About Cameroon
Cameroon is slightly bigger in size than California with a population of approximately 14 million. The country is 55% French speaking and 35% English with the remaining speaking any of 24 languages. There are over 200 Ethnic groups. Centrally located in West Africa, it borders Nigeria in the West and Northwest, the Gulf of Guinea in the southwest, Chad & the Central African Republic in the East and Congo, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea in the south. Yaoundé is the capital city with a population of about 800,000. Douala, located near the coast, is the largest city with a population of 1.2 million. Douala is also the main industrial and commercial center in Cameroon.
Weather
The climate varies from the tropical southern coastal and mountain regions to the dryer northern region. The North will receive approximately 31 inches of rain between May and September with an average temperature of 90 degrees. The southern portion of Cameroon experiences an average temperature of 77 degrees with the coastal area receiving 152 inches of rain a year and the Cameroon Mountains as much as 400 inches of rain per year. The rainy season is from mid-May through mid-October. Cameroon also has active volcanoes.
Education
The literacy rate is only 63% with over 2 million children in elementary and junior high schools. 20% progress to high school and 3% to higher education.
The University of Yaoundé is the largest university in Cameroon.
Religion
40% are Christian; 20% practice African Traditional religion and 40% are Islamic.
|
|
|
The Land
Over 500 million cubic feet of timber is cut each year. The trees are Oil Palms, Bamboo Palms, Mahogany, Teak, Ebony and Rubber. Cameroon has natural resources of petroleum, Bauxite, Natural Gas and some gold. 60% of the people are farmers whose crops consist of cocoa, coffee, tobacco, cotton, bananas, plantains, sweet potatoes, cassava, corn, millet, rubber, palm products and sugarcane. Cameroonians catch over 78,000 metric tons of fish each year. In the Adamawa Plateu Region they have 4.7 million cattle, 3.6 million goats, 3.6 million sheep and 1.4 million pigs.
Economy
The economy in Cameroon is much better than many African nations due to its oil resources, favorable agricultural conditions and the fact that it hasn’t been ravaged by war and disease. However, it is still poor and suffers like other underdeveloped countries because of heavy governmental control and lack of large business enterprise.
Links for More Information
Cameroon: Political Environment
Cameroon: Background Notes
The African Guide: Cameroon
The AfricanPlanet.com Network
The Elephants of Cameroon
Cameroon
|
|
|
