The Centre Region () occupies 69,000 km² of the central plains of the

Republic 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 ...

. It is bordered to the north by the

Adamawa Region The Adamawa Region () is a constituent region of the Cameroon, Republic of Cameroon. It borders the Centre Region (Cameroon), Centre and East Region (Cameroon), East regions to the south, the Northwest Region (Cameroon), Northwest and West Re ...

, to the south by the

South Region Southern Region or South Region may refer to: * Southern Nigeria * Southern Region (Boy Scouts of America) * Southern Region, Bauchi, Nigeria * South Region, Brazil, an official grouping of states for economic and statistical purposes * Souther ...

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

Littoral The littoral zone, also called litoral 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 i ...

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. The orthography was standardized on March 9, 1979. Noted dialect clusters are eastern, central, and Doume. Phonology Consonants Consonants in Vute are ...

Yaoundé Yaoundé (; , ) is the Capital city, capital city of Cameroon. It has a population of more than 2.8 million which makes it the second-largest city in the country after the port city Douala. It lies in the Centre Region (Cameroon), Centre Region o ...

, 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 uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

Agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

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

cash crop A cash crop, also called 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 a marketed crop from a staple crop ("subsi ...

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 Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...

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, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, water, and organisms that together support the life of plants and soil organisms. Some scientific definitions distinguish dirt from ''soil'' by re ...

is primarily composed of

Precambrian The Precambrian ( ; or pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pC, 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 t ...

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, caus ...

s, such as

gneiss Gneiss (pronounced ) 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. This rock is formed under p ...

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

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

s, and

schist Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock generally derived from fine-grained sedimentary rock, like shale. It shows pronounced ''schistosity'' (named for the rock). This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a l ...

Granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, 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 coo ...

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 that 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 tecton ...

s, with some granite.

Laterite Laterite is a soil 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 intensive and prolo ...

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 for ...

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 , commonly found in nature as quartz. In many parts of the world, silica is the major constituent of sand. Silica is one of the most complex and abundant f ...

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 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 stream gradient, gradient, causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. Flow, gradient, constriction, and obstacles are four factors that are needed for a rapid t ...

make it an important source of

hydroelectric power Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

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

Edéa Edéa is a city and commune in the Littoral Region of Cameroon. Situated on the Sanaga River, it lies on the Douala–Yaoundé–Ngaoundéré railway line. Its population was estimated at 122,300 in 2001. History From 20 to 26 Octobe ...

in the Littoral Province. Several smaller

tributaries A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream ('' 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 into which the ...

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. Su ...

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 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 In grammar, a noun is a word that represents a concrete or abstract thing, like living creatures, places, actions, qualities, states of existence, and ideas. A noun may serve as an Object (grammar), object or Subject (grammar), subject within a p ...

. 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-largest ...

, 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 Monat ...

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

, 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 Haut-Nyong department, 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 th ...

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 borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

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 possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...

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 often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

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 is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms ...

Relief

The Centre Province is entirely situated on the

South Cameroon Plateau The South Cameroon Plateau or Southern Cameroon Plateau () 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 until giving way to the Camer ...

. 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. Due to the similarity, the term '' scarp'' may mistakenly be incorrectly used inte ...

s from the southwestern coastal plain before joining the

Adamawa Plateau The Adamawa Plateau () 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 plateau that lies in Nigeria i ...

via depressions and granite

massif A massif () is a principal mountain mass, such as a compact portion of a mountain range, containing one or more summits (e.g. France's Massif Central). In mountaineering literature, ''massif'' is frequently used to denote the main mass of an ...

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 axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

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) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

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 Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

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 Leaf, 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 includes the persimmon tree. A few ''Diospyros'' species, such as macassar and mun ebony, are dense enough to sink in water. Ebony is fin ...

and

iroko Iroko (Yoruba language, Yoruba: Ìrókò) is a large hardwood tree from the west coast of tropical Africa that can live up to 500 years. This is the common name for the genus ''Milicia'', in which there are two recognized species, which are close ...

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 (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

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

, and

snake Snakes are elongated limbless reptiles of the suborder Serpentes (). Cladistically squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales much like other members of the group. Many species of snakes have s ...

