---
title: "Living in Yaoundé as a digital nomad: cost, safety, visa, internet"
url: https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/yaounde
description: "Cameroon's green, hilly capital, calmer and more administrative than Douala"
dataset: 2026.11.2 (2026-11-09)
license: CC BY 4.0
---

# Yaoundé, Cameroon

Yaoundé scores 28.1/100 for digital nomads under balanced weights, ranking 1495 of 1501 cities. There is no open cost-of-living figure yet; expect no dedicated nomad visa, and a measured median download speed of 3.7 Mbps.

Yaoundé is Cameroon's political capital, spread over green hills at about 750 metres, so it is cooler and calmer than the port city of Douala, with ministries, embassies and the country's main universities. Traffic and power cuts are routine and card payments are rare, and foreign governments advise against travel to the Far North and the anglophone Northwest and Southwest regions.

Known for: Seven hills and Mont Fébé, Ministries, embassies and universities, Mefou primate sanctuary nearby, French and English both official.

## Scores (balanced weights, 0–100)

| Factor | Score |
| --- | --- |
| Overall | 28.1 |
| Cost of living | — |
| Safety | 31 |
| Healthcare | 42 |
| Internet | 25 |
| Visa ease | 32 |
| Getting there & around | 12 |
| Climate | 25 |
| Air quality | 33 |
| Quality of life | 24 |

## The numbers behind the scores

| Metric | Value | Level | As of | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly cost, one person | — | country | 2026-09 | [^2] |
| Central 1-bedroom rent | — | city | 2026-09 | [^3] |
| Outskirts 1-bedroom rent (basis of the monthly total) | — | city | 2026-09 | [^3] |
| Homicide rate (per 100k) | 6.76 | country | 2022 | [^4] |
| Political stability (0–100) | 36 | country | 2025 | [^5] |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | 48 | country | 2023 | [^6] |
| Life expectancy (years) | 64.6 | country | 2023 | [^7] |
| Median download (Mbps) | 3.7 | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Median upload (Mbps) | 1.2 | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Starlink residential service | Coming soon (Starting in 2026) | country | 2026-10 | [^9] |
| Nomad visa | none listed | country | 2026-07 | [^10] |
| Entry for US / EU / UK passports | e-visa required / e-visa required / e-visa required | country | 2026-02 | [^11] |
| Non-stop destinations (NSI) | 17 | city | 2026-11 | [^12] |
| Restaurants within 3 km of the centre (OpenStreetMap) | 270 | city | 2026-11 | [^16] |
| Walkability / transit (1–5) | 2 / 2 | editorial | 2026-09 | [^13] |
| Comfortable months | 3 of 12 | city | 2001–2020 | [^14] |
| Annual mean PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 35.3 | city | 2023 | [^15] |
| Human Development Index | 0.588 | country | 2023 | [^17] |
| English proficiency band | very-low | country | 2024 | [^18] |

## Tax on income from abroad

**Residents pay up to 38.5% on worldwide income; foreign dividends and interest pay a flat 16.5%.** Cameroon taxes people whose tax domicile is there on worldwide income, and working from Cameroon, even for a foreign employer, makes you domiciled unless the work is incidental. Salary pays 10%–35% plus a 10% council surcharge, so up to 38.5% above CFA 5,000,000. Foreign dividends and interest pay 16.5%. Inheritance duties run from 1% to 5%. No wealth tax and no nomad visa.

| Question | Answer |
| --- | --- |
| How residents are taxed | worldwide income |
| Remote work for foreign clients or employers | taxed (10%–35% progressive plus 10% council surcharge (up to 38.5%) on salary; 33% of net profit for freelancers) |
| Investments and pensions from abroad | taxed (16.5% flat on foreign dividends and interest (15% plus CAC); rent, pensions and foreign share gains unclear) |
| Wealth | no wealth tax; inheritance tax applies |
| Tax resident after | home or ties test |
| Top income tax rate | 38.5% |

