The Southwest Region or South-West Region () is a

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

with special status in

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 ...

. Its capital is Buea. , its population was 1,553,320. Along with the Northwest Region, it is one of the two Anglophone (English-speaking) regions of Cameroon. Various Ambazonian nationalist and separatist factions regard the South-West region as being distinct as a polity from Cameroon. Buea from Fako

History

In 1884, the region was colonized by

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

under the

Protectorate A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a State (polity), state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over ...

regime until 1916 when it became a

condominium A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership regime in which a building (or group of buildings) is divided into multiple units that are either each separately owned, or owned in common with exclusive rights of occupation by individual own ...

administered jointly by the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. In 1919, the administration of the South West region became solely British. In 1961, the region joined Cameroon as part of the federated state of

West Cameroon West Cameroon () was a federated state within the Federal Republic of Cameroon that existed between 1961 and 1972. It was formed on 1 October 1961 when the formerly British-administered Southern Cameroons was integrated into the Republic of Camer ...

. At the end of 2017, an Ambazonian separatist movement in the two English-speaking regions of the North-West and South-West initiated a wave of violence affecting the military, police, business leaders and workers. The separatist militiamen are trying in particular to prevent children from returning to school. Between 2016 and 2019, separatists reportedly ransacked, destroyed or burned more than 174 schools Separatists from the Ambazonia administration regard both the Northwest and Southwest regions as being constituent components of their envisaged breakaway state.

Administration

The region is divided into six

divisions Division may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication * Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting of 10,000 t ...

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, ...

: Fako, Koupé-Manengouba,

Lebialem Lebialem is a department of Southwest Region in Cameroon. The Division covers an area of 617 km and as of 2005 had a total population of 113,736. The capital of the department lies at Menji Menji is a town and capital of the Fontem distri ...

, Manyu,

Meme A meme (; ) is an idea, behavior, or style that Mimesis, spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme. A meme acts as a unit for carrying c ...

and

Ndian Ndian is a Departments of Cameroon, department of Southwest Region, Cameroon, Southwest Region in Cameroon. It is located in the humid tropical rainforest zone about southeast of Yaoundé, the capital. History Ndian division was formed in 1975 ...

. These are in turn broken down into subdivisions. Presidentially appointed senior divisional officers () and subdivisional officers () govern each respectively.

Special status

As part of the Major National Dialogue, the region was given a "special status" in December 2019, granting additional rights and responsibilities in relation to economic, health, social, educational, sports and cultural development. Under the special status the region has a bicameral Regional Assembly, made up of a 20-member House of Chiefs composed of traditional leaders and a 70-member House of Divisional Representatives nominated by municipal councils. The Regional Assembly appoints a Regional Executive Council. Additional powers over health and education were also granted to municipalities.

Regional Executive Council

The Regional Executive Council is led by the President of the Regional Assembly and includes a vice president, three commissioners, two secretaries and a questor. The first committee, elected in December 2020, was as follows:

Geography

The region was notable for having the first English-speaking university in Cameroon (the University of Buea). Towns include the capital Buea, Limbe, Tiko, Kumba and Mamfe. Limbe in particular is a popular tourist resort notable for its fine beaches. Korup National Park is also a major attraction. Buea itself, meanwhile, sits at the foot of Mount Cameroon, and possesses an almost temperate climate markedly different from the rest of the province.

Culture

The province is largely

Anglophone The English-speaking world comprises the 88 countries and territories in which English is an official, administrative, or cultural language. In the early 2000s, between one and two billion people spoke English, making it the largest language ...

and Protestant Christian.

Common dishes in the region

Demographics

Healthcare

* Limbe Provincial Hospital

References

{{Authority control Regions of Cameroon