Cameroon

Laila and Kelseigh

Map and Location

• Cameroon is located in Central Africa
• Bordered by Nigeria, Chad, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Gabon, and Equatorial Guinea

Flag

• This flag became the flag of Cameroon on May 20, 1975
• The green section represents its forests, the red section represents unity and the yellow section represents its savannas and the sun
• The yellow star is not always the same size but it is always in the middle of the flag
• It is similar to flags of Guinea, Mali and Senegal

Important History

• 1520 - Portuguese set up plantations and the slave trade.
• 1600s - The Dutch take over slave trade
• 1884 - Cameroon becomes a German colony
• 1916 - Germans are pushed out Cameroon
• 1919 - Cameroon is divided into French and British colonies.
• 1960 - Cameroon gets independence with Ahidjo as president.
• 1972 - Cameroon becomes a unitary state and is renamed the United Republic of Cameroon
• 1984 - President Biya elected as president, changes country's name to the Republic of Cameroon

Important History (continued)

• 1994 - Rioting between Cameroon and Nigeria starts over oil-rich Bakassi Peninsula
• 2002 - International Court of Justice gives jurisdiction of Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon but Nigeria does not cooperate
• 2006 - Nigeria withdraws troops from the Bakassi Peninsula
• 2016-2017 - Violent riots against the enforcement of French in English-speaking parts of Cameroon
• 2018 October - President Paul Biya wins a seventh term

Languages

• The official languages of Cameroon are English and French
• It has been a colony of France and the United Kingdom
• French is by far the most spoken and understood language
• German was once the official language when Cameroon was colonized by Germany

Population

• The current (2021) population of Cameroon is 27,491,673
• Cameroon has a young population:
• The average age is 18.7 years
• 41.25% of the population is between 0 and 14 years old

Religion

• Freedom of religion is given in the Constitution of Cameroon
• 70% of the population is considered Christian, 20% of the population is considered Muslim, and 10% of the population practices indigenous religions
• Christian and Islamic holidays are considered national holidays
• Practicing witchcraft, which was once part of traditional indigenous religions, is a crime

Climate & Landscape

Climate:

• Tropical
• Dry season in winter and rainy season in summer
• Average annual rainfall is over 100 inches

Landscape:

• Very diverse- has deserts, rain forests, mountains, savanna grasslands, + ocean coastlands

Currency

• Central African CFA franc- also known as the XAF
• Equals 0.0017 in United States dollars

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Economy & Exports

• Economic situation is inconsistent and unpredictable- relies heavily on the sales of its products with the rest of the world

Exports:

• Coffee, cacao, cotton, bananas, rubber, palm oil, aluminum, petroleum products
• Main export partner is the European Union

Current Events

Current news headlines:

• “This country is being torn apart by a civil war that few have heard of” →https://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2021/06/02/cameroon-anglophone-crisis-civil-war-explainer-asher-oneworld-intl-ldn-vpx.cnn
• “Cameroon Anglophone Crisis’

→ https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/world/cameroon-anglophone-crisis/

• “Cameroon protest erupts after death of girl of 12”

→ https://www.bbc.com/news/topics/clm1wxp5p5jt/cameroon

• Students injured in blast at Cameroon university

→ https://www.bbc.com/news/topics/clm1wxp5p5jt/cameroon

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Culture & Music

• Many religions including Christianity and Islamic
• About 300+ languages spoken in Cameroon
• The Theatre of Cameroon is important to their local culture
• Ngondo is a water-centered festival held by the Sawa people of Cameroon
• Has a combination of traditional and modern music
• Makossa is the best known contemporary genre

Notable People

• Well known soccer players from Cameroon:
• Alex Song
• Samuel Eto’o
• Roger Milla
• Basketball players:
• Joel Embiid
• Pascal Siakam
• Manu Dibango - saxophone and vibraphone player
• Richard Bona - jazz artist

Alex song

Joel Embiid

Richard Bona

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Spoken Audio Clip

• Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0CeFX6E2yI

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• Speaking: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2BGt9HmiEo

Fun facts

• The Cameroon men's national soccer team was the first country in Africa to make it to the quarter-finals of the FIFA world cup- their soccer team is one of the strongest in Africa
• It has the longest ruling non-royal national leader
• Has Africa’s oldest forest- the Korup National Park Forest
• The world's largest frog (the Goliath Frog) lives in Cameroon

Resources

• https://www.britannica.com/place/Cameroon/Climate
• https://www.climatestotravel.com/climate/cameroon#:~:text=In%20Cameroon%2C%20the%20climate%20is,the%20rest%20of%20the%20country.&text=In%20the%20southern%20inland%20region,making%20the%20heat%20more%20bearable.
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Cameroon
• https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/geography/countries/article/cameroon
• https://www.tomedes.com/translator-hub/cameroon-languages
• https://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/cameroon/flag
• https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/central-african-cfa-franc-xaf.asp#:~:text=Key%20Takeaways-,The%20XAF%20(Central%20African%20CFA%20Franc)%20is%20the%20official%20currency,and%20pegged%20to%20the%20euro.
• https://www.britannica.com/place/Cameroon/Economy
• https://www.intracen.org/exporters/organic-products/country-focus/country-profile-cameroon/
• https://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/cameroon-population
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_religion_in_Cameroon
• https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-13148483
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_Cameroon
• https://www.cameroon.be/en/discover-cameroon/across-africa-in-a-country/art-and-culture
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_Cameroon
• http://countrylicious.com/cameroon/famous-people
• https://multiculturalkidblogs.com/2018/12/28/fun-facts-cameroon-kids/
• https://bigseventravel.com/interesting-facts-cameroon/