Yaoundé
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| Yaoundé | |
|---|---|
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  Yaoundé
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| Coordinates: 3°52′N 11°31′E Coordinates: 3°52′N 11°31′E | |
| Region | Centre |
| Department | Mfoundi |
| Area | |
| • Total | 180 km2 (70 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 726 m (2,382 ft) |
| Population (2012) | |
| • Total | 2,440,462 |
| • Density | 14,000/km2 (35,000/sq mi) |
| Time zone | CET ( UTC+1) |
| • Summer ( DST) | CEST ( UTC+1) |
Yaoundé (pron.: / ˌ j ɑː uː n ˈ d eɪ / or /jaːˈʊndeɪ/, French pronunciation: [ja.un.de]) is the capital of Cameroon and, with a population of approximately 2.5 million, the second largest city in the country after the port city Douala. It lies in the centre of the nation at an elevation of about 750 metres (2,500 ft) above sea level.
History
Yaoundé was founded in 1888 by German traders as a base for the ivory trade and as an agricultural research station. It was occupied by Belgian troops during World War I. After Germany's defeat, France became the colonial power in eastern Cameroon. Yaoundé consequently became the capital of French Cameroon, and continued as the capital of the Republic of Cameroon at independence.
Economy
Most of Yaounde's economy is centered around the administrative structure of the civil service and the diplomatic services. Due to these high profile central structures, Yaounde enjoys a relative higher standard of living and security compared to the rest of Cameroon.
Major industries in Yaoundé include tobacco, dairy products, beer, clay, glass goods, and lumber. It is also a regional distribution centre for coffee, cocoa, copra, sugar cane, and rubber.
Places of interest
The city centre houses government offices, some hotels, and the central market. The Bastos neighbourhood, with most homes owned by Cameroonians, is home to foreign embassies and the expatriate European community (drawn mainly from the diplomatic corps). The presidential palace and compound is in the Etoudi neighbourhood.
Also found in Yaoundé are:
- the Cathédrale Notre Dame des Victoires, seat of the Archdiocese of Yaoundé
- the Basilique Marie-Reine-des-Apôtres, built on the site of the first missionary church in Cameroon
- the Cameroon Art Museum (located in a former Benedictine monastery)
- the Cameroon National Museum (located in the former presidential palace)
- the Afhemi Museum
- the Palais du Sport
There is a small zoo in the Mvog-Betsi neighbourhood. Yaoundé has a small assortment of nightclubs and restaurants.
Climate
Yaoundé features a tropical wet and dry climate with constant temperatures throughout the year. However, primarily due to the altitude, temperatures are not quite as hot as one would expect for a city located near the equator. Yaoundé features a lengthy wet season, covering a ten month span between February and November. However, there is a noticeable decrease in precipitation within the wet season, seen during the months of July and August, almost giving the city the appearance of having two separate rainy seasons. It’s primarily due to the relative lull in precipitation during these two months that Yaoundé features a tropical wet and dry climate, as opposed to a tropical monsoon climate.