Residency: Cameroon uses a tax-domicile test with no day count (Code général des impôts, Article 25). You are domiciled if any one of these applies: your home (foyer) or place of principal stay is in Cameroon; you carry on a salaried or self-employed professional activity in Cameroon, unless you show it is only incidental; or the centre of your economic interests is in Cameroon. The Code has no 183-day rule; a 183-day test appears only in some tax treaties. Because "principal stay" is not defined in days, a short visit alone may not make you domiciled, but the activity test can: a remote worker or freelancer whose main work is done from Cameroon is domiciled even on a short stay. Non-domiciled people are taxed only on Cameroonian-source income. Before leaving Cameroon you must file a return of income earned up to the departure date, and an exit visa or passport is issued only on a certificate from the tax centre (Article 99).

Remote work: Domiciled people are taxed on their worldwide income (CGI Article 25), and salaries are taxable whenever the paid work is done in Cameroon (Article 30), so a salary from a foreign employer for work done from Cameroon is taxed even before you count as domiciled. From gross pay the Code deducts a flat 30% for professional expenses, capped at CFA 4,800,000 a year, plus mandatory pension contributions (Article 34) and a CFA 500,000 allowance (Article 29). Annual bands (Article 69): 10% up to CFA 2,000,000, 15% to 3,000,000, 25% to 5,000,000 and 35% above, each increased by 10% as centimes additionnels communaux, CAC (Article 71). A foreign employer does not withhold Cameroonian tax, so you report the salary on the annual return, due by 31 October for most individuals, and pay any balance with it (Article 74 bis). Freelancers with foreign clients earn non-commercial or business profits taxed at the 30% rate of Article 17 plus CAC, with a minimum of 2% of turnover plus CAC (Article 69(2)). Small businesses under CFA 50,000,000 of turnover (CFA 30,000,000 for liberal professions) fall under the Impôt Général Synthétique instead (see regimes). Treaties override these rules where they apply (Article 25), but Cameroon has few. Social security (CNPS) for people paid by a foreign employer was not reviewed.

Investments: Investment income (revenus de capitaux mobiliers) bears a final 15% (Article 70), plus the 10% CAC (Article 71), so 16.5% in all. Foreign-source investment income of a person domiciled in Cameroon is withheld by any Cameroonian paying agent; when it is paid abroad you must report it on the annual return and pay the tax yourself (Article 86). Interest on any deposit counts, whoever holds it (Article 41). Dividends from Cameroonian companies with turnover up to CFA 3 billion pay 10% plus CAC, and income paid to tax havens pays 30% (Article 70). Several foreign items are not clearly covered by the Code: the rental income category covers only property in Cameroon (Article 46), the capital gains rule covers only shares of Cameroonian companies (Article 42), and pensions are deemed received in Cameroon when the payer is established there (Article 30). How foreign rent, foreign pensions and gains on foreign shares are taxed is therefore not clear; the Code lists stock-exchange gains of individuals as non-commercial profits (Article 56(2)(a)), taxed at 30% plus CAC, and leaves crypto-assets to a ministerial text (Article 42 bis). Rent from property in Cameroon pays 10% plus CAC (Articles 87–89); gains on Cameroonian property pay a final 5%, or 10% for cash sales (Article 90). Savings-account interest up to CFA 50 million of deposits is exempt (Article 43).

On the nomad visa: Cameroon has no digital nomad or remote-work visa. Visitors apply for a visa through the official e-visa portal (evisacam.cm). No visa carries a tax regime: the domicile tests apply, and working from Cameroon can make you domiciled and taxable even on a short stay. You also need a tax certificate before an exit visa is issued (Article 99).

Schemes for newcomers:

- **Impôt Général Synthétique (IGS)** (no fixed end): A fixed annual amount by turnover band replaces the business licence (patente), VAT and income tax on the business: from CFA 20,000 for turnover under CFA 500,000 to CFA 2,000,000 for CFA 30–50 million in the CGI 2026 table (Article C 40), paid quarterly. The 2026 Finance Law explanatory memo proposed lowering the top two bands, so confirm the current amount. Who qualifies: Individuals with annual turnover below CFA 50,000,000 for commercial, industrial, craft or agricultural activities, or below CFA 30,000,000 for liberal professions (CGI Article 93 quater). The local-tax book describes the IGS as replacing income tax only on commercial and agricultural profits (Article C 38), so whether a remote freelancer in a liberal profession can use it should be checked with the tax centre.

