The Centre Region (french: région du Centre) occupies 69,000 km² of the central plains of the

Republic of Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

. It is bordered to the north by the

Adamawa Region The Adamawa Region (french: Région de l'Adamaoua) is a constituent region of the Republic of Cameroon. It borders the Centre and East regions to the south, the Northwest and West regions to the southwest, Nigeria to the west, the Central Afr ...

, to the south by the South Region, to the east by the East Region, and to the West by the

Littoral The littoral zone or nearshore is the part of a sea, lake, or river that is close to the shore. In coastal ecology, the littoral zone includes the intertidal zone extending from the high water mark (which is rarely inundated), to coastal areas ...

and West Regions. It is the second largest (after East Region) of Cameroon's regions in land area. Major ethnic groups include the Bassa, Ewondo, and

Vute Vute is a Mambiloid language of Cameroon and Gabon, with a thousand speakers in Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, i ...

Yaoundé Yaoundé (; , ) is the capital of Cameroon and, with a population of more than 2.8 million, the second-largest city in the country after the port city Douala. It lies in the Centre Region of the nation at an elevation of about 750 metres (2,50 ...

, capital of Cameroon, is at the heart of the Centre, drawing people from the rest of the country to live and work there. The Centre's towns are also important industrial centres, especially for

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...

Agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

is another important economic factor, especially with regard to the province's most important

cash crop A cash crop or profit crop is an Agriculture, agricultural crop which is grown to sell for profit. It is typically purchased by parties separate from a farm. The term is used to differentiate marketed crops from staple crop (or "subsistence crop") ...

cocoa Cocoa may refer to: Chocolate * Chocolate * ''Theobroma cacao'', the cocoa tree * Cocoa bean, seed of ''Theobroma cacao'' * Chocolate liquor, or cocoa liquor, pure, liquid chocolate extracted from the cocoa bean, including both cocoa butter and ...

. Outside of the capital and the

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

zones, most inhabitants are sustenance farmers.

2008 presidential decree abolishes provinces

In 2008, the President of the Republic of Cameroon, President Paul Biya signed decrees abolishing "Provinces" and replacing them with "Regions". Hence, all of the country's ten provinces are now known as Regions.

Geography

Land

The Centre's

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former te ...

is primarily composed of

Precambrian The Precambrian (or Pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pꞒ, or Cryptozoic) is the earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current Phanerozoic Eon. The Precambrian is so named because it preceded the Cambrian, the first period of the ...

deposits of

metamorphic rock Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock to new types of rock in a process called metamorphism. The original rock (protolith) is subjected to temperatures greater than and, often, elevated pressure of or more, causin ...

s, such as

gneiss Gneiss ( ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. Gneiss forms at higher temperatures an ...

mica Micas ( ) are a group of silicate minerals whose outstanding physical characteristic is that individual mica crystals can easily be split into extremely thin elastic plates. This characteristic is described as perfect basal cleavage. Mica is ...

migmatite Migmatite is a composite rock found in medium and high-grade metamorphic environments, commonly within Precambrian cratonic blocks. It consists of two or more constituents often layered repetitively: one layer is an older metamorphic rock tha ...

s, and

schist Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock showing pronounced schistosity. This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a low-power hand lens, oriented in such a way that the rock is easily split into thin flakes o ...

Granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

dominates from about 4˚ N and to the Adamawa border. Faults along the border with the South Province have deposited metamorphic schists and

quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tect ...

s, with some granite.

Laterite Laterite is both a soil and a rock type rich in iron and aluminium and is commonly considered to have formed in hot and wet tropical areas. Nearly all laterites are of rusty-red coloration, because of high iron oxide content. They develop by ...

s are also common, caused by the decomposition of the crystalline rock. Red

ferrallitic Ferrallitisation is the process in which rock is changed into a soil consisting of clay ( kaolinite) and sesquioxides, in the form of hydrated oxides of iron and aluminium. In humid tropical areas, with consistently high temperatures and rainfall fo ...

soil dominates most of the province, including the forested zone and much of the savanna area. Though as deep as ten metres, this soil is leached by

silica Silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula , most commonly found in nature as quartz and in various living organisms. In many parts of the world, silica is the major constituent of sand. Silica is one ...

and percolating water, making it only marginally productive for agriculture. However, it is usable as a building material, and traditional houses in the province are made from red, sun-dried bricks of mud. Toward the northern border, this soil becomes lightly evolved with large deposits of raw minerals, and at the confluence of the Sanaga and

Mbam MBAM may refer to: * Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, anti-malware software, as its former name * Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, in Québec, Canada, an abbreviation for its French name, ''Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal'' MBAm may refer to: * N,N'-Meth ...

rivers, it is a mixture of several soil types.

Drainage

The Sanaga is the most important river in the province, as its many falls and

rapids Rapids are sections of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep gradient, causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. Rapids are hydrological features between a ''run'' (a smoothly flowing part of a stream) and a ''cascade''. ...

make it an important source of

hydroelectric power Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...

. It also supports varied agriculture, as it is prone to flooding during the rainy season. It is navigable from

Nachtigal Falls Nachtigal may refer to: * Nachtigal Falls, waterfalls on the Sanaga River, Cameroon * Nachtigal Glacier * Nachtigal Peak Family name * Gustav Nachtigal Gustav Nachtigal (; born 23 February 1834 – 20 April 1885) was a German military surge ...

Edéa Edéa is a city located along the Sanaga River in Cameroon's Littoral Region (Cameroon), Littoral Region. It lies on the Cameroon National Railways Authority, Douala–Yaoundé railway line. Its population was estimated at 122,300 in 2001. Th ...

in the Littoral Province. Several smaller

tributaries A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage b ...

that drain the Centre's Mbam division form the Sanaga. The

Djérem Djérem is a department of Adamawa Province in Cameroon. The department covers an area of 13,283 km and as of 2001 had a total population of 89,382. The capital of the department lies at Tibati. It is named after the Djérem River. Subd ...

flows in from the Adamawa and then through the far northeast of the area before entering the East Province to join the Lom (the upper Sanaga). The Djérem, like the Sanaga, is also subject to seasonal flooding. The

Kim Kim or KIM may refer to: Names * Kim (given name) * Kim (surname) ** Kim (Korean surname) *** Kim family (disambiguation), several dynasties **** Kim family (North Korea), the rulers of North Korea since Kim Il-sung in 1948 ** Kim, Vietnamese f ...

flows in from the Adamawa and through the northwestern portion of the Mbam division before merging with the Mbam River at the border with the West Province. The Mbam then empties into the

Noun A noun () is a word that generally functions as the name of a specific object or set of objects, such as living creatures, places, actions, qualities, states of existence, or ideas.Example nouns for: * Living creatures (including people, alive, d ...

. The Noun, which flows in from the West Province, passes through the town of

Bafia Bafia () is a Cameroonian town and commune in the Centre Province region. It is the capital of the Mbam-et-Inoubou department. It lies north of the country's capital Yaoundé. Bafia has approximately 55,700 inhabitants, making it the third lar ...