| Climate data for Yaoundé | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 33 (91) |
33 (91) |
33 (91) |
36 (97) |
34 (93) |
32 (90) |
31 (88) |
34 (93) |
31 (88) |
33 (91) |
32 (90) |
32 (90) |
36 (97) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 29.6 (85.3) |
31.0 (87.8) |
30.4 (86.7) |
29.6 (85.3) |
28.8 (83.8) |
27.7 (81.9) |
26.5 (79.7) |
26.5 (79.7) |
27.5 (81.5) |
27.8 (82) |
28.1 (82.6) |
28.5 (83.3) |
28.5 (83.3) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 24.6 (76.3) |
25.7 (78.3) |
25.4 (77.7) |
25.0 (77) |
24.5 (76.1) |
23.8 (74.8) |
23.2 (73.8) |
22.9 (73.2) |
23.4 (74.1) |
23.5 (74.3) |
23.9 (75) |
24.0 (75.2) |
24.16 (75.48) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 19.6 (67.3) |
20.3 (68.5) |
20.3 (68.5) |
20.3 (68.5) |
20.2 (68.4) |
19.9 (67.8) |
19.9 (67.8) |
19.3 (66.7) |
19.3 (66.7) |
19.2 (66.6) |
19.6 (67.3) |
19.5 (67.1) |
19.78 (67.6) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 14 (57) |
15 (59) |
16 (61) |
15 (59) |
16 (61) |
15 (59) |
16 (61) |
16 (61) |
15 (59) |
15 (59) |
17 (63) |
16 (61) |
14 (57) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 19.0 (0.748) |
42.8 (1.685) |
124.9 (4.917) |
171.3 (6.744) |
199.3 (7.846) |
157.1 (6.185) |
74.2 (2.921) |
113.7 (4.476) |
232.3 (9.146) |
293.6 (11.559) |
94.3 (3.713) |
18.6 (0.732) |
1,541.1 (60.672) |
| Avg. precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) | 3 | 4 | 12 | 14 | 17 | 14 | 11 | 12 | 20 | 23 | 11 | 3 | 144 |
| % humidity | 79.5 | 79.5 | 81.0 | 82.0 | 84.0 | 85.0 | 85.5 | 86.0 | 85.5 | 85.0 | 82.0 | 79.0 | 82.83 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 170.5 | 180.8 | 170.5 | 165.0 | 167.4 | 126.0 | 96.1 | 86.8 | 102.0 | 130.2 | 168.0 | 182.9 | 1,746.2 |
| Source #1: World Meteorological Organization Hong Kong Observatory (sun 1961-1990) | |||||||||||||
| Source #2: BBC Weather | |||||||||||||
Transportation
Yaoundé Nsimalen International Airport is a major civilian hub, while nearby Yaoundé Airport is used by the military. Railway lines run west to the port city of Douala and north to N'Gaoundéré. Many bus companies operate from the city; particularly in the Nsam and Mvan neighborhoods. Frequent bus runs occur along the road between Yaoundé and Douala, which has witnessed several fatal accidents. Travel time by road between Douala and Yaounde is approximately 3 hours. Traffic in the city can be heavy during weekdays, but is very light during the weekends.Yaounde has made a great progress in infrastructure especially road construction.
Markets
There are numerous markets in the city, ranging from small street-side markets to the large Mfoundi and Mokolo market. There are also some supermarkets (e.g. the locally owned 'Rayco' and 'Mahima' and the Franch-owned Casino) situated in the city centre.
Education
For schools, Cameroon is a bilingual country. In the Capital many of the schools teach in French as a first language and English as a second language, but sometimes they will neglect the English language. There are two American schools in Cameroon, the American School of Yaounde (ASOY) and Rain Forest International School (RFIS). Yaoundé is the site of several universities: the University of Yaoundé I, the University of Yaoundé II (on a campus outside of town), the Protestant University of Central Africa (UPAC) and the Catholic University of Central Africa (UCAC). Several of the nation's professional schools are also located in Yaounde (Ecole Normal Superieur for teachers, Ecole Militaire InterArmes du Cameroun) as well as various schools for engineers, nurses and diplomats).
Healthcare
The largest hospital is the Central Hospital of Yaoundé (Hôpital Central de Yaounde) with 650 beds. Yaoundé General Hospital (Hôpital Général de Yaoundé - HGY) had 302 beds when it was built in 1985. Other hospitals are the Yaoundé Gynaecology, Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital (Hôpital Gynéco Obstetrique et Pédiatrique de Yaoundé - HGOPY) and the University Hospital Centre of Yaoundé (Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Yaoundé - CHU).
Sports
The national football (soccer) team plays some of its home matches in the Ahmadou Ahidjo stadium and the football clubs Canon Yaoundé, Impôts FC and Tonnerre Yaoundé are all based in the city. The Grand Prix Chantal Biya, a mean's road bicycle racing event on the UCI Africa Tour starts and finishes in Yaoundé.
