Minimum Wage (SMIG) in Cameroon in 2026: Amount, Who It Covers, Daily and Hourly Rates

The SMIG (minimum wage) is 60,000 FCFA a month in most sectors (45,000 FCFA in agriculture, 43,969 FCFA for state employees under the Labour Code). These amounts are set by the Prime Minister's decrees No. 2023/00338/PM and No. 2024/0168/PM: the decree of 21 March 2023 set all three rates, and the decree of 23 February 2024 raised only the rate for State employees. Over the legal 40-hour week, the general SMIG comes to about 349 FCFA an hour, or 2,791 FCFA for an 8-hour day.

No more recent decree was found (checked 25 September 2026). On 1 May 2026, the Labour minister announced a revaluation of the SMIG "in the coming years", with no amount or timetable (Camer.be, 1 May 2026): until a new decree is signed, the amounts below apply. This holds across the country, in Douala as in Buea, Bamenda or Limbe.

The SMIG is a floor: an employer can pay more, never less. Above it, the minimum wage of each job category is set by each industry's collective agreement (Labour Code, section 62), and is often higher.

Because that was the SMIG set in 2014 (decree No. 2014/2217/PM of 24 July 2014). The decree of 21 March 2023 repealed it (article 2). Yet the figure still appears in recent articles, and in the INS employment survey, carried out in 2021 when it was still in force. If a source gives 36,270 FCFA as the current SMIG, it is out of date.

The decree sets a monthly amount. To convert it, divide by the hours in a month at the legal working time: 40 hours a week in non-agricultural establishments, 2,400 hours a year in agriculture (Labour Code, section 80). The INS uses the same method, with 172 hours a month (INS, EESI 3, 2021, p. 101).

• General SMIG: 60,000 FCFA ÷ 172 h ≈ 349 FCFA an hour, or 2,791 FCFA for 8 hours.
• Agriculture: 45,000 FCFA ÷ 200 h ≈ 225 FCFA an hour.
• State employees: 43,969 FCFA ÷ 172 h ≈ 256 FCFA an hour.

These are calculated equivalents, rounded to the nearest franc: the official text remains the monthly amount.

The SMIG protects employees. The Labour Code applies to anyone who works for pay under the direction and authority of an employer, public or private, an individual or a company (Labour Code, section 1). A housekeeper, a guard or a driver employed by a household is therefore a worker within the meaning of the Code.

Excluded from the Code are civil servants, magistrates, the military, national security and prison staff, who have their own statutes and pay scales. A self-employed worker, who chooses clients and sets the price, has no minimum wage: they set their own rate.

Wages are paid at least once a month, no later than eight days after the end of the month worked (Labour Code, section 68).

By the day, informal jobs display rates above the daily SMIG (2,791 FCFA). On SangoServices, the median displayed rate ranges from 4,000 FCFA to 10,000 FCFA a day depending on the trade (Informal Jobs Barometer (Q4 2026)). For cleaning (7,000 FCFA a day), 9 paid days are enough to reach the monthly SMIG.

But work is not guaranteed every day. According to the INS (INS, EESI 3, 2021, table 3.23, p. 57), median monthly income in the non-agricultural informal sector was 50,000 FCFA in 2021 (average 77,100 FCFA), and 36.4% of those workers earned less than the SMIG of the time (36,270 FCFA). The same survey reports an average working week of 42.7 hours.

To earn more than the minimum, what counts is steady work: a complete profile, returning employers and a clear rate. See earning 5,000 to 15,000 FCFA a day, the most in-demand jobs and salaries by sector.

1. Keep records: contract, payslips, messages, Mobile Money receipts for your wages.
2. Raise it with your employer, with the decree amount in hand.
3. Go to the labour inspectorate where you work: the Labour Code provides that any worker or employer asks it to settle the dispute amicably (Labour Code, section 139).

Looking for an employer who pays fairly? Create your free profile and show your rate, or browse the job listings.

• The SMIG (minimum wage) is 60,000 FCFA a month in most sectors (45,000 FCFA in agriculture, 43,969 FCFA for state employees under the Labour Code): decrees No. 2023/00338/PM and No. 2024/0168/PM, Prime Minister's Office (article 1 of each; article 2 of the 2023 decree for the repeal of the 2014 decree).
• Law No. 92/007 of 14 August 1992, Labour Code (sections 1, 62, 68, 80, 139).
• National Institute of Statistics, INS, EESI 3, 2021: table 3.23 and §3.5.4 (p. 57), note 16 (p. 101).
• Day rates: Informal Jobs Barometer (Q4 2026), SangoServices data for July 1 – September 30, 2026.