Cameroon

Cameroon (officially called the Republic of Cameroon) is a country in Central Africa. Its capital is Yaoundé. The largest city in Cameroon is Douala. The population of Cameroon is about 20 million. Cameroon's president is Paul Biya. They speak nearly 250 languages in Cameroon. French and English are the official languages. The German Empire ruled Cameroon from 1884 until World War I.

Republic of Cameroon République du Cameroun  (French)
Flag Coat of arms
Motto:  "Paix – Travail – Patrie" (French) "Peace – Work – Fatherland"
Anthem:  Ô Cameroun, Berceau de nos Ancêtres  (French) (English: "O Cameroon, Cradle of our Forefathers")
Capital	Yaoundé 3°52′N 11°31′E
Largest city	Yaoundé (city proper) Douala (metropolitan area)
Official languages	French English
Recognised regional languages	Cameroonian Pidgin English, Fula, Ewondo, Chadian Arabic, Camfranglais
Ethnic groups	31% Cameroon Highlanders 19% Equatorial Bantu 11% Kirdi 10% Fulani 8% Northwestern Bantu 7% Eastern Nigritic 13% other African <1% non-African
Religion (2018)	70.7% Christianity 24.4% Islam 2.2% Traditional faiths 2.2% None 0.5% Others
Demonym(s)	Cameroonian
Government	Unitary dominant-party semi-presidential constitutional republic
• President	Paul Biya
• Prime Minister	Joseph Ngute
Legislature	Parliament
• Upper house	Senate
• Lower house	National Assembly
Independence from France
• Declared	1 January 1960
• Union with part of the former British Cameroons	1 October 1961
Area
• Total	475,442 km2 (183,569 sq mi) (53rd)
• Water (%)	0.57
Population
• 2020 estimate	26,545,864 [1] (51st)
• 2005 census	17,463,836[2]
• Density	39.7/km2 (102.8/sq mi) (167th)
GDP (PPP)	2018 estimate
• Total	$95.068 billion[3] (93rd)
• Per capita	$3,820[3] (152nd)
GDP (nominal)	2018 estimate
• Total	$38.445 billion[3] (98th)
• Per capita	$1,544[3] (152nd)
Gini (2014)	46.6[4] high
HDI (2019)	0.563[5] medium · 153rd
Currency	Central African CFA franc (XAF)
Time zone	UTC+1 (WAT)
Driving side	right
Calling code	+237
ISO 3166 code	CM
Internet TLD	.cm
These 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.

Geography

Volcanic 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.^[6] It is about the size of Papua New Guinea.^[7] The country is in Central and West Africa on the Bight of Bonny, part of the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean. The country's neighbours are Nigeria 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.

Regions

The constitution divides Cameroon into 10 regions. On 12 November 2008, the President changed the divisions from provinces to regions.^[8] Each region is headed by a presidentially appointed governor.

The regions are divided into 58 divisions. These are headed by presidentially appointed divisional officers.

Regions of Cameroon

Region French name Capital Population (1987) Area (km²) Population density (/km²) 1. Adamawa Adamaoua Ngaoundéré 495,185 63,691 8 2. Centre Centre Yaoundé 1,651,600 68,926 24 3. East Est Bertoua 517,198 109,011 5 4. Far North Extrême-Nord Maroua 1,855,695 34,246 54 5. Littoral Littoral Douala 1,352,833 20,239 67 6. North Nord Garoua 1,687,959 65,576 13 7. Northwest Nord-Ouest Bamenda 1,237,348 17,812 69 8. South Sud Ebolowa 373,798 47,110 8 9. Southwest Sud-Ouest Buea 838,042 24,571 34 10. West Ouest Bafoussam 1,339,791 13,872 97

Cities

Some of the largest cities in Cameroon are:

Ranking	Name	Population
1.	Douala	2,000,000
2.	Yaoundé	1,600,000
3.	Garoua	450,000
4.	Bafoussam	350,000
5.	Maroua	327,000
6.	Bamenda	299,600
7.	Ngaoundéré	185,700

Languages

The official languages of Cameroon are French and English. It is part of both the British Commonwealth and La Francophonie. Most people speak French, English is only spoken in the Northwest and Southwest regions of the country, formerly under British control.

Related pages

• Cameroon at the Olympics
• Cameroon national football team
• List of rivers of Cameroon