CAMEROON

ExpeditionaryCulture

FieldGuide

Makari

Maroua

Garoua

Ngaoundéré

Bamenda

Bafoussam

Douala

Nkongsamba

AbongMbang

Kribi

Ebolowa

Buéa Bertoua

Yaoundé

Cameroon
This guide is designed to help prepare you for deployment to 

culturally complex environments and successfully achieve 

mission objectives. The fundamental information it contains will 

help you understand 

the decisive cultural 

dimension of your 

assigned location

and gain necessary 

skills to achieve 

mission success.

The guide consists 

of two parts: 

Part 1: Introduces 

“Culture General,” the foundational knowledge you need to 

operate effectively in any global environment. 

Part 2: Presents “Culture Specific” Cameroon, focusing on 

unique cultural features of Cameroonian society and is 

designed to complement other pre-deployment training. It 

applies culture-general 

concepts to help

increase your 

knowledge of your 

assigned deployment 

location.

For further information, 

visit the Air Force 

Culture and Language 

Center (AFCLC)

website at https://wwwmil.maxwell.af.mil/afclc or contact 

AFCLC’s Region Team at AFCLC.Region@us.af.mil.

Disclaimer: All text is the property of the AFCLC and may not 

be modified by a change in title, content, or labeling. It may be 

reproduced in its current format with the expressed permission 

of the AFCLC. All photography is provided as a courtesy of the 

US government, Wikimedia, and other sources as indicated.

About this Guide

ECFG Cameroon
What is Culture?

Fundamental to all aspects of human existence, culture shapes 

the way humans view life and functions as a tool we use to 

adapt to our social and physical environments. A culture is the 

sum of all of the beliefs, values, behaviors, and symbols that 

have meaning for a society. All human beings have culture, 

and individuals within a culture share a general set of beliefs 

and values. 

Members of a culture also 

usually assign the same 

meanings to the symbols in 

that culture. A symbol is 

when one thing – an image, 

word, object, idea, or story –

represents another thing. 

For example, the American 

flag is a physical and visual 

symbol of a core American value – freedom. At the same time, 

the story of George Washington admitting to having chopped 

down a cherry tree is also symbolic, representing the 

importance Americans place on personal honesty and 

leadership integrity. 

Force Multiplier

The military services have learned through experience the 

importance of understanding other cultures. Unlike the 20thcentury bipolar world order that dominated US strategy for 

nearly half a century, today the US military is operating in what 

we classify as asymmetric or irregular conflict zones where the 

notion of cross-cultural interactions is on the leading edge of 

our engagement strategies. 

We have come to view the people themselves, rather than the 

political system or physical environment, as the decisive 

feature in conflict areas. Our primary objective hinges on 

influencing constructive change through peaceful means where 

possible. We achieve this endeavor by encouraging local 

nationals to focus on developing stable political, social, and 

PART 1 – CULTURE GENERAL

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CULTURE 
economic institutions that reflect their cultural beliefs and 

traditions.

Therefore, understanding the basic concepts of culture serves 

as a force multiplier. Achieving an awareness and respect of a 

society’s values and beliefs enables deploying forces to build

relationships with people from other cultures, positively 

influence their actions, and ultimately achieve mission success.

Cultural Domains

Culture is not just represented by the beliefs we carry 

internally, but also by our behaviors and by the systems 

members of a culture create to organize their lives. These 

systems, such as political or educational institutions, help us to 

live in a manner that is appropriate to our culture and

encourages us to perpetuate that culture into the future. 

We can organize these behaviors and systems into categories 

– what the Air Force refers to as “cultural domains” – in order to 

better understand the primary values and characteristics of a 

society. A cross-culturally competent military member can use 

these domains – which include kinship, language and 

communication, and social and political systems among others

(see chart on next page) – as tools for understanding and 

adapting to any culture. For example, by understanding the 

ways different cultures define family or kinship, a deployed 

military member can more effectively interact with members of 

that culture.

Social Behaviors Across Cultures

While humankind shares basic behaviors, various groups enact 

or even group those behaviors differently across cultural 

boundaries. For example, 

all societies obtain food for 

survival, although agrarian 

societies generally produce

their own food for limited 

consumption using very 

basic techniques.

Conversely, industrialized 

nations have more 

sophisticated market economies, producing foodstuffs for 

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universal consumption. Likewise, all cultures value history and 

tradition, although they represent these concepts through a 

variety of unique forms of symbolism. While the dominant world 

religions share the belief in one God, their worship practices 

vary with their traditional historical development. Similarly, in 

many kin-based cultures where familial bonds are foundational 

to social identity, it is customary for family or friends to serve as 

godparents, while for other societies this practice is nearly nonexistent.

Worldview

One of our basic human behaviors is the tendency to classify 

others as similar or different according to our cultural standard. 

As depicted in the chart 

below, we can apply the 12 

cultural domains to help us 

compare similarities and 

differences across cultures. 

We evaluate others’

behavior to determine if 

they are “people like me” or 

“people not like me.” 

Consequently, we assume 

that individuals falling into the “like me” category share our 

perspectives and values. 

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This collective perspective forms our worldview – how we see 

the world and understand our place in it. Your worldview 

functions as a lens through which you see and understand the 

world. It helps you to interpret your experiences and the values 

and behaviors of other people that you encounter. Consider 

your worldview as a way of framing behavior, providing an 

accountability standard for our actions and a logical 

explanation of why we individually or collectively act in a certain 

manner. 

Cultural Belief System

An important component of a worldview is our belief system. A 

community’s belief system sets its universal standards of what 

is good and bad, defines right and wrong behavior, and assigns 

a value of meaningful or meaningless. Our beliefs form the 

fundamental values we hold to be true – regardless of whether 

there is physical evidence to support these ideas. Beliefs are a 

central facet of human culture. They are shared views about 

world order and how the universe was physically and socially 

constructed. 

While all people have beliefs, their specific components tend to 

vary depending upon respective world views. What people 

classify as good or bad, right or wrong depends on our deeplyheld beliefs we started developing early in life that have help 

shape our characters. Likewise, 

these values are ingrained in our 

personalities and shape our 

behavior patterns and our selfidentities. Because cultural beliefs 

are intensely held, they are 

difficult, though not impossible, to 

change. 

Core Beliefs

Core beliefs shape and influence 

certain behaviors and also serve 

to rationalize those behaviors. 

Therefore, knowledge of individual 

or group beliefs can be useful in 

comprehending or making sense of their activities. We will use 

the iceberg model for classifying culture to illustrate two levels 

of meaning, as depicted. Beliefs and values, portrayed by the 

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CULTURE 

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deeper and greater level of the submerged iceberg, are seldom 

visible, but are indicated / hinted at / referenced by our 

behaviors and symbols (top level). It is important to recognize, 

though, that the parts of culture that are not visible (under the 

waterline) are informing and shaping what is being made 

visible (above the waterline). 

In many cases, different worldviews may present behaviors 

that are contrary to our own beliefs, particularly in many 

regions where US forces deploy. Your ability to suspend 

judgment in order to understand another perspective is 

essential to establishing relationships with your host-nation

counterparts. The ability to withhold your opinion and strive to 

understand a culture from a member of that culture’s 

perspective is known as cultural relativism. It often involves 

taking an alternate perspective when interpreting others’ 

behaviors and is critical to your ability to achieve mission 

success. 

As you travel throughout the African Continent, you will 

encounter cultural patterns of meaning that are common

among most African countries. What follows is a general 

description of 12 cultural domains which are used to frame 

those commonalities. 

1. History and Myth

History and myth are related concepts. History is a record of 

the past that is based on verifiable facts and events. Myth can 

act as a type of historical record, 

although it is usually a story which 

members of a culture use to explain 

community origins or important events 

that are not verifiable or which occurred 

prior to written language. 

Africa has a history that spans the

entire existence of humankind. In 

ancient times prior to the emergence of 

written languages, history and wisdom 

were preserved across generations and 

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CULTURAL DOMAINS
ethnic boundaries through oral folk legends or myths. Most 

early human evolution began as hunting and gathering cultures 

in East and South Africa, with countries such as Ethiopia, 

Kenya, Tanzania, and South Africa renowned for their early 

human sites. In the last several millennia, the development of 

agriculture and pastoralism (animal herding) replaced hunting 

and gathering lifestyles (Photo: Kutubiyya Mosque courtesy of 

CultureGrams, ProQuest, 2013).

Ancient civilizations evolved in all corners of Africa, inspired in 

part by peoples from the Middle East bringing trade, beliefs, 

customs, language, and on occasion, colonization. Far from 

being isolated empires, the African civilizations were intimately 

connected by commerce and marriage throughout various 

regions of the continent, and when confronted by outsiders, 

managed to adapt to their influences. Eventually, Arab traders 

introduced Islam to Africa and also instituted the TransSaharan African slave trade that lasted from the 7th to 19th 

Centuries. 

The “golden age” of European exploration, which lasted from 

the 18th to mid-20th century, prompted the wholesale 

exploitation of Africans resources – first human assets through 

slavery, followed by natural resources such as minerals, 

precious gems and 

metals, and wildlife, 

thereby diminishing most 

of what was traditional 

and African. 

The introduction of the 

European Trans-Atlantic 

Slave Trade altered the 

slave trade through both 

the sheer number of 

Africans enslaved and

through the cementing of a racist ideology of Black inferiority to 

legitimize the institution of slavery. Slavery decimated the 

African continent for over 400 years through the forced 

relocation of an estimated 25 to 30 million Africans worldwide. 

This figure does not include those Africans who died aboard 

ships or during capture. While abolition of the slave trade 

dissolved the institution of slavery, it did not end the European 

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presence on the African continent nor did it drastically alter 

their attitudes towards Africans.

Starting in the mid-19th century, European colonialism served 

to redefine African ethnic relations on a large scale; however,

as African societies began to resist colonial rule and seek their

independence, widespread ethnic conflict and genocide

occurred. Sustained westernization and globalization continue

to shape the continent through poverty, disease, and social 

reform. A history still to be recorded, Africa’s future identity 

faces many challenges in critical areas such as environmental 

change, ethnic strife, women’s health and security, and 

education. 

2. Political and Social Relations

Political relations are the ways in which members of a 

community organize leadership, power, and authority. Social 

relations are all of the ways in which individuals are linked to 

others in their community. 

Traditional African political 

organizations in the form of 

bands, tribes, and 

chiefdoms have existed for 

several millennia and 

continue to influence 

contemporary African 

governments. Uncommon 

in modern society, bands 

are limited to hunting and gathering economies, such as the

!Kung of the southern African Kalahari Desert and foragers of 

central African forests. 

Tribes are still represented today across the African political 

landscape, although the use of the word “tribe” is sometimes 

misinterpreted due to its western notion of “primitiveness” and 

oftentimes substituted with the term “ethnic group.” Lacking 

centralized authority, tribes are organized around segmented 

descent groups or in some cases age groups. 

Everyday governance is discharged through councils of 

respected elders and sanctioned through ritual and other 

means. East African pastoralist groups such as the Maasai, 

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along with some West African tribes and the Berbers in North

Africa, represent this type of organization. 

Chiefdoms or kingdoms are ruled by kings or queens from a 

royal clan and generally incorporate millions of subjects. 

Kingdoms such as the Zulu or Swazi in southern Africa 

developed through conquest, while others like Ghana’s 

Ashante developed through an association of related traditional 

states. However, colonialism eventually diluted the power and 

reach of these empires, 

whose leaders were often 

retained as indirect rulers 

or figureheads. 

Today, all three of these 

political organizations still 

exist, although in the 

confines of modern African 

nation-states created by 

colonial powers who had little regard or understanding of 

African cultures. This juxtaposition of modernity with tradition 

has caused severe conflict throughout the continent. 

Challenged to construct their respective “national” identities, 

regional leaders attempt to do so by diluting the traditionally 

cohesive power of ancestry. These national ruling elites, who 

derive their power from wealth and commerce rather than tribal 

affiliation, feel threatened by loyalty to these traditional 

organizations, labeling their rule as “tribalism.” 

This “class versus descent” scrimmage for power has resulted 

in conflicts across the continent and a dramatic divergence of 

interests. As a means to overcome these and other issues on 

the continent, a 53-nation federation, the African Union (AU), 

was formed in 2002. AU’s charter is to promote “greater unity 

and solidarity between African countries and peoples” by

building partnerships in all segments of “civil society.”

3. Religion and Spirituality

Religion is a cultural belief system that provides meaning to 

members of a community. Religious and spiritual beliefs help 

preserve the social order by defining proper behavior. They 

also create social unity by defining shared identity, offer 

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individuals peace of mind, and explain the causes of events in 

a society. Prior to the arrival of Islam and Christianity, the 

African continent consisted of orally transmitted indigenous

religious practices. As in many societies, African indigenous 

beliefs influenced diet, subsistence patterns, family structures, 

marriage practices, and healing and burial processes. In 

essence, Africans constructed their worldview through their 

indigenous religions. 

Today, the African continent

is primarily either Muslim or 

Christian. Other faiths such 

as Judaism and Hinduism 

exist as pockets in different

regions of the continent, 

primarily in urban areas. The 

historical trajectories of 

Islamic and Christian 

expansion in Africa offer intriguing commonalities in how 

Africans across the continent initially reacted to the introduction 

of each of those religions. For example, it is common 

throughout the continent to find a blending of many elements of 

indigenous religious practices with local Islam and Christianity

(Photo courtesy of Wikimedia).

Consequently, many African native religions share similarities 

with religions such as Christianity, Islam, and Judaism in their 

understanding of God as the creator 

and ruler of all life, although He is 

considered untouchable by humans. 

However, unlike Christianity and 

Islam, many African indigenous 

religions believe that God is not 

directly involved in people's lives. To 

them there is a spirit world 

populated with former good and bad 

human beings. The good spirits 

intercede with God on behalf of their 

living families to whom they then 

relay God's will through dreams and acquired possessions. 

The bad spirits work to bring misfortune through sickness, 

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death, or natural disasters to those who behave 

inappropriately. 

Many indigenous African religions revere "nature" spirits living 

in the sky, water, and forests. These impersonal spirits help 

protect people from harm and provide them with life’s essential 

ingredients such as water, sun, and wildlife. This belief system 

is commonly referred to as animism.

Just as spirits mediate relations between God and humans,

religious specialists act as mediators between spirits and 

humans to provide protection from harm. 

4. Family and Kinship 

The domain of family and kinship refers to groups of people 

related through blood ties, marriage, or through strong 

emotional bonds that influence them to treat each other like 

family members (often called “fictive kin”).The traditional 

African family with respect to marriage, family structure, and 

descent is a much 

different arrangement

than is found in most 

American families. 

Likewise, there are 

several components of 

the traditional African 

family that are common 

to all African cultures. 

First, perhaps the most 

difficult feature to 

reconcile to Americans 

is that of polygyny – the practice of a husband having more 

than one wife. A benefit of this arrangement is that it promotes

societal alliances through marriage, procreation, and family 

wealth through female labor. 

Second, due to polygyny, the family in most African cultures 

has historically consisted of an expanded set of kin or relatives 

that extends well beyond the American notion of a nuclear 

family. This arrangement created a family environment where 

children considered all siblings as “brothers and sisters” and all 

of the wives/mothers as “mother.” 

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Third, the extended African family traces descent through 

either the male or female side of the family, a practice which 

differs considerably from the American family. Patrilineal 

descent (through the male side of the family) is the more 

common approach and usually features polygyny. The

matrilineal (through the female bloodline) marriage pattern is 

more uncommon and almost always features monogamy – it is 

rare to encounter a wife having more than one husband. 

Lastly, it is common for two or more blood lines (lineages) to 

share a common ancestor and collectively form a clan, which is 

the largest social unit. Clans do not have formal leaders or 

organizational structures. Membership is transferred from 

father to child and cuts across ethnic and social boundaries. 

The dramatic social changes in Africa during and after 

colonialism in the last 4 decades have obviously affected the 

traditional family, and variations on these 3 features can be 

found across the continent.

5. Sex and Gender

Sex refers to the biological/reproductive differences between 

males and females, while gender is a more flexible concept 

that refers to a culture’s categorizing of masculine and feminine 

behaviors, symbols, and social roles. Gender roles in Africa 

follow no single model nor is there a generalized concept of 

sex and common standard of sexual behavior. 

Prehistorically, gender role differentiation in Africa’s hunting 

and gathering cultures was based on a division of labor 

featuring different, yet complementary, sets of responsibilities 

for males and females, adults and children. Females gathered 

over half the caloric 

needs from natural 

vegetation, while also 

reproducing and raising 

offspring. Males were 

primarily hunters but also 

assisted with gathering. 

These gender patterns 

continued as agricultural 

practices advanced. 

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Females shared in farming while continuing to provide for the 

family’s subsistence, and males produced the cash crops. 

Pastoralists like the Maasai of Kenya traditionally have featured 

males involved in cattle-raising and females in food production. 

The 19th-century European colonial period introduced a cash 

economy into Africa, with female labor used to produce the 

cash crops. By inserting male authority over females, colonial 

administrators disrupted the distinct yet complementary 

male/female relationship that had been traditionally African. 

More recently, western influence across the continent has 

dramatically altered the traditional gender roles. Educational 

and professional opportunities for females, along with 

increased family migrations to urban areas, have radically

altered traditional male and female gender roles. 

Likewise, the number of singles parents and even child- or 

other relative-led families has increased with the predominance 

of HIV/AIDS-related deaths and warfare, further altering 

traditional gender responsibilities. Additionally, ethnic conflicts 

involving abuse of women are prevalent in many unstable 

countries, and while the rubric of traditional African gender 

generally remains, the forces of change are gradually ripping it 

away.

6. Language and Communication

Language is a system for sharing information symbolically, 

whereby words are used to represent ideas. Communication is 

defined as the cultural 

practice of sharing 

meaning in interaction, 

both verbally and nonverbally. America is 

predominantly a 

monolingual society, 

where traditionally, 

fluency in a second 

language has been 

considered a luxury 

rather than a necessity. 

Conversely, national survival for many societies in Africa 

required them throughout their existence to adopt multilingual 

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practices, if for no other reason than to preserve their native 

heritage. 