Official sources: [Code général des impôts, édition 2026 (mis à jour au 1er janvier 2026)](https://www.impots.cm/sites/default/files/documents/CODE%20GENERAL%20DES%20IMPOTS%202026%20SITE%20DGI%20VERSION%20FRANCAISE.pdf) (Direction Générale des Impôts (DGI), Ministry of Finance, read 2026-10-28); [Exposé des motifs du projet de loi de finances 2026](https://www.dgb.cm/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Expose-des-Motifs_LF-2026_fr.pdf) (Direction Générale du Budget, Ministry of Finance, read 2026-10-28); [Documents: conventions fiscales](https://www.impots.cm/index.php/fr/documents/37) (Direction Générale des Impôts (DGI), Ministry of Finance, read 2026-10-28); [eVisa Cameroun: official portal for visa applications](https://www.evisacam.cm/) (Republic of Cameroon, read 2026-10-28).

Not yet reviewed by a person. General information, not tax advice. US citizens are taxed by the US wherever they live.

## Climate (2001–2020 normals)

| Month | Mean °C | Rain mm | Humidity % | Comfortable |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Jan | 23.9 | 14 | 77 | yes |
| Feb | 24.7 | 40 | 81 | yes |
| Mar | 24.5 | 117 | 86 | no |
| Apr | 24.4 | 164 | 88 | no |
| May | 24.2 | 149 | 88 | no |
| Jun | 23.4 | 119 | 88 | no |
| Jul | 22.7 | 115 | 89 | no |
| Aug | 22.5 | 169 | 90 | no |
| Sep | 22.8 | 212 | 90 | no |
| Oct | 23.3 | 231 | 89 | no |
| Nov | 23.8 | 126 | 86 | no |
| Dec | 23.7 | 18 | 80 | yes |

## Airports and nonstop flights

| Airport | IATA | Nonstop destinations | International | From US airports |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Yaoundé Nsimalen International Airport | NSI | 17 | 13 | 0 |

Unique destinations across all airports: 17, of which 13 international (Wikipedia, 2026-11).

## Similar cities

- [Douala](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/douala) (26.5) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/douala-vs-yaounde)
- [Lomé](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/lome) (32.5) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/lome-vs-yaounde)
- [Porto-Novo](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/porto-novo) (31.2) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/porto-novo-vs-yaounde)
- [Bissau](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/bissau) (31.5) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/bissau-vs-yaounde)
- [Abidjan](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/abidjan) (35.9) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/abidjan-vs-yaounde)

## FAQ

### How much does it cost to live in Yaoundé as a digital nomad?

We do not have a reliable monthly cost figure for Yaoundé yet.

### Is Yaoundé safe for digital nomads?

Yaoundé scores 31/100 on safety. Cameroon records 6.76 homicides per 100,000 people per year (WHO, 2022) and a political-stability score of 36/100 (World Bank WGI). Both figures are national, so neighbourhood-level risk can differ.

### Does Cameroon have a digital nomad visa?

No dedicated digital nomad visa was listed for Cameroon as of 2026-07. Visitors from the US need an e-visa, applied for online.

### How fast is the internet in Yaoundé?

Measured median download speed in Yaoundé was 3.7 Mbps (upload 1.2 Mbps) across 3,977 M-Lab tests in 2024. Measured speeds run below advertised plan speeds everywhere, so compare cities rather than reading the number as a plan.

### Is Starlink available in Yaoundé?

Not yet. Starlink's availability map lists Cameroon as coming soon (Starting in 2026) as of 2026-10. Roaming plans may work for short stays, but local rules on using them vary.

