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Garoua (also Garua; Fula: 𞤺𞤢𞤪𞤱𞤢, Garwa) is a port city and the capital of the North Region of
Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...
, lying on the
Benue River Benue River (), previously known as the Chadda River or Tchadda, is a major tributary of the Niger River. The size of its catchment basin is 319,000 km2 (123,000 sq mi). Almost its entire length of Approximation, approximately is navigable dur ...
. A thriving centre of the textiles and cotton industries, the city has approximately 1,285,000 inhabitants in 2020, mostly Fulbe/Fulani people.


History

Garoua was established by the
Fulani The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people are an ethnic group in Sahara, Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region. Inhabiting many countries, they live mainly in West Africa and northern parts of Central Africa, South Sudan, Darfur, ...
emir
Modibbo Adama Adama ɓii Ardo Hassana (1786 – 1847), more commonly known as Modibbo Adama (''Modibbo'' meaning "learned man"), was a Fulani scholar from the Yillaga (Yirlaɓe) clan. He led a jihad into the region of Fombina (in modern-day Cameroon and Nigeri ...
in the first half of the 19th century. During the steamship era, it developed into a major river port. The population of the city was 30,000 in 1967.


Geography

Garoua is situated in northern Cameroon, and lies on the
Benue River Benue River (), previously known as the Chadda River or Tchadda, is a major tributary of the Niger River. The size of its catchment basin is 319,000 km2 (123,000 sq mi). Almost its entire length of Approximation, approximately is navigable dur ...
. It serves as the gateway to Benoue National Park. Neighborhoods include Commercial Centre, Lopere, Quartier de Marouare, Poumpoumre, Roumde Adjia and the northwestern suburb of Yelwa, near Garoua International Airport.


Climate

Garoua has a
tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry "winter") and ''As'' (for a dry "summer"). The driest month has less than ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
''Aw''), with a wet season and a dry season and the temperature being hot year-round. The average temperature in Garoua ranges from in December and January, the coolest months, to in April, the hottest month. The hottest time of year is in March and April, just before the wet season starts. March has the highest average high at , while the highest average low is in April. August has the lowest average high at , while December has the lowest average low at . Garoua receives of rain over 88 precipitation days, with a distinct wet and dry season like most tropical savanna climates. December, January and February receive no precipitation at all. August, the wettest month, receives of rainfall on average. September has 24 precipitation days, which is the most of any month. Garoua receives 2927.1 hours of sunshine annually on average, with the sunshine being distributed evenly across the year, although it is lower during the wet season.


Demographics

In 2005, Garoua had a population of 495,996 people. The city is inhabited by the
Fulbe The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people are an ethnic group in Sahara, Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region. Inhabiting many countries, they live mainly in West Africa and northern parts of Central Africa, South Sudan, Darfur, ...
ethnic group. Due to a significant number of Chadian expatriates in the city, there is a Chadian Consulate here.


Economy

As the fourth largest port in Cameroon, Garoua is a major center of trade in the country. It developed as a centre for trade in petroleum, cement, hides, peanuts, and cotton, transported on ships along the Benue River, between
Burutu Burutu is a Local Government Area in Delta State, Nigeria. It lies on the coast of the Niger Delta on two sides of the Forcados River, a channel of the River Niger, upstream from the Bight of Benin. It has served as a link between river transp ...
in Nigeria. It has long been a thriving centre of the cotton industry and houses several
textile Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, and different types of #Fabric, fabric. ...
processing facilities and factories. The cotton company Sodecoton has one of its major centres in the city. Leatherwork and fishing are also notable industries.


Sport

Roumdé Adjia Stadium Stade Roumdé Adjia is a multi-purpose stadium in Garoua, Cameroon. It is currently used mostly for football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a ...
was one of the arenas hosting the
2021 Africa Cup of Nations The 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (also referred to as AFCON 2021 or CAN 2021), known as the TotalEnergies 2021 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 33rd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial international men's ass ...
.


