The red stripe and gold star stand for unity. The jungles of the south and the savannas of the north are suggested by the green and yellow stripes. These colors have been adopted by other African lands since Cameroon began to use them.

The Republic of Cameroon is an independent state in western Africa bordered by Nigeria to the northwest; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon to the south; and the Atlantic Ocean to the southwest (see map). A German protectorate from 1884, the area was divided between France and Britain after World War I and known as the Cameroons. French influence remains strong in independent Cameroon, especially in Yaoundé, the capital.

THE LAND

Cameroon has a diverse topography. In the south a densely forested plateau extends from the Sanaga River to the Gabon border; a coastal plain separates these highlands from the Atlantic. Terrain in the central region rises gradually, culminating in the Adamawa (Adamaoua) Plateau. In the far north the land drops toward Lake Chad. Western Cameroon is mountainous; there Cameroon Mountain, the highest point in the country, rises to 4,070 m (13,354 ft). (In 1986, in a rare natural disaster, a release of carbon dioxide from Lake Nyos, in northwestern Cameroon, killed some 1,700 people. More than a decade later, the threat of additional lethal gas eruptions at Lake Nyos remained, despite efforts by scientists to eliminate the gas.)

The climate is tropical. Average temperatures range between 21° and 28° C (70° and 82° F). In the south, rains fall between April and November and are rare the rest of the year. The central zone has two dry seasons and two wet periods; in the north, rain falls only between May and October. Average annual rainfall ranges from 10,160 mm (400 in.) in the west to 386 mm (15.2 in.) in the north. Vegetation is correspondingly varied, and most species of African wildlife are also present. These are protected in several national parks and faunal reserves, including the Dja Faunal Reserve, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

PEOPLE AND ECONOMY

Cameroon's national football team has played in four World Cups, something no other African national team has achieved.

Cameroonians belong to more than 150 ethnic groups that fall into two broad divisions. The northern savanna is home to cattle keepers and semipastoralist grain growers, most of whom are Muslims; the south shelters settled agricultural peoples. Although many southerners are Christians, most adhere to traditional African religions.

Languages can be divided into five groups. In the southeast, peoples such as the Douala and Fang speak Bantu languages. The highlands are home to Bantoid speakers, notably the Bamileke. Speakers of Sudanic languages — such as the Hausa, Margi, and Kapsigi — inhabit the north, along with Fulani immigrants from West Africa. In the east central region live the Gbaya and Mbum, who speak Adamawa Eastern languages. Hausa, Fulani, Pidgin English, and Douala serve as trade languages; French and English are used in government.

Cameroon is mainly rural, and the central and southeastern parts of the country are sparsely populated. Education and health services have greatly expanded since independence. Nearly 90% of the children now attend primary schools.

The economy remains predominantly agricultural. Staple foodstuffs include yams, plantains, cassava, and millet; coffee, cocoa, and cotton are the major commercial crops. Exports of petroleum from offshore fields, begun in 1977, are the chief source of government revenue. Since 1994, Cameroon has been involved in a border dispute with Nigeria involving offshore oil reserves, although the two countries vowed in 1999 to settle the dispute peacefully.

The country has various other resources, including natural gas, bauxite, iron ore, uranium, tin, and timber, but few are exploited. The industrial sector includes petroleum refining, food processing, and the smelting of imported aluminum. Hydroelectric power and a good transportation network have encouraged industrial growth. Possessing both heavy industry and light manufacturing, Cameroon is rapidly becoming one of the major industrial centers of Francophone Africa. Nevertheless, the real per capita income declined between 1985 and 1995 due to population growth, rampant official corruption, and falling world prices for the country's leading exports.

HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT

Little is known about the country's early history, but the population probably included migrants from the north who had abandoned the increasingly arid Sahara. In addition, it appears that the Bantu languages, now found throughout Africa to the southeast, spread from the Cameroon region. Later the Fulani filtered into northern Cameroon, where they founded Muslim states with economies based on cattle keeping and slave raiding among neighboring non-Muslim peoples.

Germany proclaimed Cameroon a protectorate in 1884. It remained a German colony until World War I, when it was divided into French- and British-administered zones under the League of Nations mandate system and later the United Nations trusteeship system. The French zone became a sovereign state in 1960, and a year later the southern half of the British zone federated with it. The federal system ended in 1972 under a new constitution.

Alhaji Ahmadou Ahidjo governed the country from 1960 until his resignation in 1982. His successor, Paul Biya, was reelected in 1984, 1988, and 1992. Cameroon was a de facto one-party state until 1990. A new constitution was adopted in December 1995 to satisfy regional aspirations while retaining a strong central government. It provided for the establishment of decentralized territorial communities, created a Senate representing regions, traditional chiefdoms, and special economic and social interests, and allowed Biya to run for two additional 7-year terms. Biya's party won a majority in May 1997 legislative elections, and he was reelected in October amid a boycott by the main opposition parties.

Cameroon Links

Book A Hotel in Cameroon Visitors to Cameroon will find quality accommodations at Le Méridien Douala, conveniently located in the city center. Visit the Discover France Travel Center, where you can check prices and availability for your travel dates, then book your stay online. Burping A Lake: Cameroon's Poison Gas Catastrophe In August 1986, disaster struck a portion of the countryside in Cameroon, when 240,000 metric tons of poisonous carbon dioxide gases escaped from Lake Nyos, killing more than 1700 people and many herds of cattle. CIA World Factbook: Cameroon Extensive statistics on the region's geography, people, government, economy, communications infrastructure, transportation, and military. Current Time: Yaoundé, Cameroon Is this a good time to call someone in Cameroon? Find out by checking the correct local time in the capital. Disease Risk Analysis for Cameroon Consult this valuable resource before traveling to Cameroon, to assess the relative risks of diseases such as African Sleeping Sickness, AIDS/HIV, cholera, hepatitis, influenza, malaria, meningitis, rabies, traveler's diarrhea, tuberculosis, typhoid and yellow fever, as well as any other hazards and their preventative measures. Foreign Entry Requirements The Federal Consumer Information Center offers information on passport and visa requirements for Cameroon. Human Rights Violations: Cameroon Amnesty International offers numerous news items, annual reports, and archives on the issue of alleged human rights violations in Cameroon. Living Languages of Cameroon According to the Ethnologue, there are an amazing 279 living languages and dialects spoken in Cameroon! Despite being Cameroon's two official languages, English and French are spoken by only a small percentage of the population. The national literacy rate averages 63.4%. Maps of Cameroon Part of the Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection at The University of Texas in Austin, this site presents a large collection of political, geographic, and other maps of African countries. Open Directory Project: Cameroon The non-profit, human-compiled database provides useful links about Cameroon, in both English and French. Timeline: Cameroon BBC News offers this historical timeline for Cameroon, from the Portuguese slave trade (started in 1520) to the 21st century. Tips for Travelers to Subsaharan Africa Check for current travel warnings, plus information about crime, health concerns (including required immunizations), weather, currency, and more.

Nominate A Site!

French Colonies, Overseas Territories Do you know about a great site we should list here? It can be devoted to any aspect of historical French colonization (people, places, events), or contemporary locations still administered by France — collectively known as DOM-TOM (for départements/territoires d'outre-mer). Please use our convenient Submission Form to send your suggestions! Are you an author, educator, student or traveler who would like to write an article for the enjoyment of our francophile community? Please download our author's guidelines (48K PDF). Thank you!