Sometimes referred to as a “miniature Africa”, Cameroon’s diverse landscape of savanna, deserts, mountains and rainforests represents all the main African ecosystems. Stretching across central Cameroon is a high, grassy plateau. North of these uplands are dry, rocky volcanic plains, while in the south the land slopes to tropical rainforests, some of the wettest places on Earth. These forests are important for Cameroon: its people have lived among them for thousands of years, and today the trees provide timber, a major export. Near the coast is Mount Cameroon, known locally as Mongo ma Ndemi ("Mountain of Greatness"), an active volcano. The higher of its two peaks, Fako, is Cameroon's highest point. Cameroon has a varied tropical climate: in the north, temperatures are hot with a short rainy season, while southern regions are wetter.

People

Cameroon is home to around 250 ethnic groups. In the north, the largest is the Fulani, a Muslim people who were historically nomads and cattle-herders. In southern Cameroon live Bantu peoples, including the Bassa and Douala. Some of the first people to settle in Cameroon were the Baka, who lived off rainforest plants as well as hunting wild pigs and antelopes. Around 30,000 Baka people, who stand no taller than 1.52 metres (5 feet), still live in the country’s southern rainforests.

Agriculture

Around three-quarters of Cameroon’s population works in agriculture, mainly on small farms. Families grow crops such as millet for their families, and cash crops including coffee, cocoa and sugarcane to sell for export.

​​​​​​​Cameroon is the fourth-largest producer of cocoa in the world. The hot, wet climate in the southwest of the country is perfect for growing cocoa trees, which are often planted in between other fruit trees to give them shade. Bananas, an important export, and rubber trees are also grown in this tropical region.

Economy

Since the 1970s, oil has been an important source of foreign income for Cameroon. The country also has valuable reserves of bauxite, the ore from which the metal aluminium is extracted. Cameroon is one of the world’s largest suppliers of timber. Woods such as mahogany and teak are in demand all over the world. Most of its raw timber is sold to China to be used in manufacturing wooden products, while processed wood is sold mainly to Europe. Some regions of Cameroon are experiencing deforestation; it is estimated that the country loses 1% of its forests every year.

Facts about Cameroon

Population 30,966,105 (2024 estimate)

Area 475,442 sq km (183,569 sq miles)

Highest point Fako (Mt Cameroon) 4040 m (13,255 ft)

Capital Yaoundé (population 2.8 million)

Other major cities Douala (5,066,000), Garoua (1,285,000), Bafoussam (1,146,000), Bamenda (600,000)

Languages Official languages: French (70%) and English (30%); 250 indigenous languages

Religions Christian (Catholic) 33%, Christian (Protestant) 27%, Muslim 31%, folk religions 2%, other 7%

Ethnicity Cameroon highland Bantu (Bamileke, Bamum, Tikar and others) 38%, southern rainforest Bantu (Beti-Pahuin, Bulu, Fang, Maka, Njem, Baka and others) 18%, coastal Bantu (Bassa, Douala and others) 12%, Kirdi 18%, Fulani and other Sahelian Muslims 14%

Currency Central African CFA franc (XAF)

Chief exports Oil and petroleum products, timber, cocoa beans, bauxite, coffee, cotton, bananas