The highest prevalence is found in the far north, at 5.4%
Data suggests FGM is most likely to be performed between the ages of five and nine
‘Cut, flesh removed’ is the most common type of FGM practised
89% of girls/women are cut by traditional midwives/birth attendants
24,436,311 (as at 11 May 2017), with a 2.58% growth rate (2016 est.)
57 deaths per 1,000 live births (2015)
596 deaths per 100,000 live births (2015)
75% of the total population aged 15 and over can read/write
The region and the ethnic group with the highest prevalence are Extrême-Nord, at 5.4%, and the Arabe-Choa/Peulh/Maoussa/Kanuri, at 12.7%, although the low numbers of women in the survey who have undergone FGM make figures further broken down by region and ethnic group somewhat unreliable. FGM is more prevalent among women who practice Islam (5.8%) than among women of other religions, and among women who live in rural areas (2.1%) than among those who live in urban areas (0.9%). The prevalence in the capital city of Yaoundé is also 0.9%.
70.4% of men and more than half of women who have heard of FGM see no benefit in it. The higher the level of education a person has received, the more likely they are to hold the opinion that FGM has no benefits. 84.1% of women and 84.6% of men who have heard of FGM believe it should be discontinued, but 8.1% of women and 3.9% of men think it is required by their religion.
To date, there is not enough data available on FGM in Cameroon to determine any reliable trends.