
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Its coastline lies on the Bight of Biafra, part of the Gulf of Guinea, and the Atlantic Ocean. Due to its strategic position at the crossroads between West Africa and Central Africa, it has been categorized as being in both camps. Cameroon's population of nearly 31 million people speak 250 native languages, in addition to the national tongues of English and French, or both. Early inhabitants of the territory included the Sao civilisation around Lake Chad and the Baka hunter-gatherers in the southeastern rainforest. Portuguese explorers reached the coast in the 15th century and named the area Rio dos Camarões (Shrimp River), which became Cameroon in English. Fulani soldiers founded the Adamawa Emirate in the north in the 19th century, and various ethnic groups of the west and northwest established powerful chiefdoms and fondoms.
Republic of Cameroon République du Cameroun (French) | |
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![]() Flag ![]() Coat of arms | |
Motto: "Paix – Travail – Patrie" (French) "Peace – Work – Fatherland" | |
Anthem: "Chant de Ralliement" (French) "The Rallying Song" | |
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Capital | Yaoundé 3°52′N 11°31′E / 3.867°N 11.517°E |
Largest city | Douala |
Official languages | English • French |
Ethnic groups (2022) |
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Religion (2022) |
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Demonym(s) | Cameroonian |
Government | Unitary dominant-party presidential republic under a dictatorship |
• President | Paul Biya |
• Prime Minister | Joseph Ngute |
• President of Senate | Marcel Niat Njifenji |
• President of National Assembly | Cavayé Yéguié Djibril |
Legislature | Parliament |
Senate | |
National Assembly | |
Formation | |
• German Kamerun | 17 August 1884 |
• Partition | 20 July 1916 |
• Independence of French Cameroon from France | 1 January 1960 |
• Independence of Southern Cameroons from the United Kingdom, establishment of federal republic | 1 October 1961 |
• Unitary state | May 1972 |
Area | |
• Total | 475,442 km2 (183,569 sq mi) (53rd) |
• Water (%) | 0.57 |
Population | |
• 2024 estimate | 30,966,105 (52nd) |
• Density | 39.7/km2 (102.8/sq mi) |
GDP (PPP) | 2024 estimate |
• Total | |
• Per capita | |
GDP (nominal) | 2024 estimate |
• Total | |
• Per capita | |
Gini (2021) | ![]() medium inequality |
HDI (2022) | medium (151st) |
Currency | Central African CFA franc (XAF) |
Time zone | UTC+1 (WAT) |
Date format | dd/mm/yyyy yyyy/mm/dd |
Calling code | +237 |
ISO 3166 code | CM |
Internet TLD | .cm |
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Cameroon became a German colony in 1884 known as Kamerun. After World War I, it was divided between France and the United Kingdom as League of Nations mandates. France took 4/5 and the United Kingdom 1/5 of the territory and both ruled it under mandate until independence in 1960 and 1961 respectively. The Union des Populations du Cameroun (UPC) political party advocated independence but was outlawed by France in the 1950s, leading to the national liberation insurgency fought between French and UPC militant forces until early 1971. In 1960, the French-administered part of Cameroon became independent, as the Republic of Cameroun, under President Ahmadou Ahidjo. The southern part of British Cameroons federated with it in 1961 to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon. The federation was abandoned in 1972. The country was renamed the United Republic of Cameroon in 1972 and back to the Republic of Cameroon in 1984 by a presidential decree by President Paul Biya. Biya, the incumbent president, has led the country since 1982 following Ahidjo's resignation; he previously held office as prime minister from 1975 onward. Cameroon is governed as a unitary presidential republic.
The official languages of Cameroon are French and English, the official languages of former French Cameroons and British Cameroons. Christianity is the majority religion in Cameroon, with significant minorities practising Islam and traditional faiths. It has experienced tensions from the English-speaking territories, where politicians have advocated for greater decentralisation and even complete separation or independence (as in the Southern Cameroons National Council). In 2017, tensions over the creation of an Ambazonian state in the English-speaking territories escalated into open warfare. Large numbers of Cameroonians live as subsistence farmers. The country is often referred to as "Africa in miniature" for its geological, linguistic, and cultural diversity. Its natural features include beaches, deserts, mountains, rainforests, and savannas. Cameroon's highest point, at almost 4,100 metres (13,500 ft), is Mount Cameroon in the Southwest Region.
Cameroon's most populous cities are Douala on the Wouri River, its economic capital and main seaport; Yaoundé, its political capital; and Garoua. Limbé in the southwest has a natural seaport. Cameroon is well known for its native music styles, particularly Makossa, Njang, and Bikutsi, and its successful national football team. It is a member state of the African Union, the United Nations, the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), the Commonwealth of Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement, and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
Etymology
Originally, Cameroon was the exonym given by the Portuguese to the Wouri River, which they called Rio dos Camarões meaning 'river of shrimps' or 'shrimp river', referring to the then abundant Cameroon ghost shrimp. Today the country's name in Portuguese remains Camarões.
History
Early history
Evidence from digs at Shum Laka in the Northwest Region shows human occupation in Cameroon dating back 30,000 years. The longest continuous inhabitants are groups such as the Baka (Pygmies). From there, Bantu migrations into eastern, southern and central Africa are believed to have occurred about 2,000 years ago. The Sao culture arose around Lake Chad, c. 500 CE, and gave way to the Kanem and its successor state, the Bornu Empire. Kingdoms, fondoms, and chiefdoms arose in the west.
Portuguese sailors reached the coast in 1472. They noted an abundance of the ghost shrimp Lepidophthalmus turneranus in the Wouri River and named it Rio dos Camarões (Shrimp River), which became Cameroon in English. Over the following few centuries, European interests regularised trade with the coastal peoples, and Christian missionaries pushed inland.
In 1896, Sultan Ibrahim Njoya created the Bamum script, or Shu Mom, for the Bamum language. It is taught in Cameroon today by the Bamum Scripts and Archives Project.
German rule
Germany began to establish roots in Cameroon in 1868 when the Woermann Company of Hamburg built a warehouse. It was built on the estuary of the Wouri River. Later, Gustav Nachtigal made a treaty with one of the local kings to annex the region for the German emperor. The German Empire claimed the territory as the colony of Kamerun in 1884 and began a steady push inland; the natives resisted. Under the aegis of Germany, commercial companies were local administrations. These concessions used forced labour to run profitable banana, rubber, palm oil, and cocoa plantations. Even infrastructure projects relied on a regimen of forced labour. This economic policy was much criticised by the other colonial powers.
French and British rule
With the defeat of Germany in World War I, Kamerun became a League of Nations mandate territory and was split into French Cameroon (French: Cameroun) and British Cameroon in 1919. France integrated the economy of Cameroon with that of France and improved the infrastructure with capital investments and skilled workers, modifying the colonial system of forced labour.
The British administered their territory from neighbouring Nigeria. Natives complained that this made them a neglected "colony of a colony". Nigerian migrant workers flocked to Southern Cameroons, ending forced labour altogether but angering the local natives, who felt swamped. The League of Nations mandates were converted into United Nations Trusteeships in 1946, and the question of independence became a pressing issue in French Cameroon.
France outlawed the pro-independence political party, the Union of the Peoples of Cameroon (French: Union des Populations du Cameroun, UPC), on 13 July 1955. This prompted a long guerrilla war waged by the UPC and the assassination of several of the party's leaders, including Ruben Um Nyobè, Félix-Roland Moumié and Ernest Ouandie. In the British Cameroons, the question was whether to reunify with French Cameroon or join Nigeria; the British ruled out the option of independence.
Independence
On 1 January 1960, French Cameroun gained independence from France under President Ahmadou Ahidjo as the Republic of Cameroon.
Federal Republic of Cameroon
On 1 October 1961, the formerly British Southern Cameroons gained independence from the United Kingdom by vote of the UN General Assembly and merged into the Republic of Cameroon to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon. The federal republic was composed of two federated states, East Cameroon and West Cameroon, each with its own legislature, government, and prime minister. 1 October is now observed as Unification Day, a public holiday. Ahidjo used the ongoing war with the UPC to concentrate power in the presidency, continuing with this even after the suppression of the UPC in 1971.
United Republic of Cameroon and Republic of Cameroon
Ahidjo's political party, the Cameroon National Union (CNU), became the sole legal political party on 1 September 1966, and on 20 May 1972, a referendum was passed to abolish the federal system of government in favour of a United Republic of Cameroon, headed from Yaoundé. This day is now the country's National Day, a public holiday. Ahidjo pursued an economic policy of planned liberalism, prioritising cash crops and petroleum development. The government used oil money to create a national cash reserve, pay farmers, and finance major development projects; however, many initiatives failed when Ahidjo appointed unqualified allies to direct them. The national flag was changed on 20 May 1975 with the two stars removed and replaced with a large central star as a symbol of national unity.
Ahidjo stepped down on 4 November 1982 and left power to his constitutional successor, Paul Biya. However, Ahidjo remained in control of the CNU and tried to run the country from behind the scenes until Biya and his allies pressured him into resigning. Biya began his administration by moving toward a more democratic government, but a failed coup d'état nudged him toward the leadership style of his predecessor.
In 1987, Dja Faunal Reserve, Cameroon's first World Heritage Site, was inscribed on the list by UNESCO. An economic crisis took effect in the mid-1980s to late 1990s as a result of international economic conditions, drought, falling petroleum prices, and years of corruption, mismanagement, and cronyism. Cameroon turned to foreign aid, cut government spending, and privatised industries. With the reintroduction of multi-party politics in December 1990, the former British Southern Cameroons pressure groups called for greater autonomy, and the Southern Cameroons National Council advocated complete secession as the Republic of Ambazonia. The 1992 Labour Code of Cameroon gives workers the freedom to belong to a trade union or not to belong to any trade union at all. It is the choice of a worker to join any trade union in their occupation since there is more than one trade union in each occupation.
In June 2006, talks concerning a territorial dispute over the Bakassi peninsula were resolved. The talks involved President Paul Biya of Cameroon, then President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria, and then UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and resulted in Cameroonian control of the oil-rich peninsula. The northern portion of the territory was formally handed over to the Cameroonian government in August 2006, and the remainder of the peninsula was left to Cameroon two years later, in 2008. The boundary change triggered a local separatist insurgency, as many Bakassians refused to accept Cameroonian rule. While most militants laid down their arms in November 2009, some carried on fighting for years.
In February 2008, Cameroon experienced its worst violence in 15 years when a transport union strike in Douala escalated into violent protests in 31 municipal areas.
In May 2014, in the wake of the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping, presidents Paul Biya of Cameroon and Idriss Déby of Chad announced they were waging war on Boko Haram, and deployed troops to the Nigerian border. Boko Haram launched several attacks into Cameroon, killing 84 civilians in a December 2014 raid, but suffering a heavy defeat in a raid in January 2015. Cameroon declared victory over Boko Haram on Cameroonian territory in September 2018.
