Where is Cameroon?
About Cameroon
The Land
The People
Life and Death
Health, Energy and the Environment
Education and Work
Travel, Communication and the Media
Cameroon is a large country in west Africa.
Cameroon borders the Atlantic Ocean.
The land is varied with a coastal plain in southwest, a central plateau, mountains in the west and plains in the north.
The geographical coordinates for the centre of Cameroon, also known as lines of latitude and longitude, are:-
Latitude - 6 00N
Longitude - 12 00E
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The Cameroonian flag is three equal vertical stripes of green, nearest the flag pole, red and yellow with a yellow five-pointed star in the centre of the
red stripe. Red represents unity, yellow the sun, happiness, and the savannahs in the north, and green hope and the forests in the south. The star is referred to
as the "star of unity".
We have already written our own history of England but are asking schools in Cameroon to provide us with a detailed history of
their own country. Check how here.
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The total land area of Cameroon is 472,710 sq kms which is the 24th largest in Africa.
Cameroon has lakes, rivers and canals which total 2,730 sq kms.
Cameroon has boundaries with 6 countries
Cameroon has a coastline of 402 kms which is the 26th longest in Africa.
The highest point in Cameroon is Fako on Mont Cameroun at 4,045 metres.
The total population of Cameroon is 25.64 million people, making it the 15th largest country in Africa by population.
Of this number 12.79 million are females and 12.85 million are males.
A person from Cameroon is called a Cameroonian.
To be a citizen of Cameroon, one of your parents must be a citizen of Cameroon. It is not sufficient to be born in Cameroon. You have to live in Cameroon for
5 years before you can begin to apply for citizenship.
The largest five cities in Cameroon, by population are:-
The birth rate in Cameroon is 35.0 births per 1,000 of population
The death rate in Cameroon is 9.4 deaths per 1,000 people.
Check this against the birth rate. If the death rate is higher than the birth rate then
the population will decrease unless immigrants arrive in the country.
There are 46.2 deaths of girls under 1 year per 1,000 of births and 53.4 deaths of boys.
The median age for females is 18.7 and for males is 18.5. The median age is that age which divides the population exactly in half so there are the same number
of people above the median age as below it.
The average age of a woman when she has her first child is 19.7.
The elderly dependency ratio is 5.9. This is the number of elderly people (ages 65+) per 100 people of working age (ages 15-64).
The potential support ratio is 17.0. This is the number of working-age people (ages 15-64) per one elderly person (ages 65+). As a population ages, the potential support ratio tends to fall, meaning there are fewer potential workers to support the elderly.
Cameroon spends 4.1% of its total income on health care.
There are 0.09 doctors per 1,000 people.
There are 1.3 hospital beds per 1,000 people.
11.4% of the population are estimated as obese.
94.8% of the urban population and 52.7% of the rural population have drinking water that is either piped into their home or they have access to a public tap, a protected borehole, well, spring or
protected rainwater collection facility.
61.8% of the urban population and 26.8% of the rural population have access to a flushing toilet that is connected to a sewer, a pit latrine (that is a
permanent hole in the ground that is looked after) or a composting toilet.
Cameroon spends 3.1% of its total income on education.
Children usually start school at age 6 in Cameroon. Primary education is for six years until age 12 and secondary education can continue till 19. This may be followed
by further education at a university or college.
Generally the school year consists of 3 terms and starts in the first week of September and finishes at the beginning of June. There is usually a 2 week
break at Christmas and Easter.
68.9% of females and 81.2% of males are able to read and write by the age of 15.
6.3% of all people aged between 16 and 24 are not in work. Among females 6.8% are unemployed while with males 5.8% can't find work.
The total number of people available for work in Cameroon is 9.91 million.
They work in the following sectors.
There are 11 paved airports in Cameroon, which is the 18th highest number in Africa.
There are 987 kilometres of railways in Cameroon, the 17th longest in Africa.
There are 44,359 kilometres of roads in Cameroon, which means Cameroon is in 15th place for the most kilometres of roads in Africa.