You may find it challenging to comprehend the scope of 

Africa’s linguistic diversity. There are over 2,000 African 

languages (many spoken-only) from 6 major language families, 

and perhaps 100 of these languages are used to communicate 

among the more dominant ethnic groups such as Berber, 

Swahili, Yoruba, and others. 

Official languages of African nation-states are few, yet the 

linguistic diversity expressed across the continent (Nigeria has 

250 languages) has prompted an awareness of the value of 

Africa’s linguistic traditions. While most areas of the continent 

speak the adopted language of their colonial past – such as 

French and Portuguese in West Africa, French and Arabic in 

Morocco, and English in Kenya and South Africa – the majority 

of people also speak one or more traditional “indigenous” 

languages of their and other ethnic groups. As African 

independence spread throughout the continent, ethnic groups 

continued to depend on their indigenous identifiers, such as 

language, to celebrate their “release” from colonial rule and to 

preserve a sense of 

indigenous identity. 

While communication 

styles tend to vary by 

ethnic or social groups, 

Africans generally are 

friendly and outgoing 

people although they 

tend to communicate 

with reserve to avoid 

confrontation. As in most kin-based societies, Africans believe 

that saving face or protecting one’s honor and dignity are of 

utmost importance; therefore, they avoid public criticism and 

controversial topics at all costs – even to the extent of 

withholding their honest opinion or modifying the truth. 

Africans admire and even expect extended greetings and small 

talk, and to attempt to rush or avoid social graces is considered 

disrespectful. Similarly, Africans avoid direct eye contact when 

communicating with new acquaintances and people of status, 

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particularly elders. They also are fond of non-verbal gestures, 

and it is common throughout African societies for members of 

the same gender to hold hands or touch while conversing.

7. Learning and Knowledge

All cultures require that the older generation transmit important 

information to the younger generation. This information can be 

strictly factual (for example, how to fulfill subsistence and 

health requirements) and culturally traditional (the beliefs, 

behaviors, and symbols that have meaning to the community). 

This knowledge transfer may occur through structured, 

formalized systems such as 

schools or through informal

learning by watching adults or 

peers.

The contemporary African 

educational system hardly 

resembles the traditional precolonial structure, whereby 

community elders were primarily responsible for preparing 

youth for adulthood. Their instruction included fundamentals of 

ethnic ritual and ceremony, along with customary protocol for 

their distinctive gender roles. A rite-of-passage commemorating 

their successful journey from childhood to adulthood served as 

a form of graduation.

European colonialism brought a more structured, formal 

educational system that catered to a small group of African 

elite who demonstrated potential to administer expanding 

colonial territories. Following independence, many African 

nations adopted the European system because they believed it 

would prepare them to be more competitive in intra-continental 

and global marketplaces, thereby enhancing their quality of life.

However, progress in developing and maintaining reliable 

educational institutions has been slow for a variety of reasons. 

Since most Africans live in rural environments, they continue to 

rely heavily on child labor for family survival, resulting in 

decreased school enrollments or early withdrawals. Likewise, 

widespread HIV/AIDS epidemics, ethnic conflict, teacher and 

resource deficits, and inaccessibility to remote rural areas also 

hamper progress. According to 2005 statistics, only half of the 

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continent’s children were enrolled in primary school, leaving 

over 40 million African children without any schooling at all. 

8. Time and Space

In every society, people occupy space and time in ways that 

are not directly linked to physical survival. In low-context 

western cultures, people tend to be preoccupied with strict time 

management, devoting less effort to relationship-building. 

Conversely, most African cultures are traditionally high-context 

societies, whereby people center their activities on socializing 

and establishing close associations, having little regard for the 

passage-of-time. 

Only after establishing trust and honor will your typical African 

counterpart agreeably proceed with business. In his worldview, 

time is a precious commodity used to establish relationships 

and form alliances. Any 

attempt to accelerate the 

tempo at the expense of 

social pleasantries will 

likely result in deadlock. 

To an African, close 

physical proximity between 

individuals encourages 

cooperative trust, and for 

centuries they have 

viewed human linkage as 

a core element to survival. This closeness is best represented 

in a traditional African village where strong kinship connections

are evidenced by a display of close interpersonal relations 

among family members. 

While conventional African concepts of time and space remain 

intact, throughout the continent western influence and 

globalization have stepped up the pace of African living, mostly 

in urban areas. Consequently, rural-to-urban migrations have 

reshaped traditional social and subsistence patterns. 

9. Aesthetics and Recreation

Every culture has its own forms of creative expression that are 

guided by aesthetic principles of imagination, beauty, skill and 

style. Prior to 19th-century European colonization of Africa, 

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recreation served a vital subsistence role, whereby adolescents 

and adults alike participated in intellectually stimulating 

leisurely activities that concurrently served to develop essential 

hunting and pastoral skills.

Games of chance and skill were important to early childhood 

development, providing social outlets within and outside their 

community. Featuring 

wrestling, jumping and 

running; traditional African 

sport was steeped in 

religious ritual.

Along with colonialism 

came the introduction to 

Africa of western sports 

such as soccer, cricket, 

rugby and track and field. This emphasis on western sport 

continued to thrive with African independence and 

globalization, as seen in sporting events such as the Olympics 

and the World Cup. 

Leaders such as Nelson Mandela skillfully employed sport to 

promote a unified South African nation. Importing the 

predominantly “white” game of rugby, Mandela used it to fuse a 

racially divided country following his election in 1992. This 

event is the theme of the motion picture “Invictus,” exemplifying 

how sport can serve to create national identities and overcome 

ethnic division. His efforts 

have inspired many other 

African nations to follow 

suit.

Likewise, East African 

countries such as Kenya 

and Ethiopia have 

produced the world’s 

dominant male and 

female distance runners, 

and South Africa, Cameroon and Nigeria emerged as strong 

contenders in the 2010 World Cup. African nations are now 

competing in leagues such as the International Basketball 

Association (FIBA) World Championships, and there is also a 

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growing number of African basketball players on US college 

campuses and in the National Basketball Association (NBA). 

10. Sustenance and Health

Societies have different methods of transforming natural 

resources into food. These methods can shape residence 

patterns, family structures and economics. Theories of disease 

and healing practices exist in all cultures and serve as adaptive 

responses to disease and illness. 

Despite having only 11% of the global population, Africa is a 

victim of many of the world’s debilitating health disorders. 

According to the World 

Health Organization, 60% of 

the global HIV/AIDS cases 

and 90% of malarial 

diseases occur in Africa. 

These and other medical 

conditions are attributed 

primarily to viral infection and 

widespread poverty caused 

by extreme climatic 

conditions and civil unrest, coupled with inadequate 

preventative measures. While extensive drought generates 

widespread famine, civil disturbances generate millions of 

displaced persons. Likewise, with only 58% of the SubSaharan African population having access to safe drinking 

water, water-born bacterial diseases 

such as cholera and schistosomiasis

are common.

Many people in Africa lack access to 

western medicine, and as a result 

depend on traditional health 

practices to combat disease. In 

addition, some traditional beliefs run 

counter to western medical practice

and perhaps discourage individuals 

from utilizing those services even 

when they are available. This 

problem is further intensified by lack of federal regulatory 

healthcare management. 

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While modern healthcare procedures are more common in 

urban areas, many rural people rely on traditional practitioners 

who use a variety of plants and herbs to treat patients. 

Similarly, many families have their own secret remedies. While 

in some cases traditional medicine proves effective with fewer 

side effects than modern drugs, traditional practices do not 

adequately treat many of the more serious conditions.

On a positive note, western influence has stimulated some 

progress in combating Africa’s health crisis. More resources 

are devoted to achieving basic human security by assessing

disease symptoms early and with scientific accuracy. 

11. Economics and Resources

This domain refers to beliefs regarding appropriate ways for a 

society to produce, distribute, and consume goods and 

services. Traditionally having an agrarian-based economy, 

Africa today remains predominantly agricultural, featuring less 

industrialization than 

most other parts of the 

world. Post-colonial 

adversities such as civil 

war, disease, poverty,

and unstable 

dictatorships posed 

unusual hardship on

several young African 

nations; however, 

Africa currently stands 

at the cross-roads of economic development with many nations 

becoming some of fastest growing regions in the world. 

Colonialism institutionalized the exploitation of Africa’s mineral 

resources, resulting in today’s oil industry dominating the 

economic market in several coastal regions. A surge in global 

oil prices; a growing African middle class; and reduction in civil 

wars, foreign aid, and inflation collectively promise a more 

positive outlook for the future.

Countries such as Botswana, Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, and 

South Africa are economically the wealthiest on the continent, 

with regions such as East Africa showing signs of economic 

stability. Despite the economic upswing, much of sub-Saharan 

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Africa’s future economic prosperity is held hostage by 

devastating diseases such as AIDS, particularly in areas of 

southern Africa, and the growing effects of climate change and 

man-made environmental degradation throughout the 

subcontinent. 

12. Technology and Material

Societies use technology to transform their physical world, and 

culture heavily influences the development and use of 

technology. Africa lags far behind most of the world in 

manufacturing capacity and output. Even the more 

economically-developed nations such as South Africa are 

competitively weak when compared to non-African 

industrialized nations. During the 1970s and 1980s, Africa 

experienced some growth in raw exports although this increase 

did little to boost long-term manufacturing capacity. 

Today, Africa is experiencing an actual decline in 

manufacturing capacity due primarily to a lull in the global 

economy, along with other indigenous issues such as 

environmental stress, poor physical and organizational

infrastructure, and a 

shortage of skilled 

personnel. Likewise, 

African manufacturing 

capacity is no match 

against global powers 

such as China and 

significant Southeast 

Asian markets. 

International aid from 

both governmental and non-governmental organizations has 

helped African nations establish preliminary economic 

footholds. For example, many of them have dedicated 

industrial developmental zones to attract foreign investment 

and increase export-related manufacturing capacity, although 

Africa is far removed from having a significant role in the global 

marketplace in the foreseeable future. 

Now that we have introduced general concepts that

characterize African society at large, we will now focus on 

specific features of Cameroonian society.

GENERAL

CULTURE 
HISTORY &

MYTH

Overview

Cameroon is often referred to as “Africa in miniature” for the 

diversity of its people and landscapes. Various African empires, 

multiple European colonizers, several religions, and over 250

indigenous ethnic groups shaped Cameroon’s history. Relative 

stability, limited political freedoms, and modest development 

have been the hallmarks of independent Cameroon.

Early History and Migrations

Although archeological evidence is scarce, people have lived in 

the area comprising Cameroon since about 8000 BC. Short 

statured hunter-gatherer groups like the Baka (often referred to 

as Pygmies) were among Cameroon’s 

earliest inhabitants whose descendants 

still live in the southern forests (see p13 

of Political and Social Relations).

Hanno, an explorer from Carthage in 

modern-day Tunisia, reached Cameroon

around 500 BC. His arrival facilitated the 

founding of trade networks for slaves and 

goods between northern Cameroon and 

North African civilizations. Between 200 

BC and 500 AD, Bantu-speaking people likely from eastern 

Nigeria and western Cameroon migrated to southern and 

eastern Cameroon, displacing many Pygmy hunter-gatherer 

groups. The Bantu speakers used iron tools, hunted, fished, 

and cultivated yams and bananas on subsistence farms

(Photo: 17th-century painting of a Bantu woman and her son).

Regional Empires

From the 9th to 19th centuries, various regional empires and 

ethnic groups occupied parts of Cameroon. Although none of 

these empires ever controlled the entirety of the territory, they 

all contributed to modern Cameroon’s culture, customs, and 

ethnic composition. 

PART 2 – CULTURE SPECIFIC

1. HISTORY AND MYTH
HISTORY &

MYTH

Sao Empire: The Sao people established a kingdom in 

northern Cameroon in the 5th-century AD, which thrived 

between the 9th and 14th centuries. Archeological excavations 

have revealed Sao coins, jewelry, and bronze and terra cotta 

Cameroonian Flood Myths 

In contrast to history, which is supposed to be an 

objective record of the past based on verifiable facts, 

myths embody a culture’s values which often explain 

the origins of humans and the natural world. Myths 

are important because they provide a sense of 

unique heritage and identity. Two Cameroonian 

myths tell about a great flood and the people who 

would populate the earth in its aftermath. 

A Pygmy flood myth recounts that a curious 

chameleon cut open a tree trunk to identify a strange 

noise coming from inside. Soon after, water gushed 

forth from the tree and covered the world. The first 

human couple emerged from the water and became 

ancestors to everyone on the earth.

Another Cameroonian myth alleges that a girl’s 

kindness to a goat allowed her to stay alive in a 

great flood. In this story, the girl shared some of her 

flour with the goat which then warned her about the 

coming flood. Thanks to this tip and, in some 

versions, a lizard’s guidance, the girl and her brother 

survived the catastrophe. When the siblings were 

looking for suitable mates, the goat reappeared and 

told them to marry one another since they alone had 

lived. To symbolize that they were related, the goat 

instructed them to place a clay pot with a broken 

bottom on the roof of their home. In some parts of 

Cameroon, the tradition of the broken bottom pot on 

the roof persists when a couple is related to one 

another to help ensure that no bad fortune befalls 

them (see p4 of Family and Kinship).
HISTORY &

MYTH

figurines (pictured). By the 14th

century, the Kanem Kingdom (see 

below) conquered the Sao, 

reducing the once large kingdom to 

a shadow of its former size and 

influence.

Kanem-Bornu Empire: Founded 

on the northeast shore of Lake 

Chad (in present-day Chad) in the 

9th-century AD, the Kanem Empire 

became an Islamic state at the end 

of the 11th century and extended 

into Cameroon in the 13th century

(see p3-4 of Religion and Spirituality). Although internal political 

divisions, economic hardships, and conflicts weakened the 

Kanem Empire in the late 14th century, it regrouped at Bornu in 

Nigeria to form the Kanem-Bornu Empire. From the 14th to 

19th centuries, this empire included a portion of northern 

Cameroon. The Kanem-Bornu people traded slaves, ivory, and 

animal hides for salt, horses, and manufactured goods from 

North Africa. It declined gradually and lost control over its

Cameroonian holdings around 1870. 

Fulani Migrations: Between the 13th and 15th centuries, 

Islamic pastoral nomads known as the Fulani (see p12-13 of

Political and Social Relations and p3 of Religion and 

Spirituality) migrated to northern Cameroon from Nigeria and 

began to change Cameroon’s religious and cultural landscape.

Between the 16th and early 19th centuries, the Fulani gained 

control over large swaths of the North, displacing the area’s 

non-Muslim inhabitants (known as “Kirdis” meaning infidels—

see p12 of Political and Social Relations). These refugees 

became susceptible to capture by Muslim slavers involved in 

northern Africa’s slave trade network.

European Discovery and Activities

First Contact: Portuguese explorers reached Cameroon in 

1472. While navigating the Wouri River, Fernando Po and his 

expedition noticed the abundance of giant shrimp in the river 

and consequently called it the Rio dos Camarões (River of 

Shrimps), the origins of the name Cameroon.
HISTORY &

MYTH

Competition and Commodities: By the early 16th century, 

the Portuguese had constructed sugar plantations, expanded 

the slave trade, and established close ties with local chiefs in 

the coastal towns of Douala, Limbe, and Bonaberi without 

having to establish direct colonial control. Other Europeans

followed, resulting in the Portuguese, Dutch, British, French, 

Spanish, and Germans competing for commercial dominance 

along the coast. They exchanged cloth, metals, weapons, and 

manufactured goods with the Cameroonians for palm oil, ivory, 

gold, and slaves. By the end of the slave trading era in the mid19th century, French, German, and British trading companies 

had become the foremost European actors in Cameroon.

Slave Trade: Between the 16th and early 19th centuries, local 

African middlemen and Europeans captured millions of 

Africans and sold them as slaves in North and South America.

By the mid-16th century, slaves had become the region’s most 

important export commodity. Although the Dutch, Spanish, 

British, Germans, and French 

were involved in the slave 

trade, the Portuguese were 

the leading suppliers of 

African slaves to the New 

World (Photo: A 19th century 

drawing of captive Africans on 

a slave ship).

Various coastal groups, including the Douala people, managed 

Cameroon’s slave trade, selling slaves captured from inland

areas to the Europeans. A separate slave trade under Fulani 

control existed in northern Cameroon where slaves were 

transported north throughout the Islamic world.

In 1807 Britain made the slave trade illegal, enforcing its ban 

beyond its shores with naval patrols. With several other 

European countries followed suit, Britain established a base off 

Cameroon’s coast to stem slave shipping in 1827. Although 

Britain signed agreements with Cameroonian chiefs to end the 

overseas slave trade in the 1840s, the slave trade continued 

until Cameroonian middlemen found trade in other goods 

sufficiently profitable. Consequently, domestic slavery within 

Cameroon continued for many years beyond the British ban.
HISTORY &

MYTH

German Colonization 

German Rule: Prior to the introduction of Malaria suppressants 

in the 1870s, relatively few Europeans ventured into 

Cameroon’s interior. Moreover, several coastal chiefs were 

fearful that contacts between the Europeans and interior 

groups would diminish the chiefs’ favored status. As 

interactions emerged, the chiefs promoted the establishment of 

a British protectorate. Britain delayed its decision, allowing the 

Germans to establish a colony in 1884. For the first time, 

Cameroon’s myriad of ethnic groups, chiefdoms, and other 

entities came under a single governing body that encompassed 

the entirety of present-day Cameroon. Calling their colony 

Kamerun, the Germans began formal administration from the 

inland settlement of Yaoundé, the modern capital, in 1888. 

German colonizers were not interested in “civilizing”

Cameroonians or acculturating them to German lifestyles. 

Instead, the Germans sought to 

extract raw materials to profit their

domestic industries, oftentimes with 

little regard for Cameroonians’ 

welfare. In addition, the Germans 

introduced compulsory taxation and 

forced labor to enable the 

construction of harbors, roads, 

bridges, and railroads. Overworked 

and mistreated, many Cameroonians 

died working on these infrastructure 

projects or on privately-owned

German cocoa, banana, rubber, and palm oil plantations

(Photo: Cameroonian chief in German military dress).

Resistance: In an effort to stake claims in the interior ahead of

other Europeans, the first German colonial governor 

established a number of administrative outposts. Conflict soon 

emerged between German colonizers and inland groups who 

resisted German interference in their lands and affairs.