, and receives the flow of the

Ndjim River The Ndjim River is a river in Cameroon.Goura. The Noun then joins the Sanaga northeast of

Monatélé Monatélé is a town and commune in Cameroon and capital of the Lekié Department of the Centre Region. It is composed of many villages. According to the 2005 census, the commune had a population of 36,933, including 10,324 in the town of Monaté ...

. The

Nyong The Nyong (formerly german: Yong) is a river in Cameroon. The river flows approximately to empty into the Gulf of Guinea. Course The Nyong originates east of the town of Abong-Mbang, where the northern rain forest feeds it. The river's leng ...

is the only major river in the province that does not flow into the Sanaga. It rises in the East Province, passes through

Mbalmayo Mbalmayo is a town in Cameroon's Centre Region. The town had 60,091 inhabitants in 2012. It is the capital of the Nyong-et-So'o Division It is located at the banks of the Nyong river between Ebolowa and Yaoundé. It is an agricultural centre ...

, continues west, then forms the border between the Littoral and South provinces. Because the Nyong flows completely through an equatorial climate, it has one period of high water during the rainy season (March to October), during which it is navigable from Mbalmayo to

Abong-Mbang Abong-Mbang is a town and commune in the East Region of Cameroon. Abong-Mbang is located at a crossroads of National Route 10 and the road that leads south to Lomié. Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon, is 178 km to the west, and Bertoua, the ...

in the East Province. Other Centre Province rivers flow through both equatorial and tropical climate zones where rainy seasons occur at different times, and so they never experience great fluctuations in water level. All Centre Province rivers empty into the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

via the Littoral and South. Most of the Centre's great demand for

electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described ...

is supplied from hydroelectric centres in neighbouring provinces. However, plans are in place for a dam on the Nyong at Njock-Mpoume and on the Sanaga at Nachtigal to better supply the region's power needs. Most

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

s in the Centre are manmade and located in the Yaoundé area. The majority of these were created during the colonial period for the pursuit of

water sports Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a s ...

Relief

The Centre Province is entirely situated on the

South Cameroon Plateau The South Cameroon Plateau or Southern Cameroon Plateau (french: Plateau Sud-Camerounais) is the dominant geographical feature of Cameroon. The plateau lies south of the Adamawa Plateau and southeast of the Cameroon Range. It slopes south and west ...

. The land varies from 500 to 1000 metres above sea level except for the valleys of the Sanaga and its tributaries, which dip as low as 200 metres. The land rises gently in

escarpment An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations. The terms ''scarp'' and ''scarp face'' are often used interchangeably with ''escar ...

s from the southwestern coastal plain before joining the

Adamawa Plateau The Adamawa Plateau (french: Massif de l'Adamaoua) is a plateau region in west-central Africa stretching from south-eastern Nigeria through north-central Cameroon ( Adamawa and North Provinces) to the Central African Republic. The part of the pl ...

via depressions and granite

massif In geology, a massif ( or ) is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term also refers to a ...

s. The terrain is characterised by rolling, forested hills, the tallest of which have bare, rocky tops. Deep valleys separate these. The province's highest point is Mbam Minkom, northwest of Yaoundé, at 1,295 metres.

Climate

The Centre falls completely within a Type A or Guinea-type climate. This gives the region high humidity and precipitation, with rainfall averaging 1,000–2,000 mm each year. Precipitation is highest in the southernmost portions and diminishes toward the north. Temperatures are fairly steady, averaging 24˚ for the entire region except for the northwestern portions of Mbam division, where they fall to 23˚. The Centre also experiences equatorial

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

s, alternating between rainy and dry periods. The long dry season begins the year, running from December to May. After this comes the short rainy season, which lasts from May to June. The short dry season comes next, from July to October. The year ends in the long rainy season from October to November. North of 5˚, the dry periods last up to four months.

Plant and animal life

The Centre is forested except for the valleys of the Djérem, Mbam, and Noun rivers (most of the Mbam division) and the northern border region. These areas are woodland

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

and Sudano-Guinea savanna, respectively. The woodland savanna is characterised by large expanses of grass punctuated by small copses of trees from the forested zones farther south. The Sudano-Guinea portion is similar, only the grass grows more thinly, and trees are both

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...

and

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

. The region was once much more heavily forested, but exploitation of species such as

ebony Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus ''Diospyros'', which also contains the persimmons. Unlike most woods, ebony is dense enough to sink in water. It is finely textured and has a mirror finish when pol ...

and

iroko Iroko (also known as in Igbo language, '' in the Urhobo language of Southern Nigeria, and as odum in the Kwa languages of Ghana) is a large hardwood tree from the west coast of tropical Africa that can live up to 500 years. This is the common n ...

has thinned out the woodlands and allowed dense undergrowth to appear. This has also pushed the savanna farther south over time. Today there remains very little virgin land in the province. The Mfou Reserve (''Réserve du Mfou'') is one such area, recently created by the WWF and the GTZ to protect various

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

monkey Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as the simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes, which constitutes an incomple ...

, and

snake Snakes are elongated, Limbless vertebrate, limbless, carnivore, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other Squamata, squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping Scale (zoology), scales. Ma ...

species. Cameroonian wildlife also lives in the Mvog Betsi Zoo in Yaoundé. In April 2019, 2

lions The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adult ...

were discovered in Mpem and Djim National Park.

Demographics

Settlement patterns

With a population of more than 4 million, the Centre is one of the more densely populated of Cameroon's provinces. The area has been an important population center for the

Beti-Pahuin The Beti-Pahuin are a Bantu people, Bantu ethnic group located in rain forest regions of Cameroon, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and São Tomé and Príncipe. Though they separate themselves into several individual clans, they ...

people for over a century, but it has since experienced a great amount of immigration due to the placement of Cameroon's seat of government there in colonial times. Yaoundé's presence has prompted the construction of a large and well-maintained road system, and this has contributed to the area's boom. Another factor in the area's growth is its multiple plantations, particularly in the cocoa-growing centre between the Sanaga and Nyong rivers and the

sugar-cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalks t ...

area of

Mbandjock Mbandjock is a city located in the Centre Province of Cameroon. See also *Communes of Cameroon The Arrondissements of Cameroon are the third-level units of administration in Cameroon. The arrondissements are organised by divisions and sub di ...

, which draw thousands of migrant workers, mostly from the highly populated West and Littoral Provinces. As an important educational and government centre, Yaoundé also draws many more highly educated migrants. The majority of the Centre's residents live in the city of Yaoundé (population 1.1 million) or along the roads and in the major towns. The population density thins out away from the major thoroughfares, especially in the Mbam and Upper Sanaga divisions. A few isolated settlements, such as

Nanga Eboko Nanga Eboko (''Nanga-Eboko'') is a town and municipality, capital of the Haute-Sanaga (Upper Sanaga) department in the Centre Province of Cameroon. It lies on the Sanaga River and counts a population of 29,814, of which 18,282 in the town. Histo ...

