 Cameroon, Africa
République du Cameroun
Republic of Cameroon
Quick Facts About the Country
Capital - Yaounde
Government Unitary republic; multiparty presidential regime (opposition parties legalized in 1990)
Currency -Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF)
Area - 475,440 sq km
Population - 16,184,748
Language - 4 major African language groups, English (official), French (official)
Religion - indigenous beliefs 40%, Christian 40%, Muslim 20% Background
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a unitary republic of central Africa. It borders Nigeria, Chad, Central African Republic, Republic of Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and the Gulf of Guinea. Cameroon, a German colony at the time of World War I, was split among the French and British as war spoils after the defeat of Germany. In 1960, French Cameroun became an independent republic, merging with the southern part of British Cameroons in 1961 to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon. It was renamed the United Republic of Cameroon in 1972, and the Republic of Cameroon or République du Cameroun in 1984 (its official languages are English and French).
Compared to other African countries, Cameroon enjoys relative political and social stability, which has in turn permitted the development of agriculture, roads, and railways, as well as an extensive petroleum industry. Despite movement toward political reform, however, power remains firmly in the hands of an ethnic oligarchy.
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Weather and Climate
Cameroon has a tropical climate, humid in the south but increasingly dry to the north. On the coast the average annual rainfall is about 4,060 mm (about 160 in). On the exposed slopes of the Cameroon Mountains in the west, rainfall is almost constant and sometimes reaches 10,160 mm (400 in) a year. In the semiarid northwest annual rainfall averages about 380 mm (about 15 in). A dry season in the north lasts from October to April. The average temperature in the south is 25° C (77° F), on the plateau it is 21° C (70° F), and in the north it is 32° C (90° F).
(Microsoft® Encarta® Reference Library 2003)
Major Travel and Tourism Info (Travel Guide)
Basics
While Cameroon is not the largest country in Africa, in some ways it's as large as Africa itself. Known as "Africa in miniature" it features French and English speaking portions, Muslim and Christian dominated regions, the tallest mountain in West Africa and terrain that includes rain forest, desert plains, mountains and high plateau.
Traveling by Plane
Cameroon can be reached via:
Paris (Air France & CamAir)
Brussels (Brussels Airways)
Zurich (Swiss)
Johannesburg (CamAir)
Atlanta (Delta Airlines)
Nairobi (Kenya Airways) Getting around
There are tour operator if you intend to get around Cameroon.
Staying healthy
As in many other African countries, HIV infection is widespread.
(Wikimedia Foundation, Inc) History in Brief: Summary
The first inhabitants of Cameroon were the Pygmy Baka people. They were largely replaced and absorbed by Bantu tribes during Bantu migrations.
The first European contact was in the 16th century with the Portuguese, but they did not stay. The Portuguese did however give the would-be country its name: Explorers noted an abundance of prawns in the Wouri River and named it rio dos camaroes, the Portuguese for river of prawns. Cameroon thus comes from camarão, the Portuguese word for prawn.
The first permanent colonial settlements were started in the late 1870s, with the German Empire emerging as the major European Power. With the defeat of Germany in World War I, Cameroon became a League of Nations Mandate territory split between French Cameroons (Cameroun in French) and British Cameroons in 1919. These mandates were converted into United Nations Trusteeships in 1946.
In 1960, French Cameroon gained its independence and became The Cameroon Republic. It was joined in 1961 by the southern part of the British Cameroons. The remainder of the British Cameroons became part of Nigeria at the same time. The new coalition government was led by Ahmadou Ahidjo who led a crackdown on rebel groups who had remained since before independence.
Ahidjo stepped down in 1982 and was succeeded by the current president, Paul Biya. Biya has won numerous elections since he reinstituted them in 1992 but the fairness of these elections has been questioned. The last elections were held on October 11, 2004 (political power remains firmly in the hands of an ethnic oligarchy headed by President Paul Biya).
(Wikimedia Foundation, Inc) References
Bureau of Consular Affairs, U.S. Department of State
Microsoft® Encarta® Reference Library 2003
The World Factbook 2006
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