German colonial rule also ran afoul of the coastal chiefs, 

including the leader of the Douala people who had earlier 

requested a British protectorate. While Germany’s colonial 

treaty gave Douala elites a privileged status, preserving their 
HISTORY &

MYTH

property rights and exempting them from certain taxes, the 

Germans wanted to force them off their lands in the early 

1900s. Led by German-educated Rudolf Douala Manga Bell, 

the Douala resisted—first with legal protests and then by 

rallying other Douala clans. The Germans ultimately hanged

Bell in 1914 for treason.

Germany’s Exit: Germany’s colonial rule ended 32 years after 

it began when French and British troops overran Cameroon in 

February 1916 during World War I. When Germany 

surrendered in 1918, it lost Cameroon and all of its other 

overseas territories. Germany’s colonial legacy included a 

relatively good infrastructure, some developed urban centers 

along the coast, and a Cameroonian urban elite whose status 

hinged more on money and education than on traditional 

values (see p13-14 of Political and Social Relations).

French and British Colonization 

After World War I, Britain and France 

divided Cameroon so that France 

received about 80% of the territory

while Britain gained the other 20%, 

divided into northern and southern 

sectors (Photo: Map of French and 

British-held territories of Cameroon).

These 2 European powers had 

distinct approaches to administering 

their colonies. Governing from 

neighboring Nigeria, the British ruled 

Cameroon indirectly through local 

rulers, while the French, ruling from 

Yaoundé, sought to assimilate and transform French 

Cameroonians into French people through direct rule. These 

administrative and cultural contrasts still reverberate in 

Cameroon’s modern history. 

British Cameroon: Although the British governed Cameroon 

and Nigeria together, Britain devoted the bulk of its attention 

and resources to Nigeria, leaving British Cameroon neglected 

and underdeveloped. British colonizers outlawed forced labor 

in their territories, allowing for indirect rule through local 

chiefdoms which left some native governance structures intact.
HISTORY &

MYTH

Under Britain’s inattentive leadership, the economy of British 

Cameroon stagnated until 1924 when some of the former 

German plantation owners returned to repurchase their 

holdings. By 1925 Germans outnumbered the British 3 to 1, 

and by 1937 Germany received almost 80% of British 

Cameroon’s exports to Britain’s 7%. At the start of World War II

in 1939, Britain seized German property and continued to 

delegate authority to local chiefdoms through the 1950s.

French Cameroon: With the lion’s share of Cameroon’s

territory under its control, France focused on profiting 

financially by increasing the production of cocoa, timber, and 

coffee and industrializing oil and aluminum production. The

French governed with the 

cooperation of Cameroonian elites 

and, like their German 

predecessors, used forced labor to 

undertake construction projects, a 

practice that continued until 1952.

France’s often abusive labor 

practices helped to galvanize trade 

unions and other groups to lobby 

for greater rights and eventually challenge French colonization

(Photo: Workers in Limbe, Cameroon around 1920). 

Cameroonian Nationalism 

Provoked by France’s harsh leadership and high taxes, many 

Francophone (French-speaking) Cameroonians began pushing 

for greater political self-determination and development in the 

1940s and 1950s. Although France granted Cameroonians 

some representation within its colonial administration,

Cameroonian nationalists deemed France’s political overtures 

insufficient. Numerous political groups formed to increase 

Cameroonian representation and counter colonial dominance

in both French and British Cameroon. 

The UPC and Armed Resistance: One of the most vocal, antiFrench political groups, the Union of Cameroonian Peoples 

(UPC), sought unification with British Cameroon and full 

independence from France. The French banned the UPC in 

1955 after the group supported riots that turned violent. The 

suppressed UPC then split along ethnic lines with its leaders 
HISTORY &

MYTH

from Bamiléké and Douala fleeing to British Cameroon while

Bassa factions remained in French Cameroon. Both groups 

began an armed resistance that continued even after 

independence. In response, the French fought the UPC rebels,

while the British banned the UPC in 1957 and deported its 

leaders.

Independence from France: Meanwhile, in 1956 several nonviolent groups united to prepare Cameroon economically, 

socially, and politically for independence. To hasten liberation, 

French-educated Fulani Muslim Ahmadou Ahidjo (pictured)

formed a new coalition in 1958 that 

had the confidence of influential 

groups from the South as well as his 

native North. France allowed French 

Cameroon autonomy on all matters of 

self-government except foreign affairs 

in January 1959 and granted full 

independence on January 1, 1960. 

British Cameroon’s Referendum:

Throughout the 1950s, British 

Cameroonians were divided about joining French Cameroon or 

Anglophone (English-speaking) Nigeria. In 1961 British 

Cameroonians voted in a UN-sponsored referendum to 

determine their fate. The primarily Christian Southern British 

Cameroonian opted to join Cameroon as 2 Anglophone 

regions. By contrast, predominantly Muslim Northern British 

Cameroon voted to merge with Nigeria (see map on p6 above).

Thus, the colonies’ Muslim population was split between 

Nigeria and Cameroon.

Independent Cameroon

Ahidjo’s Presidency: Elected on an ambitious platform that 

promised to promote capitalism, maintain ties with France, and 

build a nation free from ethnic conflict; Ahidjo became 

Cameroon’s first President in 1960. The new country faced 

numerous challenges, including the UPC’s simmering rebellion, 

a diverse ethnic and religious landscape, Francophone and 

Anglophone cleavages (see p5 of Political and Social 

Relations), little experience as a political unit, a weak and

undiversified economy, and uneven regional development.
HISTORY &

MYTH

Although the UPC and Ahidjo shared goals of independence 

and unification, UPC fighters considered Ahidjo too close to the 

French to govern legitimately. Thus, the rebels continued their 

fight after independence as the National Liberation Army of 

Cameroon until French-backed Cameroonian troops defeated 

them in 1970. The UPC’s struggle from 1955 to 1970 left at 

least 10,000 dead in French Cameroon. 

As the conflict deescalated, Ahidjo used his authoritative 

political savvy to swiftly consolidate his power and in 1966

outlawed all political parties but his own. Although he jailed

thousands of political opponents and suppressed the media, 

Ahidjo worked to spur economic development by upgrading 

infrastructure, investing in agriculture and industrialization, and 

expanding education (see p3 of Learning and Knowledge). The 

discovery and export of petroleum in the 1970s provided a 

boon to Cameroon’s economy (see p2 of Economics and 

Resources). Ahidjo’s affinity for smart alliances, regional and 

ethnic favoritism, and political suppression allowed him to hold 

on to power for over 20 years.

The Struggle for Unity

When Southern British 

Cameroon joined independent 

Cameroon, forming the United 

Republic of Cameroon in 

1961, the former British and 

French territories largely 

preserved their distinct 

legislative, legal, educational, 

and civil service structures.

While Francophone Cameroon 

benefitted from French and 

German colonial improvements, Anglophone Cameroonians 

inherited inadequate infrastructure, a weak economy, and no 

industrialization. The new country’s Francophone leaders did 

little to lift the English-speaking regions out of poverty (Photo: 

Cameroonian women preparing food in 1979). 

In June 1972 President Ahidjo orchestrated a constitutional 

change empowering the central government in Yaoundé at the 

expense of local administrations. This move strongly favored 
HISTORY &

MYTH

the larger and more prosperous Francophone regions in 

matters of law, language, economy, and culture. This 

unification bred resentment among many Anglophone 

Cameroonians that continues to simmer today (see p4-6 of

Political and Social Relations).

Biya’s Presidency

In 1982 Ahidjo abruptly resigned, presumably for health 

reasons, and his Prime Minister, Paul Biya (pictured), a

French-speaking southern Christian from the Beti ethnic group,

assumed the Presidency. Although no longer in office, Ahidjo 

expected to continue to control the government through his role

as leader of the Cameroon National Union (UNC) party. In 

1984, presidential palace guards still loyal to Ahidjo mounted 

an unsuccessful coup attempt against 

President Biya. The coup left 

hundreds dead and led to Ahidjo’s 

subsequent exile.

In an effort to consolidate and 

reinforce his power base, Biya

replaced the UNC with the Cameroon 

People’s Democratic Movement 

(CPDM) as the only party in what he 

intended to be a single party state

and ruthlessly repressed political 

opponents. Discontent simmered, 

while government troops suppressed large pro-democracy 

protests in 1990. Although Biya bowed to domestic and 

international pressure, allowing the emergence of multiple 

political parties that same year, public appeals for greater 

political representation continued to mount. Some Anglophone 

leaders decried their neglect by and subordination to 

Francophone leaders, forming a secessionist movement, the 

Southern Cameroon National Council (SCNC), to campaign for 

the independence of English-speaking Cameroonians.

Still in office today, Biya has ensured that his CPDM party 

maintains its hold on power through vote tampering, 

intimidation, party co-optation, and removal of presidential term 

limits (see p3-6 of Political and Social Relations). At 80, Biya is 

one of Africa’s oldest and longest-ruling leaders.
Official Name

Republic of Cameroon

Republique du Cameroune

(French)

Political Borders

Nigeria: 1,050 mi

Chad: 680 mi

Central African Republic (CAR):

495 mi

Republic of the Congo: 325 mi

Gabon: 185 mi

Equatorial Guinea: 117 mi

Coastline: 250 mi

Capital

Yaoundé

Demographics

Cameroon’s population was 20.1 million people as of July 2012

with an annual growth rate of 2.08%. The country’s average 

population density is close to 42 people per sq km, although 

some northern areas are sparsely populated. As of 2010, 58% 

of Cameroonians resided in urban areas, where the population 

growth rate was 3.7%. As of 2009, over 2 million people lived in 

the coastal city of Douala, the commercial center and largest 

city, while 1.7 million people lived in Yaoundé, the capital.

Flag

The Cameroonian flag consists 

of three equal vertical bands of 

green (hoist side), red (center)

with a yellow star, and yellow 

(right). Green stands for 

prosperity and Cameroon’s lush 

southern greenery. The central 

red panel and yellow star together represent sovereignty and 

North-South unity. Yellow symbolizes wealth, the sun, and the 

North’s sandy soil. 

2. POLITICAL AND SOCIAL RELATIONS

POLITICAL & 

SOCIAL 

RELATIONS
Geography

Slightly larger than California, Cameroon has an area of 

183,568 sq mi. Situated in western sub-Saharan Africa,

Cameroon is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the 

northeast; the CAR to the east; Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and 

the Republic of the Congo to the south; and the Atlantic Ocean 

to the southwest. 

Cameroon contains all of Africa’s

major geographic features in a single 

country. The West and Northwest have

verdant volcanic mountains, hills, and 

plateaus (Photo: Menchum Falls in 

Northwest Cameroon). Semi-arid 

northern plains transition into a sparse 

savannah plateau in central 

Cameroon. There are tropical rain 

forests in the South and East, 

grasslands in the high plateau of the 

West, and mangrove forests and 

beaches in the Southwest along the coast. Roughly 12.6% of 

Cameroon’s land is arable, while 2.5% of the land is devoted to 

permanent crop cultivation.

Cameroon’s mountain ranges are concentrated along its 

Nigerian border, which includes the Bakossi Mountains in the 

Southwest, the Alantika Mountains in the North, and the 

Mandara Mountains in the Extreme North. Cameroon’s highest 

point is Fako, the taller of volcanic Mount Cameroon’s 2 peaks. 

With an elevation of 13,435 ft, Fako is the tallest point in subSaharan West Africa. Cameroon’s lowest point is its Atlantic 

Coast, which is sea level.

Climate

Cameroon’s climate varies considerably with its terrain, ranging

from hot and dry in the North near the Sahara to the second 

wettest area in the world in Debuncha in southwestern 

Cameroon.

The South experiences 3 seasons: a dry season from 

November to February, a light rainy season from March to May, 

and a rainy season from June to October. Warm and humid all 

year-round, the South’s average temperatures are between 

POLITICAL & 

SOCIAL 

RELATIONS
80°F and 90°F during the day and fall to the 60s°F at night.

The hotter North receives less precipitation during its rainy 

season from June through September. Average daytime high 

temperatures in the North range from the mid-70s°F to 107°F; 

March, April, and May are the hottest months. Nighttime 

temperatures are usually between 50°F and 75°F.

Natural Hazards

As one of the most active volcanoes in western Africa, Mt. 

Cameroon is a deadly threat. Over 1,700 people died in 1986

when the volcano erupted and released poisonous gases.

Waterborne diseases are also a widespread threat to human 

health (see Sustenance and Health, p4).

Government

The Republic of Cameroon is a multiparty presidential republic 

divided administratively into 10 regions—8 Francophone and 2 

Anglophone (see p6-7 of History and Myth & p1-3 of Language 

and Communication).

Executive Branch

Elected by popular vote to a 7-year 

term, the President serves as head

of state and commander-in-chief of 

the Armed Forces. Current President 

Paul Biya (pictured), who has been 

in power since November 1982,

amended the constitution in 2008 to 

remove presidential term limits. This 

action permitted his reelection again

in October 2011. The President 

appoints the Prime Minister, 30% of 

senators, and various other civilian 

and military officials. He exerts 

power over all branches of government and has the formal 

power to convene and dissolve the legislature. 

President Biya appointed the current Prime Minister, Philemon 

Yang, in June 2009. The Prime Minister in theory acts as head 

of government, although in actuality, he wields little power. 

Having the option to dismiss the Prime Minister at will, the 

President vacated the Prime Minister’s position twice from

1972 to 1975 and again from 1984 to 1991. 

POLITICAL & 

SOCIAL 

RELATIONS
Legislative Branch

Like the Prime Minister, the legislature has limited power to do 

more than pass laws that the President supports. While the 

1996 Constitution called for a 2-chamber legislature composed 

of a Senate and National Assembly, only the National 

Assembly existed until the first Senate elections occurred in 

April 2013. The 100-member Senate serves as the upper 

house of Parliament, consisting of 70 elected and 30 

presidentially appointed members who serve 5-year terms. The 

elected officials are chosen by local council electors from the 

country’s 10 regions. Most senate members belong to the 

President’s Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement 

(CPDM). 

Cameroonian voters directly elect the 180 National Assembly 

representatives to 5-year terms, although the President can 

lengthen or shorten these terms at will. Since the 2007 

elections, the President’s CPDM party has held a commanding 

majority in the National Assembly with 153 of 180 seats.

Judicial Branch

Political corruption, inefficiencies, political pressures, and a 

patchwork of legal frameworks characterize Cameroon’s 

judicial system. The 8 Francophone regions follow the French 

civil code, while British common 

law is the legal foundation for 

Cameroon’s 2 Anglophone 

regions. Traditional legal customs

and courts (customary law) also 

inform judicial matters in both the 

Anglophone and Francophone 

regions, particularly those

governing family, inheritance, and 

property (see p3 Sex and 

Gender). Although its multiple 

legal systems typically remain 

separate, Cameroon unified some 

aspects of the penal code in 

2005. The Supreme Court is the highest court in the country, 

although its rulings are not necessarily binding. Bribes and 

political influence often determine judicial outcomes (Photo: 

Cameroonian judge). 

POLITICAL & 

SOCIAL 

RELATIONS
Traditional Government Structures

A number of hereditary kingdoms and 

chiefdoms still exist predominantly in the

Northwest, having partial sovereignty over 

their territories. Kings and chiefs, often

called fons, serve as the leaders, judges, 

and spiritual mediators for their 

communities whose judgments are binding

within their jurisdictions (Photo: A statue of 

a Cameroonian chief).

Political Climate

By dominating the executive, legislative, 

and judicial branches, President Biya has

assured his desired political outcomes for over 30 years. Even 

at age 80 with a term extending until 2018, Biya has not 

indicated that he is grooming a successor. Consequently, a

void in leadership continuity could have a destabilizing political 

effect in the event of his sudden incapacitation or death.

Although a number of opposition parties have participated in

elections since the introduction of a multi-party system in early 

1990s (see p7-10 of History and Myth), the CPDM under 

various names has controlled the country at the local and 

national levels since 1960. Discouraged by election fraud, 

voters turn out in low numbers. Political opponents to the

President’s CPDM risk arrest, exile, or death. 

Cameroon’s religious and regional groups compete for political 

influence, particularly those from the predominantly Christian 

South and Muslim North (see p3-4 & 6-7 of Religion and 

Spirituality). Some people believe that the transfer of power 

from the former Muslim northerner President Ahidjo to Christian 

southerner President Biya was intended to set a precedent for 

the North and South to alternate having presidential 

representation. Since the 1984 coup attempt, the North’s power 

has waned. Similarly, Anglophone Cameroonians desiring

greater regional autonomy or even independence tend to 

blame Francophone political dominance for failing to

inadequately represent them (see p6-8 of History and Myth).

While hundreds of ethnic groups (see “Ethnic Groups” below)

compete for influence, officials often favor their own groups 

POLITICAL & 

SOCIAL 

RELATIONS
when awarding contracts, jobs, and projects. President Biya, a 

member of the Beti ethnic group, has lavished his political 

gains on other Beti while accumulating millions himself. 

Transparency International’s 2012 corruption index ranked 

Cameroon 144 out of 174 countries.

Defense

The Cameroon Armed Forces (Forces Armées Camerounaises

or FAC) are a competent midsize force. Encompassing the 

Army, Air Force, and Navy, the FAC is responsible for 

protecting the country from internal and external threats.

Although a reform program began in 2001, budget constraints 

and passive leadership have left these efforts unfinished. 

Much of the FAC’s equipment is outdated. Cameroon receives 

most of its new military equipment, training, and advisory 

support from France, although the US, Spain, Romania, Israel, 

China, and South Africa have supplied equipment and/or 

expertise as well. Cameroon formed an 800-member 

peacekeeping battalion in 2008 after receiving US training 

through the Africa 

Contingency Operations 

Training and Assistance 

program.

Cameroon’s military 

expenses were $556 million 

in 2011 or roughly 1.3% of its 

GDP. Since 2002, 

Cameroonian defense 

expenditures have consistently hovered between 1.3% and 

1.6% of GDP. As of 2010, active armed forces personnel

numbered around 23,000, a mere 0.3% of the labor force. 

