+237 is the dialing code for Cameroon.
Cameroon is located at the bend of the African Atlantic coast. The country has a relatively strong economy thanks to rich mineral resources and good conditions for agriculture. Yet over a third of the residents are poor. Cameroon is plagued by a separatist uprising in the English-speaking areas and by acts of violence from the Islamist extremist movement Boko Haram in the north.
- Abbreviationfinder: Brief profiles of Cameroon, including geography, history, politics, economics as well as common acronyms about this country.
Geography and climate
Cameroon is located in the transition between western and central Africa and has a 20-mile coast on the Gulf of Guinea. The climate in the country is tropical and varies greatly between south and north.
Cameroon is on the surface slightly larger than Sweden and has the shape of a triangle with a tip in the southwest towards the Atlantic, one in the north towards Lake Chad and one in the southeast towards the border with the Central African Republic and Congo-Brazzaville.
Nature is varied. Southern Cameroon is covered by rainforest. To the north, there is a high plateau (900–1 520 m above sea level), and in the far north a lower savannah landscape spreads out.
To the west, near the border with Nigeria, rises a mountain range, the highest peak of which is the Cameroon mountain volcano – the highest mountain in western and central Africa. The area is geologically troubled. In August 1986, toxic volcanic gas burst from the bottom of the crater lake Nyo, causing over 1,700 people to die. In 1999, Cameroon Mountain had its sixth outbreak since 1902. Seismographic equipment has been installed to predict when an outbreak is on its way.
Country Facts
Geography
| Cultivated land | 20.6 % |
| Land area | 475440 km 2 |
Population and health
| Population development | 2.59 ‰ |
| Urban population (Urbanization) | 54.4 % |
| Death rate | 10.11 per 1000 residents |
| Life expectancy: Women | 59.28 years |
| Life expectancy: Men | 56.62 years |
| Birth rate | 36.17 births per 1000 residents |
| HDI index | 0.512 |
| Population | 23739218 |
| Infant mortality | 53.63 deaths / 1000 births |
Population Graph Source: Countryaah.com
Energy
| Electricity, production | 6155 million kWh |
| Energy consumption per resident | 322.5 kg. oil per resident |
| Natural gas, production | 346 million cubic meters |
| Crude oil, production | million tons |
Infrastructure
| Internet users | 6.5 per 100 residents |
| Mobile subscriptions | 75 per 100 residents |
| Passenger cars | 14 per 1000 residents |
Business and economics
| Unemployment | 30% of the workforce |
| GDP | 3100 per resident |
| Primary occupations | 70 % |
| Secondary profession | 13 % |
| Tertiary professions | 17 % |
Southern Cameroon has two rainy periods and abundant rainfall. On the high plateau in the middle of the country, it is drier, with a rainy season per year. The proximity to the Atlantic Ocean and the high altitude difference make the mountain area to the west one of the rainiest in the world – in some places over 10,000 mm of rain falls annually.
FACTS – GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE
Surface
475 442 km2 (2018)
Time
Swedish
Adjacent country (s)
Nigeria, Chad, Central African Republic, Congo-Brazzaville, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea
Capital with number of residents
Yaoundé 3,822,000
Other major cities
Douala 3,536,000, Bamenda 514,000, Loum 472,000, Mbouda 455,000, Bafoussam 411,000 (with suburbs, UN estimate 2019)
Highest mountain
Cameroon Mountain (4,070 m asl)
Important rivers
Sanaga, Bénué
Average Precipitation/year
Yaoundé 1 555 mm, Douala 4 026 mm
Average/day
Yaoundé 24 °C (Jan), 23 °C (July)
2016
December
Continued unrest in western Cameroon
13th of December
The unrest among the English-speaking minority continues and spreads to the cities of Buea and Kumba in the southwest. Teachers, lawyers and journalists require work materials and official documents in English. The protests include demands for a federal system of self-government for the English-speaking regions and also demands for a completely independent English-speaking state.
Newspapers are banned
December 6
The National Council for Communications accuses the newspapers L’Aurore, L’Aurore Plus and Dépêche du Cameroun of slander and bans them permanently. Fifteen other newspapers, a radio program and 27 newspaper managers or journalists are also suspended for publishing “unfounded and insinuating information”. Most people are prohibited from working for six months up to one year.
November
Unrest among English speakers
November 23
Violent clashes between police and members of the English-speaking minority are reported from the city of Bamenda in the northwest. Three people are said to have been killed. The unrest must have erupted since English-speaking teachers called for a strike in protest of the authorities increasingly employing French-speaking teachers. There is also a demand that the government-appointed mayor resign. President Biya has decided that the mayors of the larger cities should be appointed by the state instead of being elected by the people since opposition candidates won several elections.
October
English-speaking lawyers demonstrate
October 30th
A group of English-speaking lawyers are organizing a demonstration in Bamenda in the North West region in protest of the use of the French language throughout the judiciary and the absence of legal documents in English. The demonstration will be the start of a series of similar demonstrations as well as more general dissatisfaction protests in the English-speaking areas.
July
Cameroon is accused of torture
July 22nd
Cameroon authorities are committing serious human rights violations in the fight against Boko Haram, writes Amnesty International. For example, they are guilty of arbitrary arrests. Those who are arrested on suspicion of conspiracy with Boko Haram are subjected to torture and starvation, and are often affected by illnesses that cause six to eight deaths per month.
June
Employees at Biya are imprisoned
June 22
A former deputy minister and close associate of President Biya are sentenced to 25 years in prison for embezzling the equivalent of about SEK 40 million. The money must have been intended for an aircraft on behalf of the president.
May
Criticism against deforestation
The environmental organization Greenpeace criticizes Cameroon for allowing exports of illegally harvested forest. According to Greenpeace, the timber exporter CCT supplies timber from the company La Socamba, which is accused of cutting down forests far outside the area where it is licensed. According to Greenpeace, the illegal timber is sold to Europe and China. The forests in Cameroon are described as among the most rich in the Congo basin. They are home to both lowland gorillas and chimpanzees as well as forest elephants.
January
Suicidal acts in the marketplace
January 25
Thirty-two people are killed when at least three suicide bombers strike a marketplace in northern Cameroon.
Suicide bombing in mosque
January 13
Twelve people are killed in a suicide attack in a mosque in northern Cameroon.