Nicknames for Yaoundé include the City with Seven Hills and the Town with Wild Boars.
Yaoundé is in the Guinness World Records as the site where the most-attended business lesson was conducted. On August 6, 2016, Freedom Faithnet Global presented a business lesson attended by 2,464 people in Cameroon’s capital city.
On the darker side, the United States and Britain are among nations that have issued foreign travel advisory warnings about Yaoundé and Cameroon. These warnings address risks such as violent crime, kidnapping and scams. Unfortunately, Yaoundé is plagued by high unemployment and an under-equipped police force.
From an international trade perspective, Cameroon shipped an estimated US$2 billion worth of goods around the globe. Cameroon’s most valuable exports are crude oil (43.1% of its global total), cocoa beans (13.7%), petroleum gases (9.1%), sawn, chipped, sliced or peeled wood (8.9%), bananas including plantains (5.5%), wood in rough (3.4%), refined petroleum oils (2.2%), unprocessed aluminum (2%), cocoa butter, fat and oil (1.8%) then uncombed cotton (1.1%).
Cameroon is the second-most linguistically diverse nation after Nigeria, boasting 287 living languages including colonial versions.
Capital Facts for Yaoundé, Cameroon: Quick Reference
Famous People
Below, you will find 10 of the most famous people born in Yaoundé, Cameroon.
- Samuel Umtiti, soccer player/footballer (born Nov. 14, 1993)
- Joel Embiid, professional NBA basketball player (born Mar. 16, 1994)
- Dencia, pop singer (born Mar. 26, 1992)
- Luc Mbah a Moute, professional NBA basketball player (born Sep. 9, 1986)
- Nicolas N’Koulou, soccer player/footballer (born Mar. 27, 1990)
- Wilglory Tanjong, author & scholar (born Feb. 3,1996 )
- Emil Abossolo-Mbo, actor (born Aug. 29, 1958)
- Roger Milla, soccer player/footballer (born May 20, 1952)
- Sandra Nkaké, actress & singer (born Nov. 15, 1973)
- Sumi ‘Tony’ Epie, beach volleyball player (born Sep. 9, 1974)
Note: Data for our Famous People tab was sourced from Google searches mostly targeting published Wikipedia articles specific to each person’s name.
Population
Demonym for Cameroon’s residents: Cameroonians
Population: 3,992,411 (Yaoundé) at July 11, 2020
Density: 44,859 people per square mile (17,283 per square kilometer)
Population: 26,567,300 (Cameroon) at July 11, 2020
Density: 145 people per square mile (56 per square kilometer)
Median age for all Cameroon: 18.7 years old
Financial
GDP: US$100.9 billion for 2019 (Cameroon)
GDP per person: $3,955
Note: The above country-level GDP metrics are on a Purchasing Power Parity basis and are in U.S. dollars. Credible city GDP statistics for Yaoundé were unavailable.
Official currency used in Yaoundé: Central African CFA franc
Geography
Capital landmarks: Cathédrale Notre Dame des Victoires, National Museum of Yaoundé (Le Musée National de Yaoundé), Mefou National Park and the Monument de la Réunification
Research
Research Sources:
Brookings Institution, Global Metro Monitor Report (includes GDP data).
Central Intelligence Agency, World Factbook, Africa: Cameroon.
Central Intelligence Agency, World Factbook, Field Listing: Major Urban Areas.
CityMetric, Where are largest cities in the world? 2015 edition.
Demographia, World Urban Area, 12th Annual Edition.
Guinness World Records, Largest business lesson.
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Databases.
International Trade Centre, Trade Map.
Languages of the World, Linguistic diversity in Africa and Europe.
Official Government Website, Prime Minister’s Office, Republic of Cameroon.
Wikimedia Commons, City Flags.
Note: Some city flags were unavailable. If so, attribution belongs to Wikimedia Commons for pertinent country flags.
Wikipedia, Cameroon.
Wikipedia, Yaoundé.
Wikipedia, Yaoundé (French version).
WorldOMeter, Venezuela Population.
Cameroon gained independence from the French-administered United Nations trusteeship on January 1, 1960. Cameroonians celebrate State Unification Day (National Day) as a public holiday each May 20.
Yaoundé’s built-up urban area extends over 89 square miles (231 kilometers) and is home to an estimated 4 million inhabitants at July 2020.
At the country level, Cameroon’s land area covers 182,514 square miles (472,710 square kilometers). The national population count was 26.6 million residents as of July 11, 2020.
Population density is more concentrated for Cameroon’s capital city plus its surrounding urban area, given the average 44,859 Cameroonians per square mile (17,283 per square kilometer).
Zooming out to Cameroon’s overall land boundaries, population density dilutes to an average 145 inhabitants per square mile (56 per square kilometer).
