Are official statistics in Cameroon a colonial legacy?

Econometric interpretations of the effects of modern colonial domination based on colonial statistics, and research questioning the interactions between colonial empires, colonized populations and international institutions, are sparking renewed interest in imperial statistical production. However, little is known about it.

Discover the second session of "Encrypting and deciphering empires, XVIII-XXIth centuries” seminar: "FIDES figures and the development of Cameroon's economy and society" with Eric Marcel ONANA, holds a PhD in Economic and Social History from the University of Yaoundé I (Cameroon). He is an independent researcher with a particular interest in statistical issues in history. He is also a member of the International Research Network (IRN) “Counting and classifying in French-speaking Africa from the origins to the 20th century: Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Madagascar and Senegal, genesis of a continental network (COUNT)  of the Groupe de recherche Bloch-Febvre d'histoire économique et sociale. His latest publication is on “la mesure de l'indice des prix à la consommation au Cameroun sous administration française (1938-1960)”.

Official statistics in Cameroon are an extension of the dual mandate and tutelage of two statistical systems introduced by two state and political entities (France - Great Britain), designated by the League of Nations (1919), then by the UN (1947) to lead this territory towards independence (East Cameroon in 1960 and West Cameroon in 1961). In a newly-created state, two statistical systems that have not yet been fully established should not be subject to immediate upheaval. Cameroon began with continuity (1960-1967), then opted for a system of non-alignment with international standards, leading to a position of statistical non-alignment, paradoxically endowed with a strong political bent, which helped to make a classic statistical organization more useful (1968-1990), but which also contributed to the renewal of public service, the resolution of crises and the modernization of the State (1990-2000) through foreign collective and individual experiences.