Since November 2016, protesters from the predominantly English-speaking Northwest and Southwest regions of the country have been campaigning for continued use of the English language in schools and courts. People were killed and hundreds were jailed as a result of these protests. In 2017, Biya's government blocked the regions' access to the Internet for three months. In September, separatists started a guerilla war for the independence of the Anglophone region as the Federal Republic of Ambazonia. The government responded with a military offensive, and the insurgency spread across the Northwest and Southwest regions. As of 2019[update], fighting between separatist guerillas and government forces continues. During 2020, numerous terrorist attacks—many of them carried out without claims of credit—and government reprisals have led to bloodshed throughout the country. Since 2016, more than 450,000 people have fled their homes. The conflict indirectly led to an upsurge in Boko Haram attacks, as the Cameroonian military largely withdrew from the north to focus on fighting the Ambazonian separatists.
More than 30,000 people in northern Cameroon fled to Chad after ethnic clashes over access to water between Musgum fishermen and ethnic Arab Choa herders in December 2021.
Politics and government
The President of Cameroon is elected and creates policy, administers government agencies, commands the armed forces, negotiates and ratifies treaties, and declares a state of emergency. The president appoints government officials at all levels, from the prime minister (considered the official head of government), to the provincial governors and divisional officers. The president is selected by popular vote every seven years. There have been 2 presidents since the independence of Cameroon.
The National Assembly makes legislation. The body consists of 180 members who are elected for five-year terms and meet three times per year. Laws are passed on a majority vote. The 1996 constitution establishes a second house of parliament, the 100-seat Senate. The government recognises the authority of traditional chiefs, fons, and lamibe to govern at the local level and to resolve disputes as long as such rulings do not conflict with national law.
Cameroon's legal system is a mixture of civil law, common law, and customary law. Although nominally independent, the judiciary falls under the authority of the executive's Ministry of Justice. The president appoints judges at all levels. The judiciary is officially divided into tribunals, the court of appeal, and the supreme court. The National Assembly elects the members of a nine-member High Court of Justice that judges high-ranking members of government in the event they are charged with high treason or harming national security.
Political culture
Cameroon is viewed as rife with corruption at all levels of government. In 1997, Cameroon established anti-corruption bureaus in 29 ministries, but only 25% became operational, and in 2012, Transparency International placed Cameroon at number 144 on a list of 176 countries ranked from least to most corrupt. On 18 January 2006, Biya initiated an anti-corruption drive under the direction of the National Anti-Corruption Observatory. There are several high corruption risk areas in Cameroon, for instance, customs, public health sector and public procurement. However, the corruption has gotten worse, regardless of the existing anti-corruption bureaus, as Transparency International ranked Cameroon 152 on a list of 180 countries in 2018.
President Biya's Cameroon People's Democratic Movement (CPDM) was the only legal political party until December 1990. Numerous regional political groups have since formed. The primary opposition is the Social Democratic Front (SDF), based largely in the Anglophone region of the country and headed by John Fru Ndi.
Biya and his party have maintained control of the presidency and the National Assembly in national elections, which rivals contend were unfair. Human rights organisations allege that the government suppresses the freedoms of opposition groups by preventing demonstrations, disrupting meetings, and arresting opposition leaders and journalists. In particular, English-speaking people are discriminated against; protests often escalate into violent clashes and killings. In 2017, President Biya shut down the Internet in the English-speaking region for 94 days, at the cost of hampering five million people, including Silicon Mountain startups.
Freedom House ranks Cameroon as "not free" in terms of political rights and civil liberties. The last parliamentary elections were held on 9 February 2020.
Foreign relations
Cameroon is a member of both the Commonwealth of Nations and La Francophonie.
Its foreign policy closely follows that of its main ally, France (one of its former colonial rulers). Cameroon relies heavily on France for its defence, although military spending is high in comparison to other sectors of government.
President Biya has engaged in a decades-long clash with the government of Nigeria over possession of the oil-rich Bakassi peninsula. Cameroon and Nigeria share a 1,000-mile (1,600 km) border and have disputed the sovereignty of the Bakassi peninsula. In 1994 Cameroon petitioned the International Court of Justice to resolve the dispute. The two countries attempted to establish a cease-fire in 1996; however, fighting continued for years. In 2002, the ICJ ruled that the gave sovereignty to Cameroon. The ruling called for a withdrawal by both countries and denied the request by Cameroon for compensation due to Nigeria's long-term occupation. By 2004, Nigeria had failed to meet the deadline to hand over the peninsula. A UN-mediated summit in June 2006 facilitated an agreement for Nigeria to withdraw from the region and both leaders signed the Greentree Agreement. The withdrawal and handover of control was completed by August 2006.
In July 2019, UN ambassadors of 37 countries, including Cameroon, signed a joint letter to the UNHRC defending China's treatment of Uyghurs in the Xinjiang region.
Military
The Cameroon Armed Forces (French: Forces armées camerounaises, FAC) consists of the country's army (Armée de Terre), the country's navy (Marine Nationale de la République (MNR), including naval infantry), the Cameroonian Air Force (Armée de l'Air du Cameroun, AAC), and the Gendarmerie.
The military is crucial in supporting Cameroon's authoritarian government since independence in 1960. The military has been involved in defeating rebellions, controlling protests for democratic reforms, combating Boko Haram since 2014, and handling the Anglophone separatist movement that began in 2017.
Human rights
Human rights organisations accuse police and military forces of mistreating and even torturing criminal suspects, ethnic minorities, homosexuals, and political activists.United Nations figures indicate that more than 21,000 people have fled to neighbouring countries, while 160,000 have been internally displaced by the violence, many reportedly hiding in forests. Prisons are overcrowded with little access to adequate food and medical facilities, and prisons run by traditional rulers in the north are charged with holding political opponents at the behest of the government. However, since the first decade of the 21st century, an increasing number of police and gendarmes have been prosecuted for improper conduct. On 25 July 2018, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein expressed deep concern about reports of violations and abuses in the English-speaking Northwest and Southwest regions of Cameroon.
According to OCHA, more than 1.7 million people require humanitarian assistance in the northwest and southwest regions. OCHA also estimates that at least 628,000 people have been internally displaced by violence in the two regions, while more than 87,000 have fled to Nigeria.
Same-sex sexual acts are banned by section 347-1 of the penal code with a penalty of from 6 months up to 5 years imprisonment.
Since December 2020, Human Rights Watch claimed that Islamist armed group Boko Haram has stepped up attacks and killed at least 80 civilians in towns and villages in the Far North region of Cameroon.
Administrative divisions
The constitution divides Cameroon into 10 semi-autonomous regions, each under the administration of an elected Regional Council. Each region is headed by a presidentially appointed governor.
These leaders are charged with implementing the will of the president, reporting on the general mood and conditions of the regions, administering the civil service, keeping the peace, and overseeing the heads of the smaller administrative units. Governors have broad powers: they may order propaganda in their area and call in the army, gendarmes, and police. All local government officials are employees of the central government's Ministry of Territorial Administration, from which local governments also get most of their budgets.
The regions are subdivided into 58 divisions (French départements). These are headed by presidentially appointed divisional officers (préfets). The divisions are further split into sub-divisions (arrondissements), headed by assistant divisional officers (sous-prefets). The districts, administered by district heads (chefs de district), are the smallest administrative units.
The three northernmost regions are the Far North (Extrême Nord), North (Nord), and Adamawa (Adamaoua). Directly south of them are the Centre (Centre) and East (Est). The South Province (Sud) lies on the Gulf of Guinea and the southern border. Cameroon's western region is split into four smaller regions: the Littoral (Littoral) and South-West (Sud-Ouest) regions are on the coast, and the North-West (Nord-Ouest) and West (Ouest) regions are in the western grassfields.
Geography
At 475,442 square kilometres (183,569 sq mi), Cameroon is the world's 53rd-largest country. The country is located in Central Africa, on the Bight of Bonny, part of the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean. Cameroon lies between latitudes 1° and 13°N, and longitudes 8° and 17°E. Cameroon controls 12 nautical miles of the Atlantic Ocean.
Tourist literature describes Cameroon as "Africa in miniature" because it exhibits all major climates and vegetation of the continent: coast, desert, mountains, rainforest, and savanna. The country's neighbours are Nigeria and the Atlantic Ocean to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and the Republic of the Congo to the south.
Cameroon is divided into five major geographic zones distinguished by dominant physical, climatic, and vegetative features. The coastal plain extends 15 to 150 kilometres (9 to 93 mi) inland from the Gulf of Guinea and has an average elevation of 90 metres (295 ft). Exceedingly hot and humid with a short dry season, this belt is densely forested and includes some of the wettest places on earth, part of the Cross-Sanaga-Bioko coastal forests.
The South Cameroon Plateau rises from the coastal plain to an average elevation of 650 metres (2,133 ft). Equatorial rainforest dominates this region, although its alternation between wet and dry seasons makes it less humid than the coast. This area is part of the Atlantic Equatorial coastal forests ecoregion.
An irregular chain of mountains, hills, and plateaus known as the Cameroon range extends from Mount Cameroon on the coast—Cameroon's highest point at 4,095 metres (13,435 ft)—almost to Lake Chad at Cameroon's northern border at 13°05'N. This region has a mild climate, particularly on the Western High Plateau, although rainfall is high. Its soils are among Cameroon's most fertile, especially around volcanic Mount Cameroon. Volcanism here has created crater lakes. On 21 August 1986, one of these, Lake Nyos, belched carbon dioxide and killed between 1,700 and 2,000 people. This area has been delineated by the World Wildlife Fund as the Cameroonian Highlands forests ecoregion.
The southern plateau rises northward to the grassy, rugged Adamawa Plateau. This feature stretches from the western mountain area and forms a barrier between the country's north and south. Its average elevation is 1,100 metres (3,609 ft), and its average temperature ranges from 22 °C (71.6 °F) to 25 °C (77 °F) with high rainfall between April and October peaking in July and August. The northern lowland region extends from the edge of the Adamawa to Lake Chad with an average elevation of 300 to 350 metres (984 to 1,148 ft). Its characteristic vegetation is savanna scrub and grass. This is an arid region with sparse rainfall and high median temperatures.
Cameroon has four patterns of drainage. In the south, the principal rivers are the Ntem, Nyong, Sanaga, and Wouri. These flow southwestward or westward directly into the Gulf of Guinea. The Dja and Kadéï drain southeastward into the Congo River. In northern Cameroon, the Bénoué River runs north and west and empties into the Niger. The Logone flows northward into Lake Chad, which Cameroon shares with three neighbouring countries.
Wildlife
Cameroon's wildlife is composed of its flora and fauna. It is one of the wettest parts of Africa and records Africa's second-highest concentration of biodiversity. In Cameroon forest cover is around 43% of the total land area, equivalent to 20,340,480 hectares (ha) of forest in 2020, down from 22,500,000 hectares (ha) in 1990. In 2020, naturally regenerating forests covered 20,279,380 hectares (ha), and planted forests covered 61,100 hectares (ha). Around 15% of the forest area was found within protected areas, for the year 2015, 100% of the forest area was reported to be under public ownership.
