Claim: African countries border Gabon.

Cameroon -LRB- -LSB- ˌkæməˈruː n -RSB- Cameroun -RRB- , officially the Republic of Cameroon -LRB- République du Cameroun -RRB- , is a country in West Africa . It is bordered by Nigeria to the west ; Chad to the northeast ; the Central African Republic to the east ; and Equatorial Guinea , Gabon , and the Republic of the Congo to the south . Cameroon 's coastline lies on the Bight of Biafra , part of the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean .   French and English are the official languages of Cameroon . The country is often referred to as `` Africa in miniature '' for its geological and cultural diversity . Natural features include beaches , deserts , mountains , rainforests , and savannas . The highest point at almost 4100 m is Mount Cameroon in the Southwest Region of the country , and the largest cities in population-terms are Douala on the Wouri river , its economic capital and main seaport , Yaoundé , its political capital , and Garoua . After independence , the newly united nation joined the Commonwealth of Nations , although the vast majority of its territories had previously been a German colony and , after World War I , a French mandate . The country is well known for its native styles of music , particularly makossa and bikutsi , and for its successful national football team .   Early inhabitants of the territory included the Sao civilisation around Lake Chad and the Baka hunter-gatherers in the southeastern rainforest . Portuguese explorers reached the coast in the 15th century and named the area Rio dos Camarões -LRB- Shrimp River -RRB- , which became Cameroon in English . Fulani soldiers founded the Adamawa Emirate in the north in the 19th century , and various ethnic groups of the west and northwest established powerful chiefdoms and fondoms . Cameroon became a German colony in 1884 known as Kamerun .   After World War I , the territory was divided between France and the United Kingdom as League of Nations mandates . In 1960 , the French-administered part of Cameroon became independent as the Republic of Cameroun under President Ahmadou Ahidjo . The southern part of British Cameroons federated with it in 1961 to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon . The federation was abandoned in 1972 . The country was renamed the United Republic of Cameroon in 1972 and the Republic of Cameroon in 1984 .   Cameroon enjoys relatively high political and social stability . This has permitted the development of agriculture , roads , railways , and large petroleum and timber industries . Nevertheless , large numbers of Cameroonians live in poverty as subsistence farmers . Power lies firmly in the hands of the authoritarian president since 1982 , Paul Biya , and his Cameroon People 's Democratic Movement party . The English-speaking territories of Cameroon have grown increasingly alienated from the government . Politicians and civil society in English-speaking regions have called for greater decentralization and even complete separation or independence -LRB- for example : the Southern Cameroons National Council -RRB- from the former French-governed territories .