, also support a larger population. Settlements in the Centre are traditionally placed along roads, resulting in large numbers of houses near the road with forest beginning directly behind them. The traditional house is a rectangular structure made of mud bricks and thin posts. Roofs are sometimes made of thatched

raffia Raffia palms (''Raphia'') are a genus of about twenty species of palms native to tropical regions of Africa, and especially Madagascar, with one species (''R. taedigera'') also occurring in Central and South America. ''R. taedigera'' is the sour ...

palm, but they are more often of corrugated aluminium, iron, or tin today. Centre Province ethnic groups

People

The Centre is one of the most important centres for the Bantu group known as the

(''Béti-Pahouin''), the "Fang-Beti," or simply the "Fang". These peoples share a

common language A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, vehicular language, or link language, is a language systematically used to make communication possible between groups ...

and have similar customs. The Beti-Pahuin are further broken down into the Beti, most of whom live in the Centre Province, and the Bulu and Fang, who primarily inhabit the South.

Beti

The Beti consist of several smaller groups. The Ewondo (or Yaoundé) occupy the Centre's most populated region, including Yaoundé, Mbalmayo, and the Nyong and So division. The Yezum and Yebekolo are Ewondo sub-groups. The Bane are more numerous in the South Province, but they have some members in the Nyong and So division. The Mbida-Mbane and Mvog-Nyenge live east of Yaoundé. The Eton-Beti, Eton-Beloua, and Beloua-Eton are headquartered in the Lekie division northeast of Yaoundé, including the towns of Saa and

Obala Obala is a town in Cameroon's Centre Province, ca 45 km north of Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon. Overview The town is the seat of a Roman Catholic diocese and hosts a military academy. Tourists in Obala may visit the somewhat derelict L ...

. The territory of the Mvelle stretches east from Yaoundé along the Nyong valley to the northern portions of the Nyong and Mfoumou division, including the border town of

Ayos Ayos is a town and commune in the department of Nyong-et-Mfoumou Centre region of Cameroon. The district is noted for its place in the history of medicine: the 1920s saw the establishment of a medical center managed by the French doctor Eugè ...

and the plantation centre of Mbandjock. The Eki live throughout the Upper Sanaga division with settlements at Nanga Eboko and Minta. In addition, some peoples in the Centre are not truly Beti-Pahuin but are currently in the process of being assimilated by that group. Among these are the Manguissa, who live in a small territory in the Lekie division between the Sanaga River and the town of Sa'a, the Bamvele, Batchanga (Tsinga), Evuzok, Omvang, Yekaba, and Yetudi.

Other tribes

The area around the town of Bafia and the west-jutting finger of land on the border of the Littoral Province is the home of several related peoples, collectively referred to as the

Banen The Nen language, ''Tunen'' (''Banen''), is a Bantu language of Cameroon. Maho (2009) considers Aling'a to be a distinct language. Unlike all other Bantu languages The Bantu languages (English: , Proto-Bantu: *bantʊ̀) are a large family of ...

. Tribes in this group include the Ndiki, Ntundu, Lemande, and Yambetta. The

Bape A Bathing Ape (or BAPE) is a Japanese fashion brand founded by Nigo (Tomoaki Nagao) in Ura-Harajuku in 1993.David FischerNIGO Announces His Definitive Departure from BAPE''highsnobiety'', May 25, 2013

and Bekke are also a part, though they were assimilated only fairly recently. Though more numerous in the West and

Northwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...

Provinces, several Tikar groups live in the Centre at northwestern border with the West Province and stretching north and east to the Njim River. Their main settlement in the province is Ngambe Tikar on the Kim River. The Centre's Tikar speak a language known as Tumu and its dialects. The Centre Province Tikar are further divided into the Bang-Heng,

Bankim Bankim, M'Bankim, Bamkin or Kimi is a town and commune of the division Mayo-Banyo in Adamaoua in Cameroon. It is about 95 km from Foumban and 125 km from Banyo The area's vegetation is of shrub savanna type. History Bankim is sa ...

Ditan Ditans are a class of abortive medication for the treatment of migraines. The first ditan, Eli Lilly's lasmiditan, was approved by the FDA in 2019. Ditans selectively bind to the 5-HT1F receptor subtype. A number of triptans have been shown to ...

, Ina, Ngambe, Ngume, Ue, and Yakong. Large numbers of Bassa live in the Nyong and Kelle division near the border with the Littoral Province. They are primarily situated in small villages of isolated huts. The Vute (Babuti) are a Bantu people who inhabit large swathes of the Mbam division to the east of Tikar and Bafia. Their domains are almost equal of those of the Beti in area. Tribes present in smaller numbers in the province include the Bajem, Baki, Bamun, Bulu,

Fa' Pe is the seventeenth letter of the Semitic abjads, including Phoenician Pē , Hebrew Pē , Aramaic Pē , Syriac Pē ܦ, and Arabic (in abjadi order). The original sound value is a voiceless bilabial plosive: ; it retains this value in most ...

(Balong), Gbete (Kepere),

Gunu Gunu may refer to: * Abdul-Samed Muhamed Gunu (born 1966), Ghanaian politician * Gunu language, spoken in Cameroon * Sherifa Gunu Sherifa Gunu is a Ghanaian soul musician. She was born a princess into a royal family of the Kingdom of Dagbo ...

, Lafa, Maka, Njauti, Nyokon, and

Pori ) , website www.pori.fi Pori (; sv, Björneborg ) is a city and municipality on the west coast of Finland. The city is located some from the Gulf of Bothnia, on the estuary of the Kokemäki River, west of Tampere, north of Turku and north-w ...

. Several heterogeneous groups collectively known as the Yambassa live in and around Bafia-Banen territory. Though most of these tribal groups have their own distinct languages, most people in the Centre also speak French.

Religion

European

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

penetrated the territory under German and French colonial rule. Since, most of the region's inhabitants have converted to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

. The most prevalent denominations are

Presbyterianism Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

and

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

, though traditional

animist Animism (from Latin: ' meaning 'breath, Soul, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct Spirituality, spiritual essence. Potentially, animism perceives all things—Animal, animals, Plant, plants, Ro ...

beliefs are commonly practiced alongside Christianity, especially in more rural areas.

Economy

The Centre is one of Cameroon's strongest economic zones due in great part to the presence of the capital city. In fact, the area is second only to the coastal regions of the Littoral, South, and Southwest Provinces. Many international organisations are headquartered at Yaoundé, among them the

Bank of Central African States The Bank of Central African States (french: Banque des États de l'Afrique Centrale, BEAC) is a central bank that serves six central African countries which form the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa: *Cameroon *Central African ...

and the African Organisation of Industrial Property.

Agriculture

Sustenance farming

Most farmers in the Centre are largely concerned with the raising of crops such as

plantains Plantain may refer to: Plants and fruits * Cooking banana, banana cultivars in the genus ''Musa'' whose fruits are generally used in cooking ** True plantains, a group of cultivars of the genus ''Musa'' * ''Plantaginaceae'', a family of flowerin ...

