Cameroon
Cameroon,[a] officially the Republic of Cameroon,[b] 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. Its nearly 27 million people speak 250 native languages, in addition to the national tongues of English and French, or both.[11][12][13]
This article is about the country. For other uses, see Cameroon (disambiguation).
Republic of CameroonRépublique du Cameroun (French)
- 24.3% Bamileke-Bamum
- 21.6% Beti / Bassa-Mbam
- 14.6% Biu-Mandara
- 11% Hausa, Kanuri and Shuwa
- 9.8% Adamawa-Ubangi (Mbum-Gbaya)
- 7.7% Grassfielders
- 3.3% Pygmy peoples
- 2.7% Sawa / Côtier
- 0.7% Southwest Bantu
- 4.5% others / foreigners
- 59.7% Christianity
- 20.2% Islam
- 19.0% traditional faiths
- 0.8% no religion
- 0.3% others
1 January 1960
1 October 1961
475,442 km2 (183,569 sq mi) (53rd)
0.57 [1]
39.7/km2 (102.8/sq mi)
2024 estimate
2024 estimate
46.6[9]
high
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right
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.
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. 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.[14][11] Its natural features include beaches, deserts, mountains, rainforests, and savannas. Its highest point, at almost 4,100 metres (13,500 ft), is Mount Cameroon in the Southwest Region. Its 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 for 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, Non-Aligned Movement and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
Etymology[edit]
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.[15][16] Today the country's name in Portuguese remains Camarões.
Cameroon's per capita GDP (Purchasing power parity) was estimated as US$3,700 in 2017. Major export markets include the Netherlands, France, China, Belgium, Italy, Algeria, and Malaysia.[1]
Cameroon has had a decade of strong economic performance, with 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.[100] Cameroon is part of the Bank of Central African States (of which it is the dominant economy),[101] the Customs and Economic Union of Central Africa (UDEAC) and the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (OHADA).[102] Its currency is the CFA franc.[1]
Unemployment was estimated at 3.38% in 2019,[103] and 23.8% of the population was living below the international poverty threshold of US$1.90 a day in 2014.[104] 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.[55] The government has taken measures to encourage tourism in the country.[105]
An estimated 70% of the population farms, and agriculture comprised an estimated 16.7% of GDP in 2017.[1] 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.[106]
Livestock are raised throughout the country.[107] Fishing employs 5,000 people and provides over 100,000 tons of seafood each year.[108][109] 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.[110][111]
The southern rainforest has vast timber reserves, estimated to cover 37% of Cameroon's total land area.[109] However, large areas of the forest are difficult to reach. Logging, largely handled by foreign-owned firms,[109] provides the government US$60 million a year in taxes (as of 1998), and laws mandate the safe and sustainable exploitation of timber. Nevertheless, in practice, the industry is one of the least regulated in Cameroon.[112]
Factory-based industry accounted for an estimated 26.5% of GDP in 2017.[1] 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).[55] 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.[113] 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.[114]
Three trans-African automobile routes pass through Cameroon:
Transport in Cameroon is often difficult. Only 6.6% of the roadways are tarred.[1] Roadblocks often serve little other purpose than to allow police and gendarmes to collect bribes from travellers.[115] 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.[116]
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.[117] International airports are located in Douala and Yaoundé, with a third under construction in Maroua.[118] Douala is the country's principal seaport.[119] In the north, the Bénoué River is seasonally navigable from Garoua across into Nigeria.[120]
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.[121] Newspapers routinely self-censor to avoid government reprisals.[77] The major radio and television stations are state-run and other communications, such as land-based telephones and telegraphs, are largely under government control.[122] However, cell phone networks and Internet providers have increased dramatically since the first decade of the 21st century[123] and are largely unregulated.[65]
Cameroon was ranked 123rd in the Global Innovation Index in 2023.[124]
