Political Overview

Cameroon operates as a unitary multiparty republic led since 1982 by President Paul Biya, whose long tenure has fostered a highly centralized executive authority supported by a bicameral parliament (Senate and National Assembly) and a Prime Minister as head of government. Despite constitutional provisions for democratic reform, real power remains concentrated in an ethnic oligarchy that emerged from colonial-era divisions and has persisted through successive administrations. Since 2017, the country has grappled with an anglophone separatist conflict in its Northwest and Southwest regions, where leaders such as Sisiku Julius Ayuk Tabe continue to press for independence from prison an insurgency that has displaced over a million people and resulted in more than 6,000 deaths.

Cultural Heritage and Identity

Cameroon’s cultural mosaic includes more than 250 ethnic groups speaking some 270 languages, with French and English as its official tongues a legacy of French and British mandates after World War 1, Its intangible heritage encompasses music, dance, oral literature, and craftsmanship, for which UNESCO has funded projects such as the pilot inventory of cultural heritage in the Centre Region and capacity-building workshops for museum professionals in Douala. On the global stage, Cameroon boasts two UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the transboundary Sangha Trinational forest and the Dja Faunal Reserve, both recognized for their exceptional biodiversity and cultural significance linked to centuries-old indigenous practices.

Geographical Landscape and Climate

Stretching from the Gulf of Guinea’s coastal plain through the Western Highlands home to the volcanic Mount Cameroon (13,350 ft) and onto the Adamawa Plateau and northern savannas, Cameroon is often called “Africa in miniature” for its ecological diversity. Lying wholly within the tropics, average annual temperatures range from the low 70s to low 80s °F (21 °C to 28 °C), with rainfall peaking along the coast (exceeding 250 cm/100 inches) and tapering toward the north; Debundscha Point on Mount Cameroon receives an extraordinary mean annual precipitation of over 10,000 mm, making it one of the wettest places on Earth. This climatic gradient supports dense rainforests in the south, savanna grasslands in the north, and diverse agricultural zones that underpin the country’s economy and way of life.