Military service is voluntary and requires high school

graduation and a 4-year service commitment. Over 10% of 

Cameroon’s military personnel are HIV positive, which detracts 

from force readiness (see p4 of Sustenance and Health)

(Photo: Cameroonian soldiers at a joint exercise with the US).

To help consolidate his power base, Biya has favored his Beti 

ethnicity in military promotions. Generally, the FAC does not 

adequately reflect Cameroon’s diversity: as of 2010, only 2 of 

over 20 generals were from Anglophone regions.

POLITICAL & 

SOCIAL 

RELATIONS
Air Force: The Air Force’s chief mission is to support ground 

forces with airlift; however, its aging fleet limits its ability to 

mount credible air defense or strike capabilities. As of 2012, 

the Air Force had around 12 combat aircraft, 13 transporters, 2 

utility planes, 20 helicopters, and 600 personnel. The Air 

Force’s 3 main aerial bases are in Yaoundé, Douala, and 

Garoua. In 2012 Cameroon arranged to purchase a CN-235 

transport plane from Airbus.

Army: Established in 1959, the Army is the oldest and largest 

Cameroonian service with roughly 20,000 personnel. Its 

mission is to protect the country from external threats and help 

maintain internal security. Since the 1990s, Cameroon has 

been preparing its Army forces to engage in what it perceives 

as its greatest threat—an oil dispute with Nigeria over

ownership of the Bakassi Peninsula’s swamplands (see 

“Bakassi Dispute with Nigeria” below). Created in 2001 to 

combat crime, the Special Rapid Intervention Brigade is a 

tactical Army unit that answers directly to the President. It is 

known for violently containing protests.

Navy (MNR): Cameroon’s 

approximately 2,000 Navy 

personnel (pictured) are

charged with protecting 

Cameroon’s coast, territorial 

waters, internal waterways, 

and maritime interests. 

Since the 2000s, the Navy’s 

budget has modestly 

increased to enable some modernization. The Navy owns 3 

European-made patrol boats, 2 Chinese amphibious craft, and 

8 surveillance vessels made in Spain and the US. Lacking an 

adequate number of sea-worthy vessels, the Navy has difficulty 

confronting piracy, illegal fishing, illicit trafficking, natural 

disaster evacuations, and other challenges at sea.

Internal Security Forces: Cameroon’s French-style 

paramilitary force consists of 9,000 gendarmes responsible for 

internal rural security. Similarly, the civilian police provide

security in urban areas, while a joint FAC unit serves as the 

Presidential Guard. Cameroon also has a Fire Fighter Corps.

POLITICAL & 

SOCIAL 

RELATIONS
POLITICAL & 

SOCIAL 

RELATIONS
Security 

Bakassi Dispute with 

Nigeria: Relations 

between Cameroon and 

Nigeria became tense 

after a dispute over 

ownership of the oil-rich 

Bakassi Peninsula. In 

2002 the International 

Court of Justice decided

in favor of Cameroon,

leading to Nigeria 

removing its troops 

following bilateral talks in 

2006. Despite Nigerian 

compliance, Bakassi 

remains a problem as 

the peninsula’s chiefly 

Nigerian residents tend to be resistant under Cameroon’s 

control. Skirmishes periodically prompt calls for Nigerian 

intervention and could cause cross-border violence. 

Terrorism: Boko Haram is a Nigeria-based terrorist group 

seeking to spread Islamic law and eliminate Western influence.

Having cells in northern Cameroon, Boko Haram threatened 

the country with suicide bombings in 2013, shortly after killing a 

Cameroonian mayor and kidnapping French tourists. 

Domestic Insecurity: Foreign nationals visiting urban areas 

are advised to be particularly vigilant of street crimes, such as 

theft, sexual assault, and carjacking. In addition, Cameroonians 

sometimes publically protest government actions, often leading

to bloody clashes with security forces. Dozens of people died in 

several cities in 2008 while protesting the rising costs of basic 

necessities and President Biya’s elimination of presidential 

term limits (see p10 of History and Myth).

Regional Instability and Transnational Crime: Cameroon is 

the temporary home of over 100,000 refugees fleeing conflicts

in Chad, the CAR, and elsewhere. The violence and

lawlessness they have fled often spill over Cameroon’s porous 

borders, making travel near border areas dangerous. 

POLITICAL & 

SOCIAL 

RELATIONS
Cameroon is also a country of origin, destination, and transit for 

human trafficking. Although the country passed an antitrafficking law in 2011, rampant corruption, poverty, and lack of 

job opportunities allow criminals to continue illicit human 

trafficking and smuggling activities. Pirates also operate in and 

near Cameroon’s coastal waters. 

Foreign Relations

Cameroon’s foreign policy is moderate in its approach and 

modest in its influence, as seen in its inclination to resolve 

transnational disputes through multilateral forums rather than 

direct intervention. Similarly, Cameroon is a member of the

Non-Aligned Movement, a bloc of developing countries favoring 

Third World solidarity and cooperation. While Cameroon’s

colonial ties have facilitated its participation in both the 

Francophonie International Organization and the British 

Commonwealth, it favors the French currency along with fellow 

Francophone African countries (see p3 of Economics and 

Resources). Cameroon’s first President actively sought friendly 

relations with neighboring countries, although President Biya

has focused less on his foreign policy role—a stance which

limits an already unassertive foreign policy. 

Cameroon-US Relations: US-Cameroonian relations are 

amicable yet distant, hampered somewhat by Cameroon’s 

denial of domestic political freedoms. Notwithstanding, the US 

executes a substantial engagement strategy in Cameroon. Its 

focus is on trade, economic development, regional security, 

healthcare, democratization, environmental protection, and

military cooperation. US military engagement is designed to 

strengthen their bilateral partnership by improving

Cameroonian capacity through joint-force exercises and 

medical/dental exchanges.

High-ranking US military 

personnel infrequently visit 

Cameroon—the US 

AFRICOM Commander 

visited in 2008, followed by 

the US President in 2009

(Photo: Presidents Obama 

and Biya with their wives).

POLITICAL & 

SOCIAL 

RELATIONS
Ethnic Groups

Cameroon has over 

250 ethnic groups with 

no single group 

comprising more than 

20% of the population.

The largest individual 

ethnic groups are the 

Bamiléké in the West 

(a Highlander group), 

the Fulani in the North, 

and the Beti in the 

South (a Bantu group). 

Each Cameroonian

ethnic group has its

unique lifestyle, cultural norms, and group titles. Although most 

ethnic groups tolerate one another, localized disputes, 

discrimination, and ethnic nepotism are prevalent. Ethnic 

fissures appear to have become more pronounced under 

President Biya. 

Highlanders

Highland groups, prominently the Bamiléké and Bamoun, live 

in the West and Northwest and account for about 31% of 

Cameroon’s population. Highlanders, also known as 

Grassfielders, speak Sudanic languages and traditionally 

earned a living through farming or raising livestock. Most rural 

Bamiléké are agriculturalists, while urban dwellers are 

entrepreneurs holding about 70% of professional jobs. Even 

though some Bamiléké speak English and others French (see 

p1 of Languages and Communication), the Bamiléké culture 

serves as a unifying feature. 

The Bamoun ethnic group is an 18th-century combination of 

some Bamiléké and another Highland group, the Tikar. One of 

the Bamoun Kingdom’s most notable leaders was Sultan 

Ibrahim Njoya. In the early 20th century, he created a written 

script for his ethnic language and a comprehensive religious 

doctrine that adapted Islamic rituals to Bamoun traditional 

beliefs (see p5 of Religion and Spirituality). Today, many 

Bamoun live in the western city of Famboun where the current 

Bamoun sultan resides.

POLITICAL & 

SOCIAL 

RELATIONS
Bantus

Meaning “people” or “humans,” the word Bantu represents 

ethnic groups throughout Africa who speak Bantu languages 

and historically followed sedentary farming lifestyles. In 

Cameroon, the Equatorial and Northwestern Bantu groups 

together comprise about 27% of the population. 

One Cameroonian Bantu group, the Douala, traditionally has 

held a predominant socio-political role due to its strategic 

location along the coast. The Douala’s early and frequent 

exposure to various European groups allowed it to trade, 

accumulate wealth, and attain higher levels of Western 

education than other groups (see p4 of History and Myth). 

Another Bantu group, the Beti, traditionally lived in the southern 

rainforests and has risen to prominence in the military, civil 

service, and other official capacities thanks to the support of 

fellow Beti, President Paul Biya.

Kirdi

At 11% of the population, the term Kirdi encompasses around 

25 historically non-Muslim northern ethnic groups which the 

dominant, Muslim Fulani labeled as “infidels.” Although having

since embraced Islam, most Kirdi groups whether Muslim or 

non-Muslim have retained their cultures rather than accept

Fulani traditions. Despite their differences, all Kirdi groups 

share a common history of having had to flee, fight, or

otherwise evade Fulani persecution and cultural dominance for 

centuries (see p3 of 

History and Myth). This 

long history of antagonism 

has resulted in Kirdi 

resentment toward the 

Fulani (Photo: US Deputy 

Chief of Mission Nelson in 

the Far North Province). 

Fulani

Accounting for 10% of the 

population, the primarily Muslim Fulani people have dominated 

northern Cameroon for centuries and are a driving force behind

the predominance of Islam in the region (see p3-4 of History 

and Myth and p3-4 Religion and Spirituality).

POLITICAL & 

SOCIAL 

RELATIONS
Having assimilated many groups into their culture, the Fulani

continue to exert some power over other non-Muslim groups 

like the Kirdi. At various times, the Fulani have required tribute

from, exploited, or enslaved these non-Muslims (see p3 of

History and Myth). Cameroon’s first President, Ahmadou 

Ahidjo, was the son of a Fulani chief and a woman of Kirdi 

slave descent. 

Eastern Nigritic

The Eastern Nigritic ethnic category is comprised of many 

smaller groups that historically lived in Eastern Cameroon on 

the shores of the Logone River. Together, these groups

comprise 7% of Cameroon’s population. They mainly speak 

languages from the Niger-Congo linguistic family. 

Other Groups

Short stature groups such as the Baka (pictured), commonly 

referred to as Pygmies, reside deep within the southern forests. 

Although they are likely the oldest group in Cameroon (see p1 

of History and Myth), the Baka are often disadvantaged and 

marginalized, perhaps lacking identity documentation because 

of their remotely displaced

location. The Bantu, in 

particular, exploit groups like 

the Baka for cheap labor, 

mock them, and encroach on 

their lands. The Baka and

other African groups

constitute a combined total of 

13% of Cameroon’s 

population, while non-Africans

comprise less than 1% of the 

population.

Social Relations

Ethnic, religious, linguistic, social, and political differences 

enable Cameroonians to express a variety of beliefs and

behaviors and serve as discriminators for determining social 

status. For example, advancement through education is a 

social imperative for the more affluent, urban-dwelling. 

Conversely, the Douala living along the coast acquire social 

status through wisdom inherent in old age. Similarly, local 

POLITICAL & 

SOCIAL 

RELATIONS
communities often convey elevated social status to nobles, 

village elders, and traditionally prominent families.

Some Cameroonian ethnic groups are somewhat classless, 

depending on the consensus of village elders to reach political 

and social decisions. Still others, such as the northern Fulani, 

have a rigid hierarchy with clearly defined roles for leaders, 

nobles, common people, and non-Fulani servants. 

The urban political and military elite—now mostly members of 

President Biya’s Beti ethnic group—are at the top of 

Cameroon’s national hierarchy. Consequently, the privileged 

often enjoy luxurious lifestyles that insulate them from the 

hardships of the less fortunate who struggle to acquire

healthcare, education, and personal security. For example, 

many wealthy Cameroonians employ 24-hour private security 

guards to protect their homes in urban areas, while the less 

wealthy must contend with robberies and other petty crimes. 

Cameroonians tend to emphasize the importance of groups—

extended family, ethnic or religious affiliations, and even sameage classmates—over individuals. Personal relationships and 

networks are crucial to maintaining social status, as group 

members share in each other’s success, regardless of whether 

they have earned it 

(see p1 of Family and 

Kinship). Thus, wellpaid Cameroonians 

distribute their wealth 

and are expected to 

help other group 

members succeed 

through preferential 

hiring. This “group first” 

mentality helps explain 

the existence of 

widespread nepotism 

and ethnic favoritism in Cameroon. By helping one’s own group 

get ahead, successful members get a return on their 

investment and benefit from their group’s social and 

professional connections (Photo: Cameroonians with US 

Ambassador Robert Jackson in the northern city of Garoua).

POLITICAL & 

SOCIAL 

RELATIONS
Overview

A 2005 census verified that 69% of Cameroonians identified as

Christian, 21% as Muslim, and 6% as traditional religious 

practitioners. Other recent estimates determine that Muslims

account for 20% of the total 

population, while Christians and 

traditional practitioners each account 

for 40% (Photo: Cathedral in 

Yaoundé).

Cameroon’s varied religious 

landscape can be traced to its

cultural diversity and unique historical 

trajectory. Simultaneous to foreign 

missionaries introducing Christianity to Cameroon’s coastal

peoples in the 19th century, Islamic holy warriors from presentday Niger and Nigeria were spreading Islam among

Cameroon’s northern inhabitants.

Traditional Beliefs

Traditional religious beliefs and practices predate the 

introduction of both Christianity and Islam to Cameroon. Many

Cameroonian groups practiced animism, the belief that the 

spirit of life or consciousness resides in all objects, both 

animate and inanimate. According to animism, all natural 

objects—both plants and animals—are sacred, a conviction 

that establishes a close connection between animists and their 

environment. The Baka, for example, traditionally believed in a 

forest spirit that was simultaneously mother, father, and 

guardian to the group.

Many ethnic groups in Cameroon also recognized a supreme 

being, a creator god who was good, merciful, and unknowable. 

For example, the Nso Highlanders worshipped a supreme 

being, Nyuy, at a community-wide annual ritual that involved 

travel to sacred sites and the sacrifice of a ram.

Many Cameroonian groups also believed that the spirits of their 

ancestors participated in daily life by guiding or obstructing 

human behavior. To influence or understand the spirits’ 

3. RELIGION AND SPIRITUALITY

RELIGION & 

SPIRITUALITY
intentions, the various ethnic groups held special ceremonies 

or performed certain rites. Members of the Fang, a Bantu 

ethnic group in the South, carved bieri boxes as containers for 

their ancestors’ remains, which they consulted before hunting 

or making war. Some Bamiléké Highlanders retained the skulls 

of their dead ancestors as a way of honoring them.

Other groups supported secret societies whose 

members maintained law and order and 

educated the next generation in religious 

beliefs. Each ethnic group traditionally held 

ceremonies to mark birth and death, celebrate 

initiation, promote healing, and dispel evil 

spirits—many still do. Food and palm wine were 

often offered to the ancestors during the 

ceremonies, which also included making music, 

drumming, singing, and dancing. Many 

Cameroonian groups carved elaborate masks 

that were worn during funeral or other rituals

(Photo: Early 1900s Bamiléké elephant mask). 

Islam

Origins of Islam

Islam dates to the 6th century AD, when Muhammad, whom 

Muslims consider God’s final Prophet, was born in Mecca,

Saudi Arabia. Muslims believe the Archangel Gabriel visited 

Muhammad over a 23-year period revealing to him the Qur’an, 

or “Holy Book.” 

Muslim Sects: Islam is divided into 2 sects: Sunni and Shi’a. 

Sunni Muslims are distinguished by their belief that the leader 

(caliph) of the Muslim community (ummah) should be elected. 

Most of Cameroon’s Muslims are Sunni Muslims. Conversely, 

Shi’a Muslims believe the caliph should be a direct descendant 

of the Prophet Muhammad.

Shared Perspectives

Many Islamic tenets parallel those of Judaism and Christianity. 

In fact, Muslims consider Christians and Jews “people of the 

Book,” referring to biblical scriptures, because they also share 

their monotheistic belief in one God.

RELIGION & 

SPIRITUALITY
Scriptures: Much of the content of 

the Qur’an is similar to teachings 

and stories found in the Christian

Bible’s Old and New Testaments.

Muslims view Islam as the 

completion of previous revelations 

to Jewish and Christian prophets 

(Image: Qur’an page from 8th 

century North Africa).

Concept of Jihad

The concept of jihad, or inner striving, is a fundamental 

element within Islam. Traditionally, it is the principled and moral 

pursuit of God’s command to lead a virtuous life. It should not 

be confused with violence and notions of “holy war” that often 

are associated with the term. Most Muslims strongly oppose 

terrorism and consider it contrary to Islamic beliefs.

Ramadan

Ramadan is a month-long time for inner reflection, self-control,

and focus on God. During this time, Muslims who are physically 

able are required to fast from dawn to sunset. Many Muslims 

believe that denying their hunger helps them to learn selfcontrol, appreciate the difficulties of the poor, and gain spiritual 

renewal. Ramadan is the 9th month of the Islamic calendar and 

is anchored in 3 holy days, Lailat al-Qadr, Eid al-Adha, and 

Eid al-Fitr (see p3 of Time and Space).

Introduction of Islam in Cameroon

Islam penetrated northern Cameroon in a series of waves. 

Although Arab traders brought Islam to the region as early as 

the 10th century, Islam’s initial impact was minimal. In contrast, 

a 19th century holy war resulted in permanent change to 

Cameroon’s religious landscape.

Fulani Migrations: Nomadic Fulani groups migrated to

northern Cameroon from Nigeria beginning in the 13th century, 

bringing their Islamic faith with them. As the Fulani gained 

control of more land, some groups they encountered converted 

to Islam although many others retreated from the newcomers. 

By the end of the 18th century, the Fulani and their converts

were scattered throughout the northern region. 

RELIGION & 

SPIRITUALITY
Usman dan Fodio’s Holy Warriors: In early 19th century, 

Usman dan Fodio, an Islamic scholar in Nigeria who objected 

to the prevailing interpretation of Islam, began a holy war to 

cleanse and purify the faith. In Cameroon his warriors were

intent on converting the “pagans” who upheld their indigenous 

beliefs by force if necessary. They converted or displaced 

many groups—the Fulani in particular who were eager to the 

cause. Following these events, the Islamic Fulani became the 

dominant group in Cameroon’s North. 

