The People's Republic of Cameroon or "Cameroon" for short, is a Central African country bordering the Republic of Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, the Republic of Nigeria to the West, Equatorial Guinea, the Republic of Gabon, and the Democratic Republic of Congo to the south. Cameroon also borders the Bight of Biafra located between Equatorial Guinea and the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The Republic of Cameroon has a total land area of about 475,442sq.km (about 0.57% of which is covered by water) . Just about 12% of Cameroon's total land area remains arable (Land good for farming).
Cameroon has an "estimated" population of 25 million people with the population growth rate hovering around 2.6%. About 60% of the total population of Cameroon lives in urban areas in major cities and towns such as Yaounde the Capital of Cameroon. Yaounde the capital contains about 2 million people. Douala another major city (in fact, the largest city in Cameroon today) contains about 2.5 million people.
Cameroon just like its neighboring countries, is a culturally rich country with a beautiful blend of several cultural and racial groups living peacefully. There are several ethnic and racial groups living in Cameroon today. The Cameroonian Highlanders (the most populous ethnic group) make up about 31% of the total population, followed by the Equatorial Bantus (make up about 19% of the total population), the Kirdi (about 11% of the total population), Fulanis (about 10% of the total population), The Northwestern Bantus (about 8% of the total population), Eastern Nigritics (about 7% of the total population), etc.
In terms of religion, Christianity and Indigenous beliefs reign supreme in Cameroon today with about 40% of the total population being Christians and 40% being Traditional African believers. Muslims make about 20% of the total population.
Although English and French remain the two official languages used in Cameroon today, there are at least 24 major African languages spoken in Cameroon today.
Cameroun just like its neighboring countries is blessed with abundance of natural resources such as petroleum, bauxite, iron ore, timber, hydropower, etc.
However, despite the abundance of natural resources in Cameroon today, Cameroon has an unemployment rate between 40-50% with about 50 to 55% of the total population living below poverty line. In other words, the most Cameroonians live on less than $1.90 a day.
Cameroon has a literacy rate of about 68% which implies about 68% of the total population above age 15 can read and write. Although this literacy rate is far better than in countries like Burkina Faso and Burundi where the literacy rate is in the 30s, Cameroons literacy rate of 68% falls below expectations in Africa today. Quality education is something very hard to come by in Cameroon today.
According to the World Health Organization, there were about 650,000 living with HIV/AIDS in Cameroon in 2016 with about 41,000 new HIV infections and 33,000 AIDS-related deaths. Sex workers (with HIV adult prevalence rate of 24.3%), Gay men (with HIV prevalence rate of 37.2%), Prisoners (with HIV prevalence rate of 3.96%), etc. are some of the most affected population groups in Cameroon today. Besides HIV/AIDS, deadly diseases such as malaria, yellow fever, sleeping sickness, typhoid fever, etc. also continue to claim several lives in this part of the world.
Volcanic activities with periodic release of poisonous gases from Lake Nyos and Lake Monoun, deforestation (or the rampant cutting down of trees mostly for timber, fuel, etc.), overgrazing (of farm animals), desertification (or the turning of fertile lands into desert/non-farming lands) , poaching, over-fishing, etc. remain some of the major environmental issues facing Cameroon today.
Poor sanitation is a major problem in Cameroon today. Lack of good drinking water and water for domestic purposes is another major challenge facing Cameroon today. A greater portion of the Cameroonian populace including those living in urban areas lack access to good drinking water and water for domestic purposes.
Just like in most other African countries today, Corruption levels remain at all time high in Cameroon today. Almost every political figure in Cameroon today (especially the president) is very corrupt in one way or the other, leaving the average Cameroonian with nothing but poverty and despair.
As Winston Churchill said about the Sudan, in 1897, "The institution of slavery will never end in the world until men stop worshiping Islam". That was more than 100 years ago, and Sudan is still a cesspool of violence today.