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 Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the tip of its tail. It is se ...

were discovered in

Mpem and Djim National Park Mpem and Djim National Park is a protected areas of Cameroon, protected area in Cameroon. The park was designated by the government of Cameroon in 2004, and covers an area of 974.8 km2. Geography The park is located in Cameroon's Centre Region ...

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 ethnic group located in Center region of Cameroon. Though they separate themselves into several individual clans, they all share a common origin, history and culture. Estimated to be well over 8 million individuals i ...

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 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 that are rich in suc ...

area of

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

, 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, 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 are members of the genus ''Raphia''. The Malagasy language, Malagasy name is derived from ' "to squeeze #Raffia wine, juice". The genus contains about twenty species of Arecaceae, palms native to tropical regions of Africa, and esp ...

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, link language or language of wider communication (LWC), is a Natural language, language systematically used to make co ...

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, Cameroon, 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 vi ...

. 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 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 or

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

Bape , also known as BAPE, is a Japanese fashion brand founded by Nigo (Tomoaki Nagao) in Ura-Harajuku in 1993.

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— ...

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 sai ...

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 t ...

, 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' (Balong), Gbete (Kepere), Gunu,

Lafa Laffa, also known as lafa or Iraqi pita, is the Modern Hebrew term for a large, thin flatbread with an Iraqi origin. Laffa is a simple bread that is traditionally vegan and cooked in a ''tannur'' or ''tabun oven, tabun'', both of which are clay ...

Maka Maka or MAKA may refer to: * Funhouse (Makana "Maka" Akana), a Marvel Comics supervillain * Maká, a Native American people in Paraguay ** Maká language, spoken by the Maká * Maka (satrapy), a province of the Achaemenid Empire * Maka, Biffech ...

, Njauti, Nyokon, and Pori. 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 who 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 Miss ...

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, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

. The most prevalent denominations are

Presbyterianism Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

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 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, though traditional

animist Animism (from meaning 'breath, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence. Animism perceives all things—animals, plants, rocks, rivers, weather systems, human handiwork, and in ...

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 (, BEAC; ) is a central bank that serves six central African countries which form the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and ...

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

Rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

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

cereal A cereal is a grass cultivated for its edible grain. Cereals are the world's largest crops, and are therefore staple foods. They include rice, wheat, rye, oats, barley, millet, and maize ( Corn). Edible grains from other plant families, ...

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

manioc ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava, manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America, from Brazil, Paraguay and parts of the Andes. Although ...

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 originated from the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South and Southeast As ...

es,

plum A plum is a fruit of some species in Prunus subg. Prunus, ''Prunus'' subg. ''Prunus'.'' Dried plums are often called prunes, though in the United States they may be labeled as 'dried plums', especially during the 21st century. Plums are ...

s, and

pear Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in late summer into mid-autumn. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the Family (biology), family Rosaceae, bearing the Pome, po ...

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 form of shifting cultivation 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 ...

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 treelike herbaceous flowering plants in the genus '' Musa''. In some countries, cooking bananas are called plantains, distinguishing the ...

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 in the Nyong-et-Mfoumou department, Centre Region of Cameroon. As of 2005 census, it had a population of 47,561.''Troisième recensement général de la population et de l'habitat'' (3e RGPH, 2005), Bureau ce ...

, 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 beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...

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 Divisions of Cameroon are the third-level units of administration in Cameroon. They are organised by divisions and sub divisions of each province (now Regions). ...

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 **Palm oil * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music ...

plantations for

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 ...

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. T ...

Pineapple The pineapple (''Ananas comosus'') is a Tropical vegetation, 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 culti ...

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, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...

are raised on

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

es owned by the Livestock Development Authority at Mbandjock, and

poultry Poultry () are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of harvesting animal products such as meat, Eggs as food, eggs or feathers. The practice of animal husbandry, raising poultry is known as poultry farming. These birds are most typ ...

are raised in farms at Makak, Obala, and Yaoundé to supply the province's vast demand for eggs and chicken.

Sheep Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal 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 d ...

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a species of Caprinae, goat-antelope that is mostly 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 ...

pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), also called swine (: swine) or hog, is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is named the domestic pig when distinguishing it from other members of the genus '' Sus''. Some authorities cons ...