To preserve its wildlife, Cameroon has more than 20 protected reserves comprising national parks, zoos, forest reserves, and sanctuaries. The protected areas were first created in the northern region under the colonial administration in 1932; the first two reserves established were and the Bénoué Reserve, which was followed by the Waza Reserve on 24 March 1934. The coverage of reserves was initially about 4 percent of the country's area, rising to 12 percent; the administration proposes to cover 30 percent of the land area.
Its rich wildlife consists of 8,260 recorded plant species including 156 endemic species, 409 species of mammals of which 14 are endemic, 690 species of birds which includes 8 endemic species, 250 species of reptiles, and 200 species of amphibians. The habitats of these species include the southern region comprising tropical lowland, coastline on the Gulf of Guinea. Mangrove forests, 270,000 hectares (670,000 acres) in size, are along the coast line. Montane forests and savannas are in the northern region of the country. Important protected areas for these species are the Mbam Djerem National Park, Benoue National Park, Korup National Park, Takamanda National Park, and the Kagwene Gorilla Sanctuary. Cameroon is an important breeding area for marine and freshwater species such as crustaceans, mollusks, fish, and birds.
Economy and infrastructure
Cameroon's per capita GDP (Purchasing power parity) was estimated at US$3,700 in 2017. Major export markets include the Netherlands, France, China, Belgium, Italy, Algeria, and Malaysia.
Cameroon has its GDP growing at an average of 4% per year. During the 2004–2008 period, public debt was reduced from over 60% of GDP to 10% and official reserves quadrupled to over US$3 billion. Cameroon is part of the Bank of Central African States (of which it is the dominant economy), the Customs and Economic Union of Central Africa (UDEAC) and the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (OHADA). Its currency is the CFA franc.
Unemployment was estimated at 3.38% in 2019, and 23.8% of the population was living below the international poverty threshold of US$1.90 a day in 2014. Since the late 1980s, Cameroon has been following programmes advocated by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) to reduce poverty, privatise industries, and increase economic growth. The government has taken measures to encourage tourism in the country.
An estimated 70% of the population farms, and agriculture comprised an estimated 16.7% of GDP in 2017. Most agriculture is done at the subsistence scale by local farmers using simple tools. They sell their surplus produce, and some maintain separate fields for commercial use. Urban centres are particularly reliant on peasant agriculture for their foodstuffs. Soils and climate on the coast encourage extensive commercial cultivation of bananas, cocoa, oil palms, rubber, and tea. Inland on the South Cameroon Plateau, cash crops include coffee, sugar, and tobacco. Coffee is a major cash crop in the western highlands, and in the north, natural conditions favour crops such as cotton, groundnuts, and rice. Production of Fairtrade cotton was initiated in Cameroon in 2004.
Livestock are raised throughout the country. Fishing employs 5,000 people and provides over 100,000 tons of seafood each year.Bushmeat, long a staple food for rural Cameroonians, is today a delicacy in the country's urban centres. The commercial bushmeat trade has now surpassed deforestation as the main threat to wildlife in Cameroon.
The southern rainforest has vast timber reserves, estimated to cover 37% of Cameroon's total land area. However, large areas of the forest are difficult to reach. Logging, largely handled by foreign-owned firms, provides the government US$60 million a year in taxes (as of 1998[update]), and laws mandate the safe and sustainable exploitation of timber. Nevertheless, in practice, the industry is one of the least regulated in Cameroon.
Factory-based industry accounted for an estimated 26.5% of GDP in 2017. More than 75% of Cameroon's industrial strength is located in Douala and Bonabéri. Cameroon possesses substantial mineral resources, but these are not extensively mined (see Mining in Cameroon). Petroleum exploitation has fallen since 1986, but this is still a substantial sector such that dips in prices have a strong effect on the economy. Rapids and waterfalls obstruct the southern rivers, but these sites offer opportunities for hydroelectric development and supply most of Cameroon's energy. The Sanaga River powers the largest hydroelectric station, located at Edéa. The rest of Cameroon's energy comes from oil-powered thermal engines. Much of the country remains without reliable power supplies.
Three trans-African automobile routes pass through Cameroon:
the Lagos-Mombasa Highway
the Tripoli-Cape Town Highway
the Dakar-N'Djamena Highway
Transport in Cameroon is often difficult. Only 6.6% of the roadways are tarred. Roadblocks often serve little other purpose than to allow police and gendarmes to collect bribes from travellers. Road banditry has long hampered transport along the eastern and western borders, and since 2005, the problem has intensified in the east as the Central African Republic has further destabilised.
Intercity bus services run by multiple private companies connect all major cities. They are the most popular means of transportation followed by the rail service Camrail. Rail service runs from Kumba in the west to Bélabo in the east and north to Ngaoundéré. International airports are located in Douala and Yaoundé, with a third under construction in Maroua. Douala is the country's principal seaport and Kribi Deepwater Port started operations in 2014. In the north, the Bénoué River is seasonally navigable from Garoua across into Nigeria.
Although press freedoms have improved since the first decade of the 21st century, the press is corrupt and beholden to special interests and political groups. Newspapers routinely self-censor to avoid government reprisals. The major radio and television stations are state-run and other communications, such as land-based telephones and telegraphs, are largely under government control. However, cell phone networks and Internet providers have increased dramatically since the first decade of the 21st century and are largely unregulated.
Cameroon was ranked 123rd in the Global Innovation Index in 2024.
Demographics
The population of Cameroon was 27,198,628 in 2021. The life expectancy was 62.3 years (60.6 years for males and 64 years for females).
Cameroon has slightly more women (50.5%) than men (49.5%). Over 60% of the population is under age 25. People over 65 years of age account for only 3.11% of the total population.
Cameroon's population is almost evenly divided between urban and rural dwellers. Population density is highest in the large urban centres, the western highlands, and the northeastern plain. Douala, Yaoundé, and Garoua are the largest cities. In contrast, the Adamawa Plateau, southeastern Bénoué depression, and most of the South Cameroon Plateau are sparsely populated.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the fertility rate was 4.8 in 2013 with a population growth rate of 2.56%.
People from the overpopulated western highlands and the underdeveloped north are moving to the coastal plantation zone and urban centres for employment. Smaller movements are occurring as workers seek employment in lumber mills and plantations in the south and east. Although the national sex ratio is relatively even, these out-migrants are primarily males, which leads to unbalanced ratios in some regions.
Both monogamous and polygamous marriage are practised, and the average Cameroonian family is large and extended. In the north, women tend to the home, and men herd cattle or work as farmers. In the south, women grow the family's food, and men provide meat and grow cash crops. Cameroonian society is male-dominated, and violence and discrimination against women are common.
The number of distinct ethnic and linguistic groups in Cameroon is estimated to be between 230 and 282. The Adamawa Plateau broadly bisects these into northern and southern divisions. The northern peoples are Sudanic groups, who live in the central highlands and the northern lowlands, and the Fulani, who are spread throughout northern Cameroon. A small number of Shuwa Arabs live near Lake Chad. Southern Cameroon is inhabited by speakers of Bantu and Semi-Bantu languages. Bantu-speaking groups inhabit the coastal and equatorial zones, while speakers of Semi-Bantu languages live in the Western grassfields. Some 5,000 Gyele and Baka Pygmy peoples roam the southeastern and coastal rainforests or live in small, roadside settlements. Nigerians make up the largest group of foreign nationals.
Largest cities or towns in Cameroon According to the 2005 Census | |||||||||
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Rank | Name | Region | Pop. | ||||||
1 | Douala | Littoral | 1,906,962 | ||||||
2 | Yaoundé | Centre | 1,817,524 | ||||||
3 | Bafoussam | West | 800,000 | ||||||
4 | Bamenda | Northwest | 269,530 | ||||||
5 | Garoua | North | 235,996 | ||||||
6 | Maroua | Far North | 201,371 | ||||||
7 | Ngaoundéré | Adamawa | 152,698 | ||||||
8 | Kumba | Southwest | 144,268 | ||||||
9 | Nkongsamba | Littoral | 104,050 | ||||||
10 | Buea | Southwest | 90,090 |
Refugees
In 2007, Cameroon hosted approximately 97,400 refugees and asylum seekers. Of these, 49,300 were from the Central African Republic (many driven west by war), 41,600 from Chad, and 2,900 from Nigeria. Kidnappings of Cameroonian citizens by Central African bandits have increased since 2005.
In the first months of 2014, thousands of refugees fleeing the violence in the Central African Republic arrived in Cameroon.
On 4 June 2014, AlertNet reported:
Almost 90,000 people have fled to neighbouring Cameroon since December and up to 2,000 a week, mostly women and children, are still crossing the border, the United Nations said.
"Women and children are arriving in Cameroon in a shocking state, after weeks, sometimes months, on the road, foraging for food," said Ertharin Cousin, executive director of the World Food Programme (WFP).
Languages
The official percentage of French and English speakers by the Presidency of Cameroon is estimated to be 70% and 30% respectively. German, the language of the original colonisers, has long since been displaced by French and English. Cameroonian Pidgin English is the lingua franca in the formerly British-administered territories. A mixture of English, French, and Pidgin called Camfranglais has been gaining popularity in urban centres since the mid-1970s.
In addition to the colonial languages, there are approximately 250 other languages spoken by nearly 20 million Cameroonians making Cameroon one of the most linguistically diverse countries in the world.
In 2017, there were language protests by the Anglophone population against perceived oppression by francophone speakers. The military was deployed against the protesters and people were killed, hundreds imprisoned and thousands fled the country. This culminated in the declaration of an independent Republic of Ambazonia, which has since evolved into the Anglophone Crisis. It is estimated that by June 2020, 740,000 people had been internally displaced as a result of this crisis.
Religion
Cameroon has a high level of religious freedom and diversity. The majority faith is Christianity, practised by about two-thirds of the population, while Islam is a significant minority faith, adhered to by about one-fourth. In addition, traditional faiths are practised by many. Muslims are most concentrated in the north, while Christians are concentrated primarily in the southern and western regions, but practitioners of both faiths can be found throughout the country. Large cities have significant populations of both groups. Muslims in Cameroon are divided into Sufis, Salafis,Shias, and non-denominational Muslims.
People from the North-West and South-West provinces, which used to be a part of British Cameroons, have the highest proportion of Protestants. The French-speaking regions of the southern and western regions are largely Catholic. Southern ethnic groups predominantly follow Christian or traditional African animist beliefs or a syncretic combination of the two. People widely believe in witchcraft, and the government outlaws such practices. Suspected witches are often subject to mob violence. The Islamist jihadist group Ansar al-Islam has been reported as operating in North Cameroon.
In the northern regions, the locally dominant Fulani ethnic group is almost completely Muslim, but the overall population is fairly evenly divided among Muslims, Christians, and followers of indigenous religious beliefs (called Kirdi ("pagan") by the Fulani). The Bamum ethnic group of the West Region is largely Muslim. Native traditional religions are practised in rural areas throughout the country but rarely are practised publicly in cities, in part because many indigenous religious groups are intrinsically local.
Education and health
In 2013, the total adult literacy rate in Cameroon was estimated to be 71.3%. Among youths aged 15–24, the literacy rate was 85.4% for males and 76.4% for females. Most children have access to state-run schools that are cheaper than private and religious facilities. The educational system is a mixture of British and French precedents, with most instruction in English or French.