Christianity

Introduction of Christianity in Cameroon

Although Roman Catholicism arrived with the Portuguese in the 

15th century (see p3-4 of History and Myth), there were no 

organized missionary efforts until the 19th century. Many 

missionaries, both Protestant and Catholic, were inspired by 

humanitarian concerns and concentrated predominantly in the 

South. Accordingly, they built missions that provided for the 

spiritual, medical, and educational needs of the converts.

Nevertheless, many of the same missionaries saw indigenous 

cultures as degraded and uncivilized and believed it was their 

Christian duty to share Western civilization with the 

Cameroonians. Dismissive of indigenous practices and beliefs, 

most missionaries encouraged their converts to adopt Westernstyle gender roles, family structures, housing, clothing, and 

agricultural practices. In addition, many missionaries 

collaborated with colonial administrators in the development 

and execution of colonial 

policies, thus making religion 

an instrument of politics

(Photo: 1912 photo captioned 

“Several Strides Toward 

Civilization”).

English Baptist missionaries

arrived in Cameroon in 1845, 

followed by American 

Presbyterians and Jamaican Baptists. Later arrivals included

missionaries from the German Basel Mission Society, the 

German Catholic Pallotin Fathers, Norwegian Lutheran Church, 

and French Catholic Holy Fathers.

RELIGION & 

SPIRITUALITY
Local Responses to the New Religions

Cameroonians responded to the new religions in various ways. 

Some converted quickly to Christianity to take advantage of the 

access to education and economic opportunities that 

missionaries could provide. In the North, some Cameroonians 

converted to Islam, while others retreated to isolated, 

mountainous areas where they maintained their traditional 

beliefs (see p11-13 of Political and Social Relations). Other 

Cameroonians accepted some aspects of the new religions

while combining them with their traditional beliefs.

Bamoun: Impressed with the military dominance of the Fulani 

in the late 19th century, King Njoya of the Bamoun Kingdom 

(see p11 of Political and Social Relations) arranged for 

marabouts, religious teachers, to instruct him in Islam and 

build a mosque for his followers. Sensing a political change 

with the Germans’ construction of a military garrison in the 

early 20th century, Njoya welcomed German Protestant 

missionaries and allowed them to 

open a school. Njoya then developed 

a writing system to transcribe hymns 

and Bible verses into the indigenous 

language and replaced the mosque 

with a church. 

After the Germans’ departure (see p5-

6 of History and Myth), Njoya 

introduced his own religion. Struck by 

the similarities in Christianity and 

Islam, Njoya developed a comprehensive religious doctrine 

based on Islamic rituals but adapted to Bamoun traditional 

beliefs. Although Njoya later abandoned this effort and returned 

to Islam, all 3 traditions – Christian, Islamic, and indigenous –

still influence the Bamoun worldview (Photo: King Njoya with 

his father’s throne in 1906).

Fang: Feeling the pressures of colonial society in the early 

20th century, some Fang combined aspects of ancient 

ancestor rites and initiation ceremonies with certain Catholic 

beliefs to found the Bwiti movement. Also known as Eglise de 

Banzie or the Church of the Initiates, Bwiti has 2 to 3 million 

followers in Africa today. The central ritual of the church is a 

RELIGION & 

SPIRITUALITY
multiple-day initiation that all members must undergo in order 

to achieve “one-heartedness” or a sense of community with 

God, ancestors, and other church members. Bwiti rituals 

include a mix of playing instruments, dancing, singing, and 

consuming iboga, a root that causes hallucinations when 

ingested. 

Religion Today 

Religious ceremonies are popular social occasions for 

Cameroonians. Although Muslims, Christians, and traditional 

religion practitioners are found in every region, Christians are

concentrated primarily in the South and West. Generally, the 2

Anglophone regions are largely Protestant, while the 8 

Francophone regions are largely Catholic (see p6-8 of History 

and Myth and p1-3 of Language and Communication). 

Predominantly Muslim groups 

include the Fulani in the North 

and the Bamoun in the West 

(Photo: Former US 

Ambassador Garvey with the 

Bamoun Sultan). 

Christianity

While the well-established 

Catholic Church and 

mainstream Protestant denominations such as the 

Presbyterians, Lutherans, and Baptists, dominate; other types 

of Christian churches have emerged in Cameroon in the last 

decades. African elements, such as music and dance,

generally infuse worship services often held in indigenous 

languages (see p1 of Language and Communication).

Independent African Churches: Independent African 

churches (IAC) take several different forms, although each

usually traces its founding to a charismatic leader who broke 

away from a mainstream Protestant mission church. IACs

typically incorporate some traditional African religious beliefs 

and practices in their services.

Charismatic Holy Ghost Churches: Also known as 

Pentecostal churches, charismatic churches are distinguished 

by their informal services during which worshippers engage in 

ecstatic singing, clapping, and dancing, pray loudly, and speak 

RELIGION & 

SPIRITUALITY
in tongues. Members interpret the Bible literally and believe in 

prophecies, miracles through prayer, and faith healing. They

are discouraged from consuming alcohol, smoking cigarettes, 

and gambling. Pentecostals do not typically incorporate 

traditional beliefs and practices in their services since they view 

them as evil and incompatible with their Christian faith.

Islam

Although Muslims are concentrated in the northern part of the 

country, especially the Northwest Province, there are also 

significant Muslim populations in large cities, including Douala 

and Yaoundé. Each Fulani 

Muslim community, called a 

lamidat, is led by the lamido, 

the “commander of believers”

(Photo: US Embassy Deputy 

Chief of Mission Nelson talks 

with a local leader at the 

lamidat of Ngaoundéré in 

Adamawa Province). Although 

there is little religious-based violence in the country, Muslims in 

the North sometimes discriminate against the non-Muslim Kirdi

(see Political and Social Relations, p12).

Traditional Beliefs

For many Cameroonians, whether Christian or Muslim, a 

traditional worldview continues to infuse daily life. Many 

inhabitants still uphold the belief that spirits or supernatural

powers reside in many objects, while ancestral and nature 

spirits influence their daily lives. Traditional rituals are 

especially important in burial and marriage ceremonies (see 

p4-5 of Family and Kinship), health and wellness (see p3 of 

Sustenance and Health), and negotiating family relationships.

If misfortune or illness befalls a Cameroonian or his 

community, he may consult a ngambe or fortune-teller to 

identify which spirit is causing the misfortune and to suggest 

potential cures. Some Cameroonians may blame bad luck, 

sickness, death, and accidents on an unhappy ancestor spirit, 

while others consider misfortune a result of deliberate and 

malevolent witchcraft (muyongo). Cameroonians may take 

measures to protect themselves from witchcraft such as 

RELIGION & 

SPIRITUALITY
purchasing “insurance” from a “witch-doctor” or hiring a “witchhunter” to identify the witch and perform an exorcism. Although 

the practice of witchcraft is a crime, prosecution is arbitrary and 

inconsistent due to a typical lack of evidence and proof.

Religion and the Law 

The constitution and other laws protect religious freedom. All 

religious groups must register with Cameroon’s Ministry of 

Territorial Administration and Decentralization and receive 

approval from the President before they can legally operate. 

Generally, the government has been slow in recent years to 

approve new applicants and categorically refuses to register 

any traditional religious groups. 

Religious organizations may publish and broadcast both 

Christian and Islamic religious services on state-sponsored 

television and radio broadcasts without restriction. The 

government observes both 

Christian and Islamic holy days as 

national holidays (see p3 of Time 

and Space). 

Religion and Politics

Although he tried to include 

representatives of many ethnic 

groups in his government, 

Cameroon’s first President—Ahmadou Ahidjo, a northern 

Muslim—allowed Muslims to monopolize the most important 

ministries and the security services (see History and Myth, p8-

9). As a result, southern Christians were disadvantaged 

politically. When present President Paul Biya, a southern 

Christian, took office in 1982, Muslims argued that the 

government implemented policies that marginalized the North’s 

Muslim population.

Recently, some Christian and Islamic organizations have 

become active in social movements, vocally condemning 

corruption and the government’s insensitivity to the needs of 

the poor. Christian churches have also had a significant impact 

on other societal issues, remaining important providers of 

healthcare (see p3-4 of Sustenance and Health) and protesting 

the traditional practice of female genital mutilation (see p4 of

Sex and Gender).

RELIGION & 

SPIRITUALITY
Overview

Cameroonian families tend to be large and provide an essential 

social safety net. Individuals are expected to care for less 

fortunate relatives, respect their 

elders, and subordinate their own 

desires to those of their families.

Family Structure

Most Cameroonian households are

multigenerational and patriarchal.

Rural family members typically live 

together in extended-family 

compounds that house a man, his wife or wives (see 

“Polygyny” below), his parents, unmarried children, and other 

relatives. In patriarchal societies, the male head-of-household 

makes key family decisions in consultation with elders and 

other male relatives (see p1 of Sex and Gender).

Urban and more Westernized Cameroonians are more likely to 

live in single nuclear family units (parents and their children)

segregated from their rural 

extended families. Nevertheless,

these nuclear families usually 

retain close ties with their distant 

relatives. Similarly, a Cameroonian 

may reside with a wealthy uncle or 

childless relative in times of 

financial need or to pursue an 

educational or employment opportunity. Cameroonians tend to 

have a flexible definition of “relative,” which may also refer to 

close, non-blood-related friends (Photo: Women with children, 

courtesy of Culture Grams, Pro Quest, 2013).

Polygyny: Legal in Cameroon, polygyny is the practice of a 

man having multiple wives simultaneously. Cameroonian 

Muslims and followers of traditional religions are often 

polygynous, while most Christian men have only one wife (see 

Religion and Spirituality). About 33% of Cameroonian 

marriages are polygynous.

4. FAMILY AND KINSHIP

KINSHIP

FAMILY &
In rural areas, polygyny is a source for acquiring labor to tend 

more land (see p2 of Economics and Resources). By contrast, 

in urban areas, polygyny serves as a means of demonstrating

wealth and high social status (see p13-14 of Political and 

Social Relations). Some families prefer that their daughters 

become the second wife of a wealthy man rather than the only 

wife of a man with lower status. Polygyny is less common 

among the younger generation, Cameroonians with higher 

education, and urbanites. 

Children: Cameroonians generally cherish children, viewing 

them as signs of good fortune, vitality, and wealth. 

Consequently, couples are encouraged to have many offspring.

Parents typically begin preparing 

their children for adult roles and 

responsibilities early, teaching 

them to assist in household 

chores around age 5. Boys also

learn specific skills from their 

fathers and other male relatives

and may accompany them to 

work. This training is considered 

important, as sons are expected to earn wages to support their 

parents in their old age. By contrast, female relatives teach the 

girls to cook, clean, and, in rural areas, raise crops that benefit 

the entire household. In addition, girls often care for their 

younger siblings and cousins.

Residence

Cameroonian residences vary depending on location, family 

composition, and family financial status. In rural areas, families

traditionally live in sarres, compounds of single-room mud or 

straw structures that cluster around a common courtyard where 

meals are prepared. In a polygynous family, each wife lives 

with her daughters and younger sons in a separate 

accommodation, while older sons have their own rooms 

elsewhere in the compound. In both rural and urban areas, 

many Cameroonians construct homes of concrete bricks and 

iron or aluminum roofs. Some wealthier urban Cameroonians 

construct brightly painted, multi-room homes built behind high 

walls and featuring upholstered furniture and decorative

gardens. Many urban dwellers live in apartment complexes. 

KINSHIP

FAMILY &
Rites of Passage

Cameroonians observe rites-of-passage ceremonies to mark 

the various stages of life. Rituals may vary considerably based 

on the respective ethnic and religious heritage.

Birth and Naming: The arrival of a healthy newborn prompts 

celebratory visits from family and friends, often after a time of 

seclusion for the mother and child. Twins are especially 

esteemed among some Cameroonian groups. A popular 

custom among some Grassfielder groups (see p11 of Political 

and Social Relations) is to bury a baby’s umbilical cord within 

the family compound as a means of 

ensuring the child’s health and 

connection to its ancestors.

Names are important in Cameroonian 

culture and often hold familial and 

religious significance—parents may 

name their children after relatives or 

sacred individuals. Children born to 

Muslim families are named at a 

celebration held 7 days after birth, while 

Catholic and some other Christian newborns are christened 

(given their official name) and baptized at a church ceremony.

Circumcision: Customary among Christians, Muslims, and 

traditional religious practitioners alike (see Religion and 

Spirituality), male circumcision is administered to about 90% of 

Cameroonian boys. While some groups conduct the 

circumcision immediately after birth, others wait until about age 

15 to commemorate the boy’s transition into adulthood. While 

popular in some African cultures, female circumcision is

relatively rare in Cameroon (see p4 of Sex and Gender). 

Coming-of-Age: Besides male circumcision, other special 

traditional rituals and ceremonies are used to acknowledge a 

boy’s passage into adulthood. For instance, the southern Beti

people traditionally required boys of age 15 or 16 to live in the 

forest unchaperoned for a year, where they had to achieve 

deeds of strength and courage. A young man’s success would 

then be celebrated with drinking, dancing, and the 

acknowledgment that he was ready to marry, which most 

Cameroonian groups consider the final step to adulthood.

KINSHIP

FAMILY &
Dating

Dating is a more common practice in urban than in rural areas,

although most young couples, regardless of location, have the 

opportunity to get to know one another before marrying. As in 

Western society, young adults usually meet prospective 

partners at school, work, church, parties, or traditional social 

gatherings (see p2-3 of Aesthetics and Recreation).

To avoid an expensive brideprice (see below), some couples 

are known to live and sometimes have children together 

without, or in advance of, marrying. Although devout Christian 

and Muslim families tend to consider out-of-wedlock births

shameful, other Cameroonians, in particular the Betis, view

pregnancy before marriage as 

a positive sign that the 

potential bride is fertile (Photo: 

Couple Window Shopping, 

courtesy of CultureGrams, 

ProQuest, 2014). 

Marriage

On average, Cameroonian 

women marry by age 20 and 

men by 27. While the legal marriage age is 18 for males and

15 for females, rural couples tend to marry at a younger age 

than urban. In 2007 an estimated 60% of 20-29-year-old

women in the North wedded by age 16. As a consequence, 

early marriage usually disrupts a young bride’s education (see

p5 of Learning and Knowledge). 

Spouse Selection: Because marriage binds not just a couple 

but also their families, Cameroonian parents and other relatives

have considerable input into a Cameroonian’s spouse 

selection. Even if they do not directly select the marriage 

partner, family members at least ensure the future spouse’s 

financial, moral, religious, and social suitability. Families 

generally prefer that their young relatives marry within the 

same ethnic group, although marriage outside one’s group is 

becoming more common, especially in urban areas.

Brideprice: After a man has identified a potential wife, he and 

his family arrange to visit her family to ask for her hand in 

marriage. If the families collectively agree with the match, the 

KINSHIP

FAMILY &
families negotiate a brideprice—a gift which the groom’s family 

offers to the bride’s as compensation for the loss of her labor.

Grooms may pay the equivalent of thousands of dollars to the 

bride’s family in addition to gifts of meat, salt, livestock, palm 

oil, and clothes. Once the brideprice is set, the families select a 

wedding date.

Weddings: Varying by region and ethnic group, weddings are 

generally joyous events often lasting several days and hosted

by the groom and his family. While Christian weddings typically 

occur in a church, Muslim 

couples traditionally sign 

an Islamic marriage 

contract in the presence 

of close family and 

friends. Brides often wear

Western-style wedding 

dresses or brightly 

patterned traditional 

pagnes matching those 

of the other women in 

their wedding party (see 

Aesthetics and Recreation). After the official ceremony, the 

couple gathers with family and friends to celebrate the 

occasion with entertainment that often includes musicians, 

dancers, and comedians (Photo: An early 20th wedding 

influenced by Western traditions).

Death

Commemoration of death typically involves both a mourning 

period and celebration of the deceased’s life. Following Islamic 

traditions, Muslims typically bury their dead within 24 hours. 

Traditionalists follow unique burial rituals intended to ease the 

deceased’s transition to the spirit world and honor ancestral 

spirits (see Religion and Spirituality, p1-2 & 7-8). Most nonMuslim groups observe a 7-10 day period of mourning during 

which community members offer condolences and food to the 

family. Rituals such as the Grassfielder’s (see Political and 

Social Relations, p11) cry-die involve day-long celebrations 

that include dancing, eating, and wailing. Some Cameroonians

bury their loved ones within family compounds rather than 

cemeteries. 

KINSHIP

FAMILY &
Overview

Although Cameroon’s constitution guarantees gender equality,

ethnic, religious, and cultural traditions tend to perpetuate

female subordination in practice. Traditional female gender 

roles remain the norm, yet today, women constitute more than 

half of Cameroon’s workforce and hold key societal positions.

Gender Roles 

In rural areas, men and women traditionally perform distinctive

tasks. Women produce about 80% of the country’s subsistence 

crops, maintain households,

and care for children. 

Meanwhile, men are 

responsible for providing

financially for their families by 

performing wage labor and 

raising cash crops (Photo: 

Female farm workers wearing 

matching pagnes—see p1-2 

of Aesthetics and 

Recreation— courtesy of Culture Grams, Pro Quest 2013).

In urban areas, many Cameroonian women work outside of the 

home in addition to performing household work. As of 2011, 

women comprised approximately 55% of Cameroon’s 

workforce, primarily in administrative and clerical positions. 

Cameroonian women are entitled 

to government-paid maternity 

leave benefits, while fathers

typically receive a shorter period of 

paid paternity leave.

Women tend to be victims of 

contradictory laws. Although the 

constitution grants citizens a “right 

and obligation to work,” it also

allows men to overrule their wives’ 

decision to work outside the home. Similarly, Cameroonian law 

does not bar sexual harassment or hiring discrimination based 

on family status. In some situations women have been obliged 

5. SEX AND GENDER

SEX &

GENDER
to offer sexual favors for promotions or raises, and despite laws 

mandating pay equity, they still tend to earn less than men. 