(common south of Yaoundé) and cocoyams and yams (common west and northwest of the capital).

Rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

and yam cultivation are practiced along the banks of the Sanaga in the Upper Sanaga division. Groundnuts, maize and other

cereal A cereal is any Poaceae, grass cultivated for the edible components of its grain (botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis), composed of the endosperm, Cereal germ, germ, and bran. Cereal Grain, grain crops are grown in greater quantit ...

s are common in the province's less humid north, and

manioc ''Manihot esculenta'', commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively cultivated a ...

grows throughout. Sustenance farmers first clear small patches of forest. They remove trees with traditional tools such as axes or machetes during the dry season and burn the resulting brush. Farmers take care to protect trees bearing edible fruit, such as

mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree ''Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South a ...

es,

plum A plum is a fruit of some species in ''Prunus'' subg. ''Prunus'.'' Dried plums are called prunes. History Plums may have been one of the first fruits domesticated by humans. Three of the most abundantly cultivated species are not found i ...

s, and

pear Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in the Northern Hemisphere in late summer into October. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the family Rosaceae, bearing the p ...

s, though fires sometimes grow out of control and prevent this. Farmers then plant seeds after the first rains: spices and vegetables closer to the house, plantains and tubers in larger plots farther into the bush. Villagers traditionally group their farms together as protection against animals and harvest their crops at the beginning of the dry season. Such

slash-and-burn agriculture Slash-and-burn agriculture is a farming method that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland to create a field called a swidden. The method begins by cutting down the trees and woody plants in an area. The downed veget ...

is adequate for the needs of small villages away from larger urban centres. Soil is exhausted quickly, necessitating the change of fields every two or three years. The soil can remain infertile for as much as ten years. However, when settlements are sparse, this presents little problem. As one of Cameroon's most populous areas, however, soil exhaustion has become an increasingly troublesome problem for the Centre in recent years. To combat this, MIDEVIV, the Food Development Authority, sets up growing zones around major towns, especially Yaoundé, for the growing of

banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...

s, cocoyams, plantains, and other necessities.

Plantation agriculture

This region is one of Cameroon's most important cash-crop zones due to its hot, humid climate and well-developed infrastructure. Cocoa is king, and it grows in all areas but the Mbam division. The largest plantations are those outside of Yaoundé and to a greater extent to the northwest between the Nyong and Sanaga Rivers. Other major cocoa centres include the Sanaga River valley near Nanga Eboko and the regions around the towns of

Akonolinga Akonolinga is a town and commune situated in Cameroon's Centre Province, with a population of roughly 21,300. It lies on the Nyong River, due east of the capital Yaoundé Yaoundé (; , ) is the capital of Cameroon and, with a population of ...

, Obala, and Saa. Some of these plantations are owned by peasant populations of Bassa and Ewondo, and SODECAO (Cocoa Development Company) is a major owner. The Centre is also home to Cameroon's only sugar-cane plantations, located at Mbandjock. SOSUCAM (''Société Sucrerie du Cameroun'') is the largest company in the region with 40 km². Peasant sugar plantations also operate in the area. A variety of other crops make up the rest of the plantation economy. Rice cultivation occurs along the Sanaga River valley in fields owned by SARIOECOO.

Coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulant, stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. S ...

is another important crop, grown in the eastern forests.

Tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

plantations owned by the Cameroon Tobacco Company (CTC) lie north of the Sanaga River at

Batchenga Batchenga is a town and commune in Cameroon. See also *Communes of Cameroon The Arrondissements of Cameroon are the third-level units of administration in Cameroon. The arrondissements are organised by divisions and sub divisions of each provin ...

Palm Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae **List of Arecaceae genera * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music * Palm (ba ...

plantations for

palm oil Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of the oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 33% of global oils produced from ...

and

kernels Kernel may refer to: Computing * Kernel (operating system), the central component of most operating systems * Kernel (image processing), a matrix used for image convolution * Compute kernel, in GPGPU programming * Kernel method, in machine learnin ...

, are located in the lower Sanaga and Nyong valleys, in the Nyong and Kelle division. Most of these are owned by SOCAPALM, headquartered in

Eséka Eséka is a small town in central Cameroon. Transport The city of Eséka lies on the main Camrail railway, where the line enters more rugged terrain from the coastal plains. On 22 October 2016, a passenger train derailed close to the town. ...

Pineapple The pineapple (''Ananas comosus'') is a tropical plant with an edible fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae. The pineapple is indigenous to South America, where it has been cultivated for many centuri ...

s are grown commercially at Mbandjock by the Cameroon Pineapple Company.

Livestock

Livestock raising is another important economic sector, and Yaoundé is a major market for cattle from other regions of the country.

Cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...

are raised on

ranch A ranch (from es, rancho/Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of a farm. These terms are most often ...

es owned by the Livestock Development Authority at Mbandjock, and

poultry Poultry () are domesticated birds kept by humans for their eggs, their meat or their feathers. These birds are most typically members of the superorder Galloanserae (fowl), especially the order Galliformes (which includes chickens, quails, a ...

are raised in farms at

Makak Makak is a town in central Cameroon, in Central province. Transport It is served by a station on the national railway system. See also * Communes of Cameroon * Railway stations in Cameroon The list of railway stations in Cameroon includes ...

, Obala, and Yaoundé to supply the province's vast demand for eggs and chicken.

Sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated s ...

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...

pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus '' Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus ...

s, and poultry are also raised more informally throughout the area.

Hunting Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

is practiced to some extent in more rural areas, but this has become increasingly rare as forest exploitation and

firearm A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes ...

s have depleted game species and their habitats.

Bushmeat Bushmeat is meat from wildlife species that are hunted for human consumption, most often referring to the meat of game in Africa. Bushmeat represents a primary source of animal protein and a cash-earning commodity for inhabitants of humid tropi ...

from the East and South Provinces is today a lucrative trade in Yaoundé and the large towns.

Industry

Because of its immense territory devoted to cultivation, the Centre also has a substantial

food processing Food processing is the transformation of agricultural products into food, or of one form of food into other forms. Food processing includes many forms of processing foods, from grinding grain to make raw flour to home cooking to complex industr ...

industry. For example, CAMSUCO (Cameroon Sugar Company) has a large processing plant in Nkoetang that supplies eighty percent of Cameroon's sugar. SOCACAO (the Cameroon Cocoa Company) makes

cocoa butter Cocoa butter, also called theobroma oil, is a pale-yellow, edible fat extracted from the cocoa bean. It is used to make chocolate, as well as some ointments, toiletries, and pharmaceuticals. Cocoa butter has a cocoa flavor and aroma. Its melti ...

in Yaoundé. The Brasséries du Cameroun also operates in Yaoundé producing

beer Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...

s and

soft drink A soft drink (see § Terminology for other names) is a drink that usually contains water (often carbonated), a sweetener, and a natural and/or artificial flavoring. The sweetener may be a sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice, a su ...

s. Other food-processing plants are located in Nanga Eboko (rice hulling) and Eséka. As it is the crossroads for logging vehicles travelling from the South and East Provinces, the Centre also has a sizeable timber processing industry. Major

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

s are located in Eséka, Mbalmayo, and Yaoundé. Other specialised plants do

joinery Joinery is a part of woodworking that involves joining pieces of wood, engineered lumber, or synthetic substitutes (such as laminate), to produce more complex items. Some woodworking joints employ mechanical fasteners, bindings, or adhesives, ...

work,

veneer Veneer may refer to: Materials * Veneer (dentistry), a cosmetic treatment for teeth * Masonry veneer, a thin facing layer of brick * Stone veneer, a thin facing layer of stone * Wood veneer, a thin facing layer of wood Arts and entertainment * ' ...

furniture Furniture refers to movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (tables), storing items, eating and/or working with an item, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Fu ...

and

construction Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Press 2009 and com ...

