Overview
The Republic of Cameroon is a west African country that shares a long border with Nigeria to the west and north, and other borders with Chad and the Central African Republic to the north and west, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and the Republic of Congo to the south. The country was a German colony from the late 19th Century until the end of World War I, when it became a League of Nations mandate, divided into French and British regions. French Cameroon gained independence in 1960, with British Cameroon following suit a year later. The country has a one-party presidency and is considered internationally to be rife with corruption. Cameroon is a secular state which guarantees freedom of religion.
What it means to be a Christian in Cameroon
Christianity is the largest religion in Cameroon, being particularly strong in the south and the west. Islam is strongest in the north of the country.
In recent years Cameroon has seen several incursions in the north from Boko Haram militants, crossing the border from Borno State in Nigeria. Several predominantly Christian villages have been attacked, with churches burned, homes destroyed and Christians killed or displaced. In 2014, following the kidnapping of 276 mainly Christian schoolgirls in Chibok, the Cameroonian president Paul Biya announced he was waging war on Boko Haram and deployed troops to the border with Nigeria. In the months that followed the Islamist group launched several attacks over the border into Cameroon.
