The Centre Region () occupies 69,000 km2 of the central plains of the Republic of Cameroon. It is bordered to the north by the Adamawa Region, to the south by the South Region, to the east by the East Region, and to the West by the Littoral and West Regions. It is the second largest (after East Region) of Cameroon's regions in land area. Major ethnic groups include the Bassa, Ewondo, and Vute.
Yaoundé, capital of Cameroon, is at the heart of the Centre, drawing people from the rest of the country to live and work there. The Centre's towns are also important industrial centres, especially for timber. Agriculture is another important economic factor, especially with regard to the province's most important cash crop, cocoa. Outside of the capital and the plantation zones, most inhabitants are sustenance farmers.
2008 presidential decree abolishes provinces
In 2008, the President of the Republic of Cameroon, President Paul Biya signed decrees abolishing "Provinces" and replacing them with "Regions". Hence, all of the country's ten provinces are now known as Regions.
Geography
Land The Centre's soil is primarily composed of Precambrian deposits of metamorphic rocks, such as gneiss, mica, migmatites, and schists. Granite dominates from about 4˚ N and to the Adamawa border. Faults along the border with the South Province have deposited metamorphic schists and quartzites, with some granite. Laterites are also common, caused by the decomposition of the crystalline rock.
Red ferrallitic soil dominates most of the province, including the forested zone and much of the savanna area. Though as deep as ten metres, this soil is leached by silica and percolating water, making it only marginally productive for agriculture. However, it is usable as a building material, and traditional houses in the province are made from red, sun-dried bricks of mud. Toward the northern border, this soil becomes lightly evolved with large deposits of raw minerals, and at the confluence of the Sanaga and Mbam rivers, it is a mixture of several soil types.
Drainage The Sanaga is the most important river in the province, as its many falls and rapids make it an important source of hydroelectric power. It also supports varied agriculture, as it is prone to flooding during the rainy season. It is navigable from Nachtigal Falls to Edéa in the Littoral Province.
Several smaller tributaries that drain the Centre's Mbam division form the Sanaga. The Djérem flows in from the Adamawa and then through the far northeast of the area before entering the East Province to join the Lom (the upper Sanaga). The Djérem, like the Sanaga, is also subject to seasonal flooding. The Kim flows in from the Adamawa and through the northwestern portion of the Mbam division before merging with the Mbam River at the border with the West Province. The Mbam then empties into the Noun. The Noun, which flows in from the West Province, passes through the town of Bafia, and receives the flow of the Ndjim River north of Goura. The Noun then joins the Sanaga northeast of Monatélé. The Nyong is the only major river in the province that does not flow into the Sanaga. It rises in the East Province, passes through Mbalmayo, continues west, then forms the border between the Littoral and South provinces.
Because the Nyong flows completely through an equatorial climate, it has one period of high water during the rainy season (March to October), during which it is navigable from Mbalmayo to Abong-Mbang in the East Province. Other Centre Province rivers flow through both equatorial and tropical climate zones where rainy seasons occur at different times, and so they never experience great fluctuations in water level. All Centre Province rivers empty into the Atlantic Ocean via the Littoral and South.
Most of the Centre's great demand for electricity is supplied from hydroelectric centres in neighbouring provinces. However, plans are in place for a dam on the Nyong at Njock-Mpoume and on the Sanaga at Nachtigal to better supply the region's power needs.
Most lakes in the Centre are manmade and located in the Yaoundé area. The majority of these were created during the colonial period for the pursuit of water sports.
Relief The Centre Province is entirely situated on the South Cameroon Plateau. The land varies from 500 to 1000 metres above sea level except for the valleys of the Sanaga and its tributaries, which dip as low as 200 metres. The land rises gently in escarpments from the southwestern coastal plain before joining the Adamawa Plateau via depressions and granite massifs. The terrain is characterised by rolling, forested hills, the tallest of which have bare, rocky tops. Deep valleys separate these. The province's highest point is Mbam Minkom, northwest of Yaoundé, at 1,295 metres.
Climate The Centre falls completely within a Type A or Guinea-type climate. This gives the region high humidity and precipitation, with rainfall averaging 1,000–2,000 mm each year. Precipitation is highest in the southernmost portions and diminishes toward the north. Temperatures are fairly steady, averaging 24˚ for the entire region except for the northwestern portions of Mbam division, where they fall to 23˚.
The Centre also experiences equatorial seasons, alternating between rainy and dry periods. The long dry season begins the year, running from December to May. After this comes the short rainy season, which lasts from May to June. The short dry season comes next, from July to October. The year ends in the long rainy season from October to November. North of 5˚, the dry periods last up to four months.
Plant and animal life The Centre is forested except for the valleys of the Djérem, Mbam, and Noun rivers (most of the Mbam division) and the northern border region. These areas are woodland savanna and Sudano-Guinea savanna, respectively. The woodland savanna is characterised by large expanses of grass punctuated by small copses of trees from the forested zones farther south. The Sudano-Guinea portion is similar, only the grass grows more thinly, and trees are both evergreen and deciduous.