Cameroon has one of the highest school attendance rates in Africa. Girls attend school less regularly than boys do because of cultural attitudes, domestic duties, early marriage, pregnancy, and sexual harassment. Although attendance rates are higher in the south, a disproportionate number of teachers are stationed there, leaving northern schools chronically understaffed. In 2013, the primary school enrollment rate was 93.5%.
School attendance in Cameroon is also affected by child labour. Indeed, the United States Department of Labor Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor reported that 56% of children aged 5 to 14 were working children and that almost 53% of children aged 7 to 14 combined work and school. In December 2014, a List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor issued by the Bureau of International Labor Affairs mentioned Cameroon among the countries that resorted to child labor in the production of cocoa.
The quality of health care is generally low. Life expectancy at birth is estimated to be 56 years in 2012, with 48 healthy life years expected. Fertility rate remains high in Cameroon with an average of 4.8 births per woman and an average mother's age of 19.7 years old at first birth. In Cameroon, there is only one doctor for every 5,000 people, according to the WHO. In 2014, just 4.1% of total GDP expenditure was allocated to healthcare. Due to financial cuts in the health care system, there are few professionals. Doctors and nurses who were trained in Cameroon emigrate because in Cameroon the payment is poor while the workload is high. Nurses are unemployed even though their help is needed. Some of them help out voluntarily so they will not lose their skills. Outside the major cities, facilities are often dirty and poorly equipped.
In 2012, the top three deadly diseases were HIV/AIDS, lower respiratory tract infection, and diarrheal diseases. Endemic diseases include dengue fever, filariasis, leishmaniasis, malaria, meningitis, schistosomiasis, and sleeping sickness. The HIV/AIDS prevalence rate in 2016 was estimated at 3.8% for those aged 15–49, although a strong stigma against the illness keeps the number of reported cases artificially low. 46,000 children under age 14 were estimated to be living with HIV in 2016. In Cameroon, 58% of those living with HIV know their status, and just 37% receive ARV treatment. In 2016, 29,000 deaths due to AIDS occurred in both adults and children.
Breast ironing, a traditional practice that is prevalent in Cameroon, may affect girls' health.Female genital mutilation (FGM), while not widespread, is practised among some populations; according to a 2013 UNICEF report, 1% of women in Cameroon have undergone FGM. Also impacting women's and girls' health, the contraceptive prevalence rate is estimated to be just 34.4% in 2014. Traditional healers remain a popular alternative to evidence-based medicine.
In the 2024 Global Hunger Index (GHI), Cameroon ranks 79th out of 127 countries with sufficient data. Cameroon's GHI score is 18.3, which is considered moderate.
Culture
Music and dance
Music and dance are integral parts of Cameroonian ceremonies, festivals, social gatherings, and storytelling. Traditional dances are highly choreographed and separate men and women or forbid participation by one sex altogether. The dances' purposes range from pure entertainment to religious devotion. Traditionally, music is transmitted orally. In a typical performance, a chorus of singers echoes a soloist.
Musical accompaniment may be as simple as clapping hands and stamping feet, but traditional instruments include bells worn by dancers, clappers, drums, and talking drums, flutes, horns, rattles, scrapers, stringed instruments, whistles, and xylophones; combinations of these vary by ethnic group and region. Some performers sing complete songs alone, accompanied by a harplike instrument.
Popular music styles include ambasse bey of the coast, assiko of the Bassa, mangambeu of the Bangangte, and tsamassi of the Bamileke.Nigerian music has influenced Anglophone Cameroonian performers, and Prince Nico Mbarga's highlife hit "Sweet Mother" is the top-selling African record in history.
The two most popular music styles are makossa and bikutsi. Makossa developed in Douala and mixes folk music, highlife, soul, and Congo music. Performers such as Manu Dibango, Francis Bebey, Moni Bilé, and Petit-Pays popularised the style worldwide in the 1970s and 1980s. Bikutsi originated as war music among the Ewondo. Artists such as Anne-Marie Nzié developed it into popular dance music beginning in the 1940s, and performers such as Mama Ohandja and Les Têtes Brulées popularised it internationally during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.
Holidays
The most notable holiday associated with patriotism in Cameroon is National Day, also called Unity Day. Among the most notable religious holidays are Assumption Day, and Ascension Day, which is typically 39 days after Easter. In the Northwest and Southwest provinces, collectively called Ambazonia, October 1 is considered a national holiday, a date Ambazonians consider the day of their independence from Cameroon.
Cuisine
Cuisine varies by region, but a large, one-course, evening meal is common throughout the country. A typical dish is based on cocoyams, maize, cassava (manioc), millet, plantains, potatoes, rice, or yams, often pounded into dough-like fufu. This is served with a sauce, soup, or stew made from greens, groundnuts, palm oil, or other ingredients. Meat and fish are popular but expensive additions, with chicken often reserved for special occasions. Dishes are often quite spicy; seasonings include salt, red pepper sauce, and maggi.
Cutlery is common, but food is traditionally manipulated with the right hand. Breakfast consists of leftovers of bread and fruit with coffee or tea. Generally, breakfast is made from wheat flour in different foods such as puff-puff (doughnuts), accra banana made from bananas and flour, bean cakes, and many more. Snacks are popular, especially in larger towns where they may be bought from street vendors.
Fashion
Cameroon's relatively large and diverse population is likewise diverse in its fashions. Climate, religious, ethnic, and cultural beliefs, and the influences of colonialism, imperialism, and globalisation are all factors in contemporary Cameroonian dresses. Noteworthy Cameroonian dresses include , sarongs worn by Cameroon women; Chechia, a traditional hat; kwa, a male handbag; and , male custom attire. Wrappers and loincloths are used extensively by both women and men but their use varies by region, with influences from Fulani styles more present in the north and Igbo and Yoruba styles more often in the south and west.Imane Ayissi is one of Cameroon's most prominent fashion designers and has received international recognition.
Local arts and crafts
Traditional arts and crafts are practised throughout the country for commercial, decorative, and religious purposes. Woodcarvings and sculptures are especially common. The high-quality clay of the western highlands is used for pottery and ceramics. Other crafts include basket weaving, beadworking, brass and bronze working, calabash carving and painting, embroidery, and leather working. Traditional housing styles use local materials and vary from temporary wood-and-leaf shelters of nomadic Mbororo to the rectangular mud-and-thatch homes of southern peoples. Dwellings of materials such as cement and tin are increasingly common.Contemporary art is mainly promoted by independent cultural organisations (Doual'art, ) and artist-run initiatives (, Atelier Viking, ArtBakery).
Literature
Cameroonian literature has concentrated on both European and African themes. Colonial-era writers such as Louis-Marie Pouka and Sankie Maimo were educated by European missionary societies and advocated assimilation into European culture to bring Cameroon into the modern world. After World War II, writers such as Mongo Beti and Ferdinand Oyono analysed and criticised colonialism and rejected assimilation.
Media
- Cameroon Radio Television
Films and literature
Shortly after independence, filmmakers such as Jean-Paul Ngassa and Thérèse Sita-Bella explored similar themes. In the 1960s, Mongo Beti, Ferdinand Léopold Oyono and other writers explored postcolonialism, problems of African development, and the recovery of African identity. In the mid-1970s, filmmakers such as Jean-Pierre Dikongué Pipa and Daniel Kamwa dealt with the conflicts between traditional and postcolonial society. Literature and films during the next two decades focused more on wholly Cameroonian themes.
Sports
National policy strongly advocates sport in all forms. Traditional sports include canoe racing and wrestling, and several hundred runners participate in the 40 km (25 mi) Mount Cameroon Race of Hope each year. Cameroon is one of the few tropical countries to have competed in the Winter Olympics.
Sport in Cameroon is dominated by football. Amateur football clubs abound, organised along ethnic lines or under corporate sponsors. The national team has been one of the most successful in Africa since its strong showing in the 1982 and 1990 FIFA World Cups. Cameroon has won five African Cup of Nations titles and the gold medal at the 2000 Olympics.
Cameroon was the host country of the Women Africa Cup of Nations in November–December 2016, the 2020 African Nations Championship and the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations. The women's football team is known as the "Indomitable Lionesses", and like their men's counterparts, are also successful on the international stage, although it has not won any major trophy.
Cricket has also entered into Cameroon as an emerging sport with the Cameroon Cricket Federation participating in international matches. Cameroon has produced multiple National Basketball Association players including Pascal Siakam, Joel Embiid, D. J. Strawberry, Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje, Christian Koloko, and Luc Mbah a Moute. The former UFC Heavyweight Champion, Francis Ngannou, hails from Cameroon.
See also
- Index of Cameroon-related articles
- Outline of Cameroon
- Telephone numbers in Cameroon
Notes
- /ˌkæməˈruːn/ CAM-ə-ROON; French: Cameroun
- French: République du Cameroun
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Further reading
- "Cameroon – Annual Report 2007". Archived from the original on 26 May 2007. Retrieved 7 February 2007. . Reporters without Borders. Retrieved 6 April 2007.
- "Cameroon". Archived from the original on 13 January 2007. Retrieved 6 January 2007. . Human Development Report 2006. United Nations Development Programme. Retrieved 6 April 2007.
- Cana, Frank Richardson (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 5 (11th ed.). pp. 110–113. .
- Fonge, Fuabeh P. (1997). Modernization without Development in Africa: Patterns of Change and Continuity in Post-Independence Cameroonian Public Service. Trenton, New Jersey: Africa World Press, Inc.
- MacDonald, Brian S. (1997). "Case Study 4: Cameroon", Military Spending in Developing Countries: How Much Is Too Much? McGill-Queen's University Press.
- Njeuma, Dorothy L. (no date). "Country Profiles: Cameroon". The Boston College Center for International Higher Education. Retrieved 11 April 2008.
- Rechniewski, Elizabeth. "1947: Decolonisation in the Shadow of the Cold War: the Case of French Cameroon." Australian & New Zealand Journal of European Studies 9.3 (2017). online
- Sa'ah, Randy Joe (23 June 2006). "Cameroon girls battle 'breast ironing' Archived 11 February 2007 at the Wayback Machine". BBC News. Retrieved 6 April 2007.
- Wright, Susannah, ed. (2006). Cameroon. Madrid: MTH Multimedia S.L.
- "World Economic and Financial Surveys Archived 11 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine". World Economic Outlook Database, International Monetary Fund. September 2006. Retrieved 6 April 2007.
External links
- Cameroon. The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency.
