Cameroon’s natural resources include oil, natural gas, gold, bauxite, cobalt and iron, along with forests covering 43.03% of the territory. What are Cameroon’s flora and fauna like? The country has 885 bird species, 335 mammal species and 6,883 vascular plant species, as well as 285.5 km³ of renewable freshwater resources.
Cameroon, in Central Africa, is a country rich in natural resources. Covering an area of 475,442 km², it has a great diversity of ecosystems, ranging from tropical forests to the Sahel desert.
Contents
Its natural resources include timber, oil, natural gas, gold, diamonds, iron and cobalt. Its coastal waters also hold important fish stocks.
Cameroon’s biodiversity is equally impressive, with a wide variety of animal and plant species, including primates, elephants, gorillas and a great variety of birds. The sustainable use of Cameroon’s natural resources represents a great opportunity for economic development and environmental conservation.
What are Cameroon’s natural resources? What natural wealth does the country have? What are its mineral resources, and how do they compare globally? How much energy can it generate from its water resources? How biologically diverse is Cameroon?
Natural resources
Natural resources are materials or energy sources provided by or found on Earth that are useful to humans. Every product we manufacture is made up of natural resources.
- Renewable resources: these can be restored by natural processes faster than the rate at which they are consumed. Examples include solar radiation, wind, hydroelectric power, water when used properly, and plant and animal life.
- Non-renewable resources: once extracted, these are depleted and cannot regenerate. Examples include hydrocarbons, metals and minerals.
Examples of Cameroon’s main natural resources
Cameroon: water, forests and protection
Key indicators of the country’s natural heritage, with their reference year.
| Renewable freshwater per capita | 9,880 m³ per year2022 |
|---|---|
| Forest cover | 42.7% of land area2023 |
| Annual change in forest area | −560 km² per year (2018–2023) |
| Protected land area | 11.0% of land area2025 |
| Marine protected areas | 11.4% of its waters2025 |
| Threatened species | 1,115 mammals, birds, fish and plants2022 |
Oil and gas resources in Cameroon
Cameroon produced 61,848 barrels of oil per day in 2024, which places it 57th in the world. Its oil reserves were estimated at 200,000,000 barrels as of 2022, placing it 58th in the world ranking of oil reserves. Cameroon is an important oil producer in Africa.
It produced about 2.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas in 2024 (U.S. EIA).
Cameroon has large deposits of kyanite (an aluminum silicate) and bauxite at Minim-Martap and Ngaoundéré, on the Adamawa Plateau. It also has cobalt; limestone, which is used in cement plants; gold in eastern Cameroon; and cassiterite in the Darlé River valley in the northeast. Other resources include iron, uranium, rutile, nickel and manganese.
Water resources of Cameroon
Cameroon has an impressive 285.5 km³ of renewable freshwater resources, which places it 29th in the world ranking of water reserves. This water is essential to the development and well-being of the population, as well as to agriculture and industry.
Cameroon also has many rivers and lakes, the main ones being the Sanaga River, the Benue River and Lake Chad. These bodies of water are essential to the country’s life and economy.
Average rainfall and soils of Cameroon
Cameroon has an average annual rainfall of 1,604 mm, which places it 45th in the world. In general, Cameroon’s soils are very fertile thanks to the moisture that persists for much of the year. In some areas with less rainfall, however, soils can be drier and less productive.
Renewable electricity and hydropower production in Cameroon
In 2024, Cameroon generated 5.3 TWh of electricity from renewable sources — 73% of its total generation of 7.3 TWh — and hydropower alone supplied 5.2 TWh (Ember, 2024). The country’s largest hydroelectric plant is now Nachtigal, on the Sanaga River, with an installed capacity of 420 MW (fully in service since March 2025); Song Loulou, also on the Sanaga, has 384 MW.
This plant is key to generating clean, sustainable energy for Cameroon’s development.
Forest resources of Cameroon
Cameroon has substantial forest resources, and its main forest region is the Congo Basin. In 2020, the country’s forest area reached 43.03% of its land area, equivalent to 203,404.8 km².
These figures place Cameroon 27th in the world ranking of forest area, making this resource key to the country’s economy and environment.
