Geography & Demography
Located in the centre of the Gulf of Guinea, the Republic of Cameroon has a surface that covers 475,440 km2 and has an estimated population near 19.3 million (Government of Canada, 2009). With about 320 km covering the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, Cameroon neighbours Nigeria in the West, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and the Republic of Congo in the South, the Republic of Central Africa and Chad in the East, and Lake Chad in the North (High Commission of the Republic of Cameroon in Canada, 2009). Yaoundé is the Capital City with a population of about 1.1 million. Other major urban centres include Douala, the main harbour and commercial capital with 1.3 million inhabitants, Garoua with 424,312 inhabitants, Maroua with 409,546 residents, Bafoussam with 319,457 inhabitants, Bamenda with 321,490 residents, Nkongsamba with 166,262 residents, and Ngaoundere with a population of 216,300 (nationsonline.org, 2009).
History
In 1472, a Portuguese sailor named Fernando Pôo was enchanted by the amount of prawns in the river Wouri. He named the river “Río dos Camarões”, literally “the River of Shrimps”, from which the name “Cameroon” originates (nationsonline.org, 2009).
The southern and eastern regions of Cameroon are populated by the Bakas, or Pygmies, who are believed to have been the first inhabitants of the land. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the next populations to arrive and settle in Cameroon were the Bantu and the Fulani.
Cameroon remained sovereign until the 1884 treaties which put it under German control. However, subsequent to Germany’s defeat during WWI in 1916, Cameroon was partitioned between Britain and France. The British sections included 20% of the country; two separate regions, the “Northern British Cameroons” and the “Southern British Cameroons”, on the border with Nigeria. The largest proportion of the country was administered independently by the French, (Britain administered their colonies from Lagos in Nigeria).
On January 1st 1960, French Cameroon achieved independence and was united with the British Southern Cameroons on 11 February 1960 through a referendum vote.
The Reunification of Cameroon was completed on October 1st 1961. Cameroon became a federation of two states, West Cameroon and East Cameroon. The federation lasted until May 20th 1972 when a unitary State composed of seven provinces was implemented. The province number was increased to 10 by Presidential decree in 1984. (In 1982, then Prime Minister Paul Biya took office as President succeeding Ahmadou Ahidjo who had been President since Independence (Echu, 2004). Both administrations have been characterized as authoritarian) (BBC, 2008).
Religion
Cameroon takes great pride in the fact that is a multi-religious country (U.S. Department of State, 2007). Freedom of religion is a constitutional right and religious tolerance is highly promoted throughout the nation of Cameroon. The chief religions are Islam (20% of the population) and Christianity (40% of the population), along with a number of other indigenous beliefs. The Fulani, also referred to as Peuhl people are predominantly Muslim and live in the North of Cameroon, while the other Muslim population, the Bamoun, resides in the West. The rest of the country is mainly Christian. The proportions of Catholics and Protestants are roughly the same. In the South live the Francophone and mainly Catholic communities and in the Western parts are the largely Protestant Anglophone communities (U.S. Department of State, 2007; Maps of World, 2009). Additionally, traditional native religions thrive in rural parts of Cameroon. They are not very common in the urban centres, mainly due to the fact that a number of them are inherently local in nature (U.S. Department of State, 2007).
Culture & Language
Cameroon has at least 250 ethic sub-groups, making up the “mosaic” population of the country. These are further grouped into five main ethnic categories. The first ones are the western highlanders (also called “grassfielders”) living in western regions. They make up about 38% of the population and include the Bamileke, the Bamoun, and several other small groups in the northwest. The second are the tropical forest communities living in coastal areas. They make up roughly 12% of the population and include mainly the Bassa, and the Douala. The third group is made up of the southern tropical forest communities, such as the Ewondo, the Bulu, and the Fang, all of which are considered Beti subgroups, the Maka and Pygmies are officially referred to as the Bakas. These communities constitute 18% of the Cameroonian population. The fourth group, designates the chiefly Islamic communities of the northern Sahel areas and central highlands. These include the Fulani, making up 14% of the total population. The fifth ethic group is the “Kirdi” who are not Muslim or recent Muslims. They make up 18% of the population and reside in the desert regions of the North, as well as the central highlands (U.S. Department of State, 2009).
Although the major languages commonly spoken are French, English (the official ones), as well as Fulfulde, Pidgin-English, Ewondo, Bassa, and Douala among many others, there are well above 200 linguistic dialects in Cameroon. The official languages were inherited from the era of the “Franco-British rule” between the end of WWI and Cameroon’s independence (Echu, 2004).
What Makes Cameroon Unique?
Most of the major cultures and peoples of Sub-Saharan Africa, such as the pygmy populations, the Bantu people, and the Sudano-Sahelian people, can all be found cohabiting and mixing in Cameroon. Moreover, the climate and the geography also represent what is usually found throughout Africa, from the grassfield savannas, to the Adamawa plateaux, to the Sahelian parts of the country (Republic of Cameroon Prime Minister’s Office, 2009). This extensive cultural diversity attracts tourists from around the world, and has contributed to Cameroon being named informally as, “Africa in one”, “microcosm of Africa”, or “Africa in miniature” (ALCA Canada -Toronto, 2007; Republic of Cameroon Prime Minister’s Office, 2009; High Commissioner of the Republic of Cameroon in Canada, 2009).
Cameroon Canadians
As a result of several successful and sustained bilateral development projects between Canada and Cameroon, many Cameroonians were able to come to Canada to pursue their studies (High Commission of the Republic of Cameroon in Canada, 2009). The trend was that once that was finished, they would go back to Cameroon. However, in the past few years, more and more Cameroonians have been choosing to immigrate to Canada and establish their residence in Canada. It is estimated that Canada had already welcomed close to 5000 Cameroonians, mostly residing in the cities of Montreal, Calgary, Ottawa, and Toronto (High Commission of the Republic of Cameroon in Canada, 2009; ACC, 2008).
References:
Association of Canada Cameroonians (ACC). (2009). Available: http://www.acc-cameroon.com/
Echu, G. (2004). The language question in Cameroon. Linguistik Online, 18, (1), 19-33.
Government of Canada. (2009). Fact sheet: Cameroon. Yaoundé: High Commissioner of Canada to Cameroon. Available: http://www.canadainternational.gc.ca/cameroon-cameroun/bilateral_relations_bilaterales/fs-cameroon-cameroun-fd.aspx?lang=eng
High Commission of the Republic of Cameroon in Canada. (2009). Fenêtre sur le Cameroun. Ottawa: High Commission of the Republic of Cameroon in Canada. Available: http://www.hc-cameroon-ottawa.org/service_consulaire_en.html
Maps of World. (2009). Cameroon Religion. Available: http://www.mapsofworld.com/cameroon/society-and-culture/religion.html[. Retrieved on March 25, 2009. One World-Nations Online. (2009). ”Countries of the world: Cameroon”. Available: [http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/cameroon.htm
Prime Minister’s Office. (2009). The Cameroon Culture. Yaoundé: Republic of Cameroon. Available: http://www.spm.gov.cm/showdoc.php?rubr=6000&srubr=6106&lang=en&tpl=2
U.S. Department of State. (2009). Background note: Cameroon. Washington: U.S. Government. Available: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/26431.htm
U.S. Department of State. (2007). Cameroon International Religious Freedom Report 2007. Washington: U.S. Government. Available: http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2007/90086.htm