The region was once much more heavily forested, but exploitation of species such as ebony and iroko has thinned out the woodlands and allowed dense undergrowth to appear. This has also pushed the savanna farther south over time. Today there remains very little virgin land in the province. The Mfou Reserve (Réserve du Mfou) is one such area, recently created by the WWF and the GTZ to protect various bird, monkey, and snake species. Cameroonian wildlife also lives in the Mvog Betsi Zoo in Yaoundé.
In April 2019, 2 lions were discovered in Mpem and Djim National Park.
Demographics
Settlement patterns With a population of more than 4 million, the Centre is one of the more densely populated of Cameroon's provinces. The area has been an important population center for the Beti-Pahuin people for over a century, but it has since experienced a great amount of immigration due to the placement of Cameroon's seat of government there in colonial times. Yaoundé's presence has prompted the construction of a large and well-maintained road system, and this has contributed to the area's boom. Another factor in the area's growth is its multiple plantations, particularly in the cocoa-growing centre between the Sanaga and Nyong rivers and the sugar-cane area of Mbandjock, which draw thousands of migrant workers, mostly from the highly populated West and Littoral Provinces. As an important educational and government centre, Yaoundé also draws many more highly educated migrants.
The majority of the Centre's residents live in the city of Yaoundé (population 1.1 million) or along the roads and in the major towns. The population density thins out away from the major thoroughfares, especially in the Mbam and Upper Sanaga divisions. A few isolated settlements, such as Nanga Eboko, also support a larger population.
Settlements in the Centre are traditionally placed along roads, resulting in large numbers of houses near the road with forest beginning directly behind them. The traditional house is a rectangular structure made of mud bricks and thin posts. Roofs are sometimes made of thatched raffia palm, but they are more often of corrugated aluminium, iron, or tin today.
People The Centre is one of the most important centres for the Bantu group known as the Beti-Pahuin (Béti-Pahouin), the "Fang-Beti," or simply the "Fang". These peoples share a common language and have similar customs. The Beti-Pahuin are further broken down into the Beti, most of whom live in the Centre Province, and the Bulu and Fang, who primarily inhabit the South.
Beti The Beti consist of several smaller groups. The Ewondo (or Yaoundé) occupy the Centre's most populated region, including Yaoundé, Mbalmayo, and the Nyong and So division. The Yezum and Yebekolo are Ewondo sub-groups. The Bane are more numerous in the South Province, but they have some members in the Nyong and So division. The Mbida-Mbane and Mvog-Nyenge live east of Yaoundé. The Eton-Beti, Eton-Beloua, and Beloua-Eton are headquartered in the Lekie division northeast of Yaoundé, including the towns of Saa and Obala. The territory of the Mvelle stretches east from Yaoundé along the Nyong valley to the northern portions of the Nyong and Mfoumou division, including the border town of Ayos and the plantation centre of Mbandjock. The Eki live throughout the Upper Sanaga division with settlements at Nanga Eboko and Minta.
In addition, some peoples in the Centre are not truly Beti-Pahuin but are currently in the process of being assimilated by that group. Among these are the Manguissa, who live in a small territory in the Lekie division between the Sanaga River and the town of Sa'a, the Bamvele, Batchanga (Tsinga), Evuzok, Omvang, Yekaba, and Yetudi.
Other tribes The area around the town of Bafia and the west-jutting finger of land on the border of the Littoral Province is the home of several related peoples, collectively referred to as the Banen or Bafia. Tribes in this group include the Ndiki, Ntundu, Lemande, and Yambetta. The Bape and Bekke are also a part, though they were assimilated only fairly recently.
Though more numerous in the West and Northwest Provinces, several Tikar groups live in the Centre at northwestern border with the West Province and stretching north and east to the Njim River. Their main settlement in the province is Ngambe Tikar on the Kim River. The Centre's Tikar speak a language known as Tumu and its dialects. The Centre Province Tikar are further divided into the Bang-Heng, Bankim, Ditan, Ina, Ngambe, Ngume, Ue, and Yakong.
Large numbers of Bassa live in the Nyong and Kelle division near the border with the Littoral Province. They are primarily situated in small villages of isolated huts.
The Vute (Babuti) are a Bantu people who inhabit large swathes of the Mbam division to the east of Tikar and Bafia. Their domains are almost equal of those of the Beti in area.
Tribes present in smaller numbers in the province include the Bajem, Baki, Bamun, Bulu, Fa' (Balong), Gbete (Kepere), Gunu, Lafa, Maka, Njauti, Nyokon, and Pori. Several heterogeneous groups collectively known as the Yambassa live in and around Bafia-Banen territory.
Though most of these tribal groups have their own distinct languages, most people in the Centre also speak French.
Religion European missionaries penetrated the territory under German and French colonial rule. Since, most of the region's inhabitants have converted to Christianity. The most prevalent denominations are Presbyterianism and Roman Catholicism, though traditional animist beliefs are commonly practiced alongside Christianity, especially in more rural areas.
Economy