Introduction

Yaoundé is the capital city of Cameroon and second largest city in the West African country after Douala. It is 210 km (130 miles) east of the port of Douala. Established by the Germans as a military port in 1899, it became capital of French Cameroon in 1921.

The city is the commercial centre of a vast surrounding area which is basically agricultural. Bananas, coffee, and cacao are cultivated and there is also mining of gold and titanium. Industries include tourism, oil refining, food production, and soap and textile manufacture.

Yaoundé lies approximately in the centre of Cameroon and is at about 750 metres above sea level. Yaoundé has an estimated population 1,430,000 (2004),

The city is linked by the Transcameroon railway to Douala and to Ngaoundere in the north.