Wikipedia:WikiProject WikiFundi Content/Cameroon

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Republic of Cameroon République du Cameroun
Flag Coat of arms
Motto:  "Paix – Travail – Patrie" (French) "Peace – Work – Fatherland"
Anthem:  Ô Cameroun, Berceau de nos Ancêtres (French) O Cameroon, Cradle of our Forefathers a
Capital	Yaoundé[1] 3°52′N 11°31′E / 3.867°N 11.517°E / 3.867; 11.517
Largest city	Douala[1]
Official languages	French English
Ethnic groups	31% Cameroon Highlanders 19% Equatorial Bantu 11% Kirdi 10% Fulani 8% Northwestern Bantu 7% Eastern Nigritic 13% other African <1% non-African
Demonym(s)	Cameroonian
Government	Dominant-party presidential republic
• President	Paul Biya[1]
• Prime Minister	Philémon Yang
Legislature	Parliament of Cameroon
• Upper house	Senate
• Lower house	National Assembly
Independence from France
• Declared	1 January 1960
• Annexation of former British Cameroons	1 October 1961
Area
• Total	475,442 km2 (183,569 sq mi) (54th)
• Water (%)	0.57
Population
• July 2013 estimate	22,534,532[1] (56th)
• 2005 census	17,463,836[2]
• Density	39.7/km2 (102.8/sq mi) (167th)
GDP (PPP)	2016 estimate
• Total	$76.895 billion[3]
• Per capita	$3,246[3]
GDP (nominal)	2016 estimate
• Total	$30.790 billion[3]
• Per capita	$1,299[3]
Gini (2007)	44.6[4] medium inequality
HDI (2014)	0.512[5] low (153rd)
Currency	Central African CFA franc (XAF)
Time zone	UTC+1 (WAT)
Drives on	right
Calling code	+237
ISO 3166 code	CM
Internet TLD	.cm
These are the titles as given in the Constitution of the Republic of Cameroon, Article X (English at the Wayback Machine (archived 28 February 2006) and French at the Wayback Machine (archived 28 February 2006) versions). 18 January 1996. The French version of the song is sometimes called [Chant de Ralliement] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), as in Swarovski Orchestra (2004). National Anthems of the World. Koch International Classics; and the English version "O Cameroon, Cradle of Our Forefathers", as in DeLancey and DeLancey 61.

Cameroon (/ˌkæməˈruːn/; French: Cameroun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (French: République du Cameroun), is a country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the Bight of Bonny, part of the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean.

Cameroon is home to more than 1738 different linguistic groups. French and English are the official languages. The country is often referred to as "Africa in miniature" for its geological and cultural diversity. Natural features include beaches, deserts, mountains, rainforests, and savannas. The highest point at almost 4,100 metres (13,500 ft) is Mount Cameroon in the Southwest Region of the country, and the largest cities in population-terms are Douala on the Wouri river, its economical capital and main seaport, Yaoundé, its political capital, and Garoua. After independence, the newly united nation joined the Commonwealth of Nations, although the vast majority of its territories had previously been a German colony and, after World War I, a French mandate. The country is well known for its native styles of music, particularly makossa and bikutsi, and for its successful national football team.

Early inhabitants of the territory included the Sao civilisation around Lake Chad and the Baka hunter-gatherers in the southeastern rainforest. Portuguese explorers reached the coast in the 15th century and named the area Rio dos Camarões (Shrimp River), which became Cameroon in English. Fulani soldiers founded the Adamawa Emirate in the north in the 19th century, and various ethnic groups of the west and northwest established powerful chiefdoms and fondoms. Cameroon became a German colony in 1884 known as Kamerun.

After World War I, the territory was divided between France and the United Kingdom as League of Nations mandates. The Union des Populations du Cameroun (UPC) political party advocated independence, but was outlawed by France in the 1950s. It waged war on French and UPC militant forces until 1971. In 1960, the French-administered part of Cameroon became independent as the Republic of Cameroun under President Ahmadou Ahidjo. The southern part of British Cameroons merged with it in 1961 to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon. The country was renamed the United Republic of Cameroon in 1972 and the Republic of Cameroon in 1984.

Cameroon enjoys relatively high political and social stability. This has permitted the development of agriculture, roads, railways, and large petroleum and timber industries. Nevertheless, large numbers of Cameroonians live in poverty as subsistence farmers. Power lies firmly in the hands of the authoritarian president since 1982, Paul Biya, and his Cameroon People's Democratic Movement party. The English-speaking territories of Cameroon have grown increasingly alienated from the government, and politicians from those regions have called for greater decentralization and even secession (for example: the Southern Cameroons National Council) of the former British-governed territories.