Africa

Flag of Cameroon

Cameroon is located at the junction of West and Central Africa and is often called 'Africa in miniature' for its extraordinary geographical and cultural diversity, encompassing Atlantic beaches, volcanic mountains, savanna grasslands, tropical rainforests, and the Saharan fringes. The country has over 250 ethnic groups and was formerly divided between British and French colonial administration. Yaoundé is the political capital while Douala is the main port city and economic hub.

CapitalYaounde
RegionAfrica
Current flag since1975
Main coloursGreen, Red, Yellow
Populationabout 28 million
Areaabout 475,000 km²
Flags in history3

Population and area are rounded.

What the flag of Cameroon means

Cameroon uses the Pan-African colours: green for the forests of the south, yellow for the savannas of the north, and red for unity. The yellow “star of unity” was adopted in 1975; from 1961 two stars had stood for the two federated states of formerly French and British Cameroon. The original flag of 1957 had no stars at all.

More about the flag

Cameroon was a German colony until the First World War, after which it was divided between France and Britain. French Cameroon became independent in 1960, and in 1961 the southern part of British Cameroons voted to join it, while the north joined Nigeria; that union is why the flag carried two stars until 1975. Cameroon's football team, the Indomitable Lions, carries the flag's colours.