Profile
Background and figures as recorded in the CIA World Factbook.
Powerful chiefdoms ruled much of the area of present-day Cameroon before it became a German colony known as Kamerun in 1884. After World War I, the territory was divided between France and the UK as League of Nations mandates. French Cameroon became independent in 1960 as the Republic of Cameroon. The following year, the southern portion of neighboring British Cameroon voted to merge with the new country to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon. In 1972, a new constitution replaced the federation with a unitary state, the United Republic of Cameroon.
- Capital
- Yaounde
- Government
- presidential republic
- Population
- 31,518,954
- Area
- 475,440 sq km
- Location
- Central Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria
- Climate
- varies with terrain, from tropical along coast to semiarid and hot in north
- Natural resources
- petroleum; bauxite; iron ore; timber; hydropower
- Languages
- 24 major African language groups; English (official); French (official)
- Religions
- Roman Catholic 33.1%; Muslim 30.6%; Protestant 27.1% other Christian 6.1%; animist 1.3%…
- Independence
- 1 January 1960 (from French-administered UN trusteeship)
- Administrative divisions
- 10 regions (régions, singular - région); Adamaoua, Centre, East (Est), Far North (Extrême-Nord), Littoral, North (Nord),…
- Currency
- Cooperation Financiere en Afrique Centrale francs (XAF)
- Export partners
- Netherlands 21%; France 14%; UAE 13%; India 9%…
- Import partners
- China 43%; France 6%; India 6%; Belgium 4%…
Source: CIA World Factbook — a work of the US government, in the public domain