. The booming immigration to Yaoundé city has nourished a strong building industry there.

Brick making A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...

and construction of homes and offices have ballooned in recent years. Rocks from around the capital are quarried for building material.

Artisan An artisan (from french: artisan, it, artigiano) is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand. These objects may be functional or strictly decorative, for example furniture, decorative art ...

s also form a significant slice of the economy. Those of Yaoundé have a

co-op A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...

to help meet the needs of the tourist trade, while those of Nanga Eboko are renowned for their highly decorated

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and por ...

. Diverse industries round out the Centre's repertoire. One example is the

Bastos Company Bastos is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 mi ...

, which produces

cigarette A cigarette is a narrow cylinder containing a combustible material, typically tobacco, that is rolled into thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end, causing it to smolder; the resulting smoke is orally inhaled via the opp ...

s in Yaoundé.

Textile Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...

s are another major industry, and

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...

gins operate in Yaoundé. The capital is also a major fabric production centre.

Rutile Rutile is an oxide mineral composed of titanium dioxide (TiO2), the most common natural form of TiO2. Rarer Polymorphism (materials science), polymorphs of TiO2 are known, including anatase, akaogiite, and brookite. Rutile has one of the highest ...

is mined at Akonolinga.

Transportation

The Centre is the crossroads of Cameroon, and as such, it is well equipped to handle the large amount of traffic that passes through. Most roads between towns and to neighbouring provinces are paved, and most of these lead to Yaoundé. The capital also serves as the transportation and shipping heart of the area, and to a smaller extent, Cameroon as a whole. National Road 1 heads from Yaoundé all the way to

Kousséri Kousséri (from ar, قصور ''quṣūr'' meaning "palaces"), founded and known as Mser in the indigenous Mser language is a city in Far North Province, Cameroon. It is the capital of the Logone-et-Chari department. It is a market town, and its ...

and Fotoko in the

Far North Province The Far North Region, also known as the Extreme North Region (from french: Région de l'Extrême-Nord), is the northernmost constituent province of the Republic of Cameroon. It borders the North Region to the south, Chad to the east, and Nig ...

. National Road 2 heads south from the capital to

Ambam Ambam is a town and commune in South Province of Cameroon on the border with Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. This frontier town is located approximately 220 km from Yaoundé and as of 2005 had a population of 1,596. Traditionally, it has traded ...

before continuing into

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north ...

and

Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea ( es, Guinea Ecuatorial; french: Guinée équatoriale; pt, Guiné Equatorial), officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea ( es, link=no, República de Guinea Ecuatorial, french: link=no, République de Guinée équatoria ...

. National Road 3, Cameroon's most heavily trafficked and thus most dangerous, covers the stretch between Yaoundé and

Douala Douala is the largest city in Cameroon and its economic capital. It is also the capital of Cameroon's Littoral Region (Cameroon), Littoral Region. Home to Central Africa's largest port and its major international airport, Douala International Ai ...

. National Road 4 travels northwest to

Bafoussam Bafoussam is the capital and largest city of the West Region of Cameroon, in the Bamboutos Mountains. It is the 3rd most important (financially) city in Cameroon, after Yaoundé and Douala. The ''communauté urbaine'' (Urban Community) of Bafous ...

in the West Province. National Road 9, one of the few that do not travel through the capital, begins at Mbalmayo and leads to the South Province towns of

Sangmélima Sangmélima is a town on the Lobo River, and also the chief town of Lobo division ("Dja et Lobo"), in the South Province ('Province du Sud'), Republic of Cameroon, Africa. The language spoken there is Bulu. French, is also spoken as it is one ...

Djoum Djoum is a town in South Province, Cameroon. History The first inhabitants of modern-day Djoum were the Baka peoples. The rural municipality was formed in 1952. The town was later divided in 1995 in three entities to form municipalities of ...

, and Mintom. Finally, National Road 10 travels east from Yaoundé to Ayos and ultimately Bonis in the East Province. The Centre also forms an important hub of transportation by

rail Rail or rails may refer to: Rail transport *Rail transport and related matters *Rail (rail transport) or railway lines, the running surface of a railway Arts and media Film * ''Rails'' (film), a 1929 Italian film by Mario Camerini * ''Rail'' ( ...

, air, and river. Train lines travel from Yaoundé to Douala and to

Ngaoundéré Ngaoundéré, or N'Gaoundéré (Fula: N'gamdere 𞤲'𞤺𞤢𞤥𞤣𞤫𞥅𞤪𞤫𞥅) is the capital of the Adamawa Region of Cameroon. It had a population of 152,700 at the 2005 census. According to the film ''Les Mairuuwas – Maitre de l'e ...

in the north. An

international airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries around the world. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports and they must feature longer ...

is located just outside Yaoundé at Nsimalen, and

airstrip An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...

s are at Akonolinga, Bafia, Eséka, Mbandjock, and Nanga Eboko. The Nyong River is navigable from Mbalmayo northeast to Abong-Mbang in the East during the wet season.

Tourism

Many international visitors to Cameroon see at least the city of Yaoundé, if nowhere else. The majority of these travellers visit on company or government business, so the Centre sees little

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

''per se''. Yaoundé does offer many

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

s, however, to handle the business and diplomatic traffic through the city. It is also the location of several manmade lakes used for sport and bathing. Most of Cameroon's

monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, his ...

s and

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

s are located in the capital. Several of the province's traditional

chief Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boa ...

's compounds are accessible to visitors. Among these is the compound of Matip Ma Ndombol of the Ndjogjel district of Eséka. File:Monument de la réunification Yaoundé 03.JPG, Reunification Monument, Yaounde File:Cathédrale notre dame de victoire de Yaoundé 01.JPG, Notre Dame Cathedral, Yaounde File:Musée National du Cameroun 01.JPG, National Museum, Yaounde File:Intérieur Basilique Marie-Reine des apôtres de Mvolyé 2.jpg, Basilica of Mary Queen of Apostle, Yaounde

Administration and social conditions

Cameroon's president,

Paul Biya Paul Biya (born Paul Barthélemy Biya'a bi Mvondo; 13 February 1933) is a Cameroonian politician who has served as the president of Cameroon since 6 November 1982.

