1. Cameroon is home to the second wettest place in the world, Debuncha at the foot of the Cameroon mountains records annual rainfalls of 400 inches (10,000mm), this is about 20 times the annual rainfall recorded in England.
2. One of the most common staple foods in Cameroon, particularly in the south, are dishes based on Plantain. Plantain meals are prepared in a wide variety of ways including boiling, frying, roasting, as porridges etc. Common dishes include Kondre and Malaxe.
3. Cameroon has produced many internationally renown musicians, probably most famous of whom is Manu Dibango. Manu Dibango was born in Cameroon but has been based and performed abroad for over 40 years, during which time he has had numerous acclaimed Jazz and Makossa hits.
4. Cameroon is one of Africa's Football powerhouses, they were the first African country to reach the Quarter-Finals of the World Cup and have won the African Cup of Nations four times, 1984, 1988, 2000 and 2002.
5. The national anthem of Cameroon is "Chant de Ralliement" (The Rallying Song). It was written in 1928 and became adopted as the national anthem in 1957. The original words were written by René Djam Afame and the music composed by Samuel Minkio Bamba and Moise Nyatte Nko'o.
6. In addition to its indigenous languages spoken, Cameroon has two official languages French and English. English is used as an official language mainly in the West by about a fifth of the population and French is used elsewhere. This was a result of the then German colony of Cameroon being handed to the British and the French by the League of Nations after World War I
7. Youande the capital city of Cameroon was founded in 1888 and has a population of just over 1.4 million. The largest city in Cameroon is Douala, which is also the commercial capital with Cameroon's major port and airport located there. Douala was founded in the 15th century and today has a population of about 2 million.
8. Cameroon's most popular tourist destination is the Waza National Park home to Elephants, Giraffe, Antelope and more. The Park is located in the North of the country in the 'wedge' between the neighbouring countries of Nigeria and Chad near the town of Maroua.
9. The name Cameroon (also Cameroun in French) is derived from Rio de Camarões (the River of Prawns) the name given to River Wouri by Portuguese Explorers in the 15th century due to its abundance of prawns and crayfish.
10. The Cameroonian flag is a vertical tricolour of green, red and yellow with a star. The meaning of the colours are green for the luxuriant vegetation of the south, red for sovereignty, and yellow for the sunshine of the northern regions. The Flag had two stars included in it to represent the former British and French parts of Cameroon. The second star was dropped in 1972 when Cameroon became a unitary state.
Map of Cameroon
