Cameroon 🇨🇲
Cameroon is a country in Africa with a population of 27,914,536. Its capital is Yaoundé. The official currency is XAF, and the main languages are French, English.
Quick facts
- Capital: Yaoundé
- Continent: Africa
- Population: 27,914,536
- Area: 475,442 km²
- Density: 58.7 people per km²
- Currency: XAF
- Languages: French, English
- ISO code: CM
Where Cameroon sits
Cameroon 🇨🇲 is one of 54 countries in Africa, with its capital at Yaoundé. It covers 475,442 square kilometres — 53rd in the world — and is home to about 27,914,536 people, 53rd globally.
The countries it shares a continent with include Nigeria, Ethiopia, Egypt, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania. If you are learning geography region by region — which works far better than alphabetically, because memory for places is spatial — those are the ones to learn alongside it.
How Cameroon compares
Raw figures are hard to hold on their own, so it helps to anchor them. In population, Cameroon sits closest to Ivory Coast and Venezuela. In land area, its nearest counterparts are Papua New Guinea and Turkmenistan.
At 58.7 people per square kilometre it is close to the world average of 59.4. Its population and area ranks match exactly, which is uncommon.
French is an official language in 30 countries here, among them Belgium, Benin, Burkina Faso and Burundi, and 25 others. The XAF is shared with 5 other countries, including Central African Republic, Chad and Congo, and 2 others.
To see Cameroon next to every other country, sort the country rankings by population, area or density; its currency and languages are listed alongside every other country's in world currencies and world languages.
How to remember Cameroon
Yaoundé is the capital, but the port city of Douala is bigger, so Douala is the classic wrong answer. On the flag the star sits in the middle of the red stripe: a star of unity in the heart of the flag.
The flag of Cameroon: green, red and yellow, with a yellow star
🇨🇲 The flag is three vertical stripes of green, red and yellow, with a small yellow five-pointed star in the middle of the red stripe. Red stands for unity, yellow for the sun, happiness and the northern savannas, and green for hope and the southern forests. The star is called the 'star of unity'.
Region and neighbours
Cameroon is a country in Central Africa, at the crossroads between West and Central Africa, with a coast on the Gulf of Guinea and Lake Chad at its northern border. It shares land borders with 6 countries: Nigeria, Chad, Central African Republic, Congo, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.
- Nigeria 🇳🇬 — capital Abuja
- Chad 🇹🇩 — capital N'Djamena
- Central African Republic 🇨🇫 — capital Bangui
- Congo 🇨🇬 — capital Brazzaville
- Gabon 🇬🇦 — capital Libreville
- Equatorial Guinea 🇬🇶 — capital Malabo
Three facts about Cameroon
- Cameroon is often called 'Africa in miniature' because it has coast, desert, mountains, rainforest and savanna.
- Mount Cameroon, near the coast, is the highest point in sub-Saharan western and central Africa.
- Cameroon has two official languages, French and English.
Sources: Wikipedia: Cameroon, Wikipedia: Flag of Cameroon, Wikipedia: Yaoundé, Wikipedia: Mount Cameroon, CIA World Factbook.
Quiz yourself on Cameroon
- African capitals quiz — match Cameroon to Yaoundé
- African flags quiz — spot the Cameroon flag among its neighbours
Quizzes that include Cameroon
Three angles are worth covering for any country — where it is, what its flag looks like, and what its capital is. For Cameroon those are:
- Africa map quiz — place it on a blank map
- Africa flags quiz — identify its flag among its neighbours
- Africa capitals quiz — match it to Yaoundé
- Cameroon capital quiz — five quick questions starting with Cameroon
- Daily Map Challenge — five countries to find on a blank world map, the same five for everyone each day
Doing all three for one continent before moving on is far more efficient than learning flags globally, then capitals globally, then the map.
Read more about Cameroon
- Capital of Cameroon: Yaoundé — the capital in detail, with size and density rankings
- All 54 countries of Africa
Nearby countries
- Algeria 🇩🇿 — capital Algiers
- Angola 🇦🇴 — capital Luanda
- Benin 🇧🇯 — capital Porto-Novo
- Botswana 🇧🇼 — capital Gaborone
- Burkina Faso 🇧🇫 — capital Ouagadougou
- Burundi 🇧🇮 — capital Gitega
- Cabo Verde 🇨🇻 — capital Praia
- Central African Republic 🇨🇫 — capital Bangui
- Chad 🇹🇩 — capital N'Djamena
- Comoros 🇰🇲 — capital Moroni
- Congo 🇨🇬 — capital Brazzaville
- Democratic Republic of the Congo 🇨🇩 — capital Kinshasa
Frequently asked questions
What are the colours of the Cameroon flag?
The flag of Cameroon is three vertical stripes of green, red and yellow, with a small yellow five-pointed star in the middle of the red stripe. Red stands for unity, yellow for the sun, happiness and the northern savannas, and green for hope and the southern forests. The star is called the 'star of unity'.
Which countries border Cameroon?
Cameroon shares land borders with Nigeria, Chad, Central African Republic, Congo, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.
How can I remember the capital of Cameroon?
Yaoundé is the capital, but the port city of Douala is bigger, so Douala is the classic wrong answer. On the flag the star sits in the middle of the red stripe: a star of unity in the heart of the flag.