, has his official residence in Yaoundé, though he spends much of his time abroad. Biya enjoys a great deal of political support from the Centre's Beti majority, thanks in part to his policy of staffing the government and government-owned businesses with plenty of representatives of this ethnic group. Centre divisions

Government

The province is divided into ten departments ('): #

Lekié Lekié is a department of Centre Province in Cameroon. The department covers an area of 2,989 km and had a total population of 354,864. The capital of the department lies at Monatélé. It is named after the Lekié River. Subdivisions Th ...

, with its capital at

, is northwest of Yaoundé #

Haute-Sanaga Haute-Sanaga is a department of Central Region in Cameroon. The department covers an area of 11,854 km and as of 2001 had a total population of 115,305. The capital of the department lies at Nanga-Eboko. Subdivisions The department is divided ...

(Upper Sanaga), with its capital

, in the west and centre of the province #

Mbam-et-Inoubou Mbam-et-Inoubou is a department of Centre Province in Cameroon. The department covers an area of 7,125 km and as of 2001 had a total population of 153,020. The capital of the department lies at Bafia. Subdivisions The department is divided admi ...

(Mbam and Inoubou), with its capital at

, #

Mbam-et-Kim Mbam-et-Kim is a department of Centre Region in Cameroon. The department covers an area of 25,906 km and as of 2001 had a total population of 64,540. The capital of the department lies at Ntui. Subdivisions The department is divided administr ...

(Mbam and Kim), with its capital at

Ntui Ntui is a commune and the capital town of Mbam-et-Kim division of Centre Region in Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in wes ...

, is the largest, occupying almost the entire northern half of the province # Méfou-et-Afamba (Méfou and Afamba), with its capital at

Mfou Mfou is a town in the south part of Cameroon. It is not far east of the capital, Yaoundé. It is a rural area and the activities of the inhabitants are basically subsistence agriculture. Population In the 2005 census, the commune had 37,209 inh ...

, is the area east and south of Yaoundé. # Méfou-et-Akono (Méfou and Akono), with its capital at

Ngoumou Ngoumou is a town and commune in Cameroon. See also *Communes of Cameroon The Arrondissements of Cameroon are the third-level units of administration in Cameroon. The arrondissements are organised by divisions and sub divisions of each provinc ...

. #

Mfoundi Mfoundi is a department of Centre Province in Cameroon. The department covers an area of 297 km and as of 2005 had a total population of 1,881,876. The department forms the Yaoundé capital and greater area. See also *Yaoundé (in French Fre ...

consists entirely of the

capital and greater area. # Nyong-et-Kéllé (Nyong and Kéllé), with its capital at

, occupies the southwest corner of the province. #

Nyong-et-Mfoumou Nyong-et-Mfoumou is a department of Centre Province in Cameroon. The department covers an area of 6,172 km and as of 2001 had a total population of 130,321. The capital of the department lies at Akonolinga. Subdivisions The department is divide ...

(Nyong and Mfoumou) is opposite this at the southeast, governed from

. # Nyong-et-So'o (Nyong and So'o), with

as its capital, is on the central border with the South Province. Each of these departments is headed by a presidentially appointed

prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...

('), also called a senior divisional officer. The

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

, also a presidential appointee, has his offices in Yaoundé.

Traditional political organisation

Several of the Centre's native peoples have at least some form of political organisation predating the colonial period. However, the province's majority, the various Beti peoples, has no strong traditions in this sector. Instead, a patriarch traditionally heads a

clan A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, meaning ...

of related families. These individuals can still be found today, though their positions are largely honorary. The Tikar, on the other hand, have strong political traditions. Each Tikar group is headed by a fon (foyn), who serves as the head of administration, religion, and ritualistic affairs. Below him are various nobles and lords who handle administrative tasks in smaller divisions of territory. Among the Banen, some sub-tribal groups are headed by a chief. Such individuals are rare, but they rule with absolute authority where they occur. Most Banen are merely loose connections of family groups, however. The Bafia and Yambassa have a similar structure with clans of family groups. The heads of the joint-families are the most important individuals in this traditional hierarchy.

Education

The Centre is the intellectual capital of Cameroon. The

University of Yaoundé The University of Yaoundé (french: Université de Yaoundé) was a university in Cameroon, located in Yaoundé, the country's capital. It was built with the help of France and opened in 1962 as the Federal University of Yaoundé, dropping the "Fe ...

is the biggest and most important institution in the country, though smaller universities exist in the capital city and other towns. Yaoundé also tends to draw more educated migrants, as the jobs available there are often in government or for the various international organisations that have their headquarters there.

Primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Works * ...

and

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

s are also fairly widespread and easily accessible to most of the Centre's population. Primary schools are more widely distributed, even in many smaller villages. Secondary schools are less common, but due to the region's well-developed transportation network, students are able to travel to the larger towns where such schools are located relatively easily. This still requires them to stay with relatives or to lease rooms, however, high rent and school fees keep many students from pursuing higher levels of education. Due to the region's high population, many of these schools are critically understaffed and overcrowded.

Health

The Centre is serviced by a large number of

hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...

s and clinics, particularly in Yaoundé and in the larger towns.

Traditional medicine Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) comprises medical aspects of traditional knowledge that developed over generations within the folk beliefs of various societies, including indigenous peoples, before the ...

is still common throughout, especially in the more rural areas. As with the rest of Cameroon,

sanitation Sanitation refers to public health conditions related to clean drinking water and treatment and disposal of human excreta and sewage. Preventing human contact with feces is part of sanitation, as is hand washing with soap. Sanitation systems ...

is the greatest health problem faced in the province. In rural areas, running water is not available, necessitating the drinking of water from contaminated rivers, streams, and swamps. The urban areas, particularly Yaoundé, present their own problems, as rates of population growth far outpace improvements in sanitation. As a result, outbreaks of illnesses such as

amoebic dysentery Amoebiasis, or amoebic dysentery, is an infection of the intestines caused by a parasitic amoeba ''Entamoeba histolytica''. Amoebiasis can be present with no, mild, or severe symptoms. Symptoms may include lethargy, loss of weight, colonic ulc ...

, bacterial dysentery, and

hepatitis A Hepatitis A is an infectious disease of the liver caused by ''Hepatovirus A'' (HAV); it is a type of viral hepatitis. Many cases have few or no symptoms, especially in the young. The time between infection and symptoms, in those who develop them ...

occur frequently. Large rainfall and inadequate drainage improvements also provide an ideal breeding ground for

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

-carrying

mosquito Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning " gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish for "li ...

es in the capital.

Cultural life

The majority of Cameroon's museums are located in Yaoundé. The largest of these is the Cameroonian Art Museum (''Musée d'Art Camerounais''), with its large collection of

bas relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

s, bronze

statuary A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to life-size; a sculpture t ...

