Douala
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| Douala | |
|---|---|
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  Douala
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| Coordinates: 04°03′N 009°41′E | |
| Country |  Cameroon |
| Region | Littoral |
| Department | Wouri |
| Area | |
| • Total | 210 km2 (80 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 13 m (43 ft) |
| Population (2012 (est.)) | |
| • Total | 2,446,945 |
| Time zone | WAT ( UTC+1) |
| • Summer ( DST) | WAT ( UTC+1) |
| Website | Official website |
Douala is the largest city in Cameroon and the capital of Cameroon's Littoral Region. Home to Cameroon's largest port and its major international airport, Douala International Airport, it is the commercial capital of the country. Consequently, it handles most of the country's major exports, such as oil, cocoa and coffee, timber, metals and fruits. As of 2010 the city and its surrounding area had an estimated population that surpassed 3,000,000 inhabitants. The city sits on the estuary of the River Wouri. Settlements had already existed on present-day Douala prior to the arrival of the Portuguese, British, and Germans; however, it was during the German colonization that the city began to develop rapidly as a commercial and political hub of the German colonial administration. During World War I bitter battles were fought for control of Douala. By the time the war ended the British and the French had seized the city from the Germans. A joint Anglo-French condominium governed the city until a comprehensive agreement ceded it (and much of Cameroon) to the French. After the independence of Cameroon, Douala has grown rapidly. Local industries, trade, and other opportunities have attracted an unprecedented influx of migrants, especially from the western region of Cameroon. People from other countries in the region have also permanently settled in the city; they include Nigerians, Chadians, and Malians. In recent times city authorities have been overwhelmed by rapidly increasing population; services are stretched and there is an urgent need to enhance the city's ability to cope with the rapid growth.
Douala is the richest city in the whole CEMAC region of 6 countries.
Overview
The city is located on the banks of the Wouri River, the two sides linked by Bonaberi Bridge. Its population in 2008 was recorded at close to 3,000,000. The climate is tropical.
The first Europeans to visit the area were the Portuguese in about 1472. By 1650, it had become the site of a town formed by immigrants from the interior who spoke the Douala language and during the eighteenth century it was centre of the transatlantic slave trade. Before coming under German rule in 1884, the town was also known as Cameroons Town; thereafter it became Kamerunstadt ("Camaroon City"), the capital of German Kamerun. It was renamed Douala in 1907 and became part of the French Cameroons in 1919. From 1940 to 1946, it was the capital of Cameroon.
The city is divided into quarters with Akwa and Bonanjo being the most important with Akwa being Douala's nightlife centre and Bonanjo its centre of commerce and administration. Along the city's main thoroughfare lie some of Cameroon's best restaurants, coffee houses and French-style patisseries; along the waterfront, many bars and bistros may be found, commanding views of the Gulf of Guinea and nearby mangrove swamps. Many of these are frequented by the city's large expatriate population, mainly French or Lebanese, most of whom work in the petroleum industry.
Douala is the 27th most expensive city in the world and the most expensive in Africa, overtaking Lagos, Nigeria at 32nd. It is ranked 27th for 2009, up from 34th in 2008. In 2007 it was ranked 24th in the world and 1st in Africa. Douala is the first city in tropical Africa to have a piped natural gas supply (presently serving only industrial customers).
Douala is the hometown of FC Barcelona midfielder Alex Song, and Wrexham FC goalkeeper Joslain Mayebi.
Climate
Douala features a tropical monsoon climate ( Köppen climate classification Am), with relatively constant temperatures throughout the course of the year. The city typically features warm and humid conditions with an average annual temperature of 27.0 °C (80.6 °F) and an average humidity of 85%. Douala sees plentiful rainfall during the course of the year, experiencing on average roughly of 3,600 millimetres (140 in) precipitation of rainfall per year. Its driest month is December where on average 28 millimetres (1.1 in) of precipitation falls while its wettest month is August when on average nearly 700 millimetres (28 in) of rain falls.