### Which airports serve Yaoundé and how many nonstop flights are there?

Yaoundé is served by Yaoundé Nsimalen International Airport (NSI) with 17 nonstop destinations, of which 13 are international. 0 US airports have a nonstop link. Source: Wikipedia, 2026-11.

### When is the best time of year to be in Yaoundé?

The most comfortable months are Jan, Feb, Dec. Mean temperatures range from 73°F (23°C) in Aug to 76°F (25°C) in Feb (NASA POWER 2001–2020 climatology).

### Yaoundé or Douala: which is better for digital nomads?

Douala is the city with the closest factor profile to Yaoundé in this dataset. Which one wins depends on your weights; the comparison page puts every factor side by side with the numbers behind them.

## Plan a trip

[Plan a trip to Yaoundé](https://dashboard.navoy.io/trip/new?utm_source=nostos&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=plan_trip&utm_content=yaounde&destination=Yaound%C3%A9%2C+Cameroon) on Navoy, the AI travel planner behind Nostos.

## Sources

[^1]: City population (latest census or official estimate), Wikipedia (citing national statistics offices). CC BY-SA 4.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^2]: 2026 Cost of Living Index (country level), WhereNext. CC BY 4.0. https://getwherenext.com/data/cost-of-living-2026 (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^3]: Cost of Living Global 2026 (city rows), WhereToEmigrate. CC BY 4.0. https://github.com/0brien18/global-emigration-dataset (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^4]: Victims of intentional homicide per 100,000 population (national data, latest year), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, dataUNODC. UNODC data, free to reuse with attribution. https://data.unodc.org/datareport/hom-victim (retrieved 2026-10-12)
[^5]: Worldwide Governance Indicators — Political Stability and Absence of Violence (score 0–100), World Bank. CC BY 4.0. https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^6]: UHC service coverage index, World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO data policy). https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/indicators/indicator-details/GHO/uhc-index-of-service-coverage (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^7]: Life expectancy at birth (years), both sexes, World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO data policy). https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/indicators/indicator-details/GHO/life-expectancy-at-birth-(years) (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^8]: M-Lab NDT statistics (city aggregates, 2024), Measurement Lab. CC0 1.0. https://statistics.measurementlab.net/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^9]: Starlink availability map, SpaceX (Starlink). Factual status cited from starlink.com. https://www.starlink.com/map (retrieved 2026-10-07)
[^10]: Digital Nomad Visas 2026, WhereToEmigrate. CC BY 4.0. https://github.com/0brien18/global-emigration-dataset (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^11]: Passport Index dataset (visa requirements, 199 passports × 199 destinations), Ilya Ilyankou (compiled from passportindex.org). MIT. https://github.com/ilyankou/passport-index-dataset (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^12]: Airport destinations (Wikipedia airline and destination tables), Wikipedia contributors; countries via Wikidata. CC BY-SA 4.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/ (retrieved 2026-09-24)
[^13]: Walkability and transit ratings (editorial), Navoy. CC BY 4.0. https://nostos.navoy.io/methodology (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^14]: NASA POWER climatology (2001–2020 monthly means), NASA Langley Research Center. Public domain (US Government). https://power.larc.nasa.gov/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^15]: SatPM2.5 satellite-derived annual PM2.5 (V6.GL.02.04), Atmospheric Composition Analysis Group, Washington University in St. Louis. CC BY 4.0. https://sites.wustl.edu/acag/surface-pm2-5/ (retrieved 2026-10-07)
[^16]: OpenStreetMap restaurants (Overpass API), OpenStreetMap contributors. ODbL 1.0. https://overpass-api.de/ (retrieved 2026-10-02)
[^17]: Human Development Index (HDR 2025, HDI 2023), United Nations Development Programme. CC BY 3.0 IGO. https://hdr.undp.org/data-center/documentation-and-downloads (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^18]: EF English Proficiency Index 2024 (band), EF Education First. Proprietary; band cited as a fact with attribution. https://www.ef.com/epi/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)

HTML page: https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/yaounde