Edéa is a city and commune in the Littoral Region of

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

. Situated on the

Sanaga River The Sanaga River (formerly ) is the largest river in Cameroon located in East Region (Cameroon), East Region, Centre Region (Cameroon), Centre Region and Littoral Region (Cameroon), Littoral Region. Its length is about from the confluence of Dj ...

, it lies on the Douala–Yaoundé–Ngaoundéré railway line. Its population was estimated at 122,300 in 2001.

History

From 20 to 26 October 1914, the First Battle of Edea took place in and nearby Edéa, and ended in an allied victory.

Economy

Edéa is powered by the Edea Hydroelectric Power Station.

Agriculture

A primarily agricultural economy, Edéa's main product is

palm oil Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 36% of global oils produced from o ...

. In 2015, funded the local government FCFA$612,000,000 to build processing plants. Palm oil company has operated a palm oil planation in Edéa since 1969, on a lease supposed to end in 2000. On 25 March 2025, members of the Association of Women Residents of Socapalm-Édéa (AFRISE; abbreviated from French name)—a local organization against Socapalm—protested to stop the company from replanting, and were subsiquently tear gassed by local police. Edéa is also situated near

Douala Edéa National Park Douala-Edéa National Park, formerly known as Douala-Edéa Wildlife Reserve, is a national park in the Littoral Region, Cameroon, Littoral Region of Cameroon. Location The park is located on either side of the mouth of the Sanaga River along th ...

Transportation

Edéa is served by

Camrail Camrail is a company operating passenger and freight traffic between the two largest cities in Cameroon and several smaller cities. The company was formed in 1999 and granted a 20-year concession to operate the Cameroon National Railway. The comp ...

. In September 2007, a

metre gauge Metre-gauge railways ( US: meter-gauge railways) are narrow-gauge railways with track gauge of or 1 metre. Metre gauge is used in around of tracks around the world. It was used by several European colonial powers including France, Britain and ...

branch railway to the ocean port of

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, Océan Department, South Province (Cameroon), South Province, at the mouth of the Kienké River. This location, lies a ...

was proposed, on account of it having deeper water than the river port of

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. It was home to Central Africa's largest port, now being replaced by Kribi port. It has the country ...

. In August 2020, Camrail completed improvements on several nearby railway bridges. In September 2021, the Cameroonian government gathered investors to fund 291 kilometers of railway construction, part of which running through Edéa. Cameroon National Highway 7 begins in Edéa, ending in

Notable people

* Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje (born 1978), basketball player * Maximilienne Ngo Mbe (born 1972), human rights campaigner

References