- Cameroon Corruption Profile Archived 24 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine from Business Anti-Corruption Portal
- Cameroon from UCB Libraries GovPubs
- Cameroon profile from the BBC News
Wikimedia Atlas of Cameroon
- Key Development Forecasts for Cameroon from International Futures
Government
- Presidency of the Republic of Cameroon
- Prime Minister's Office
- National Assembly of Cameroon
- Global Integrity Report: Cameroon has reporting on anti-corruption in Cameroon
- Chief of State and Cabinet Members
Trade
- Summary Trade Statistics from World Bank
Cameroon officially the Republic of Cameroon is a country in Central Africa It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north Chad to the northeast the Central African Republic to the east and Equatorial Guinea Gabon and the Republic of the Congo to the south Its coastline lies on the Bight of Biafra part of the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean Due to its strategic position at the crossroads between West Africa and Central Africa it has been categorized as being in both camps Cameroon s population of nearly 31 million people speak 250 native languages in addition to the national tongues of English and French or both Early inhabitants of the territory included the Sao civilisation around Lake Chad and the Baka hunter gatherers in the southeastern rainforest Portuguese explorers reached the coast in the 15th century and named the area Rio dos Camaroes Shrimp River which became Cameroon in English Fulani soldiers founded the Adamawa Emirate in the north in the 19th century and various ethnic groups of the west and northwest established powerful chiefdoms and fondoms Republic of CameroonRepublique du Cameroun French Flag Coat of armsMotto Paix Travail Patrie French Peace Work Fatherland Anthem Chant de Ralliement French The Rallying Song Show globeShow map of AfricaCapitalYaounde 3 52 N 11 31 E 3 867 N 11 517 E 3 867 11 517Largest cityDoualaOfficial languagesEnglish FrenchEthnic groups 2022 22 2 Bamileke Bamum16 4 Biu Mandara13 5 Shuwa Arab Hausa amp Kanuri13 1 Beti Bassa Mbam12 0 Fulani9 9 Grassfields Tikar 9 8 Adamawa Ubangi Mbum Gbaya 4 6 fr 4 3 Southwest Bantu2 3 Pygmy peoples3 8 others foreignersReligion 2022 66 3 Christianity30 6 Islam1 3 traditional faiths1 1 no religion0 7 othersDemonym s CameroonianGovernmentUnitary dominant party presidential republic under a dictatorship PresidentPaul Biya Prime MinisterJoseph Ngute President of SenateMarcel Niat Njifenji President of National AssemblyCavaye Yeguie DjibrilLegislatureParliament Upper houseSenate Lower houseNational AssemblyFormation German Kamerun17 August 1884 Partition20 July 1916 Independence of French Cameroon from France1 January 1960 Independence of Southern Cameroons from the United Kingdom establishment of federal republic1 October 1961 Unitary stateMay 1972Area Total475 442 km2 183 569 sq mi 53rd Water 0 57Population 2024 estimate30 966 105 52nd Density39 7 km2 102 8 sq mi GDP PPP 2024 estimate Total 141 930 billion 94th Per capita 4 840 155th GDP nominal 2024 estimate Total 53 210 billion 91th Per capita 1 810 158th Gini 2021 42 2 medium inequalityHDI 2022 0 587 medium 151st CurrencyCentral African CFA franc XAF Time zoneUTC 1 WAT Date formatdd mm yyyy yyyy mm ddCalling code 237ISO 3166 codeCMInternet TLD cmThese are the titles as given in the Constitution of the Republic of Cameroon Article X English at the Wayback Machine archived 28 February 2006 and French at the Wayback Machine archived 28 February 2006 versions 18 January 1996 The French version of the song is sometimes called Chant de Ralliement as in Swarovski Orchestra 2004 National Anthems of the World Koch International Classics and the English version O Cameroon Cradle of Our Forefathers as in DeLancey and DeLancey 61 Cameroon became a German colony in 1884 known as Kamerun After World War I it was divided between France and the United Kingdom as League of Nations mandates France took 4 5 and the United Kingdom 1 5 of the territory and both ruled it under mandate until independence in 1960 and 1961 respectively The Union des Populations du Cameroun UPC political party advocated independence but was outlawed by France in the 1950s leading to the national liberation insurgency fought between French and UPC militant forces until early 1971 In 1960 the French administered part of Cameroon became independent as the Republic of Cameroun under President Ahmadou Ahidjo The southern part of British Cameroons federated with it in 1961 to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon The federation was abandoned in 1972 The country was renamed the United Republic of Cameroon in 1972 and back to the Republic of Cameroon in 1984 by a presidential decree by President Paul Biya Biya the incumbent president has led the country since 1982 following Ahidjo s resignation he previously held office as prime minister from 1975 onward Cameroon is governed as a unitary presidential republic The official languages of Cameroon are French and English the official languages of former French Cameroons and British Cameroons Christianity is the majority religion in Cameroon with significant minorities practising Islam and traditional faiths It has experienced tensions from the English speaking territories where politicians have advocated for greater decentralisation and even complete separation or independence as in the Southern Cameroons National Council In 2017 tensions over the creation of an Ambazonian state in the English speaking territories escalated into open warfare Large numbers of Cameroonians live as subsistence farmers The country is often referred to as Africa in miniature for its geological linguistic and cultural diversity Its natural features include beaches deserts mountains rainforests and savannas Cameroon s highest point at almost 4 100 metres 13 500 ft is Mount Cameroon in the Southwest Region Cameroon s most populous cities are Douala on the Wouri River its economic capital and main seaport Yaounde its political capital and Garoua Limbe in the southwest has a natural seaport Cameroon is well known for its native music styles particularly Makossa Njang and Bikutsi and its successful national football team It is a member state of the African Union the United Nations the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie OIF the Commonwealth of Nations the Non Aligned Movement and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation EtymologyOriginally Cameroon was the exonym given by the Portuguese to the Wouri River which they called Rio dos Camaroes meaning river of shrimps or shrimp river referring to the then abundant Cameroon ghost shrimp Today the country s name in Portuguese remains Camaroes HistoryEarly history Bamum script is a writing system developed by King Njoya in the late 19th century Evidence from digs at Shum Laka in the Northwest Region shows human occupation in Cameroon dating back 30 000 years The longest continuous inhabitants are groups such as the Baka Pygmies From there Bantu migrations into eastern southern and central Africa are believed to have occurred about 2 000 years ago The Sao culture arose around Lake Chad c 500 CE and gave way to the Kanem and its successor state the Bornu Empire Kingdoms fondoms and chiefdoms arose in the west Portuguese sailors reached the coast in 1472 They noted an abundance of the ghost shrimp Lepidophthalmus turneranus in the Wouri River and named it Rio dos Camaroes Shrimp River which became Cameroon in English Over the following few centuries European interests regularised trade with the coastal peoples and Christian missionaries pushed inland In 1896 Sultan Ibrahim Njoya created the Bamum script or Shu Mom for the Bamum language It is taught in Cameroon today by the Bamum Scripts and Archives Project German rule Germany began to establish roots in Cameroon in 1868 when the Woermann Company of Hamburg built a warehouse It was built on the estuary of the Wouri River Later Gustav Nachtigal made a treaty with one of the local kings to annex the region for the German emperor The German Empire claimed the territory as the colony of Kamerun in 1884 and began a steady push inland the natives resisted Under the aegis of Germany commercial companies were local administrations These concessions used forced labour to run profitable banana rubber palm oil and cocoa plantations Even infrastructure projects relied on a regimen of forced labour This economic policy was much criticised by the other colonial powers French and British rule Leaders of the pro independence UPC With the defeat of Germany in World War I Kamerun became a League of Nations mandate territory and was split into French Cameroon French Cameroun and British Cameroon in 1919 France integrated the economy of Cameroon with that of France and improved the infrastructure with capital investments and skilled workers modifying the colonial system of forced labour The British administered their territory from neighbouring Nigeria Natives complained that this made them a neglected colony of a colony Nigerian migrant workers flocked to Southern Cameroons ending forced labour altogether but angering the local natives who felt swamped The League of Nations mandates were converted into United Nations Trusteeships in 1946 and the question of independence became a pressing issue in French Cameroon France outlawed the pro independence political party the Union of the Peoples of Cameroon French Union des Populations du Cameroun UPC on 13 July 1955 This prompted a long guerrilla war waged by the UPC and the assassination of several of the party s leaders including Ruben Um Nyobe Felix Roland Moumie and Ernest Ouandie In the British Cameroons the question was whether to reunify with French Cameroon or join Nigeria the British ruled out the option of independence Independence On 1 January 1960 French Cameroun gained independence from France under President Ahmadou Ahidjo as the Republic of Cameroon Federal Republic of Cameroon Flag of the Federal Republic of Cameroon On 1 October 1961 the formerly British Southern Cameroons gained independence from the United Kingdom by vote of the UN General Assembly and merged into the Republic of Cameroon to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon The federal republic was composed of two federated states East Cameroon and West Cameroon each with its own legislature government and prime minister 1 October is now observed as Unification Day a public holiday Ahidjo used the ongoing war with the UPC to concentrate power in the presidency continuing with this even after the suppression of the UPC in 1971 United Republic of Cameroon and Republic of Cameroon Former president Ahmadou Ahidjo ruled from 1960 until 1982 Ahidjo s political party the Cameroon National Union CNU became the sole legal political party on 1 September 1966 and on 20 May 1972 a referendum was passed to abolish the federal system of government in favour of a United Republic of Cameroon headed from Yaounde This day is now the country s National Day a public holiday Ahidjo pursued an economic policy of planned liberalism prioritising cash crops and petroleum development The government used oil money to create a national cash reserve pay farmers and finance major development projects however many initiatives failed when Ahidjo appointed unqualified allies to direct them The national flag was changed on 20 May 1975 with the two stars removed and replaced with a large central star as a symbol of national unity Ahidjo stepped down on 4 November 1982 and left power to his constitutional successor Paul Biya However Ahidjo remained in control of the CNU and tried to run the country from behind the scenes until Biya and his allies pressured him into resigning Biya began his administration by moving toward a more democratic government but a failed coup d etat nudged him toward the leadership style of his predecessor In 1987 Dja Faunal Reserve Cameroon s first World Heritage Site was inscribed on the list by UNESCO An economic crisis took effect in the mid 1980s to late 1990s as a result of international economic conditions drought falling petroleum prices and years of corruption mismanagement and cronyism Cameroon turned to foreign aid cut government spending and privatised industries With the reintroduction of multi party politics in December 1990 the former British Southern Cameroons pressure groups called for greater autonomy and the Southern Cameroons National Council advocated complete secession as the Republic of Ambazonia The 1992 Labour Code of Cameroon gives workers the freedom to belong to a trade union or not to belong to any trade union at all It is the choice of a worker to join any trade union in their occupation since there is more than one trade union in each occupation Paul Biya has ruled the country since 1982 In June 2006 talks concerning a territorial dispute over the Bakassi peninsula were resolved The talks involved President Paul Biya of Cameroon then President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria and then UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and resulted in Cameroonian control of the oil rich peninsula The northern portion of the territory was formally handed over to the Cameroonian government in August 2006 and the remainder of the peninsula was left to Cameroon two years later in 2008 The boundary change triggered a local separatist insurgency as many Bakassians refused to accept Cameroonian rule While most militants laid down their arms in November 2009 some carried on fighting for years In February 2008 Cameroon experienced its worst violence in 15 years when a transport union strike in Douala escalated into