Gender and Politics

In proportion to their share of the country’s 

population, women are underrepresented in 

Cameroonian politics, holding just 23 of 180 

seats in the National Assembly and 6 of 61 

Cabinet posts. In order to increase female 

representation, the government passed a 

law in April 2012 that required each political 

party to have at least one woman on its list 

of candidates for the newly created Senate 

(see p4 of Political and Social Relations). In 

the 2013 Senate elections, more than 30% 

of the candidates were women (Photo: A Cameroonian woman 

commemorating International Women’s Day in 2013).

Both Cameroon’s Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and a 

variety of non-governmental organizations work to protect the 

legal rights of Cameroonian women and boost their political 

representation—especially at the national level. At the local 

level, women tend to have less influence than men due to 

entrenched traditional norms.

Gender and Education

Although primary education is compulsory in Cameroon (see 

p3-4 of Learning and Knowledge), only 87 girls were enrolled in 

primary school for every 100 enrolled boys as of 2011. Some

parents choose to send only their male children to school in 

order to better prepare them to compete favorably in the 

workforce. Consequently, the males will be financially able to 

care for their parents in old age (see p2 of Family and Kinship). 

Although male and female enrollment rates are comparable at 

the secondary level, many girls drop out after puberty because 

of early marriage, unwanted sexual attention from male 

teachers and students, and pregnancy.

Gender-Based Violence (GBV)

Although rape and other forms of GBV are illegal, GBV is 

widespread likely because few cases are prosecuted. Spousal 

abuse is not considered cause for divorce and even considered

a sign of affection in some areas. Some men believe that 

SEX &

GENDER
Gender Equality and the Law

Although Cameroon’s constitution states that women 

and men are equal before the law, other legal

provisions undercut this assertion and relegate 

women to a lower social status. For example, the 

constitution states that a man chooses where the 

family makes its home and also permits him to

restrict his wife’s employment at his discretion. Laws 

and norms not in the constitution also limit the status 

of women. For example, women face a higher 

burden of proof when trying to obtain a divorce on 

grounds of infidelity. A man only has to verify that his 

wife had a single adulterous affair, yet a woman has 

to show that her husband is a habitual adulterer. The 

government is considering reforms that would rectify 

these and other forms of gender inequality in 

national laws. Nevertheless, any such reforms would 

not affect local customary laws, which are often

biased against women (see p4 of Political and Social 

Relations).

payment of a brideprice entitles them to treat wives as their 

property or as they see fit.

In a 2009 survey, 20% of Cameroonian women affirmed having

been raped, while another 14% claimed to have escaped 

attempted rape. Although the minimum punishment is 5 years

imprisonment, convicted rapists typically receive lesser 

punishments—only about 5% are even convicted. This low rate 

is endorsed in some cases by victims’ families, who elect to 

forfeit prosecution to instead arrange a marriage between the 

victim and the assailant for the sake of family honor.

Breast Ironing: Women in some parts of Cameroon practice 

“breast ironing,” a painful and traumatic form of GBV in which 

hot objects are used to reshape the chests of or limit the breast 

development of adolescent female relatives. The intent behind 

breast ironing is to make girls less attractive to males who 

SEX &

GENDER
through their appeal might inflict other forms of GBV. About 

25% of Cameroonian females have undergone breast ironing. 

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM): About 1.5% of women in 

Cameroon have undergone FGM, a procedure whereby the 

female sex organ is altered with the intent of reducing sexual 

pleasure and promoting virginity. FGM is most common among 

poorly educated Muslims in the Far North region.

Sex and Procreation

Cameroonians have traditionally prized fertility, considering it a 

reflection of their health and moral and physical strength. Some

groups welcome pregnancy before marriage as a favorable

sign of a bride’s ability to bear children (see p2 of Family and 

Kinship). Due in part to these traditional values, the birthrate in 

Cameroon remains relatively high at

slightly over 4 children-per-woman. 

This rate is slightly below the subSaharan African average of 4.94.

The government considers the 

fertility level to be too high and has 

invested in programs to educate the 

public on the benefits of 

contraception. As of 2011, around 

23% of Cameroonian women used 

contraception, most of whom were

educated city dwellers with jobs 

outside the home. Catholics, Muslims, rural dwellers, and 

women in polygynous marriages are less likely use 

contraception. Abortion is prohibited except in cases of rape or 

grave health risks to the mother.

Homosexuality

Homosexuality is illegal in Cameroon, where offenders face 

fines up to $400 and prison terms up to 5 years. As of 2013 

consensual homosexual behavior is prosecuted more 

aggressively in Cameroon than in nearly any other country. 

Alleged homosexuals are sometimes convicted and serve jail 

time on mere suspicion of homosexual conduct. Discrimination, 

harassment, and violence against homosexuals and their 

advocates are common.

SEX &

GENDER
Overview

Cameroon is linguistically diverse with over 200 indigenous 

languages, about half written. Some Cameroonians speak 

multiple indigenous languages, none of which is spoken as a 

first language by a majority of the population. During

Cameroon’s colonial period, French and English became 

dominant and eventually the official national languages. Few

Cameroonians speak both 

French and English nor a 

common native tongue,

resulting in a linguistic 

divide that only amplifies

the country’s historical, 

regional, and religious 

contrasts (see p5 of Political 

and Social Relations and p1 of Religion and Spirituality). This 

linguistic division has been alleviated with the development of

informal and simplified pidgin languages that enable speakers 

of different languages to communicate.

Indigenous Languages

Indigenous languages generally are not taught in public 

schools (see Learning and Knowledge, p3), while knowledge of 

indigenous languages is declining primarily in urban areas. A

2001 study conducted in the capital Yaoundé suggested nearly 

1/3 of youth age 10- 17 had no mastery of a Cameroonian 

indigenous language. Cameroon’s native languages belong to 

3 primary language families and are generally mutually 

unintelligible across the various ethnicities.

Niger–Congo: Cameroon is home to 169 Niger–Congo 

languages, which include various Bantu languages specific to 

particular ethnic groups (see p12 of Political and Social 

Relations). Within the Bantu subgrouping, over a million people 

in the South and around Yaoundé speak Ewondo, the 

language of the Beti ethnic group, while about 200,000 Douala

along the coast speak their native Douala dialect. The Fulani’s 

Fulfulde language is widely spoken in the North as both a first 

and second language.

6. LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION

COMMUNICATION

LANGUAGE &
Afro-Asiatic: Most speakers of Cameroon’s 55 Afro-Asiatic 

languages live in the Muslim North near Chad. One of the most 

widely spoken languages from this group is Cameroon’s unique 

version of Arabic, Shua Arabic, which has over 75,000 

speakers. Hausa and Wandala are 2 other widely used AfroAsiatic languages, each spoken by over 23,000 Cameroonians. 

Nilo-Saharan: Kanuri and Ngambai are the 2 Nilo-Saharan 

languages spoken in Cameroon. Many non-Kanuris in the area

speak Kanuri as a second language. Generally, most Kanuri 

speakers are Muslim.

French

According to the Organization of International Francophonie, 

over 44% of Cameroonians spoke French with some 

proficiency as of 2005. French is widely used in government, 

the military, commerce, and education throughout the country 

(see p3 of Learning and Knowledge). Occupants of the 8 

French-controlled regions, under colonial rule until 1960 (see 6-

7 of History and Myth), typically learn French from a young 

age.

Although both French 

and English are official 

languages in Cameroon, 

French is favored in 

many domains. For 

example, all official 

documents are issued 

throughout the country in 

both French and English, 

although the French 

version usually appears 

first and more prominently than the often poorly translated 

English version. In addition, the constitution states that the 

French version shall prevail if a conflict of interpretation arises

between the 2 versions.

Cameroon’s 2 Presidents since independence have been 

French speakers (see p8-10 of History and Myth), while the 

majority of inhabitants in the 2 largest cities — Yaoundé and 

Douala — primarily speak French (Photo: Cameroonians 

practice harmonizing a French language song). 

COMMUNICATION

LANGUAGE &
English

About 20% of Cameroonians speaks some English, which was 

introduced primarily in the former British-controlled Northwest 

and Southwest regions

(see p6-7 of History and 

Myth). English is typically 

learned early and in 

conjunction with an 

indigenous language.

As an official language, 

English is used in

government and education

primarily in the 2

Anglophone regions (see p2-4 of Learning and Knowledge). 

Many Francophone Cameroonians express an interest in 

learning English, not necessarily to communicate with their 

Anglophone compatriots, but because it is considered a 

financially advantageous skill that could help link Cameroon to 

the global economy (Photo: US Ambassador Jackson, center, 

during a visit to a northern school).

Pidgin and Creole Languages

Pidgins and creoles typically develop in environments where

several languages are spoken. As basic informal intermediary 

languages, both languages use simple grammar and 

vocabulary borrowed from one or more languages. They tend 

to evolve quickly, vary by region, and are sometimes criticized 

for corrupting standard languages. To most people in 

linguistically diverse Cameroon, they are indispensable.

Like indigenous languages, pidgin and creoles are not taught in 

public schools, although students often use them to 

communicate outside the classroom. While there are written 

forms that are increasingly used in musical and literary 

compositions (see p3-4 of Aesthetics and Recreation), spelling 

in these variants is not standardized, making comprehension of 

such written materials difficult.

Camfranglais and Kamtok: A mixture of French, English, and 

indigenous languages, Camfranglais is a relatively new but 

widely spoken pidgin that enables Francophone and 

Anglophone Cameroonians to communicate. Kamtok (derived 

COMMUNICATION

LANGUAGE &
from “Cameroon Talk”), is basically English infused with 

vocabulary and grammatical forms from several indigenous 

languages. It has been used as a lingua franca since the 1880s

among 10% of the population. While based on English, US 

English speakers typically have difficulty understanding

Kamtok. 

Communication Overview

Communicating competently with Cameroonians requires not 

just the ability to speak English, French, Fulfulde, Ewondo, or 

another indigenous language, but also the ability to interact 

effectively using those languages. This notion of competence 

includes paralanguage (speech, volume, rate, and intonation), 

nonverbal communication (personal space, touch, and 

gestures), and interaction management (conversation initiation, 

turn-taking, and termination). When used properly, these 

elements of communication help ensure that Cameroonians will 

interpret statements as the speaker intends.

Communication Style

Cameroonians are generally passionate and animated when 

conversing. Because they typically prefer indirect 

communication, Cameroonians can become uncomfortable 

admitting they do not know something or offering their frank 

assessment. Consequently, open-ended rather than specific 

“yes or no” questions facilitate more responsive answers. If a 

discussion becomes controversial, Cameroonians tend to use 

humor to dispel tensions. Consequently, wit, laughter, and 

teasing are important in Cameroonian conversations. Foreign 

nationals who can accept 

teasing gracefully earn

respect and friendship.

Greetings

Cameroonian greetings are 

warm, convey respect, and 

set a friendly conversational 

tone. Neglecting to greet

people—whether strangers or acquaintances—is considered 

extremely impolite. When meeting for the first time, most 

Cameroonians make eye contact and shake hands while 

maintaining a distance of 3 to 4 feet (see p1-2 of Time and 

COMMUNICATION

LANGUAGE &
Space). At subsequent encounters, Cameroonians may snap 

their fingers after a handshake to indicate trust and friendship. 

In the Francophone regions, non-Muslim Cameroonian men 

and women commonly kiss once on each cheek and then snap 

their fingers when greeting family, friends, or close 

acquaintances.

Muslim Cameroonians generally avoid physical contact with 

unrelated members of the opposite sex. Upon meeting a 

member of the opposite sex, 

foreign nationals should wait for 

the Cameroonian to extend his 

or her hand. If the person does

not offer a hand, it is 

appropriate to nod and extend 

verbal greetings.

Greeting rituals have many 

variants. In particular, chiefs 

and elders are greeted with 

bowing and clapping. Because 

these greeting customs vary 

widely, foreign nationals should ask their hosts about social

protocols for a local leader or rural noble (Photo: US 

Ambassador Jackson shakes hands with library workers).

Forms of Address

When meeting in professional and formal contexts for the first 

time, Cameroonians usually use a French or English title, such 

as Professor, Parliamentarian, or Chemist, and last name. 

Work colleagues typically address each other by their first 

names. French-speakers usually address their peers with the 

informal French “you” (tu), using the more formal “you” (vous)

along with the appropriate title when addressing elders, 

superiors, and officials. 

In less formal contexts, Cameroonians may address strangers 

and acquaintances with titles of respect according to their age 

and social status. For example, Cameroonians might refer to a 

male acquaintance as “father” or “brother” to indicate respect 

and closeness (see p1 of Family and Kinship). Muslim 

Cameroonians who have completed a pilgrimage to Mecca are 

addressed as Alhaji (male) or Alhaja (female).

COMMUNICATION

LANGUAGE &
Conversational Topics

Cameroonians typically begin conversations with inquiries

about health, family, and other general topics before discussing 

serious matters. Topics like Cameroonian soccer (see p2 of 

Aesthetics and Recreation), family, hometown or region of 

origin, music, and cuisine are acceptable when conversing with 

people of either sex and can help to establish rapport.

Cameroonians tend to avoid contentious topics that could 

cause disagreement. Topics such as religion, gender roles and 

equality, ethnic differences, corruption, and politics are usually 

considered unsuitable for polite conversation, especially with 

new acquaintances. Urban 

Cameroonians may be hesitant to 

share their political opinions for 

fear of government reprisal.

Gestures and Sounds

Cameroonians often use hand 

gestures to emphasize or replace

speech, although less likely when 

speaking to foreigners or people 

outside their ethnic group. Waving 

one’s index finger back and forth 

means “no,” while nodding 

upwards and audibly taking a 

breath indicates “yes.” To hail a 

taxi or beckon someone, 

Cameroonians place their palms down and motion their fingers 

toward the palm. Banging a fist thumb-down into the other palm 

indicates “very much” and “a lot” and is not an angry gesture.

Placing both hands on the head indicates disappointment.

Cameroonians may also use certain sounds in the place of 

words or gestures. For example, hissing is used to get 

someone’s attention and is not considered impolite. Clicking 

the tongue twice can express agreement or surprise.

Language Training Resources

Please view the Air Force Culture and Language Center 

website at http://culture.af.mil/resources/index.aspx for 

language training resources.

COMMUNICATION

LANGUAGE &
Useful Translations

English French

Yes Oui

No Non

PleaseS’il vous plaît

Thank you Merci

You are welcome De rien/pas de quoi

Hello Bonjour

Goodbye Au revoir

Excuse me/sorryDésolé/je m’excuse

Do you speak 

English?

Parlez-vous 

anglais?

I do not speak 

French

Je ne parle pas 

francais

I understand Je comprends

I do not understand Je ne comprends 

pas

How are you? Comment allez

-

vous?

I am fine, thank you. 

How are you?

Bien, merci, et 

vous?

I am fine Bien

What is your name? Comment vous 

appelez vous?

My name is ___ Je m’appelle ___

I am pleased to 

meet you

Heureux de faire 

votre connaissance/

enchanté

Help Au secours

Call the police Appelez la police

Thank you for your 

help

Merci pour 

votre aide

Where are the 

bathrooms?

Où sont les 

toilettes?

Straight ahead Tout droit

Right À droite

Left À gauche

COMMUNICATION

LANGUAGE &
Literacy

• Total population over age 15 who can read and write: 76% 

• Male: 84%

• Female: 68% (2001 estimate)

Traditional Education

In Cameroon and throughout Africa, traditional education 

involved the transmission of values, skills, religious beliefs, 

historical knowledge, and a sense of community to younger 

generations. Traditional methods typically varied by ethnic 

group, although most groups used an informal, experiencebased teaching style. In traditional Cameroonian society, all 

family members shared a responsibility to convey knowledge 

and skills through stories, lessons, examples, and coming-ofage rituals (see p3 of Family and Kinship).

Introduction of Formal Education

Supported by the Baptist Missionary Society of London, 

Jamaican Reverend Joseph Merrick led a group of 

missionaries in 1844 to construct Cameroon’s first school in the 

town of Bimbia among the Isubu ethnic group (Photo: 1845 

drawing of Merrick at an Isubu 

funeral). In the following 40 

years, additional English 

Baptist and American

Presbyterian had limited 

success in pursuit of their 

education goals. In total they 

educated fewer than 500 

students, building only a handful of schools before they had to 

abandon them when the Germans established a colony in 1884

(see p5-6 of History and Myth). 

Education during German Colonization

The German colonizers focused their educational goal in 

Cameroon on the creation of a productive labor force that 

would economically benefit Germany. While the Germans did 

not view the abandoned schools as essential to this plan, they

did allow German missionaries to continue operating them on a 

7. LEARNING AND KNOWLEDGE

KNOWLEDGE

LEARNING &
small scale. Eventually, the Germans permitted non-German

missionaries to return and enlarge the country’s educational

offerings, particularly since these

missionaries could provide a basic 

education at little cost to Germany

(Photo: A German colonial stamp). 

In support of the Germans’ initiative to

produce obedient workers with basic 

skills, the missionaries’ curriculum in 

the first 2 decades of German rule 

centered on reading, writing, 

arithmetic, Christian doctrine, and 

agricultural education. Although in 1907 they mandated 

instruction in German culture and language, unlike the French 

to follow (see below), the Germans were uninterested in 

inculcating German identity. By 1913, the colony had 624 

missionary schools with over 40,000 students and 4 

government schools with fewer than 850 students.

Education during British and French Colonization

When they moved into Cameroon following Germany’s 

expulsion after World War I (see p6 of History and Myth), the 

British and French relied on the existing missionary education 

system to implement their educational goals. But just as the 

British and French had different plans for their colonies, they 

had different goals for their educational systems (see p6-7 of

History and Myth).

To acquire the workers needed for agricultural production, the 

British initially focused on providing Cameroonians with a skillsbased education much like the Germans before them. Toward 

this end, they opened government schools and standardized 

curricula across government and missionary schools. In

contrast to the Germans, the French approached their 

Cameroonian colony with the goal of expanding its economic 

potential and assimilating its residents into French culture and 

society. In addition, the French wanted to ensure that 

Cameroonian loyalties were directed to the state rather than

the church. Although they continued to allow some 

missionaries to operate schools, the French strictly controlled

all school curricula, striving to provide alternative state-run, free

KNOWLEDGE

LEARNING &
and compulsory educational programs that emphasized French 

culture and language. 

Financially strapped after World War II, the British encouraged 

both Cameroonian interests and foreign missionaries to expand

educational opportunities while maintaining control of curricula. 