, and traditional

mask A mask is an object normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance, or entertainment and often they have been employed for rituals and rights. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practic ...

s. This is also the only museum set up to handle both English- and French-speaking patrons. The Afhemi Museum is located in a private residence and showcases the owners own collection of Cameroonian art. The

National Museum A national museum is a museum maintained and funded by a national government. In many countries it denotes a museum run by the central government, while other museums are run by regional or local governments. In other countries a much greater numb ...

, located in the mansion once occupied by the French governor, offers cultural as well as artistic exhibits. The Centre is also the birthplace of

bikutsi Bikutsi is a musical genre from Cameroon. It developed from the traditional styles of the Beti, or Ewondo, people, who live around the city of Yaoundé. It was popular in the middle of the 20th century in West Africa. It is primarily dance music. ...

, a popular form of dance and music. The Ewondo people created the style, which today rivals

makossa Makossa is a Cameroonian style of urban music. Like much other late 20th century music of Sub-Saharan Africa, it uses strong electric bass rhythms and prominent brass. In the 1980s makossa had a wave of mainstream success across Africa and to a ...

as Cameroon's most famous.

Traditional dances

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Beti people Beti may refer to: People * Mongo Beti (1932–2001), Cameroonian writer * Beti George (born 1939), Welsh television and radio broadcaster * Beti Jones (1919–2006), Scottish social worker * Beti Kamya-Turwomwe (born 1955), Ugandan businesswoma ...

File:GroupeDanse4.jpg,

File:GroupeDanse.jpg,

Bikutsi Bikutsi is a musical genre from Cameroon. It developed from the traditional styles of the Beti, or Ewondo, people, who live around the city of Yaoundé. It was popular in the middle of the 20th century in West Africa. It is primarily dance music. ...

Common Food File:Mbongo tchobi et banae plantin malxé.jpg, Mbongo Tchobi (Bassa) File:Mintumba.jpg, Mintumba File:Dégustation des bâtons de manioc.jpg, Bobolo

History

Early population movements

Ancient tools found at Bafia, Efok,

Okola Okola is a town and commune in Cameroon with a population of around 5,390. It is located from the capital Yaoundé, sitting at an elevation of . The volcano Mount Manengouba is west-northwest of Okola. The nearest sea is the Gulf of Guinea, which ...

, and Yaoundé attest to human presence in today's Centre Province since before recorded history. Of Cameroon's current inhabitants, the Baka

pygmies In anthropology, pygmy peoples are ethnic groups whose average height is unusually short. The term pygmyism is used to describe the phenotype of endemic short stature (as opposed to disproportionate dwarfism occurring in isolated cases in a pop ...

probably roamed the area when it was more heavily wooded. In comparison, the modern inhabitants of the area are relative newcomers. According to one theory, much of the current Centre Province was once Bassa territory. The Bassa moved into the region from northeast of the Sanaga River before the 17th or 18th century. Another explanation of the Bassa's presence in the Centre says that they once lived further west, but they moved into the territory in the 18th century after ceding their coastal possessions to the

Duala people The Duala (or Sawa) are a Bantu ethnic group of Cameroon. They primarily inhabit the littoral and southwest region of Cameroon and form a portion of the Sawabantu or "coastal people" of Cameroon. The Dualas readily welcomed German and French co ...

. The Banen, Bafia, and Yambassa in the Babimbi region also moved to their present territories at this time, stopping their expansion upon reaching Bassaland to the southwest. The next wave of migration was in the 19th century and consisted of those peoples fleeing

Fulbe The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people ( ff, Fulɓe, ; french: Peul, links=no; ha, Fulani or Hilani; pt, Fula, links=no; wo, Pël; bm, Fulaw) are one of the largest ethnic groups in the Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region. ...

(Fula) raids to the north, or else fleeing other tribes who were themselves being raided. It is possible that the Tikar of the province's northwest moved in at this time. The Vute entered the area from the southern

, having once inhabited the present territories of Banyo and

Tibati Tibati (Fula: Tibati 𞤼𞤭𞤦𞤢𞤼𞤭) is a town and commune in Djérem, Cameroon. The town and region are reigned by a local monarch, the Lamido. The most notable economic activity in the region is the fishery industry. The fish comes fr ...

. Vute tradition states that they moved south in three major groups, each under a different prince. The Vute were still in the process of migrating when the Germans finally stopped their progress. The Beti-Pahuin moved into the region at this time as well, travelling through in three separate waves from northeast, south of the Sanaga River. They were being pressured by the Gbaya,

Mbum Mbum Proper (also Mboum, Buna, Mboumtiba and Wuna) is a Adamawa–Ubangi language of Central Africa. It is spoken by about people in Cameroon and the Central African Republic. History The Mbum language is spoken by the Mbum people who inhabit ...

, and Vute farther north. As these people moved south, the Beti-Pahuin were forced to move further south, as well. The Beti-Pahuin conquered the peoples they encountered on this southward march, "Pahuinising" them in the process or pushing them away in their turn. A reputation for

cannibalism Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is well documented, b ...

may have aided them in their conquests. If the Bassa did indeed once inhabit territories further to the east, it was at this time that they were pressed toward the coast. These Beti-Pahuin groups moved southward to their present territories in small groups of families of clans. These first few waves, consisting of the Bulu and the Fang, continued into the present South Province and beyond, but the Beti, who moved south in the final wave, settled north of these relatives. The Bati-Tsinga were the original inhabitants of the current Banen-Bafia-Yambassa areas, but they were pushed away or assimilated when the Yambassa entered the region. The Yambassa came in search of farmland, moving in three major groups: the Behele, then the Elip, and finally the Kouono-Yambassa. They were pushed south in turn when the Banen-Bafia entered from the confluence of the Mbam and Noun rivers. They were then troubled by the Bamun to the northwest, and the Banen fought two wars with them beginning around 1840; they eventually pushed the Bamun across the Noun, though some Banen groups paid tribute to the Bamun until 1901. One tradition says that the Bafia also fought off the Fulbe. The other small tribes of the Bafia region came at later times.

European contacts

The movement of the Beti-Pahuin through the region coincided with the height of the European

slave trade Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

on Cameroon's coast. The Ewondo took the opportunity to establish themselves as middlemen in this trade, forming a link between the tribes further on the interior and those toward the sea. Their slaves were sent out via the Sanaga River in exchange for European goods. After

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

outlawed the slave trade in 1827, trade continued in other goods, though slaves still left the area clandestinely. The Bassa also enjoyed similar go-between status. This period also saw the introduction of Christianity to the region when the

Basel Mission The Basel Mission was a Christian missionary society based in Switzerland. It was active from 1815 to 2001, when it transferred the operative work to , the successor organization of ''Kooperation Evangelischer Kirchen und Missione'' (KEM), found ...

set up a station at Eséka.

