CULTURE: LITERATURE Cameroon is one of the few countries in Africa where there are documents of written literature. In the sec. XIX two types of writing appeared, one in the Bagam area, imitation of Roman capital letters, the other in the Bamun area, original, invented by King Njoya, syllabic and phonetic. Several manuscripts remain, with… Read More »
Demography, population structure Population pyramid forecast 2025 According to the INS (Institut National de la Statistique), the population mark of 20 million was reached in 2012. 56% of the population now lives in cities, with the big urbanization surge already taking place in the 1990’s. With urbanization rates of around 3.5%, migration to the urban… Read More »
Overuse of natural forest resources Cameroon is still a forest-rich country, in 2010 45% of the country was still covered by forests. Between 1990 and 2010 1% of the forest area was lost each year and primary forest is becoming increasingly rare. Cameroon’s lowland and mountain rainforests are being destroyed. On the one hand by… Read More »
“Afrique en miniature – Africa in miniature”, is how the French geographer Bruneau calls it. Geographically counted as Central Africa, Cameroon rather forms the link between the two major regions of West and Central Africa, which is reflected in flora, fauna, population and culture. Cameroon overview Subject areas Country overview & natural area Cameroon, a… Read More »
Cameroon History & State Independence Day: 01/01/1960 (only for French mandate area) Head of state: Paul Biya (since 1982) Head of government: Joseph Dion Ngute (Prime Minister since 2019) Political system: Presidential republic, multi-party system Democracy Status Index (BTI): Rank 108 of 137 (2020) Corruption Index (CPI): Rank 153 of 180 (2019) Ibrahim Index of… Read More »
Ahmadou Ahidjo, President of Cameroon from 1960-1982 France installed the representative of the western-oriented opponents of Nyobe, Ahmadou Ahidjo (biography), as a leading figure in the transition to independence: in 1960 Ahidjo became Cameroon’s first president. In 1961 the then “Southern Cameroons”, today’s Anglophone western provinces, until then part of the British mandate, decided in… Read More »
Brigade d’intervention rapide (BIR) in action With regard to political, social and economic transformation processes, Cameroon still has many deficits. While the change in the economic field is progressing slowly, the path to a democratic and social constitutional state is particularly difficult – an analysis that has been the same for years. The Cameroonian legal… Read More »
Presidential image as it can be found in all public buildings in Cameroon Despite the multi-party system – Cameroon has an extraordinary wealth of parties – with more or less regular elections, Cameroonian politics is dominated by the president and ‘his’ party, namely the former Unity Party. Anyone who wants to achieve something in Cameroon’s… Read More »
Election campaign in the Mandara Mountains According to the electoral law, all Cameroonians who have reached the age of 20 and are entered on a voter list are entitled to vote. Local, parliamentary and presidential elections are repeatedly accompanied by allegations of fraud. There have been no serious political disputes since the early 1990’s, however,… Read More »
Waiting for the next election 2020 Regional elections took place in Cameroon for the first time on December 6th, 2020. The RDPC / CPDM won a clear majority in the seats. Human rights In Amnesty International’s 2019 annual report on Cameroon, the conflicts in the northern region and in the Anglophone part of the country… Read More »
Cameroon’s foreign policy is still characterized by its proximity to France, and thus indirectly to the EU. On the other hand, when Cameroon joined the Commonwealth in 1995, it also signaled that it would not only commit to France and Francophonie. An intention that is also evident in the recent intensification of contacts with the… Read More »
Cameroon Economy & Development Estimated GDP: US $ 38.7 billion (2018) Per capita income (purchasing power parity 2017): $ 3700 (2017 est.) Human Development Rank (HDI): Rank 153 of 189 (2019) Population below nat. Poverty line: 37.5% (2014) Distribution of income (Gini coefficient): 46.5 (2014) Economic Transformation (BTI): Rank 94 of 137 (2020) Economic structure… Read More »
Mining Also with regard to the exploitation of other mineral resources, such as iron ore (Mbalam / Est), cobalt, nickel and the like. Manganese (Nkamouna, Lomié / Est), uranium (Lolodorf / Sud, Nki / Est), gold (Djoum, Ntem, Nkout / Sud, Batouri / Est, Rey Bouba / Nord) or bauxite (Minim-Martap, Ngaoundal / Adamoua) and… Read More »
Agriculture The most important pillar of the Cameroonian economy is agriculture. Traditional “cash crop” cultures are cocoa, coffee, cotton, bananas, rubber, tea, sugar cane and palm oil, with Cameroon until recently benefiting from the good world market prices for some of the products (cocoa, Coffee, rubber) benefited. The civil war in the Anglophone part of… Read More »
Poverty and Poverty Reduction A good 20% of Cameroonians have to get by on less than $ 1.90 per day. In the case of poverty indicators such as the country-specific average school years (12.7), life expectancy (58.9) or maternal mortality (596 deaths per 100,000 births), the large regional differences must not be forgotten. The catchphrase:… Read More »
Cameroon society Alphabetized adults: 77% (2018 est.) Major religions: Christianity approx. 70% (K / P = 38% / 26%), Islam approx. 25% Urban population: 58% (2020) Life expectancy (male / female): 61/64 years (2020 est.) Gender Inequality Index: Rank 153 of 189 (2019) Number of births: 4.66 / woman (2020 est.) Infant mortality: 51.5 /… Read More »
Fish Fry There is still a clear discrepancy in Cameroon between existing equality rights and reality. A very high proportion of women are employed in Cameroon. The vast majority are farmers and are therefore responsible for the country’s food production. More women than in other African countries hold lower and middle positions in administration and… Read More »
School Student move-in The history of formal schooling in Cameroon began with the European missionaries. Today there are two school systems in Cameroon: the Anglophone provinces are based on the British school system, whereas the French model predominates in the Francophone part of the country. The state is responsible for education. On paper there is… Read More »
Cultural standards of behavior If one wants to classify Cameroonian society on the basis of cultural behavioral standards, it must be classified as clearly relationship-oriented (ie the personal relationship is very important) and shows a clear trend towards collective behavioral patterns (the “we” is more important than the “I”). Society shows a pronounced power distance… Read More »
Cameroon everyday life Currency: F CFA BEAC (XAF) Exchange rate: 656 per € (fixed exchange rate) Time zone: UTC + 1 Country code (phone): 00237 Climate (for capital): tropical mountain climate Entry and residence regulations First return flight According to historyaah, Cameroon is a country located in Central Africa. The Federal Foreign Office has information… Read More »
Culinary Global seasoning The regional diversity of the country is reflected on the plate or in the bowl. Every Cameroonian – and especially every Cameroonian – is proud of the special features of their own kitchen. North and south, coast and inland, mountainous region, rainforest region and savannah area, but also town and country, different… Read More »
Security The security situation in Cameroon has deteriorated more and more over the past few years. The increase in the propensity to use violence, even in the case of petty theft, is terrifying. Foreigners are also victims, but mainly the local population. Robbery of travelers by ” coupeurs de routes ” is widespread in many… Read More »
Official language French English Capital Yaound¨¦ Form of government Presidential Republic Area 475,442 km² Residents 16,380,000 Currency CFA Franc Time zone UTC + 1 License plate CAM Internet TLD .cm Telephone area code 00237 (Source: ALLCITYCODES) Geography The Republic of Cameroon is located in Central Africa and borders Nigeria to the west, Chad to the… Read More »