Cameroon is situated in
central Africa. It has a population of about 20.000.000 people (compare this to
Nigeria’s 170.000.000!) It is often called ‘Africa in miniature’ because of the
geological and cultural diversity. You can find beaches, deserts, mountains, rainforests, and savannas. Cameroon is home to
over 200 different linguistic groups. French and English are the official
languages.
Portuguese arrived in Cameroon in the 15th
century. They named the area Rio dos Camarões (Shrimp River),
which became Cameroon in English. Cameroon became a German colony in
1884 known as 'Kamerun".
After WWI, the German colony was divided between
France and Britain. In 1960 the French part became independent and when the
British part got independence in 1961, the couthers part of British Cameroon
merged with it to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon. Since 1972, the
official name is the Republic of Cameroon.
The stable social and political situation enables
economic growth. Cameroon's per-capita GDP was estimated at US$2,300 in 2008,
one of the ten highest in sub-Saharan Africa. By 2035, Cameroon wants to be an
emerging country. During the 2004–2008 period, public debt was reduced from
over 60% of GDP to 10% and official reserves quadrupled to over USD
3 billion.
However, poverty is still a big problem in
Cameroon. In 2009, about one third of the Cameroonians was living under US$1,25
per day. Especially the English speaking regions are having problems as they
are often disadvantaged by the government.
Adult literacy rate in Cameroon is about 63% for
females and 79% for males. The country has one of the highest school attendance
rates of Africa. HIV prevalence is estimated at about 5.9% of the adults.
Map of Cameroon:
 |
| Cameroon. I am working in North West (Nord-Ouest) region |
No comments:
Post a Comment