violent protests in 31 municipal areas In May 2014 in the wake of the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping presidents Paul Biya of Cameroon and Idriss Deby of Chad announced they were waging war on Boko Haram and deployed troops to the Nigerian border Boko Haram launched several attacks into Cameroon killing 84 civilians in a December 2014 raid but suffering a heavy defeat in a raid in January 2015 Cameroon declared victory over Boko Haram on Cameroonian territory in September 2018 Since November 2016 protesters from the predominantly English speaking Northwest and Southwest regions of the country have been campaigning for continued use of the English language in schools and courts People were killed and hundreds were jailed as a result of these protests In 2017 Biya s government blocked the regions access to the Internet for three months In September separatists started a guerilla war for the independence of the Anglophone region as the Federal Republic of Ambazonia The government responded with a military offensive and the insurgency spread across the Northwest and Southwest regions As of 2019 update fighting between separatist guerillas and government forces continues During 2020 numerous terrorist attacks many of them carried out without claims of credit and government reprisals have led to bloodshed throughout the country Since 2016 more than 450 000 people have fled their homes The conflict indirectly led to an upsurge in Boko Haram attacks as the Cameroonian military largely withdrew from the north to focus on fighting the Ambazonian separatists More than 30 000 people in northern Cameroon fled to Chad after ethnic clashes over access to water between Musgum fishermen and ethnic Arab Choa herders in December 2021 Politics and governmentUnity Palace Cameroon Presidency The President of Cameroon is elected and creates policy administers government agencies commands the armed forces negotiates and ratifies treaties and declares a state of emergency The president appoints government officials at all levels from the prime minister considered the official head of government to the provincial governors and divisional officers The president is selected by popular vote every seven years There have been 2 presidents since the independence of Cameroon The National Assembly makes legislation The body consists of 180 members who are elected for five year terms and meet three times per year Laws are passed on a majority vote The 1996 constitution establishes a second house of parliament the 100 seat Senate The government recognises the authority of traditional chiefs fons and lamibe to govern at the local level and to resolve disputes as long as such rulings do not conflict with national law Cameroon s legal system is a mixture of civil law common law and customary law Although nominally independent the judiciary falls under the authority of the executive s Ministry of Justice The president appoints judges at all levels The judiciary is officially divided into tribunals the court of appeal and the supreme court The National Assembly elects the members of a nine member High Court of Justice that judges high ranking members of government in the event they are charged with high treason or harming national security Political culture A statue of a chief in Bana West Region Cameroon is viewed as rife with corruption at all levels of government In 1997 Cameroon established anti corruption bureaus in 29 ministries but only 25 became operational and in 2012 Transparency International placed Cameroon at number 144 on a list of 176 countries ranked from least to most corrupt On 18 January 2006 Biya initiated an anti corruption drive under the direction of the National Anti Corruption Observatory There are several high corruption risk areas in Cameroon for instance customs public health sector and public procurement However the corruption has gotten worse regardless of the existing anti corruption bureaus as Transparency International ranked Cameroon 152 on a list of 180 countries in 2018 President Biya s Cameroon People s Democratic Movement CPDM was the only legal political party until December 1990 Numerous regional political groups have since formed The primary opposition is the Social Democratic Front SDF based largely in the Anglophone region of the country and headed by John Fru Ndi Biya and his party have maintained control of the presidency and the National Assembly in national elections which rivals contend were unfair Human rights organisations allege that the government suppresses the freedoms of opposition groups by preventing demonstrations disrupting meetings and arresting opposition leaders and journalists In particular English speaking people are discriminated against protests often escalate into violent clashes and killings In 2017 President Biya shut down the Internet in the English speaking region for 94 days at the cost of hampering five million people including Silicon Mountain startups Freedom House ranks Cameroon as not free in terms of political rights and civil liberties The last parliamentary elections were held on 9 February 2020 Foreign relations President Paul Biya with U S President Barack Obama in 2014 Cameroon is a member of both the Commonwealth of Nations and La Francophonie Its foreign policy closely follows that of its main ally France one of its former colonial rulers Cameroon relies heavily on France for its defence although military spending is high in comparison to other sectors of government President Biya has engaged in a decades long clash with the government of Nigeria over possession of the oil rich Bakassi peninsula Cameroon and Nigeria share a 1 000 mile 1 600 km border and have disputed the sovereignty of the Bakassi peninsula In 1994 Cameroon petitioned the International Court of Justice to resolve the dispute The two countries attempted to establish a cease fire in 1996 however fighting continued for years In 2002 the ICJ ruled that the gave sovereignty to Cameroon The ruling called for a withdrawal by both countries and denied the request by Cameroon for compensation due to Nigeria s long term occupation By 2004 Nigeria had failed to meet the deadline to hand over the peninsula A UN mediated summit in June 2006 facilitated an agreement for Nigeria to withdraw from the region and both leaders signed the Greentree Agreement The withdrawal and handover of control was completed by August 2006 In July 2019 UN ambassadors of 37 countries including Cameroon signed a joint letter to the UNHRC defending China s treatment of Uyghurs in the Xinjiang region Military Military vehicles during a parade The Cameroon Armed Forces French Forces armees camerounaises FAC consists of the country s army Armee de Terre the country s navy Marine Nationale de la Republique MNR including naval infantry the Cameroonian Air Force Armee de l Air du Cameroun AAC and the Gendarmerie The military is crucial in supporting Cameroon s authoritarian government since independence in 1960 The military has been involved in defeating rebellions controlling protests for democratic reforms combating Boko Haram since 2014 and handling the Anglophone separatist movement that began in 2017 Human rights Human rights organisations accuse police and military forces of mistreating and even torturing criminal suspects ethnic minorities homosexuals and political activists United Nations figures indicate that more than 21 000 people have fled to neighbouring countries while 160 000 have been internally displaced by the violence many reportedly hiding in forests Prisons are overcrowded with little access to adequate food and medical facilities and prisons run by traditional rulers in the north are charged with holding political opponents at the behest of the government However since the first decade of the 21st century an increasing number of police and gendarmes have been prosecuted for improper conduct On 25 July 2018 the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra ad Al Hussein expressed deep concern about reports of violations and abuses in the English speaking Northwest and Southwest regions of Cameroon According to OCHA more than 1 7 million people require humanitarian assistance in the northwest and southwest regions OCHA also estimates that at least 628 000 people have been internally displaced by violence in the two regions while more than 87 000 have fled to Nigeria Same sex sexual acts are banned by section 347 1 of the penal code with a penalty of from 6 months up to 5 years imprisonment Since December 2020 Human Rights Watch claimed that Islamist armed group Boko Haram has stepped up attacks and killed at least 80 civilians in towns and villages in the Far North region of Cameroon Administrative divisions Cameroon is divided into 10 regions The constitution divides Cameroon into 10 semi autonomous regions each under the administration of an elected Regional Council Each region is headed by a presidentially appointed governor These leaders are charged with implementing the will of the president reporting on the general mood and conditions of the regions administering the civil service keeping the peace and overseeing the heads of the smaller administrative units Governors have broad powers they may order propaganda in their area and call in the army gendarmes and police All local government officials are employees of the central government s Ministry of Territorial Administration from which local governments also get most of their budgets The regions are subdivided into 58 divisions French departements These are headed by presidentially appointed divisional officers prefets The divisions are further split into sub divisions arrondissements headed by assistant divisional officers sous prefets The districts administered by district heads chefs de district are the smallest administrative units The three northernmost regions are the Far North Extreme Nord North Nord and Adamawa Adamaoua Directly south of them are the Centre Centre and East Est The South Province Sud lies on the Gulf of Guinea and the southern border Cameroon s western region is split into four smaller regions the Littoral Littoral and South West Sud Ouest regions are on the coast and the North West Nord Ouest and West Ouest regions are in the western grassfields GeographyVolcanic plugs dot the landscape near Rhumsiki Far North Region At 475 442 square kilometres 183 569 sq mi Cameroon is the world s 53rd largest country The country is located in Central Africa on the Bight of Bonny part of the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean Cameroon lies between latitudes 1 and 13 N and longitudes 8 and 17 E Cameroon controls 12 nautical miles of the Atlantic Ocean Tourist literature describes Cameroon as Africa in miniature because it exhibits all major climates and vegetation of the continent coast desert mountains rainforest and savanna The country s neighbours are Nigeria and the Atlantic Ocean to the west Chad to the northeast the Central African Republic to the east and Equatorial Guinea Gabon and the Republic of the Congo to the south Cameroon is divided into five major geographic zones distinguished by dominant physical climatic and vegetative features The coastal plain extends 15 to 150 kilometres 9 to 93 mi inland from the Gulf of Guinea and has an average elevation of 90 metres 295 ft Exceedingly hot and humid with a short dry season this belt is densely forested and includes some of the wettest places on earth part of the Cross Sanaga Bioko coastal forests The South Cameroon Plateau rises from the coastal plain to an average elevation of 650 metres 2 133 ft Equatorial rainforest dominates this region although its alternation between wet and dry seasons makes it less humid than the coast This area is part of the Atlantic Equatorial coastal forests ecoregion Elephants in Waza National Park An irregular chain of mountains hills and plateaus known as the Cameroon range extends from Mount Cameroon on the coast Cameroon s highest point at 4 095 metres 13 435 ft almost to Lake Chad at Cameroon s northern border at 13 05 N This region has a mild climate particularly on the Western High Plateau although rainfall is high Its soils are among Cameroon s most fertile especially around volcanic Mount Cameroon Volcanism here has created crater lakes On 21 August 1986 one of these Lake Nyos belched carbon dioxide and killed between 1 700 and 2 000 people This area has been delineated by the World Wildlife Fund as the Cameroonian Highlands forests ecoregion The southern plateau rises northward to the grassy rugged Adamawa Plateau This feature stretches from the western mountain area and forms a barrier between the country s north and south Its average elevation is 1 100 metres 3 609 ft and its average temperature ranges from 22 C 71 6 F to 25 C 77 F with high rainfall between April and October peaking in July and August The northern lowland region extends from the edge of the Adamawa to Lake Chad with an average elevation of 300 to 350 metres 984 to 1 148 ft Its characteristic vegetation is savanna scrub and grass This is an arid region with sparse rainfall and high median temperatures Cameroon has four patterns of drainage In the south the principal rivers are the Ntem Nyong Sanaga and Wouri These flow southwestward or westward directly into the Gulf of Guinea The Dja and Kadei drain southeastward into the Congo River In northern Cameroon the Benoue River runs north and west and empties into the Niger The Logone flows northward into Lake Chad which Cameroon shares with three neighbouring countries Wildlife Cameroon s wildlife is composed of its flora and fauna It is one of the wettest parts of Africa and records Africa s second