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

Hunting Hunting is the Human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products (fur/hide (sk ...

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 that uses an explosive charge and is designed to be readily carried and operated by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see legal definitions). The first firearms originate ...

s have depleted game species and their habitats.

Bushmeat Bushmeat is meat from wildlife species that are Hunting, hunted for human consumption. Bushmeat represents a primary source of animal protein and a cash-earning commodity in poor and rural communities of humid tropical forest regions of the worl ...

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 takes many forms, from grinding grain into raw flour, home cooking, and complex industrial methods used in the mak ...

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 Vegetable oil, fat extracted from the cocoa bean (''Theobroma cacao''). It is used to make chocolate, as well as some ointments, toiletries, and pharmaceuticals. Cocoa butter h ...

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

beer Beer is an alcoholic beverage produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches from cereal grain—most commonly malted barley, although wheat, maize (corn), rice, and oats are also used. The grain is mashed to convert starch in the ...

s and

soft drink A soft drink (see #Terminology, § Terminology for other names) is a class of non-alcoholic drink, usually (but not necessarily) Carbonated water, carbonated, and typically including added Sweetness, sweetener. Flavors used to be Natural flav ...

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 logging, 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 ...

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

furniture Furniture refers to objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., Stool (seat), stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (table (furniture), tables), storing items, working, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Furnitur ...

and

construction Construction are processes involved in delivering buildings, infrastructure, industrial facilities, and associated activities through to the end of their life. It typically starts with planning, financing, and design that continues until the a ...

. The booming immigration to Yaoundé city has nourished a strong building industry there. Brick making 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 , ) 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, sculpture, clothing, food ite ...

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

co-op A cooperative (also known as co-operative, coöperative, 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 democr ...

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 raw materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. The place where such wares are made by a ''potter'' is al ...

. Diverse industries round out the Centre's repertoire. One example is the Bastos Company, which produces

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

s in Yaoundé.

Textile Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, and different types of #Fabric, fabric. ...

s are another major industry, and

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, 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 ...

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 polymorphs of TiO2 are known, including anatase, akaogiite, and brookite. Rutile has one of the highest refractive indices at vis ...

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 ''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 populatio ...

and Fotoko in the

Far North Province The Far North Region, also known as the Extreme North Region (from ), is the northernmost and most populous constituent province of Cameroon, the Republic of Cameroon. It borders the North Region (Cameroon), North Region to the south, Chad to ...

. National Road 2 heads south from the capital to

Ambam Ambam is a town and commune in the Vallée-du-Ntem department, South Province, 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 41 ...

before continuing into

Gabon Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Republic (), is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and ...

and

Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. It has an area of . Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name refers to its location both near the Equ ...

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

. National Road 4 travels northwest to

Bafoussam Bafoussam is the capital and largest city of the West Region (Cameroon), 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'' (Urba ...

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,

Djoum Djoum is a town in South Region, 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 Mi ...

, 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 *Railway track or railway lines, the running surface of a railway Arts and media Film * ''Rails'' (film), a 1929 Italian film by Mario Camerini * ''Rail'' (1967 fil ...

, 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 ...

in the north. An

international airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports, and feature longer runways and have faciliti ...

is located just outside Yaoundé at Nsimalen, and

airstrip An aerodrome, airfield, or airstrip 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 public or private use. Aerodromes in ...

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, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

''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 re ...

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, historical ...

s and

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

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 boat ...

'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 been serving as the second president of Cameroon since 1982. He was previously the fifth Prime Minister of Cameroon, prime minister under Pre ...

, 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 Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military * Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

('): #

Lekié Lekié is a department of Centre Region 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 The ...

, 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 Nanga Eboko, 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 adm ...

(Mbam and Inoubou), with its capital at

, # Mbam-et-Kim (Mbam and Kim), with its capital at Ntui, 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. #

Mfoundi Mfoundi - Yaounde 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 Ya ...

consists entirely of the

capital and greater area. #

Nyong-et-Kéllé Nyong-et-Kéllé is a department of Centre Province in Cameroon. The department covers an area of 6,362 km and as of 2001 had a total population of 145,181. The capital of the department lies at Éséka. Subdivisions The department is div ...