German administration

Three years after the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

annexation of the Cameroons in 1884, the first white men moved in, under orders of governor Julius Baron Von Soden, to explore the territories of the Beti. A later governor,

Jesko Von Puttkamer Jesko Albert Eugen von Puttkamer (2 July 1855 in Berlin – 23 July 1917 in Berlin) was a German colonial military chief, and nine times governor of Kamerun: *13 May 1887 – 4 October 1887 *14 August 1890 – 2 December 1890 *31 December 189 ...

, began extensive plantation farming in the south of Cameroon, particularly of cocoa, which he introduced in 1905. Native peoples were used as forced labour. In response to this and to their loss of lucrative trade to the Germans, the Ewondo revolted in 1895 but were suppressed the next year. Other rebellions occurred under the Bane and Mbidambani. A second Ewondo resistance occurred in 1907 when the Germans tried to prop up their collaborator,

Charles Atangana Charles Atangana (c. 1880 – 1 September 1943), also known by his birth name, Ntsama, and his German name, Karl, was the paramount chief of the Ewondo and Bane ethnic groups during much of the colonial period in Cameroon. Although from an un ...

, as the over-chief of all Ewondo. Germany made various improvements to the territory, including the building of roads from Cameroon's coast to the inland areas, beginning in 1900. The first long-distance automobile journey took place in 1913, from

Kribi Kribi is a beach resort and sea port in Cameroon. Location The coastal town of Kribi lies on the Gulf of Guinea, in Océan Department, South Province, at the mouth of the Kienké River. This location, lies approximately , by road, south of ...

to Yaoundé, a distance of 280 km, in eleven hours. The Germans also brought the railroad to the area, beginning a line from Douala to Yaoundé in 1909. Work was stopped at the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, however. Germany moved the capital of the colony from

Buea Buea is the capital of the Southwest Region of Cameroon. The city is located in Fako Division, on the eastern slopes of Mount Cameroon, and has a population of 300,000 (at the 2013 Census). It has two Government Hotels, the Mountain Hotel and P ...

to Yaoundé at this time. Some of the Centre's largest towns and cities were originally German outposts, including Yaoundé (founded in 1889) and Mbalmayo. A Catholic mission and school were established in Yaoundé in 1901 by the German Pallotin Fathers. This was followed by similar setups in other settlements until 1907. The Presbyterians were quick to follow, establishing a presence in 1909.

French administration

The French gained control of the Centre Province territory in 1916 after World War I. They divided Cameroon into several zones, and the current Centre Province's area fell into the Yaoundé, Edéa-Eséka, and Ebolowa-Akoafim zones. Much of France's administration of the territory was simply a continuation of policies set up by the Germans. The French continued Germany's plantations, for example, and expanded them aggressively. The French Company for the Development of Tobacco (SFDT) set up in Batchenga near Yaoundé in 1947, and the sugar plantation at Mbandjock was planted in 1964. In fact, the town of Mbandjock did not exist then but grew up around the French sugar cane. The French also maintained the German policy of propping up puppet chiefs when existing traditional rulers were uncooperative or where such native rulers were absent. They also opened a school in Yaoundé on 27 December 1933 to educate and indoctrinate the sons of chiefs. France made many more improvements to the territory, as well. To begin with, though Germany had moved the Cameroonian capital to Yaoundé, the French made it look the part. They built large, opulent government buildings there, including a governor's mansion. The railroad between Douala and Yaoundé was finished in 1927, and this was modernised in 1933. The main road from Douala and on to Bertoua was widened and improved in 1939. Yaoundé also became the location of an international airport. In the realm of education, an Advanced Primary School was placed in Yaoundé in 1939, and Ayos became the site of a nursing school in 1925. The French expansion into the region also allowed better access for missionary groups. The

Seventh-day Adventists The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventism, Adventist Protestantism, Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the Names of the days of the week#Numbered days of the week, seventh day of the ...

set up centres in Nanga Eboko and Yaoundé, and this religion continues to claim large numbers of followers in the province. A major Catholic seminary opened in Yaoundé in 1927.

Political developments

By making Yaoundé the centre of government, France also made it the centre of the colony's politics. After France made all its West African colonies self-governing in 1956, many of Cameroon's earliest

political parties A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or pol ...

were located there. The biggest of these were the Union Camerounaise, with large constituencies in the Centre and North (led by Ahmido Ahidjo), and the Democrats Camerounais (DC), with support from the Yaoundé region and headed by

André-Marie Mbida Andre-Marie Mbida (1 January 19172 May 1980) was a Cameroonian statesman, a nationalist, the first Cameroonian to be elected Member of Parliament at the French National Assembly, a Prime Minister of Cameroon, the second African-born Prime Minist ...

. Most of these parties offered a pro-independence platform. The capital was also the natural site of early political protests. When the colony's most vocal political party,

Union des Populations du Cameroun The Union of the Peoples of Cameroon ( - UPC) is a political party in Cameroon. Foundation The UPC was founded on 10 April 1948, at a meeting in the bar ''Chez Sierra'' in Bassa. Twelve men assisted the founding meeting, including Charles Assa ...

(UPC), rioted there over raised prices at Yaoundé market stalls, for example, the government outlawed the group. This led to multiple clashes between pro- and anti-UPC factions in Yaoundé, which continued even after independence in 1960.

Post-independence

Under Cameroon's first president, Amadou Ahidjo, Cameroon was split into seven provinces. The present-day Centre and South Provinces were at this time combined into one Centre-South Province. It would remain this way until Cameroon's second president, Paul Biya, split the Centre-South into the present Centre and South Provinces on 22 August 1983. Under Ahidjo, the railway was pushed northeast, reaching

Bélabo Bélabo is a town and commune in Cameroon, lying on the Yaoundé – N'Gaoundéré railway line. Near the town lies the Sanaga-Yong chimpanzee rescue centre. Transport The town has a railway station served by Camrail, and lies on the San ...

in the East Province in 1974. In an effort to better unify the north and south portions of the country, Ahidjo also ordered a road built north from Yaoundé to Ngaoundéré (National Road 1). Ahidjo also paved major roads, including the stretches between Douala and Yaoundé and Bafoussam and Yaoundé, beginning in 1966. Education also experienced improvement. The University of Yaoundé was founded in 1962 for a student body of 7,500. After large student protests in 1973 and 1980 against overcrowding of the facilities, that institution was decentralised, and other universities were opened in other regions of the country.

Notes

References

* Fanso, V.G., ''Cameroon History for Secondary Schools and Colleges, Vol. 1: From Prehistoric Times to the Nineteenth Century.'' Hong Kong: Macmillan Education Ltd, 1989. * Gwanfogbe, Mathew, Ambrose Meligui, Jean Moukam, and Jeanette Nguoghia, ''Geography of Cameroon.'' Hong Kong: Macmillan Education Ltd, 1983. * Neba, Aaron, Ph.D., ''Modern Geography of the Republic of Cameroon,'' 3rd ed. Bamenda: Neba Publishers, 1999. * Ngoh, Victor Julius, ''History of Cameroon Since 1800.'' Limbé: Presbook, 1996. {{Authority control Regions of Cameroon States and territories established in 1983