Country · Africa
Cameroon
Republic of Cameroon
Cameroon is a country in Middle Africa. About 25.2 million people live there, in an area of 475 442 square kilometres. Its capital city is Yaoundé.
Picture credit: A.R. Etoyiva (CC BY-SA 4.0) · JEUDONG KENFACK Guy (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Michel Erickson Talom (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Bdx (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Frederic PAPY (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Cameroon?
Cameroon lies in Middle Africa, on the continent of Africa.
It sits in the northern half of the world, roughly 668 km from the equator.
Its coastline is about 402 km long.
It shares a border with 6 countries: the Central African Republic, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Nigeria and the Republic of the Congo.
How big is Cameroon?
Cameroon covers 475 442 square kilometres.
That is about 12 times the size of Switzerland.
Among the world's countries that makes it the 53rd largest.
If everybody spread out evenly, there would be about 53 people on every square kilometre.
That is close to the world average of roughly 60 people per square kilometre.
Who lives in Cameroon?
About 25.2 million people live in Cameroon.
That is the 53rd biggest population in the world.
People here speak English and French.
They pay with the Central African CFA franc (Fr).
On average, people born here can expect to live about 55 years.
The land of Cameroon
The land of Cameroon sits on average 667 metres above sea level.
Its coast runs for about 402 km. Walking it end to end, at twenty kilometres a day, would take roughly 20 days.
It lies inside the tropics, which is the single biggest reason its weather is the way it is.
What makes Cameroon different?
A dish the country is known for: Ndolé.
Websites from here often end in .cm.
Cameroon and the rest of the world
Out of every thousand people alive on Earth, about 3 live in Cameroon.
It takes up about 0.36 % of all the land that countries stand on.
Within Africa the country ranks 24th of 54 by size, and 16th by population.
Cameroon and its neighbours
Chad, its largest neighbour, is about 2.7 times bigger.
More people live in Cameroon than in Chad — 25.2 million against 15.5 million.
Nature and animals
Of the animals on this site, 4 live wild in Cameroon: Gorilla, Chimpanzee, Olive baboon and Ball python. The highest mountain in the country is Mount Cameroon, at 4 040 metres. The longest river in the country is the Sanaga. The largest lake in the country is Lake Chad.
Photographs from Wikimedia Commons under free licences — every credit is on the page itself and in the picture credits.
How big is Cameroon compared with the United States?
- The United States is about 20 times as big as Cameroon: 9 372 610 km² against 475 442 km².
- Cameroon is about 2 times as big as the United Kingdom: 475 442 km² against 242 900 km².
Questions children ask
What is the capital of Cameroon?
The capital of Cameroon is Yaoundé. It is the city where the country's government works from.
How many people live in Cameroon?
About 25.2 million people live in Cameroon, which makes it the 53rd most populated country in the world. (Source: World Bank, 2018.)
Which countries border Cameroon?
Cameroon borders the Central African Republic, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Nigeria and the Republic of the Congo — 6 neighbours in total.
How big is Cameroon?
Cameroon covers 475 442 square kilometres, making it the 53rd largest country in the world. That is about 12 times the size of Switzerland.
What is the highest mountain in Cameroon?
The highest mountain in Cameroon is Mount Cameroon, 4 040 metres above sea level. It is the country's highest point.
What is the longest river in Cameroon?
The longest river in Cameroon is the Sanaga, about 603 kilometres long.
What is the largest lake in Cameroon?
The largest lake in Cameroon is Lake Chad. The whole lake covers about 2 000 km², and part of it belongs to neighbouring countries.
Which continent is Cameroon in?
Cameroon is in Africa, in the part called Middle Africa.
Where these numbers come from
Borders and outlines: Natural Earth. Names, capitals, areas, languages and currencies: ISO 3166 data (world-countries). Population: World Bank, 2018. Every derived figure on this page (ranks, density, distance from the equator) is calculated from those values.
Last checked: · How these pages are made