Environmental performance and protection of Cameroon’s natural resources
Cameroon scored 38.6 on the Environmental Performance Index (2024), ranking 136th. Terrestrial and marine protected areas also make up 10.98% of its total territorial area, which shows its commitment to conserving natural resources.
Natural parks of Cameroon: the hidden wealth of natural resources
Biodiversity: animal and plant resources of Cameroon
Birds of Cameroon
Cameroon has a great diversity of birds, with a total of 885 species in 2018, which ranks it 20th in the world for number of bird species. It also had 6 endemic bird species in 2020, meaning they are found only in this country.
It is also worth noting that 29 bird species are endangered, so measures are needed to protect this valuable natural resource. The country’s flagship bird is the white-crested turaco, a colorful, striking bird found in Cameroon’s rainforests.
Fish and amphibians of Cameroon
In 2019, 223 amphibian species were recorded, ranking the country 18th in the world for number of amphibian species.
It also has a total of 1,063 fish species, its flagship fish being the cichlids. Despite this natural wealth, 122 fish species are threatened.
Mammals of Cameroon
Cameroon has a great diversity of mammal species, with a total of 335 species in 2016. Of these, 46 are threatened, which makes them a valuable resource that must be protected.
Globally, Cameroon ranks 15th for number of mammal species. It also had 18 endemic mammal species in 2020, placing it 26th in the world ranking of endemic mammals. Among the most notable species is the western lowland gorilla.
Reptiles of Cameroon
Cameroon has a total of 292 reptile species as of 2019, ranking 26th in the world. Its flagship reptile is the Central African rock python (Python sebae), which lives in various regions of Cameroon.
Plants of Cameroon
Cameroon has a great diversity of vascular plants, with a total of 6,883 species recorded in 2020, placing it 27th in the world. Among the most notable species is the African oil palm.
Organizations that protect or study Cameroon’s natural resources
- World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) – Protects biodiversity and promotes sustainability in Cameroon.
- Greenpeace Africa – Fights deforestation and the exploitation of natural resources in Cameroon.
- Rainforest Trust – Protects tropical forests and wildlife in Cameroon.
- Conservation International – Works with local communities to protect biodiversity and natural resources in Cameroon.
- Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) – Protects wildlife and ecosystems in Cameroon.
- International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) – Promotes the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources in Cameroon.
- Government of Cameroon – Implements policies and programs to protect the country’s natural resources and biodiversity.
Cameroon is the world’s fifth-largest cocoa producer: in 2024 it harvested about 307,000 tonnes, behind only Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Indonesia and Nigeria. Cocoa beans, together with crude oil and timber, top the export basket of a country whose agriculture accounts for 32.2% of GDP (Economy of Cameroon, Wikipedia, est. 2024).
Export agriculture beyond cocoa
Cameroon’s farm output is diverse and carries global weight. In 2024 it produced about 249,000 tonnes of cotton, 33,000 tonnes of coffee and 320,000 tonnes of palm oil (2023 figure, FAO). Cassava reached 19 million tonnes, sixth in the world. Coffee, cotton and cocoa are among its main exports (Economy of Cameroon, Wikipedia, 2024).
Timber from the Congo Basin
Forest covers about 43% of the territory, some 20,340,480 hectares in 2020, compared with 22.5 million hectares in 1990 (Cameroon, Wikipedia, 2020). This forest is part of the Congo Basin, the world’s second-largest block of tropical rainforest, and makes timber one of the country’s main exports, along with crude oil and cocoa (Economy of Cameroon, Wikipedia, 2024).
Oil and gas: the fiscal backbone
Crude oil and its derivatives are Cameroon’s top export. Production was around 57,000 barrels a day in March 2026 (Trading Economics, 2026). Natural gas fuels the 216 MW Kribi thermal power plant, in service since 2013, and the city’s deep-water port was built to handle mineral exports (Kribi, Wikipedia).
Sources used
- Lists of countries by mineral production
- Economic data by country
- Forest area (km²)
- Forest area (% of land area)
- Arable land area (km²)
- Oil reserves
- Coal reserves
- Water and agriculture statistics
- Precipitation (mm)
- Environmental Performance Index
- CO2 emissions (tonnes per capita)
- Bird species
- Amphibian species by country
- Mammal species
- Endemic mammal species
- Plant species
- Reptile species by country
- Endemic bird species by country
Last updated: September 26, 2026
Leave a Reply