highest concentration of biodiversity In Cameroon forest cover is around 43 of the total land area equivalent to 20 340 480 hectares ha of forest in 2020 down from 22 500 000 hectares ha in 1990 In 2020 naturally regenerating forests covered 20 279 380 hectares ha and planted forests covered 61 100 hectares ha Around 15 of the forest area was found within protected areas for the year 2015 100 of the forest area was reported to be under public ownership To preserve its wildlife Cameroon has more than 20 protected reserves comprising national parks zoos forest reserves and sanctuaries The protected areas were first created in the northern region under the colonial administration in 1932 the first two reserves established were and the Benoue Reserve which was followed by the Waza Reserve on 24 March 1934 The coverage of reserves was initially about 4 percent of the country s area rising to 12 percent the administration proposes to cover 30 percent of the land area Its rich wildlife consists of 8 260 recorded plant species including 156 endemic species 409 species of mammals of which 14 are endemic 690 species of birds which includes 8 endemic species 250 species of reptiles and 200 species of amphibians The habitats of these species include the southern region comprising tropical lowland coastline on the Gulf of Guinea Mangrove forests 270 000 hectares 670 000 acres in size are along the coast line Montane forests and savannas are in the northern region of the country Important protected areas for these species are the Mbam Djerem National Park Benoue National Park Korup National Park Takamanda National Park and the Kagwene Gorilla Sanctuary Cameroon is an important breeding area for marine and freshwater species such as crustaceans mollusks fish and birds Economy and infrastructureCameroon s per capita GDP Purchasing power parity was estimated at US 3 700 in 2017 Major export markets include the Netherlands France China Belgium Italy Algeria and Malaysia Cameroon has its GDP growing at an average of 4 per year During the 2004 2008 period public debt was reduced from over 60 of GDP to 10 and official reserves quadrupled to over US 3 billion Cameroon is part of the Bank of Central African States of which it is the dominant economy the Customs and Economic Union of Central Africa UDEAC and the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa OHADA Its currency is the CFA franc Unemployment was estimated at 3 38 in 2019 and 23 8 of the population was living below the international poverty threshold of US 1 90 a day in 2014 Since the late 1980s Cameroon has been following programmes advocated by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund IMF to reduce poverty privatise industries and increase economic growth The government has taken measures to encourage tourism in the country An estimated 70 of the population farms and agriculture comprised an estimated 16 7 of GDP in 2017 Most agriculture is done at the subsistence scale by local farmers using simple tools They sell their surplus produce and some maintain separate fields for commercial use Urban centres are particularly reliant on peasant agriculture for their foodstuffs Soils and climate on the coast encourage extensive commercial cultivation of bananas cocoa oil palms rubber and tea Inland on the South Cameroon Plateau cash crops include coffee sugar and tobacco Coffee is a major cash crop in the western highlands and in the north natural conditions favour crops such as cotton groundnuts and rice Production of Fairtrade cotton was initiated in Cameroon in 2004 Dutch bulls and cows at Wallya community during the rainy season in Cameroon Livestock are raised throughout the country Fishing employs 5 000 people and provides over 100 000 tons of seafood each year Bushmeat long a staple food for rural Cameroonians is today a delicacy in the country s urban centres The commercial bushmeat trade has now surpassed deforestation as the main threat to wildlife in Cameroon The southern rainforest has vast timber reserves estimated to cover 37 of Cameroon s total land area However large areas of the forest are difficult to reach Logging largely handled by foreign owned firms provides the government US 60 million a year in taxes as of 1998 update and laws mandate the safe and sustainable exploitation of timber Nevertheless in practice the industry is one of the least regulated in Cameroon Factory based industry accounted for an estimated 26 5 of GDP in 2017 More than 75 of Cameroon s industrial strength is located in Douala and Bonaberi Cameroon possesses substantial mineral resources but these are not extensively mined see Mining in Cameroon Petroleum exploitation has fallen since 1986 but this is still a substantial sector such that dips in prices have a strong effect on the economy Rapids and waterfalls obstruct the southern rivers but these sites offer opportunities for hydroelectric development and supply most of Cameroon s energy The Sanaga River powers the largest hydroelectric station located at Edea The rest of Cameroon s energy comes from oil powered thermal engines Much of the country remains without reliable power supplies Three trans African automobile routes pass through Cameroon the Lagos Mombasa Highway the Tripoli Cape Town Highway the Dakar N Djamena Highway Transport in Cameroon is often difficult Only 6 6 of the roadways are tarred Roadblocks often serve little other purpose than to allow police and gendarmes to collect bribes from travellers Road banditry has long hampered transport along the eastern and western borders and since 2005 the problem has intensified in the east as the Central African Republic has further destabilised Douala seaport Intercity bus services run by multiple private companies connect all major cities They are the most popular means of transportation followed by the rail service Camrail Rail service runs from Kumba in the west to Belabo in the east and north to Ngaoundere International airports are located in Douala and Yaounde with a third under construction in Maroua Douala is the country s principal seaport and Kribi Deepwater Port started operations in 2014 In the north the Benoue River is seasonally navigable from Garoua across into Nigeria Although press freedoms have improved since the first decade of the 21st century the press is corrupt and beholden to special interests and political groups Newspapers routinely self censor to avoid government reprisals The major radio and television stations are state run and other communications such as land based telephones and telegraphs are largely under government control However cell phone networks and Internet providers have increased dramatically since the first decade of the 21st century and are largely unregulated Cameroon was ranked 123rd in the Global Innovation Index in 2024 DemographicsThe population of Cameroon was 27 198 628 in 2021 The life expectancy was 62 3 years 60 6 years for males and 64 years for females Cameroonian women on Women s Day Celebration 2015 Cameroon has slightly more women 50 5 than men 49 5 Over 60 of the population is under age 25 People over 65 years of age account for only 3 11 of the total population Cameroon s population is almost evenly divided between urban and rural dwellers Population density is highest in the large urban centres the western highlands and the northeastern plain Douala Yaounde and Garoua are the largest cities In contrast the Adamawa Plateau southeastern Benoue depression and most of the South Cameroon Plateau are sparsely populated According to the World Health Organization WHO the fertility rate was 4 8 in 2013 with a population growth rate of 2 56 People from the overpopulated western highlands and the underdeveloped north are moving to the coastal plantation zone and urban centres for employment Smaller movements are occurring as workers seek employment in lumber mills and plantations in the south and east Although the national sex ratio is relatively even these out migrants are primarily males which leads to unbalanced ratios in some regions The homes of the Musgum in the Far North Region made of earth and grass Both monogamous and polygamous marriage are practised and the average Cameroonian family is large and extended In the north women tend to the home and men herd cattle or work as farmers In the south women grow the family s food and men provide meat and grow cash crops Cameroonian society is male dominated and violence and discrimination against women are common The number of distinct ethnic and linguistic groups in Cameroon is estimated to be between 230 and 282 The Adamawa Plateau broadly bisects these into northern and southern divisions The northern peoples are Sudanic groups who live in the central highlands and the northern lowlands and the Fulani who are spread throughout northern Cameroon A small number of Shuwa Arabs live near Lake Chad Southern Cameroon is inhabited by speakers of Bantu and Semi Bantu languages Bantu speaking groups inhabit the coastal and equatorial zones while speakers of Semi Bantu languages live in the Western grassfields Some 5 000 Gyele and Baka Pygmy peoples roam the southeastern and coastal rainforests or live in small roadside settlements Nigerians make up the largest group of foreign nationals vte Largest cities or towns in Cameroon According to the 2005 CensusRank Name Region Pop 1 Douala Littoral 1 906 9622 Yaounde Centre 1 817 5243 Bafoussam West 800 0004 Bamenda Northwest 269 5305 Garoua North 235 9966 Maroua Far North 201 3717 Ngaoundere Adamawa 152 6988 Kumba Southwest 144 2689 Nkongsamba Littoral 104 05010 Buea Southwest 90 090 Refugees In 2007 Cameroon hosted approximately 97 400 refugees and asylum seekers Of these 49 300 were from the Central African Republic many driven west by war 41 600 from Chad and 2 900 from Nigeria Kidnappings of Cameroonian citizens by Central African bandits have increased since 2005 In the first months of 2014 thousands of refugees fleeing the violence in the Central African Republic arrived in Cameroon On 4 June 2014 AlertNet reported Almost 90 000 people have fled to neighbouring Cameroon since December and up to 2 000 a week mostly women and children are still crossing the border the United Nations said Women and children are arriving in Cameroon in a shocking state after weeks sometimes months on the road foraging for food said Ertharin Cousin executive director of the World Food Programme WFP Languages Map of the region s indigenous languages The official percentage of French and English speakers by the Presidency of Cameroon is estimated to be 70 and 30 respectively German the language of the original colonisers has long since been displaced by French and English Cameroonian Pidgin English is the lingua franca in the formerly British administered territories A mixture of English French and Pidgin called Camfranglais has been gaining popularity in urban centres since the mid 1970s In addition to the colonial languages there are approximately 250 other languages spoken by nearly 20 million Cameroonians making Cameroon one of the most linguistically diverse countries in the world In 2017 there were language protests by the Anglophone population against perceived oppression by francophone speakers The military was deployed against the protesters and people were killed hundreds imprisoned and thousands fled the country This culminated in the declaration of an independent Republic of Ambazonia which has since evolved into the Anglophone Crisis It is estimated that by June 2020 740 000 people had been internally displaced as a result of this crisis Religion Religion in Cameroon 2022 estimate by the CIA Catholicism 33 1 Protestantism 27 1 Islam 30 6 None 1 2 Folk 1 3 Other including other Christian 6 7 Cameroon has a high level of religious freedom and diversity The majority faith is Christianity practised by about two thirds of the population while Islam is a significant minority faith adhered to by about one fourth In addition traditional faiths are practised by many Muslims are most concentrated in the north while Christians are concentrated primarily in the southern and western regions but practitioners of both faiths can be found throughout the country Large cities have significant populations of both groups Muslims in Cameroon are divided into Sufis Salafis Shias and non denominational Muslims Our Lady of Victories Cathedral a Catholic Church in Yaounde People from the North West and South West provinces which used to be a part of British Cameroons have the highest proportion of Protestants The French speaking regions of the southern and western regions are largely Catholic Southern ethnic groups predominantly follow Christian or traditional African animist beliefs or a syncretic combination of the two People widely believe in witchcraft and the government outlaws such practices Suspected witches are often subject to mob violence The Islamist jihadist group Ansar al Islam has been reported as operating in North Cameroon In the northern regions the locally dominant Fulani ethnic group is almost completely Muslim but the overall population is fairly evenly divided among Muslims Christians and followers of indigenous religious beliefs called Kirdi pagan by the Fulani The Bamum ethnic group of the West Region is largely Muslim Native traditional religions are practised in rural areas throughout the country but rarely are practised publicly in cities in part because many indigenous religious groups are intrinsically local Education and health School children in Cameroon in 2014 In 2013 the total adult literacy rate in Cameroon was estimated to be 71 3 Among youths aged 15 24 the literacy rate was 85 4 for males and 76 4 for