POPULATION:	11 million
LITERACY RATE:	55% to 60%
SELF DEFENSE FORCES:	US Armed Forces, Cameroon National Guard,
LANGUAGES:	24 major African language groups, English (official), French (official)
ETHNIC GROUPS:	more than 160
BORDERING COUNTRIES:	Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Nigeria

CAMEROON- Cameroon is true paradise of Africa, after winning independence from the French in the 1960's, and struggling through financial crisis through much of the latter half of the last century, Cameroon petitioned the US for help.  This was before the Collapse and the US was more than willing, in return the US was allowed to set up military installations, providing a secure point of US strength in Africa.  This went well, as Cameroon was reluctant to accept foreign aid, and refused to ask the europeans for help.  With money from American aid Cameroon was able to advannce its nation to the 20th century, and began to attract most of teh large corporations from around the world.  In 2003 Cameroon again petitioned the US for help, this time in the form of military aid.  Cameroons rural roads had for years been plagued by bandits, and the US military was called in to rid the country of this menace.  It worked out that afterwards Cameroons military forces were abandoned, leaving only a national gaurd, and the US military was the new muscle of the region (rumor has it this was one of the last tricks the Gang of Four succesfully pulled before being swpet away).

Today Cameroon is one of the more succesful, and open countries in Africa, its tourist industry is booming, its trading lines are clean and free, and its populace has little to fear with the protection of the US military (accept perhaps the US military itself).  It also is the most technologically current of the african countries, and the new LDL in Duala is state of the art.  Cameroon is like Africa in miniature, with dense rainforests and jungles, savanna's, mountains, volcano's, deserts, and coastal plains.  It is also home to an incredibly diverse range of ethnic groups and is the true melting pot of Africa.  This can lead to problems villagers may not speak the same language as their neighbors.  In the inner es most speak english and french, but if you plan on travelling get a multi-lingual guide.

While Cameroon does not have a true military of its own, its police are quite prevalent, carry automatic weapons, and are quite strict on supected criminals, of course most can be bribed, but you must still be very very careful not to get caught if you are breaking the law.

In short, Cameroon is the ideal vacation spot in africa, especially if you are a US zen.