| Climate data for Douala | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 33 (91) |
35 (95) |
37 (99) |
37 (99) |
37 (99) |
32 (90) |
35 (95) |
32 (90) |
32 (90) |
37 (99) |
36 (97) |
32 (90) |
37 (99) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 32.2 (90) |
32.8 (91) |
32.5 (90.5) |
32.1 (89.8) |
31.4 (88.5) |
29.9 (85.8) |
28.1 (82.6) |
27.7 (81.9) |
29.0 (84.2) |
29.8 (85.6) |
30.9 (87.6) |
31.7 (89.1) |
30.67 (87.22) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 27.8 (82) |
28.5 (83.3) |
28.2 (82.8) |
27.8 (82) |
27.3 (81.1) |
26.5 (79.7) |
25.4 (77.7) |
25.3 (77.5) |
25.9 (78.6) |
26.2 (79.2) |
27.1 (80.8) |
27.5 (81.5) |
26.96 (80.52) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 23.4 (74.1) |
24.1 (75.4) |
23.9 (75) |
23.5 (74.3) |
23.2 (73.8) |
23.0 (73.4) |
22.7 (72.9) |
22.8 (73) |
22.8 (73) |
22.5 (72.5) |
23.2 (73.8) |
23.3 (73.9) |
23.2 (73.76) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 17 (63) |
18 (64) |
18 (64) |
18 (64) |
20 (68) |
19 (66) |
17 (63) |
18 (64) |
17 (63) |
17 (63) |
18 (64) |
20 (68) |
17 (63) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 34.2 (1.346) |
54.5 (2.146) |
155.2 (6.11) |
241.2 (9.496) |
276.2 (10.874) |
354.1 (13.941) |
681.4 (26.827) |
687.5 (27.067) |
561.2 (22.094) |
406.6 (16.008) |
123.1 (4.846) |
27.5 (1.083) |
3,602.7 (141.838) |
| Avg. precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) | 5 | 9 | 15 | 18 | 21 | 23 | 27 | 30 | 26 | 24 | 12 | 5 | 215 |
| % humidity | 81 | 81 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 87 | 89 | 89 | 88 | 87 | 85 | 83 | 85.2 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 192.2 | 180.8 | 170.5 | 177.0 | 176.7 | 123.0 | 71.3 | 52.7 | 90.0 | 130.2 | 162.0 | 182.9 | 1,709.3 |
| Source #1: World Meteorological Organization Hong Kong Observatory (sun 1961-1990) | |||||||||||||
| Source #2: Weatherbase (record highs and lows, humidity) | |||||||||||||
Transport
Douala is linked by rail to Yaoundé, Ngaoundéré, Kumba and Nkongsamba. Douala has a fairly developed road network compared to other cities in Cameroon. However much of the city's road decayed due to years of neglect and corruption. Efforts have been made recently to renovate the cities road especially in the most deprived neighborhoods.
The Douala International Airport is located in the eastern part of the city. There are direct flight to several European cities including Paris, Brussels, Lyon. Regional and continental destinations include Abidjan, Lagos, Dakar, Kinshasa, Johannesburg, Nairobi. The Douala International is the busiest in the CEMAC area and is the hub for Cameroon's national carrier Camairco.
The seaport has 8.5m of draft.
Education
As in most large cities in Cameroon there are several nursery, Primary secondary and high schools in the city. In recent years there has been a surge in the number of private schools in the city. More parents turn to send their kids to these schools considering the fairly elevated standards of the way they are managed. The city has a vibrant academic population which is visible during morning rush hours. In is interesting to note that there is also a large informal educational sector that caters for a huge part of the population; mostly individuals with primary school certificate or those with no education at all. This form of education is common in sectors like cloth manufacture, bread making, construction, security, car repair. Individuals from this these informal sector are by far the most visible in deprive neighborhoods’ such as Bonaberi, Ndokoti, Bepanda, Village, Logbaba.
The city of Douala is home to a number of higher education institutions including the University of Douala There are also a number of professional school the most prominent being the Douala Maritime institute. Douala has an aviation school called CAE Oxford Aviation Academy Douala. The city of Douala is however mostly a commercial city hence education is not underscored like in other cities
Points of interest
- Hotel Akwa Palace
- Place du Gouvernement
- La Pagode
- Doual'art
- Joseph-Francis Sumegné, La Nouvelle Liberté, 1996
- Casino Kheops
Sister cities
| City | Region | Country |
|---|---|---|
| Strasbourg |  Alsace |
 France |
| Akhisar |  Manisa Province |
Turkey |
| Dakar |  Dakar Region |
 Senegal |
| Newark |  New Jersey |
 United States |
| Philadelphia |  Pennsylvania |
United States |
| Windhoek |  Khomas Region |
Namibia |