females Most children have access to state run schools that are cheaper than private and religious facilities The educational system is a mixture of British and French precedents with most instruction in English or French Cameroon has one of the highest school attendance rates in Africa Girls attend school less regularly than boys do because of cultural attitudes domestic duties early marriage pregnancy and sexual harassment Although attendance rates are higher in the south a disproportionate number of teachers are stationed there leaving northern schools chronically understaffed In 2013 the primary school enrollment rate was 93 5 School attendance in Cameroon is also affected by child labour Indeed the United States Department of Labor Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor reported that 56 of children aged 5 to 14 were working children and that almost 53 of children aged 7 to 14 combined work and school In December 2014 a List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor issued by the Bureau of International Labor Affairs mentioned Cameroon among the countries that resorted to child labor in the production of cocoa Life expectancy in Cameroon The quality of health care is generally low Life expectancy at birth is estimated to be 56 years in 2012 with 48 healthy life years expected Fertility rate remains high in Cameroon with an average of 4 8 births per woman and an average mother s age of 19 7 years old at first birth In Cameroon there is only one doctor for every 5 000 people according to the WHO In 2014 just 4 1 of total GDP expenditure was allocated to healthcare Due to financial cuts in the health care system there are few professionals Doctors and nurses who were trained in Cameroon emigrate because in Cameroon the payment is poor while the workload is high Nurses are unemployed even though their help is needed Some of them help out voluntarily so they will not lose their skills Outside the major cities facilities are often dirty and poorly equipped In 2012 the top three deadly diseases were HIV AIDS lower respiratory tract infection and diarrheal diseases Endemic diseases include dengue fever filariasis leishmaniasis malaria meningitis schistosomiasis and sleeping sickness The HIV AIDS prevalence rate in 2016 was estimated at 3 8 for those aged 15 49 although a strong stigma against the illness keeps the number of reported cases artificially low 46 000 children under age 14 were estimated to be living with HIV in 2016 In Cameroon 58 of those living with HIV know their status and just 37 receive ARV treatment In 2016 29 000 deaths due to AIDS occurred in both adults and children Breast ironing a traditional practice that is prevalent in Cameroon may affect girls health Female genital mutilation FGM while not widespread is practised among some populations according to a 2013 UNICEF report 1 of women in Cameroon have undergone FGM Also impacting women s and girls health the contraceptive prevalence rate is estimated to be just 34 4 in 2014 Traditional healers remain a popular alternative to evidence based medicine In the 2024 Global Hunger Index GHI Cameroon ranks 79th out of 127 countries with sufficient data Cameroon s GHI score is 18 3 which is considered moderate CultureMusic and dance Dancers greet visitors to the East Region 2006 Music and dance are integral parts of Cameroonian ceremonies festivals social gatherings and storytelling Traditional dances are highly choreographed and separate men and women or forbid participation by one sex altogether The dances purposes range from pure entertainment to religious devotion Traditionally music is transmitted orally In a typical performance a chorus of singers echoes a soloist Musical accompaniment may be as simple as clapping hands and stamping feet but traditional instruments include bells worn by dancers clappers drums and talking drums flutes horns rattles scrapers stringed instruments whistles and xylophones combinations of these vary by ethnic group and region Some performers sing complete songs alone accompanied by a harplike instrument Popular music styles include ambasse bey of the coast assiko of the Bassa mangambeu of the Bangangte and tsamassi of the Bamileke Nigerian music has influenced Anglophone Cameroonian performers and Prince Nico Mbarga s highlife hit Sweet Mother is the top selling African record in history The two most popular music styles are makossa and bikutsi Makossa developed in Douala and mixes folk music highlife soul and Congo music Performers such as Manu Dibango Francis Bebey Moni Bile and Petit Pays popularised the style worldwide in the 1970s and 1980s Bikutsi originated as war music among the Ewondo Artists such as Anne Marie Nzie developed it into popular dance music beginning in the 1940s and performers such as Mama Ohandja and Les Tetes Brulees popularised it internationally during the 1960s 1970s and 1980s Holidays The most notable holiday associated with patriotism in Cameroon is National Day also called Unity Day Among the most notable religious holidays are Assumption Day and Ascension Day which is typically 39 days after Easter In the Northwest and Southwest provinces collectively called Ambazonia October 1 is considered a national holiday a date Ambazonians consider the day of their independence from Cameroon Cuisine Plantains and Bobolo made from cassava served with Ndole meat and shrimp Cuisine varies by region but a large one course evening meal is common throughout the country A typical dish is based on cocoyams maize cassava manioc millet plantains potatoes rice or yams often pounded into dough like fufu This is served with a sauce soup or stew made from greens groundnuts palm oil or other ingredients Meat and fish are popular but expensive additions with chicken often reserved for special occasions Dishes are often quite spicy seasonings include salt red pepper sauce and maggi Cutlery is common but food is traditionally manipulated with the right hand Breakfast consists of leftovers of bread and fruit with coffee or tea Generally breakfast is made from wheat flour in different foods such as puff puff doughnuts accra banana made from bananas and flour bean cakes and many more Snacks are popular especially in larger towns where they may be bought from street vendors Fashion Cameroonian fashion is varied and often mixes modern and traditional elements Note the wearing of sun glasses monk shoes sandals and a Smartwatch Cameroon s relatively large and diverse population is likewise diverse in its fashions Climate religious ethnic and cultural beliefs and the influences of colonialism imperialism and globalisation are all factors in contemporary Cameroonian dresses Noteworthy Cameroonian dresses include sarongs worn by Cameroon women Chechia a traditional hat kwa a male handbag and male custom attire Wrappers and loincloths are used extensively by both women and men but their use varies by region with influences from Fulani styles more present in the north and Igbo and Yoruba styles more often in the south and west Imane Ayissi is one of Cameroon s most prominent fashion designers and has received international recognition Local arts and crafts A woman weaves a basket near Lake Ossa Littoral Region Cameroonians practise such handicrafts throughout the country Traditional arts and crafts are practised throughout the country for commercial decorative and religious purposes Woodcarvings and sculptures are especially common The high quality clay of the western highlands is used for pottery and ceramics Other crafts include basket weaving beadworking brass and bronze working calabash carving and painting embroidery and leather working Traditional housing styles use local materials and vary from temporary wood and leaf shelters of nomadic Mbororo to the rectangular mud and thatch homes of southern peoples Dwellings of materials such as cement and tin are increasingly common Contemporary art is mainly promoted by independent cultural organisations Doual art and artist run initiatives Atelier Viking ArtBakery Literature Cameroonian literature has concentrated on both European and African themes Colonial era writers such as Louis Marie Pouka and Sankie Maimo were educated by European missionary societies and advocated assimilation into European culture to bring Cameroon into the modern world After World War II writers such as Mongo Beti and Ferdinand Oyono analysed and criticised colonialism and rejected assimilation Media Cameroon Radio TelevisionFilms and literature Shortly after independence filmmakers such as Jean Paul Ngassa and Therese Sita Bella explored similar themes In the 1960s Mongo Beti Ferdinand Leopold Oyono and other writers explored postcolonialism problems of African development and the recovery of African identity In the mid 1970s filmmakers such as Jean Pierre Dikongue Pipa and Daniel Kamwa dealt with the conflicts between traditional and postcolonial society Literature and films during the next two decades focused more on wholly Cameroonian themes Sports Cameroon facing Germany at Zentralstadion in Leipzig 17 November 2004 National policy strongly advocates sport in all forms Traditional sports include canoe racing and wrestling and several hundred runners participate in the 40 km 25 mi Mount Cameroon Race of Hope each year Cameroon is one of the few tropical countries to have competed in the Winter Olympics Sport in Cameroon is dominated by football Amateur football clubs abound organised along ethnic lines or under corporate sponsors The national team has been one of the most successful in Africa since its strong showing in the 1982 and 1990 FIFA World Cups Cameroon has won five African Cup of Nations titles and the gold medal at the 2000 Olympics Cameroon was the host country of the Women Africa Cup of Nations in November December 2016 the 2020 African Nations Championship and the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations The women s football team is known as the Indomitable Lionesses and like their men s counterparts are also successful on the international stage although it has not won any major trophy Cricket has also entered into Cameroon as an emerging sport with the Cameroon Cricket Federation participating in international matches Cameroon has produced multiple National Basketball Association players including Pascal Siakam Joel Embiid D J Strawberry Ruben Boumtje Boumtje Christian Koloko and Luc Mbah a Moute The former UFC Heavyweight Champion Francis Ngannou hails from Cameroon See alsoCameroon portalAfrica portalIndex of Cameroon related articles Outline of Cameroon Telephone numbers in Cameroon Notes ˌ k ae m e ˈ r uː n CAM e ROON French Cameroun French Republique du CamerounReferencesCitations Cameroon People and Society The World Factbook 2025 ed Central Intelligence Agency 16 May 2022 Archived 2022 edition Peuls du Cameroun Preserver l ethos suivre l air du temps Retrieved 10 July 2024 via Anadolu Agency FR Democracy Index 2020 Economist Intelligence Unit Archived from the original on 3 March 2021 Retrieved 17 December 2021 David Wallechinsky Tyrants the World s 20 Worst Living Dictators Regan Press 2006 pp 286 290 The world s enduring dictators Paul Biya Cameroon CBS News 19 June 2011 Archived from the original on 20 December 2022 Retrieved 20 December 2022 Tampa Vava 2 November 2020 For the sake 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reading Cameroon Annual Report 2007 Archived from the original on 26 May 2007 Retrieved 7 February 2007 Reporters without Borders Retrieved 6 April 2007 Cameroon Archived from the original on 13 January 2007 Retrieved 6 January 2007 Human Development Report 2006 United Nations Development Programme Retrieved 6 April 2007 Cana Frank Richardson 1911 Cameroon Encyclopaedia Britannica Vol 5 11th ed pp 110 113 Fonge Fuabeh P 1997 Modernization without Development in Africa Patterns of Change and Continuity in Post Independence Cameroonian Public Service Trenton New Jersey Africa World Press Inc MacDonald Brian S 1997 Case Study 4 Cameroon Military Spending in Developing Countries How Much Is Too Much McGill Queen s University Press Njeuma Dorothy L no date Country Profiles Cameroon The Boston College Center for International Higher Education Retrieved 11 April 2008 Rechniewski Elizabeth 1947 Decolonisation in the Shadow of the Cold War the Case of French Cameroon Australian amp New Zealand Journal of European Studies 9 3 2017 online Sa ah Randy Joe 23 June 2006 Cameroon girls battle breast ironing Archived 11 February 2007 at the Wayback Machine BBC News Retrieved 6 April 2007 Wright Susannah ed 2006 Cameroon Madrid MTH Multimedia S L World Economic and Financial Surveys Archived 11 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine World Economic Outlook Database International Monetary Fund September 2006 Retrieved 6 April 2007 External linksCameroon at Wikipedia s sister projects Definitions from WiktionaryMedia from CommonsNews from WikinewsQuotations from WikiquoteTexts from WikisourceTextbooks from WikibooksResources from WikiversityTravel information from Wikivoyage Cameroon The World Factbook Central Intelligence Agency Cameroon Corruption Profile Archived 24 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine from Business Anti Corruption Portal Cameroon from UCB Libraries GovPubs Cameroon profile from the BBC News Wikimedia Atlas of Cameroon Key Development Forecasts for Cameroon from International Futures Government Presidency of the Republic of Cameroon Prime Minister s Office National Assembly of Cameroon Global Integrity Report Cameroon has reporting on anti corruption in Cameroon Chief of State and Cabinet Members Trade Summary Trade Statistics from World Bank 6 N 12 E 6 N 12 E 6 12