(Nyong and Kéllé), with its capital at

, occupies the southwest corner of the province. # Nyong-et-Mfoumou (Nyong and Mfoumou) is opposite this at the southeast, governed from

. #

Nyong-et-So'o Nyong-et-So'o is a department of Centre Province in Cameroon. The department covers an area of 3,581 km and as of 2001 had a total population of 142,907. The capital of the department lies at Mbalmayo. Subdivisions The department is divided ...

(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' ...

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

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

, 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, a clan may claim descent from a founding member or apical ancestor who serves as a symbol of the clan's unity. Many societie ...

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 () 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 "Federal" in 1972 when the countr ...

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 Work ...

and

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

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 healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...

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

Traditional medicine Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) refers to the knowledge, skills, and practices rooted in the cultural beliefs of various societies, especially Indigenous groups, used for maintaining health and treatin ...

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, coloni ...

, bacterial dysentery, and

hepatitis A Hepatitis A is an infectious liver disease caused by Hepatitis A virus (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, is ...

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

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

-carrying

mosquito Mosquitoes, the Culicidae, are a Family (biology), family of small Diptera, flies consisting of 3,600 species. The word ''mosquito'' (formed by ''Musca (fly), mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish and Portuguese for ''little fly''. Mos ...

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 remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

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 ...

, and traditional

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

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 can be 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 the United States, most nati ...

, 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 music genre originating in Douala, Littoral Region, Cameroon in the late 20th century. Like much other music of Sub-Saharan Africa, it uses strong electric bass rhythms and prominent brass. Makossa uses guitar accompaniments, in t ...

as Cameroon's most famous.

Traditional dances

File:Prestation5.jpg,

Beti people The Beti people are a Central African ethnic group primarily found in central Cameroon. They are also found in Equatorial Guinea and northern Gabon. They are closely related to the Bulu people, the Fang people and the Yaunde people, who are all ...

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, whi ...

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

Baka Baka, baká or BAKA may refer to: Ethnicities and languages * Baka people (Cameroon and Gabon), an African ethnic group * Baka people (Congo and South Sudan), an African ethnic group * Baka language, a dialect cluster of Cameroon and Gabon * 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 po ...

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 :fr:Sawa (peuple), Sawa) are a Bantu peoples, Bantu ethnic group of Cameroon. They primarily inhabit the littoral and southwest region of Cameroon and form a portion of the Sawabantu languages, Sawabantu or "coastal people" of Cam ...

. 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 are an ethnic group in Sahara, Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region. Inhabiting many countries, they live mainly in West Africa and northern parts of Central Africa, South Sudan, Darfur, ...

(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 the Adamawa Region, Cameroon. The town and region are ruled by a local monarch, the Lamido. History The Vute and Mboum people are the native inhabitants of the Tibati area. ...

. 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, 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 also well document ...

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 Slave trade may refer to: * History of slavery - overview of slavery It may also refer to slave trades in specific countries, areas: * Al-Andalus slave trade * Atlantic slave trade ** Brazilian slave trade ** Bristol slave trade ** Danish sl ...

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 north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

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 is a Christianity, 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'' ...

set up a station at Eséka.

German administration

Three years after the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

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 – 23 January 1917) was a German diplomat, colonial administrator, and military officer who served as colonial governor of German Kamerun from 1895 to 1907. Early life and career Jesko von P ...

, 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 born in 1880. He was the paramount ruler of the Ewodo people. Early life Atangana was born sometime between 1876 and 1885 in ...

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

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 or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, however. Germany moved the capital of the colony from

Buea Buea is the capital of the Southwest Region (Cameroon), Southwest Region of Cameroon. The city is located in Fako (department), Fako Division, on the eastern slopes of Mount Cameroon, and has a population of about 800.000 inhabitants as of 2 ...

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 French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

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 Bertoua is the capital of the Eastern Region of Cameroon and of the Lom-et-Djerem Department. It has a population of 88,462 (at the 2005 Census), and is the traditional home of the Gbaya people. It is home to an airport and Mission Cameroon (in ...

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 (SDA) is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabba ...

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 area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

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 Minis ...

. 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 (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 Sanag ...

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