Places of worship

Among the
places of worship A place of worship is a specially designed structure or space where individuals or a group of people such as a congregation come to perform acts of devotion, veneration, or religious study. A building constructed or used for this purpose is so ...
, there are, predominantly,
Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
mosques. There are also Christian churches and temples:
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Garoua The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Garoua is the Metropolitan See for the ecclesiastical province of Garoua in Cameroon. History * January 9, 1947: Established as Apostolic Prefecture of Garoua from the Apostolic Vicariate of Foumban * March 2 ...
(
Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
),
Evangelical Church of Cameroon The Eglise Evangelique Du Cameroun EEC (Evangelical Church of Cameroon) was born out of the European missionaries, the Paris Mission, Basel Mission and English Baptist Mission. After 1917 the Basel Mission handed over the majority of its mission s ...
(
World Communion of Reformed Churches The World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) is the largest association of Reformed (Calvinist) churches in the world. It has 230 member denominations (227 members and three associate or affiliate members) in 108 countries, together claiming ...
),
Presbyterian Church in Cameroon The Presbyterian Church in Cameroon (PCC) is a Calvinism, Reformed and Presbyterianism, Presbyterian denomination in Cameroon. It is the largest English-speaking church in the country and the largest Reformed one, a member of the World Communion of ...
(
World Communion of Reformed Churches The World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) is the largest association of Reformed (Calvinist) churches in the world. It has 230 member denominations (227 members and three associate or affiliate members) in 108 countries, together claiming ...
),
Cameroon Baptist Convention The Cameroon Baptist Convention is a Baptist Christian denomination in Cameroon. It is affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance. The headquarters is in Bamenda. History The Convention has its origins in a British mission of the Baptist Missio ...
(
Baptist World Alliance The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) is an international communion of Baptists, with an estimated 51 million people from 266 member bodies in 134 countries and territories as of 2024. A voluntary association of Baptist churches, the BWA accounts f ...
), Full Gospel Mission Cameroon (
Assemblies of God The World Assemblies of God Fellowship (WAGF), commonly known as the Assemblies of God (AG), is a global cooperative body or communion of over 170 Pentecostal denominations that was established on August 15, 1989. The WAGF was created to provi ...
).


Transport

Garoua is served by
Garoua International Airport Garoua Airport , also known as Garoua International Airport, is an airport serving Garoua, the capital of North Province, Cameroon. The airport is used by both civilian and military aircraft. Airlines and Destinations References External ...
. The United States military uses the airport as a base to conduct
unmanned aerial vehicle An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or unmanned aircraft system (UAS), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft with no human pilot, crew, or passengers onboard, but rather is controlled remotely or is autonomous.De Gruyter Handbook of Dron ...
operations. The city lies on National Highway 1, at a junction of the road between
Maroua Maroua (Fula: Marwa, , 𞤥𞤢𞤪𞤱𞤢) is the capital of the Far North Region (Cameroon), Far North Region of Cameroon, stretching along the banks of the Ferngo River, Ferngo and Kaliao Rivers, in the foothills of the Mandara Mountains. T ...
and
Ngaoundéré Ngaoundéré or N'Gaoundéré (Fula: N'gamdere, , 𞤲'𞤺𞤢𞤥𞤣𞤫𞥅𞤪𞤫𞥅) is the capital of the Adamawa Region of Cameroon. It had a population of 152,700 at the 2005 census. According to the film ''Les Mairuuwas – Maitre de l ...
. The main road leading north through the town and past the airport is called Rue de la Gendarmerie.


Notable people

*
Goggo Addi Goggo Addi (– November 1999) was a Cameroonian storyteller who performed in the Fula language. She hosted storytelling events in the country for several decades, and from 1985 to 1989 she consented to have her stories recorded and transcribed by ...
(1911–1999), storyteller who worked to preserve
Fulani The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people are an ethnic group in Sahara, Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region. Inhabiting many countries, they live mainly in West Africa and northern parts of Central Africa, South Sudan, Darfur, ...
cultural heritage *
Ahmadou Ahidjo Ahmadou Babatoura Ahidjo (24 August 192430 November 1989) was a Cameroonian politician who was the first president of Cameroon from 1960 until 1982. He was previously the first Prime Minister of Cameroon, Prime Minister from the country's indepe ...
(1924–1989), first president of Cameroon * Youssoufa Daoua (in French) (1947–2015), politician * Gautier Bello (born 1983), footballer *
Vincent Aboubakar Vincent Paté Aboubakar (born 22 January 1992) is a Cameroonian professional footballer who most recently played as a striker for Süper Lig club Hatayspor and captains the Cameroon national team. Aboubakar began his career at Coton Sport a ...
(born 1992), professional footballer


References


External links

* {{Authority control Populated places in North Region (Cameroon) Provincial capitals in Cameroon Benue River