Cameroon

This Central African country is located on the Gulf of Guinea and is bordered by the Central African Republic, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and Nigeria.

Yaoundé is the capital.

French and English are official languages.

Population, 28,786,728. Size, 475,440 km^2.

The Central African CFA franc (CFA) is the national currency.

It is officially a secular country. Christian churches and Muslim centers of various denominations operate freely throughout Cameroon, while the traditionalists operate in their shrines and temples.

Major cities include Douala, Garoua, Kousseri, and Bamenda.

Ndolé is the national dish and consists of stewed nuts, ndoleh (bitter leaves indigenous to West and Central Africa), and fish or beef. Principal crops include plantains, beans, potatoes, yams, cassava, corn, and oil palm in the south and peanuts, millet, and cassava in the north.

Lying wholly within the tropics, the country is hot throughout the year. The climate is tropical, semi-arid in the north, and humid and rainy in the rest of the country.

Cameroon is home to some beautiful beaches with distinct sand colors and crystal-clear waters. Cameroon houses one of the wettest places in the world, “Debundscha.” The Debundscha is located between Mount Cameroon and the Atlantic Ocean. It records an annual precipitation of a little over 10 meters per year. The country has the highest active volcano in Western and Central Africa. Mount Cameroon has an elevation of over 4000 meters above sea level. The Korop Nation Park Forest is estimated to be at least 60 million years old and its longevity ranks it as the oldest remaining forest in Africa. Cameroon is also known as Africa in Miniature. Some even refer to it as the hinge of Africa. This is because the country has exceptional geographical and cultural diversity. The country features almost every climate and ecological system. Cameroon houses two of the three exploding lakes in the world. Lake Nyos and Mononu contain carbon dioxide reserves in the form of magma underneath the water. The Goliath frog is the largest specie of frog in the world and can only be spotted in Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea. Cameroon coffee and beans are some of the best in the world and the country is one of the largest coffee producers in West Africa. Across the land, there are many thermal springs. Locals leverage the springs as an energy source. They use them for gas, making up about 21% of the country’s needs.