The Republic of Cameroon is a
unitary republic
of central and western
Africa
. It borders
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. Cameroon's coastline lies on the
Bight of Bonny
, part of the
Gulf of Guinea
and the
Atlantic Ocean
. The country is called "
Africa in miniature
" for its geological and cultural diversity. Natural features include beaches, deserts, mountains, rainforests, and savannas. The highest point is
Mount Cameroon
in the southwest, and the largest cities are
Douala
,
Yaoundé
, and
Garoua
. Cameroon is home to over different ethnic and linguistic groups. The country is well known for its native styles of music, particularly
makossa
and
bikutsi
, and for its successful
national football team
. English and French are the official languages.
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 th century and named the area Rio dos Camarões ("River of Prawns"), the name from which Cameroon derives.
Fulani
soldiers founded the
Adamawa Emirate
in the north in the th century, and various ethnic groups of the west and northwest established powerful chiefdoms and
fondoms
. Cameroon became a
German
colony
in . After World War I, the territory was divided between
France
and
Britain
as
League of Nations mandates
. The
Union des Populations du Cameroun
political party advocated independence but was outlawed in the s. It waged war on French and Cameroonian forces until . In , French
Cameroun
became independent as the Republic of Cameroun under President
Ahmadou Ahidjo
. The
southern part
of British
Cameroons
merged with it in to form the
Federal Republic
of Cameroon. The country was renamed the
United Republic
of Cameroon in and the Republic of Cameroon in .
Compared with other African countries, Cameroon enjoys political and social stability. This has permitted the development of agriculture, roads, railways, and large petroleum and timber industries. Nevertheless, large numbers of Cameroonians live in poverty as subsistence farmers. Power lies firmly in the hands of the president,
Paul Biya
, and his
Cameroon People's Democratic Movement
party, and
corruption
is widespread. The
Anglophone
community has grown increasingly alienated from the government, and Anglophone politicians have called for greater decentralisation and even the secession of the former British-governed territories. |