The British concentrated on preparing Cameroonians for 

impending independence. By contrast, the French expanded 

education at the primary, secondary, and vocational levels,

reinforced their control of missionary schools, and continued to 

emphasize French culture and language.

Education after Independence

Although the British and French colonial educational systems 

remained largely in place after independence, newly 

independent, united, and bilingual Cameroon faced another

challenge: how to unite a diverse population. Consequently, the 

government sought to use education to unite the country by

standardizing Cameroon’s educational system across the 

Anglophone and Francophone regions. Despite these efforts, 

disparities persisted as an entrenched preference for French

emerged to place a number of Anglophone students at an 

educational disadvantage—a situation which continues today

(see p2 of Language and Communication).

Modern Education System

Education is compulsory for all Cameroonians between the 

ages of 6 and 14. Although most government schools instruct 

in either French or English, there is growing demand for 

bilingual French/English instruction, as well as instruction in

indigenous languages (see p1-3 of Language and

Communication). Schools are open 5 days-a-week and are in 

session for 35 weeks from 

September to June (Photo: US 

Navy Commander teaches at a 

Cameroonian primary school).

Primary: Although schools 

typically suffer from a lack of 

qualified teachers, Cameroon 

has one of the more advanced

primary education systems in Africa. While primary school 

enrollment rate is at 90%, as of 2011 only about 78% of 

KNOWLEDGE

LEARNING &
enrolled children completed primary school. In both the English 

and French systems, primary school starts at age 6, extending 

for 6 years. In the English system, school runs for 7 hours

daily, usually from 7:30am to 2:30pm. Upon completing 6 

years, a student in the English system receives the First School 

Leaving Certificate. In the French system, students attend 1 of 

2 separate 5 hour shifts, the first from 7am to 1pm and the 

second from 1:30pm to 6:30pm. Upon completion of 6 years, a 

French student receives the Certificat d’Etudes Primaires.

Secondary: While primary education is free, secondary 

schools charge tuition, causing a substantial hardship for many 

families. This situation also contributes to lower secondary 

school attendance rates. As of 2011, only about 41% of eligible 

children were enrolled in secondary school. Both the English 

and French secondary systems consist of 7 years divided into 

2 cycles, lower and upper secondary. Programs of study in 

both systems include literature, history, geography, economics, 

music, foreign language, sciences, mathematics, physical 

education, and nutrition. With the completion of secondary 

school, English system students receive the General Certificate 

of Education Advanced Level, while the French system 

students receive the Baccalauréat degree.

Tertiary: Unlike primary and secondary institutions, 

Cameroon’s 8 public universities and several private tertiary 

institutes are mostly bilingual, although some use only English 

or French. Even at bilingual universities, French is more 

commonly used than English, as most universities are located 

in the Francophone regions

(Photo: Faculty of Law and 

Political Science at the 

University of Ngaoundéré in 

the Adamawa region).

In 2011, about 12% of 

Cameroonians who had

completed secondary school

were enrolled in state-run, privately-run, or technical 

universities. Institutions may issue French degrees— License,

Maîtrise, Diplôme d'études Approfondies—and Doctorat, or 

English degrees—Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctorate.

KNOWLEDGE

LEARNING &
Cameroon’s only medical school at the University of Yaoundé 

trains about 100 doctors-per-year, which limits the country’s 

ability to address its doctor shortages (see Sustenance and 

Health).

Other Education Issues

Rural Education: Cameroon’s rural areas suffer from a 

serious lack of qualified teachers, proper school equipment,

and supplies. Consequently, rates of primary school completion 

in rural areas are very low—illiteracy rates can reach 90%. 

The rural, predominantly Muslim areas in the North face a 

similar situation. The students who do complete primary school

are mostly male, as local residents do not see the usefulness 

of educating girls who will grow up to be wives and mothers. As 

an alternative to public schools, some Muslim children attend a 

Qur’anic school, which educates students in Muslim beliefs and 

history and whose curriculum is not typically regulated like that

of a public school.

Vocational Education: The Cameroonian government has 

responded recently to widespread unemployment among 

general education university graduates by providing increased 

funding to technical and vocational institutions. Young 

Cameroonians are increasingly choosing technical and 

vocational education in the hope 

that it is a more secure path to 

long-term employment and even 

self-employment.

Refugee Education: Cameroon 

hosts roughly 100,000 refugees 

from the Central African 

Republic (CAR) and Chad who

reside primarily in urban areas (see p9-10 of Political and 

Social Relations). Most refugees have difficulty finding 

employment and live in very poor conditions. In response, the 

Cameroonian government passed a 2005 law granting refugee 

children access to financial support for tuition and supplies, 

permitting them to attend primary and secondary school

(Photo: A US cultural affairs officer and educational adviser 

discuss civil rights with secondary school students).

KNOWLEDGE

LEARNING &
Overview

Cameroon, as is much of Africa, is largely a high-context 

society which means it considers strict time management and 

punctuality as less important than interpersonal relations (see 

Time and Space, Part 1—Culture General). While specific 

customs related to time and personal space can vary by ethnic 

identity and context, most Cameroonians are aware of 

variations and considerate when interacting with people from

different backgrounds.

Time and Work

Cameroon’s work week extends from Monday through Friday. 

Most government offices and banks are open from 7:30am until 

3:30pm. Markets and shops

usually open and close later 

than offices, while restaurant

hours vary widely. A 1-2

hour meal break typically 

occurs between noon and 

3pm. Cameroon is in the 

West Africa Time Zone 

(WAT), which is an hour 

ahead of Greenwich Mean 

Time (GMT) and 6 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time 

(EST). The country does not participate in daylight saving time

(Photo: Market in Yaoundé).

Punctuality

While time management and punctuality are not high priorities

for most Cameroonians, some urban business professionals 

value efficiency and deadlines. Foreign nationals are expected

to arrive on time for business appointments even though these

typically start late. Meetings typically include social time in 

order to foster personal relationships. In strictly social settings, 

it is customary to arrive late.

Personal Space

In Cameroon the appropriate personal space varies depending 

on gender, setting, and ethnic and religious background. While 

8. TIME AND SPACE

SPACE

TIME &
the standard conversational distance between individuals is 

about an arm’s length, when Cameroonians meet for the first

time, they usually maintain a greater personal distance and 

refrain from conversational touching (see p4-5 of Language 

and Communication). Close friends, relatives, and co-workers

may repeatedly touch one another during conversations, even 

in a professional environment. Most Muslims avoid any

physical contact with unrelated members of the opposite sex 

(see p5 of Language and Communication).

Public Space

Cameroonians may occupy 

and manage public space in 

a manner that is unfamiliar 

to Americans. For example, 

Cameroonians do not 

typically form orderly lines, 

but rather, stand in clusters

and jostle to receive attention and service. Although most 

Cameroonians maintain clean personal spaces, many public 

areas are littered and unsanitary, which increases

Cameroonians’ risk for disease (see p4 of Sustenance and 

Health). 

Conveying Respect

Cameroonian men who share the same social status (see p13-

14 of Political and Social Relations) typically maintain direct 

eye contact during conversations. By contrast, men of lower 

social status may avert their gaze during conversations with

their elders and superiors. Women tend to avoid direct eye 

contact during interactions, even with other women. 

As a sign of respect for their elders upon meeting, men may

lower their heads or bow from the waist. Similarly, many 

Cameroonian women curtsy to show respect, although women 

in the North typically kneel. Cameroonians may not speak 

candidly in the presence of people having a higher social 

status, allowing the elite to dominate the conversation. 

Cameroonians consider it rude for a person to turn his back or 

cross his legs in the presence of a superior or elder. If such 

behaviors cannot be avoided, it is proper for the individual to 

apologize to the elder in advance.

SPACE

TIME &
Left Hand Taboos

As is common throughout Africa, Asia, and the Middle East,

Cameroonians typically use the left hand for personal hygiene

and consider it unclean. It is therefore customary to use the 

right or both hands when eating, gesturing, accepting items, or 

greeting people. Cameroonians may view it offensive to use 

only the left hand in social engagements. 

Photographs

Foreign nationals are advised to request permission before

photographing Cameroonians. Taking pictures of public 

infrastructure, such as military establishments and airports, or 

of uniformed military personnel is prohibited.

Holidays

National Holidays

• January 1: New Year’s Day

• February 11: Youth Day

• May 1: Labor Day

• May 20: National Day

• August 15: Assumption Day

• December 25: Christmas Day

Religious Holidays

Religious holidays occur on variable dates. 

Christian holidays are set according to the church 

calendar; Muslim holidays follow the Islamic lunar 

calendar. Religious holidays include:

• Good Friday: Celebration of the passion and 

suffering of Jesus Christ

• Easter Sunday: Celebration of Jesus Christ’s 

resurrection

• Ascension Day: The Thursday that falls 40 

days after Easter Sunday

• Djoulde Soumae: Celebrates the end of 

Ramadan (Eid al-Fitr)

• Tabaski: Feast of Sacrifice (Eid al-Adha)

SPACE

TIME &
Overview

Cameroonians’ dress, recreation, music, and arts are shaped 

by a dynamic blend of over 250 ethnic groups’ traditions, the 

influences of 3 different European colonizers, and the recent 

effects of modernization and globalization.

Dress

Traditional Cameroonian apparel is more commonly worn in 

rural areas and varies based on regional climate and local 

customs. In business settings, Cameroonians tend to dress in 

modest, well-pressed Western-style business attire. The 

younger generations and some urban dwellers typically wear

more casual Western styles sometimes combined with 

traditional elements for a unique Cameroonian style.

Men: Urban Cameroonian men favor 

Western clothing such as suits, 

button-down shirts, and pants or a 

mix of Western dress with African 

elements. In the rural North, men 

typically wear the traditional boubou, 

a 4-piece outfit consisting of an 

undershirt, flowing outer shirts, loosefitting pants, and a matching hat

(Photo: Men wearing boubous flank 

US Ambassador Jackson). In other

rural regions, men prefer a 2-piece outfit known as the quatre 

pouches. Consisting of loose-fitting pants and a shirt with

square front pockets, the outfit is often accompanied by a 

matching hat. Among many rural Grassfielder groups (see p11 

of Political and Social Relations), men wear colorful overcoats 

and carry a staff and large handbag. 

Women: Like their male counterparts, many urban women 

wear a mix of Western and traditional styles. For example, 

women may fashion Western-style dresses, suits, and other 

articles of clothing from a traditional pagne, a large piece of 

colorfully patterned fabric. The pagne can also be used in 

more traditional African styles, such as a body-wrap or long 

9. AESTHETICS AND RECREATION

AESTHETICS &

RECREATION
dress (pictured), as a 

protective head covering, 

or as a baby carrier. 

Women often wear a 

free-flowing, loose dress 

with wide sleeves called 

the kabba when casually 

meeting with friends, 

shopping, or performing

chores at home. Many 

Muslim women wear a 

hijab (Islamic headscarf) with modest pagne garments.

Recreation

Cameroonians typically spend their leisure time with their 

families or friends. Popular pastimes include visiting, playing or 

watching sports, or participating in community events. Men 

often socialize over beer or palm wine at bars or buvettes

(simple drink stalls—see Sustenance and Health). Women 

typically socialize at home or at the market. 

Sports: Football (soccer) is Cameroon’s most popular sport. 

Inter-village tournaments draw many participants as do 

impromptu matches. Because of their history of success in 

international competitions, the men’s national team, Les Lions 

Indomptables (the Indomitable Lions), is a particular source of 

pride. Qualifying for the World Cup 6 times and advancing as 

far as the 1990 quarter-finals, the team has made more World 

Cup appearances than any other African team. Cameroon is 

also a 4-time winner of the Africa Cup of Nations.

Other sports enjoy regional popularity. While wrestling and tugof-war are widespread in the Northwest and Southwest, horseracing is particularly popular in the North among Fulani groups

(see p12-13 of Political and Social Relations). Canoe racing is 

a common sport along the coast, while handball, volleyball, and 

basketball are played at urban recreation centers.

Games: Many Cameroonians enjoy songo, a traditional game 

similar to mancala, which involves strategically moving seeds 

or pebbles around a board having multiple holes or “pits” with 

the goal of capturing the other player’s seeds. 

AESTHETICS &

RECREATION
During the rainy season, some Cameroonian families play a 

memory game called kweti that hinges on children’s abilities to 

quickly name their relatives. Many Cameroonians also enjoy

socializing while playing card games such as Générala (similar 

to Yahtzee), Huit Américan (a version of Crazy Eights), and 

Cochon Graté (a form of Donkey). 

Music

Enjoying many distinct musical varieties, Cameroonians 

typically commemorate special occasions and celebrations with

traditional music (see p3 & 5 of Family and Kinship). While they 

vary by ethnic group, traditional musical performances often 

involve clapping, stomping, and/or the use of instruments, such 

as drums, flutes, horns, bells, xylophones, and stringed 

instruments.

Founded in the 1930s and still popular in Cameroonian

nightclubs today, makossa dance music combines elements of 

jazz, funk, Latin, and popular African dance music with 

traditional Cameroonian music. Bikutsi, the traditional music of 

the Beti people (see p12 of Political and Social Relations), 

forms the basis of a modern genre of Cameroonian dance 

music characterized by pounding rhythms.

Dance

Cameroonians regard dance as a major cultural feature and a 

key part of community gatherings, holidays, and major life 

events (see p3 & 5 of Family and Kinship). There are over 200 

traditional dances in Cameroon, each unique to a particular 

region and ethnic group. During 

most traditional dances, men 

and women perform separately 

(Photo: Cameroonian women 

perform a traditional dance at a 

Peace Corps celebration). 

In the West and Northwest, 

dancers wear elaborate masks 

to perform the lali and the tso war dances. The Tupuri men of 

the Northeast perform the gurna dance, which involves the use 

of long sticks to celebrate manhood and the grain harvest. The 

gurna’s song identifies societal problems and potential 

avenues of resolution.

AESTHETICS &

RECREATION
Folklore and Literature

Cameroon’s traditional literature is primarily folklore that was 

passed through the generations in stories, myths, poetry, 

proverbs, and riddles (see p2 of History and Myth). Since 

independence, few writers have produced works in their 

indigenous languages, choosing instead French or English 

(see p2-3 of Language and Communication). Due to an 

entrenched Cameroonian preference for Francophone 

writers—such as Mongo Beti, Ferdinand Oyono, and Patrice 

Nganang— Anglophone authors receive less attention and 

publishing support than their Francophone counterparts. 

Consequently, Cameroon’s Anglophone authors have 

struggled to distinguish their work from that of more prominent 

Anglophone writers from other African countries.

Theater

Traditional Cameroonian theatrical performances have served

varied purposes, from religious ritual to entertainment. For 

example, the mvet is a community-focused traditional form of 

entertainment where a single performer plays multiple 

characters by combining spoken performance with dance, 

music, and mime. 

Western-style theater developed slowly during the colonial 

period when dramatists like Njoh Dibongue and Kingue Kwedi 

began to produce plays in German and French. Since 

independence, a national theater company, local troupes, and 

theaters have been established 

with governmental support.

Arts and Crafts

Cameroonian handicrafts are 

as diverse as the ethnic groups 

that produce them (see p11-13 

of Political and Social 

Relations). In the Western Highlands, bronze, brass, and wood 

sculptures are popular art forms. With an abundance of high 

quality clay in the region, Tikar artists near the western city of 

Bamenda produce ceramics and masks. Bamoun artisans 

create high-quality beadwork using shells and colorful glass 

beads (pictured). In the North, the Fulani people decorate cloth 

and leather products with brass details.

AESTHETICS &

RECREATION
Sustenance Overview

Cameroonian cuisine combines a variety of indigenous ethnic 

specialties with French and other African culinary traditions. 

Foods vary by region where climate and location dictate crop, 

meat, and fish availability.

Dining Customs

Cameroonian families typically consume their 3 daily meals

together, although in some ethnic groups, men eat first 

followed by women and then children. While the lunch break 

can last up to 2 hours (see p1 of Time and Space), the evening 

meal typically is the largest. Guests typically sample each dish

their hosts offer to honor their hospitality. 

Typical Meals

In urban households, breakfast usually consists of tea or coffee 

with fruit, porridge, bread, eggs, or boiled cassava. Rural 

breakfasts are typically the leftovers from yesterday’s dinner. 

For lunch and dinner, both urban and rural Cameroonians 

typically eat fufu or another starch (see below) alongside a 

vegetable-based soup or stew.

Starches: Bland starches—rice, millet, 

couscous, boiled cassava (tuberous root), 

and fufu—are staples of most

Cameroonians’ diet and are typically eaten 

at least twice a day. To make fufu, 

Cameroonians soak and then boil starchy 

root vegetables, such as cassavas, yams, 

or plantains, before pounding them into a 

paste. Cameroonians traditionally scoop

the fufu into a ball and then dip it into the 

accompanying stew or sauce (Photo: Cameroonian woman 

cutting and peeling cassava).

Meats and Proteins: Since poultry, lamb, goat, and beef are 

expensive, many Cameroonians consider meat a delicacy and 

consume it only on special occasions. Seafood such as

mackerel, sole, and shrimp, and beans or black-eyed peas are 

10. SUSTENANCE AND HEALTH

SUSTENANCE

& HEALTH
more common sources of protein. Popular meat main courses 

include brochettes (goat, beef, or chicken kebabs) and ndolé, 

a dish made of meat, shrimp, pork rind, a spinach-like bitter 

leaf, and peanut butter. Many Cameroonians hunt and 

consume wild animals such as porcupines, monkeys, and 

snakes, collectively referred to as bush meat.

Fruits and Snacks: Cameroonians enjoy a variety of fruits for

desserts or snacks, including grapefruit, green oranges, 

pineapples, bananas, papayas, and sugarcane. Popular 

snacks at urban food stands include peanuts, corn on the cob, 

and donuts known as

pof pof in English and 

beignet in French

(Photo: Corn and other

crops drying on a roof).

Beverages

Instant coffee, tea, 

water, and soft drinks 

are common beverages 

throughout Cameroon. Water is the main drink in the home. 

