page_title: North Region (Cameroon)
section_title: People
hierarchical_section_title: North Region (Cameroon) / Demographics / People
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Intérieur d'une concessions à Magoumaz, au nord du Cameroun
context_page_description: The North Region makes up 66,090 km² of the northern half of The Republic of Cameroon. Neighbouring territories include the Far North Region to the north, the Adamawa Region to the south, Nigeria to the west, Chad to the east, and Central African Republic to the southeast. The city of Garoua is both the political and industrial capital. Garoua is Cameroon's third largest port, despite the fact that the Bénoué River upon which it relies is only navigable for short periods of the year.
  Major ethnic groups include the Fula or Fulani, who are Islamic pastoralists, and numerous Muslim and animist speakers of Adamawa, Chadic, and Nilo-Saharan languages. French is the language of formal education, and Fulfulde, the language of the Fulbe, is widespread as a lingua franca.
context_section_description: With the exception of small populations of Hausa, Shuwa Arabs, and expatriate Westerners in Garoua, the ethnic groups of the North speak languages of three major language families: Niger–Congo ('Adamawa'), Chadic, and Central Sudanic.
  The Adamawa-language speakers occupy the majority of the territory. The Mbum inhabit much of Faro division and a large southeastern portion of Mayo-Rey division, with the Dii occupying the vast area in between. The land west of the Mayo Rey is home to several peoples on a roughly south–north axis: Chamba, Fanbe, Gimbe, Komandera, and Vere. The Doayo live east of the river, and the Ndupa, Dugun, another group of Chamba, and the Voko of Poli village neighbour them to the south. The Mond capital is at Rey Bouba, and the Mundang and Mambeya live on the Chadian border at the northeast of Bénoué division. Four Fali groups, with territories in the Bénoué and Mayo-Louti divisions, form the last member of the Adamawa group: the Fali proper, the Fali Bussime, the Fali Durbeyi, and the Fali Kangu.
  At the province's borders live various Chadic-language-speaking peoples. The Njanyi begin this band at the northwest of the Bénoué division. The Gude lie to their north. Then, from west to east, the northern border is home to the Gawar, Daba, and Guidar. The Bata and Zim complete the Chadic speakers, with three separate concentrations of the former along the Nigerian border in Bénoué and Faro divisions, and two areas of the latter at the border with Chad and straddling the Bouba-Njida park. The Bata are further divided into the riverain Bata (west of Garoua and along the Bénoué river and into Nigeria) and the inland Bata (or Njirai), who inhabit the Zummo-Malabo Hills.
  As the only ethnic group in the province to speak a Central Sudanic language, the Ngambay make up the third linguistic group. They live in a large territory on the border with Chad between the Vina River and the Mayo Godi.
  Though relatively newcomers to the region, the Fulbe or Fulani are the North Province's most numerous ethnic group. Their territory stretches through most of the province's centre, primarily in the Bénoué and Mayo Rey divisions. The Fulbe follow two distinct ways of living. The nomadic Fulbe, known to others but not themselves as Mbororo, are cattle herders. They roam the province's grasslands and south into the Adamawa Province, and their settlements are never more than semi-permanent. Mbororo are typically tall, thin people with a mixture of Semitic and African features. In contrast, those Fulbe who have settled are known as sedentary or town Fulbe. They outnumber their pastoral brethren, and they have over many years intermarried with their Sudanese neighbours, whom they now resemble. The North's Fulbe also recognize two main lineages, the wollarbe and yillarga. The groups are traditionally rivals, though they often unite for common cause.
  Most North Province peoples speak their own distinct languages. Those with the most speakers include Daba, Dii, South Fali, Gidar, Adamawa Fulfulde (spoken by Cameroon's Fulbe), and Ngambay. Due to the Fulbe's numerical superiority and historical domination, Fulfulde is widely spoken as a lingua franca. French is the language of formal instruction.
caption: Magoumaz concession
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