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Cameroon Facts & Worksheets

Cameroon, officially called the Republic of Cameroon, is a country located at the junction of Western and Central Africa.

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Cameroon, officially called the Republic of Cameroon, is a country located at the junction of Western and Central Africa. Once a colony of Germany, France, and Britain, it is now known to be “Africa in miniature” and the “hinge of Africa” for its geographical and cultural diversity.

See the fact file below for more information on the Cameroon or alternatively, you can download our 26-page Cameroon worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

GENERAL FACTS

  • The name Cameroon has had many variations throughout the years.
  • In the 15th century, Portuguese explorer Fernando Po named the Wouri River, “Rio dos Camerões” (River of Prawns), after the many shrimps in the estuary.
  • It is Cameroun in French, Kamerun in German, Camarões in Portuguese, and Cameroon in English.
  • In the late 19th century, the English term was confined to the mountains, Mount Cameroon, while the estuary was called the Cameroons River or the Bay to the locals.
  • The capital of Cameroon is Yaoundé (also spelled Yaounde).
  • It is located in the south central part of the country between the Nyong and Sanaga rivers.
  • It serves as an administrative, service, and commercial center and as one of the richest agricultural areas in the country.
  • The current president, Paul Biya, has been serving for 38 years, since November 6, 1982.
  • He took over from Ahmadou Ahidjo, the first president since the country’s independence from the French on January 1, 1960.
  • Cameroon became the first African country to reach the quarter finals of the FIFA World Cup in 1990.
  • The team that made this possible is The Indomitable Lions of Cameroon, which remains one of the greatest African football teams.

GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE

  • Cameroon has a total area of 475,440 sq km, and 2,730 sq km of that is water in composition.
  • It is triangular in shape and is bordered by the following:
  • Cameroon can be divided into four geographic regions.
  • The northern part includes the Benue River and the savanna plains that decline in elevation, leading to the Lake Chad basin.
  • The western region is the mountainous region with the Gotel Mountains of the Adamawa Plateau and the culmination of the Mandara Mountains.
  • The central region is a mixture of the western highlands and the Sanaga and Benue rivers.
  • The southern region consists of coastal plains and densely forested plateaus that extend from the Sanaga River to the southern border and from the coast eastward to the Central African Republic and the Republic of Congo.
  • The rivers of Cameroon form four large drainage systems that drain into the Atlantic Ocean, the Niger River, Lake Chad, and the Congo River basin.
  • The soil in Cameroon is some of the most fertile in the world, and it can be divided into three groups.
  • The first is composed of soil with strong physical makeup but weaker chemical properties. This soil is less prone to erosion with good depth, high permeability, and stable structure.
  • The second soil is more fertile than the soil in the south, with lower iron content that dictates its coloring from gray to brown.
  • The third soil includes young soil of andosols that are developed from volcanic ash and vertisols, which are dark and clay-laden.
  • Cameroon is one of the wettest countries on Earth, receiving plenty of rainfall every year.
  • The rainy season lasts from April to November, while the dry season starts from December and lasts until March.
  • The mean annual precipitation level is 100 inches (2,500 mm).
  • The tall mountains do not allow the rainclouds to go elsewhere, bringing numerous rainy days in Cameroon.
  • The hot and humid southern part of the country supports dense rainforests, where hardwood evergreen trees, such as mahogany, ebony, obeche, diabetu, and sapelli, may grow more than 200 feet tall.
  • Waza National Park, which is a hunting reserve that was turned into a national park, is one of the most visited places in the country. It is home to 30 species of mammals and the rare Kordofan giraffe.
  • Dja Faunal Reserve, one of the best-protected rainforests in Africa, was designated a UNESCO World Heritage in 1980s.

HISTORY

  • It is believed that the Kingdom of Sao produced the first inhabitants of Cameroon in the 5th century AD, which was overcome by the Kotoko state that dominated the area, as well as Nigeria.
  • Islam became a powerful force in many portions of the country through conquest, immigration, and the spread of commerce throughout Africa.
  • In the 18th century, the Fulani, which is an Islamic group, entered Cameroon and eventually merged with the non-Muslim rule of the existing kingdoms.
  • Cameroon became a source of slaves for the Portuguese in the early 15th century, which declined in the 1800s as attention turned to trade in rubber, palm oil, and other items.
  • German explorer Gustav Nachtigal arrived in Cameroon in 1884. For the Germans, Kamerun became a source of tropical produce, which established harsh working situations that lead to death of many people.
  • In World War I, the French and British ruled the territory after driving the Germans into exile. French-ruled Cameroon saw more economic progress than the British-ruled territories.
  • Independence was granted to Cameroon in 1960. However, finished goods in all of Cameroon remained largely dependent on Europe, especially France, resulting in a fragile economy.

PEOPLE AND CULTURE

  • As of July 2020, there are 27,744,989 Cameroonians.
  • There are three main linguistic groups in Cameroon: the Bantu-speaking peoples of the south, the Sudanic-speaking peoples of the north, and the people who speak Semi-Bantu languages in the west.
  • The northern part is predominantly Muslim, whereas the people in the south adhere to Christianity and traditional African religions.
  • The official languages in Cameroon are French and English, aside from the 230 other languages spoken in different regions.
  • Cameroon is one the world’s largest producers of coffee, with 13,000 tons of varieties of Robusta and Arabica produced in 2004 alone.
  • The agricultural economy of the country also includes the production of bananas, cotton, oil-seeds, cocoa, and coffee.
  • Cameroonians’ holidays include those associated with the majority Christian population, such as Good Friday, Easter, and Christmas.
  • Ramadan is celebrated by the Muslim community. Other holidays include Youth Day and National Day, which commemorates the unification of the English-speaking and French-speaking portions of the country.
  • Football is the most popular sport in Cameroon, and it is viewed as an important part of nation-building, as patriotic pride swells from the victories of the national team.

Cameroon Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about the Cameroon across 26 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Cameroon worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about the Cameroon, officially called the Republic of Cameroon, which is a country located at the junction of Western and Central Africa. Once a colony of Germany, France, and Britain, it is now known to be “Africa in miniature” and the “hinge of Africa” for its geographical and cultural diversity.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Cameroon Facts
  • Locating Cameroon
  • Geographic Regions
  • Timeline Making
  • Did That Happen?
  • Culture Crossword
  • Colony Legacies
  • Top Produce
  • Picture Puzzle
  • Coming to Cameroon
  • Coffee Campaign

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Link will appear as Cameroon Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, August 4, 2020

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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