Although many Muslim Cameroonians avoid alcohol for 

religious reasons, most Cameroonians, especially men, enjoy

beer and wine at home or at a buvette (drink stand or small 

bar). Many Cameroonians make their own beer from corn or 

millet. Palm wine, known as fitchuk, is a highly alcoholic drink 

popular in the South and West and often featured in wedding 

negotiations and traditional village ceremonies (see p3-5 of 

Family and Kinship).

Religious and Special Food Customs

Food plays an important role on many occasions (see p3-5 of

Family and Kinship). Christmas and other holidays, community 

celebrations, and special events such as births are marked with 

feasts that often include the consumption of sheep, goat, or 

chicken. During the Islamic month of Ramadan (see p3 of 

Religion and Spirituality), Muslims break their daily dawn-todusk fast with a large evening meal that often includes a rich 

soup. During the Islamic celebration of Tabaski (Eid al-Adha), 

Muslims ritually slaughter sheep and share the meat with family 

and friends. 

SUSTENANCE

& HEALTH
Health Overview

Despite government healthcare spending at 5% of GDP and 

recent modest improvements in healthcare infrastructure,

Cameroon lacks the ability to provide preventative, emergency,

and long-term care for its people. In 2008 the life expectancy at 

birth was 55 years, which is consistent with Africa’s average

but far below the US life expectancy of 78 years. Although 

trained medical personnel or midwives reportedly attended 

almost 64% of births in 2011, Cameroon had the world’s 9th

highest maternal mortality rate—roughly 690 out of 100,000 

births resulted in the mother’s death. As of 2009, there were 

just 8 physicians per 100,000 people, well below the World 

Health Organization’s recommendation of 20 physicians per 

100,000 people.

Traditional Medicine

Traditional medicine comprises the knowledge, skills, and 

remedies derived from the beliefs, theories, and experiences of 

indigenous populations. Because traditional medicine is more 

affordable and accessible than modern medicine, 

Cameroonians routinely consult traditional healers about a 

variety of ailments. Many Cameroonians view sickness as a 

result of bad fortune, witchcraft, or punishment from God (see

p1-2 & 7-8 of Religion and Spirituality). Consequently, 

traditional healers often incorporate a spiritual component in 

their treatments.

Modern Healthcare System

The Cameroonian healthcare 

system suffers from a lack of 

funding, dilapidated facilities 

often without electricity, and a 

severe shortage of medical 

professionals (see p5 of 

Learning and Knowledge). For many rural villagers, medical

facilities are several days’ journey on poor roads, making 

modern medical treatment inaccessible. Modern medicine is 

also too expensive for many Cameroonians to afford: patients 

usually pay for medical treatment upfront in cash and provide 

necessary medical supplies at their own expense (Photo: A US 

military dentist examines a Cameroonian patient amidst a 

crowd).

SUSTENANCE

& HEALTH
Water

Although Cameroon has an abundance of water, the 

government struggles to provide clean drinking water 

and sanitation to the population. As of 2008, 92% of 

urban dwellers but only 42% of rural residents had

access to clean drinking water. Cameroonians who 

can afford to do so drink bottled water. In 2008 just 

56% of urban and 35% of rural people had access to 

sanitation. While this lack of clean water and sanitation 

contributes to Cameroon’s high rates of communicable 

disease, it has received little governmental attention or 

investment. As such, water and sanitation access rates 

have remained the same since the early 1990s. 

While Cameroon’s best-equipped hospitals are located in or 

near major cities, district and rural clinics often lack the 

resources and expertise to treat serious ailments. Similarly, 

urban pharmacies typically stock a wide variety of medicines, 

while rural pharmacies often lack the most basic medicines. 

Infectious Diseases

Malaria: Malaria is a leading cause of illness and death in both

rural and urban areas. In 2011 there were 1.8 million cases of 

malaria in Cameroon. With help from non-governmental 

organizations (NGOs) and donors, Cameroon is making strides 

to prevent and treat malaria.

HIV/AIDS: As of 2010, an estimated 560,000 Cameroonians or 

5.1% of the population were infected with HIV/AIDS, which is 

the highest rate among West and Central African countries. 

With wide-ranging societal consequences, HIV/AIDS

disproportionately affects Cameroonian women, who were 

infected at more than twice the rate of men as of 2010.

Cholera: Cholera is an often deadly intestinal infection 

contracted by consuming contaminated food or water. 

Cameroon experienced a serious cholera epidemic in 1971, 

followed by notable outbreaks in 2009 and 2011 that infected 

over 22,000 and killed almost 800.

SUSTENANCE

& HEALTH
Overview

Despite oil reserves and favorable agricultural conditions,

Cameroon remains underdeveloped by global standards, 

suffering from low per capita income and significant wealth 

disparities. Rampant corruption and mismanagement create an 

unfavorable business climate that stunts economic growth.

Services

Although the services sector contributed 49% of Cameroon’s 

GDP in 2012 and constitutes the largest economic sector, it 

employs only 17% of Cameroon’s workforce. In 2011 finance, 

real estate, and business services comprised the largest 

subsector, followed by government services, transport, storage, 

and communication.

Tourism: Cameroon’s notable cultural and geographic 

diversity offers potential for a major tourist industry (see p2 of 

Political and Social Relations). Despite attractions like Kribi’s 

beaches and Mount Cameroon, tourism is a relatively minor 

and slow-growing enterprise. Although 2011 saw 604,000 

visitors—a 9.6% increase from 2010—the country’s poor 

infrastructure, border insecurity, and limited tourist amenities 

hinder any prospects of tourism becoming a major source of 

national income anytime soon. In 2012 tourism did manage to 

earn over $50 million and generate 60,000 jobs.

Industry

The industrial sector is the next largest 

component of Cameroon’s economy, 

accounting for 31% of GDP in 2012 and 

about 13% of the labor force. The largest 

subsector is manufacturing, followed by 

mining, quarrying, and construction

(Photo: An ebony mill near Yaoundé). 

A significant portion of Cameroon’s 

manufacturing is devoted to food 

processing, particularly the preparation of 

cash crops like cocoa and coffee for 

export and the production of beverages for domestic 

11. ECONOMICS AND RESOURCES

ECONOMICS & 

RESOURCES
consumption. Similarly, processed wood and other construction 

materials are in high demand as a result of an upsurge in 

government infrastructure projects. Although there is no 

industrial mining in Cameroon, small-scale subsistence miners

extract the country’s cobalt, gold, iron ore, and nickel.

Oil: Holding only 0.9% of the world’s oil reserves, Cameroon

produces oil on a much smaller scale than neighboring Nigeria 

and Chad even though crude oil is Cameroon’s primary export.

Managed by the state-owned National Hydrocarbons 

Corporation, oil production peaked during the 1980s’ oil boom

and then settled at an average output of 70,000 barrels-per-day

in 2012. With the recent discovery of reserves offshore and in

the Bakassi peninsula, oil production is expected to increase

slightly over the next few years. Several US and international 

companies are working to develop the Cameroonian oil

industry. China is also increasingly involved in exploring and 

developing new oil fields through joint ventures and investment. 

Agriculture

Although agriculture accounted for just 20% of GDP in 2012, 

70% of the labor force worked in this sector, either producing 

cash crops or working subsistence farms. Agricultural outputs

encompassed the largest part of GDP from the 1970s through 

the early 2000s, accounting for roughly 43% of GDP in 2001. 

However, as oil profits increased, agriculture’s share of GDP

declined. Today, the most important export crops are cocoa

beans, coffee, cotton, and 

bananas. As Cameroon’s 

highest earning agricultural 

export, cocoa earned $540 

million in 2009.

The majority of farmers in 

Cameroon are small-holders 

who use traditional methods

such as handheld tools and animal power to work their land. 

Because so many farms are non-mechanized, agricultural 

production is relatively low and inefficient. The most important 

crops for domestic consumption include starches such as

plantains, cassava, corn, peanuts, and millet (see p1 of 

Sustenance and Health). Northern livestock farmers usually 

ECONOMICS & 

RESOURCES
raise cattle, sheep, and goats, while poultry farming is more 

typical in the southern and central regions. 

Forestry: Since roughly half of Cameroon is covered in forests,

lumber is one of its most lucrative exports, comprising between

10% and 20% of export earnings annually. Between 1990 and 

2005, Cameroon harvested over 8% of its forests for firewood 

and timber export. Although this deforestation rate is lower than 

that of neighboring countries such as Nigeria, which lost 36% 

of its forests over 20 years, Cameroon’s lumber industry does 

not follow sustainable practices that would ensure continued 

viability and biodiversity.

Money and Banking

The currency of Cameroon is the Central African CFA franc

which is subdivided into 100 centimes. The CFA franc is 

issued in 5 banks notes (500, 1000, 2000, 5000, 10,000 francs) 

and 8 coins (1, 2, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 500 francs). Due partially 

to inflation that averaged 2.4% between 2009 and 2012, 

no centime coinage is currently in use. CFA francs are pegged 

to the Euro at a rate of €1 = 655.96 CFA and are backed by the 

French treasury. In 2012 the exchange rate averaged 501.37 

CFA to $1 (Photo: Coin used in French Cameroon in the 

1940s).

Regulated by the Bank of 

Central African States in 

Yaoundé, the CFA franc 

serves as the official currency 

of African Financial 

Community members. 

Besides Cameroon, members include the Central African 

Republic (CAR), Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial 

Guinea, and Gabon. Travelers may transport CFA francs 

between Central African Financial Community countries without 

restriction.

Foreign Trade

Foreign trade in Cameroon lacks diversity in both partners and 

products. In 2012 crude oil, petroleum products, cocoa, lumber, 

and processed wood were the main exports, accounting for 

roughly 2/3 of exports, $6.5 billion total. Many of Cameroon’s 

exports go to Spain (13%), China (11%), the Netherlands

ECONOMICS & 

RESOURCES
(10%), Italy (9%), France (6%), and the US (6%). Cameroon 

imports machinery, transport equipment, petroleum products, 

and food primarily from China (17%), France (17%), Nigeria 

(12%), and Belgium (5%). In 2011 Cameroon’s imports totaled 

$6.6 billion. Over the past decade, China has increased its 

market share in Cameroon, selling electronic appliances, 

footwear, and clothing. As the country’s need for food and 

refined hydrocarbon products has increased over the past 5 

years, Cameroon’s trade deficit has grown slightly.

Foreign Aid

Foreign aid and direct investment are important sources of 

capital flow into Cameroon. Foreign aid accounts for between

5% and 10% of Cameroon’s annual budget. In 2011 Cameroon 

received $563 million of development assistance, 1.2% of total 

African aid that year. The largest multilateral donors were the 

World Bank and European Union institutions, while France and 

Germany were the largest single-country donors. 

The US was Cameroon’s 8th largest single-country donor, 

providing $13 million in aid in 2012. This aid funded projects to

further the bilateral partnership; address democracy, good 

governance, and economic 

development issues; and 

fund health and disease 

prevention programs. In 

comparison to other African 

countries, Cameroon has 

incurred relatively low

external debt. For example, 

Cameroon’s total 2012 

external debt of $3.34 billion was about half that of neighboring

Democratic Republic of the Congo (Photo: US Navy aid for 

refugees in Cameroon).

Corruption

Bribery, extortion, and money laundering affect all aspects of 

business in Cameroon. Although these activities are illegal and 

punishable by prison sentences, fines, or seizure of assets, 

corruption is a widely accepted practice. Corruption convictions 

are rare and are typically pursued only against those who have 

lost political favor (see p4 of Political and Social Relations). 

ECONOMICS & 

RESOURCES
Overview

Since the early 2000s, the Cameroonian government and its 

foreign donors have funded projects to improve the country’s 

physical and communications infrastructure. Despite these 

efforts, transportation and communication systems remain

relatively slow, inefficient, and overburdened.

Transportation

Since most Cameroonians do not own cars, they typically walk, 

ride bicycles or motorbikes, or use public transportation for 

local travel. Buses, taxis, and so-called bush taxis (often 

overcrowded minibuses or 

large 4WD vehicles with 

bench seating) are the most 

common modes of 

transport between cities. 

Bush taxis are typically 

used for longer intercity 

trips on Cameroon’s dirt 

roads. Where roads are 

paved in and between 

larger cities, buses or cars are the preferred modes of 

transportation. Both buses and bush taxis depart when full 

rather than on a fixed schedule.

Roadways: Cameroon has 31,000 miles of roadways, of which 

about 10% are paved. There are 3 types of roads in Cameroon: 

paved Trunk A link regions and major cities, Trunk B are 

intraregional, and Trunk C connect smaller towns and villages 

to Trunk A and B roads. Many Trunk C roads become nearly 

impassable in the rainy season due to flooding and potholes, 

while most Trunk A and B roads can be used year-round.

Poor roads, substandard vehicles, unskilled drivers, and a lack 

of signage and signals make motor vehicle travel in Cameroon 

dangerous. Motorists often ignore speed limits and traffic 

signals and rarely pay attention to their surroundings when 

changing or crossing lanes. In addition, many bodies of water

lack bridges, requiring travelers to be prepared to improvise as 

12. TECHNOLOGY AND MATERIAL

TECHNOLOGY

& MATERIAL
needed. Security on roadways is also a problem. Armed 

robberies occur frequently in areas bordering Chad and the 

Central African Republic (CAR) (see p9-10 of Political and 

Social Relations). In addition, soldiers and police often set up 

impromptu check points where they attempt to coerce bribes. 

Railways: As of 2008, Cameroon had about 780 miles of 

railways. Consisting of a single main line, the Trans-Cameroon 

railway serves the cities of Douala, Kumba, Yaoundé, and 

Ngaoundéré. Although it struggles to meet demand, CAMRAIL, 

the national rail service provider, delivers adequate, though 

sometimes unreliable service. Overcrowding is particularly 

problematic in second-class compartments, as a ticket does 

not guarantee a seat. Rather than adhering to a set schedule, 

CAMRAIL trains typically depart when trains are full. 

Airways: Cameroon has 34 airports, of which 11 have paved 

runways. The 4 major airports are Nsimalen International and

Yaoundé International, both located in Yaoundé; Douala 

International, serving the southwestern coast; and Garoua 

International Airport in the North. Camair-Co (Cameroon 

Airlines Corporation) replaced Cameroon Airlines as the 

national airline in 2011 and serves various cities in the 

domestic and African markets, such as Lagos, Nigeria and 

Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, as well as Paris, France. Several 

international airlines, including Air France, Turkish Airways, 

and South African Airways, connect Cameroon to other

international destinations.

Ports and Waterways: Of 

Cameroon’s multiple ports,

the Port of Douala serves as 

the chief port for Cameroon’s 

land-locked neighbors, the 

CAR and Chad. Other 

important Cameroonian ports 

include the northern Port of 

Garoua on the Benue River

and Limboh on the western 

coast. Ferries and boats offer transportation across rivers such 

as the Ntem and Sanaga and between Cameroon and 

neighboring countries like Nigeria.

TECHNOLOGY

& MATERIAL
Energy

Cameroon’s energy infrastructure is poor and antiquated. 

Biomass, typically from burning wood, is the source of 77% of 

the country’s energy consumption, followed by hydrocarbon 

products and electricity. Although it possesses the 2nd largest 

hydroelectric potential in Africa, Cameroon presently utilizes 

only 5% of that capacity. In 2012, 48% of Cameroon’s 

population had access to electricity, although that percentage 

is disproportionally distributed between urban (90%) and rural 

(23%) dwellers. Brownouts and blackouts frequently disrupt 

electricity service, especially during the dry season (see p2-3 of 

Political and Social Relations).

Media

Since independence, the government has controlled 

Cameroon’s media, owning several media outlets outright and 

controlling other privately-held outlets through threats of 

criminal punishment and torture. Journalists continue to be 

prosecuted under the criminal code’s laws against defamation, 

persuading journalists to self-censor or face stiff penalties. In 

the past 5 years, at least 10 journalists have been punished for 

alleged defamation. For example, in March 2013, an editor of 

the weekly publication Paroles was fined, sentenced to 2

months in prison, and ordered to pay damages to the head of a

bus company for reporting on the company’s embezzlement 

allegations and abusive labor practices.

TV and Radio: Official state 

control over television ended in 

2007, which allowed several 

private TV channels to emerge. 

Nevertheless, the state 

broadcaster, Cameroon Radio 

Television (CRTV), remains the 

largest provider of radio and 

TV. Broadcasting in both 

French and English, CRTV has a 24-hour TV channel and 1 

national, 10 regional (AM), and 4 local (FM) radio stations.

Many private radio stations broadcast regionally. In 2012 radio 

coverage reached about 80% of Cameroonians, while 60% had

access to TV (Photo: Former US Ambassador Garvey during a 

community radio interview).

TECHNOLOGY

& MATERIAL
Print Media: The government’s Cameroon Tribune newspaper,

printed in both French and English versions, has limited 

credibility due to its close association with the regime. Over 50 

privately-owned, regional newspapers are in circulation, 

including the popular French-language papers Le Message, La 

Nouvelle Expression, and La Mutation and the Englishlanguage Cameroon Post. Since 1990 professional journalists 

must carry a press card issued by the Prime Minister’s office. 

Because it only grants journalists in good standing with the 

regime this credential, the government ensures written media 

coverage is favorable to its policies.

Telecommunications

While telecommunication services remain prohibitively 

expensive for many Cameroonians, cell phone subscriptions 

now outnumber landlines by a margin of 10. Cellular use 

continues to grow as new providers compete for market share.

Multiple telecommunication providers serve Cameroon, 

including Camtel, the largest local provider, and international 

carriers like Orange and Ringo. Since 2005 the government 

and Camtel have greatly improved the telecommunications 

infrastructure with funding and support from Chinese 

telecommunication companies and banks, such as Huawei 

Technologies and Eximbank.

Internet: Mobile Internet service through cell phones is 

currently limited, although it has great potential as a less 

expensive way to access the Internet. For now, Cameroonians 

mainly access the 

Internet in cyber cafes

where service is often 

slow and erratic. With 

the introduction of 

foreign internet service 

providers, the cost of 

home and mobile 

Internet services has

declined, while quality has improved, increasing home service 

access for Cameroon’s upper class. Nevertheless, home 

Internet service remains unaffordable for most Cameroonians.

TECHNOLOGY

& MATERIAL
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