Cameroon

Background

Cameroon, officially known as the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Western Africa that is a former French and British colony. Prior to World War I, Cameroon was a German colony. However, after Germany's defeat in the Great War, the colony was partitioned between France and Great Britain, with France obtaining control of a larger geographic share. In 1955, the Union of the Peoples of Cameroon began an armed struggle for independence in French Cameroon. The French part of Cameroon became independent on January 1, 1960, forming the Republic of Cameroon. The following year, in British Cameroon, the northern two-thirds of the territory, which was mostly occupied by Muslims, voted to join Nigeria while the southern one-third of the territory, which was Christian, voted to join the Republic of Cameroon. The British section of Cameroon officially gained independence on October 1, 1961. The first president of Cameroon was Ahmadou Ahidjo, who served from 1961 to 1982. Under Ahidjo's rule, Cameroon outlawed all political parties except for Ahidjo's and implemented a new constitution in 1972. The 1972 constitution, which provides for a government dominated by the executive branch, turned Cameroon from a federation of two regions into a unitary state. When Ahidjo stepped down in 1982, he was constitutionally succeeded by Paul Biya, who is presently still retains the presidency.

Cameroon has a population of about 19.5 million people. The official languages of Cameroon are English and French. The capital of the country is the city of Yaounde. Religions in the country range from Christian (40%) or Muslim (20%) to indigenous African (40%).

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