Cameroon Geography - 2024

Location

Central Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria

Geographic coordinates

6 00 N, 12 00 E

Map references

Africa

Area

total: 475,440 sq km

land: 472,710 sq km

water: 2,730 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly larger than California; about four times the size of Pennsylvania

Area comparison map:

Land boundaries

total: 5,018 km

border countries (6): Central African Republic 901 km; Chad 1,116 km; Republic of the Congo 494 km; Equatorial Guinea 183 km; Gabon 349 km; Nigeria 1975 km

Coastline

402 km

Maritime claims

territorial sea: 12 nm

contiguous zone: 24 nm

Climate

varies with terrain, from tropical along coast to semiarid and hot in north

Terrain

diverse, with coastal plain in southwest, dissected plateau in center, mountains in west, plains in north

Elevation

highest point: Fako on Mont Cameroun 4,045 m

lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m

mean elevation: 667 m

Natural resources

petroleum, bauxite, iron ore, timber, hydropower

Land use

agricultural land: 20.6% (2018 est.)

arable land: 13.1% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 3.3% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 4.2% (2018 est.)

forest: 41.7% (2018 est.)

other: 37.7% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land

290 sq km (2012)

Major lakes (area sq km)

fresh water lake(s): Lake Chad (endorheic lake shared with Niger, Nigeria, and Chad) - 10,360-25,900 sq km
note - area varies by season and year to year

Major watersheds (area sq km)

Atlantic Ocean drainage: Congo (3,730,881 sq km), Niger (2,261,741 sq km)
Internal (endorheic basin) drainage: Lake Chad (2,497,738 sq km)

Major aquifers

Lake Chad Basin

Population distribution

population concentrated in the west and north, with the interior of the country sparsely populated as shown in this

Natural hazards

volcanic activity with periodic releases of poisonous gases from Lake Nyos and Lake Monoun volcanoes

volcanism: Mt. Cameroon (4,095 m), which last erupted in 2000, is the most frequently active volcano in West Africa; lakes in Oku volcanic field have released fatal levels of gas on occasion, killing some 1,700 people in 1986

Geography - note

sometimes referred to as the hinge of Africa because of its central location on the continent and its position at the west-south juncture of the Gulf of Guinea; throughout the country there are areas of thermal springs and indications of current or prior volcanic activity; Mount Cameroon, the highest mountain in Sub-Saharan west Africa, is an active volcano