood hazard: low (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 3/4.
- Wildfire and storm hazard: medium (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 2/4.
- Wastewater safely treated: 52.4 % of domestic wastewater safely treated (country figure) (WHO / UNICEF JMP & UN-Water, SDG 6 Country Profiles (SDG 6.3.1), 2024). Between 50 and 70: grade 1/4.
- Access redundancy: 3 independent ways in: international airport, intercity rail, port, motorway (Ministère des Transports / Camrail / Cameroon Civil Aviation Authority, 2024). Between 3 and 4: grade 3/4.
Country context (World Economic Forum)
- Cameroon: #108 of 110 in the WEF Travel & Tourism Development Index 2026
- Cameroon: #108 of 110 in the WEF Travel & Tourism Development Index 2026
Douala in full · Yaoundé in full
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