Living in Cameroon guide for expats

Cameroon, located in Central Africa and near the Gulf of Guinea, is quite conducive to expatriation. It stretches over some 475,440 km² and is surrounded by Chad, the Central African Republic in the North, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and Congo in the East and Nigeria in the West. Its major cities are Yaoundé which is the country's political capital city and Douala which is its economic hub. These are two of the country's most dynamic regions.

Cameroon is divided into ten regions which are primarily defined by their respective cardinal points:

• Adamawa Region
• Central Region
• Eastern Region
• Far North Region
• Littoral Region
• Northern Region
• Northwest Region
• Western Region
• Southern Region
• South West.

Demography

To date, Cameroon's population amounts to more than 20.5 million inhabitants, including a large number of foreigners. The Cameroonian population also consists of 240 ethnic groups which make up three main groups: Bantu, Semi-Bantu and Sudanese. Each of these ethnic groups speaks a particular language. In fact, Cameroon has a total of 240 national languages.

In addition to these, Cameroonians have adopted two official languages, namely French and English which are spoken by 70% and 30% of the population respectively. Many Cameroonian nationals also speak Spanish and German. Hence, expatriates will have no troubling in integrating and adapting to its society.

Climate

There are two types of climates in Cameroon. The equatorial region is characterized by heavy rain and constantly high temperatures. The Central and South plateaus experience four seasons: the rainy season from March to June, the short and dry season from July to August, another rainy season from September to November and finally the great dry season from December to February. In the western region (from the south-west coastal and mountainous areas to the high western plateaus), you are likely to have continuous excessive rain from March to November.

On the other hand, the tropical climate gives rise to high temperatures and low rainfall. In general, the lowest temperatures are around 17°C and the highest temperatures can reach up to 32°C.

Economy

Cameroon has many natural resources such as agriculture, forestry, mines and oil, etc., which contribute to its economic diversity. In fact, the country's primary and industrial sectors are based on bananas, cocoa, coffee, cotton, honey, iron, cobalt, nickel, diamond and marble, etc.

As regards imports, France, China and Nigeria are Cameroon's main economic partners. Moreover, Spain, the Netherlands, China, Italy, France and the United States were the country's main export partners in 2010.

Note that Cameroon is deemed to be Central Africa's most promising economy due to the numerous international firms which have set up there over the years. In fact, Cameroon aims at turning into an emerging economy by 2035.

Useful link:

Expat.com ' Cameroon
Cameroon Tourism Information Office www.cameroun-infotourisme.com