User:SteveRwanda/Demographics

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[edit] Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Rwanda
Members of Tikar ethnic groups, such as this family, live in the Northwest Province.
Members of Tikar ethnic groups, such as this family, live in the Northwest Province.

2005 estimates place Rwanda's population at 9,234,000.[1] This population is young: an estimated 41.9% are under 15, and 97.5% are under 65. The birth rate is estimated at 40.16 births per 1,000 people, the death rate at 14.91.[2] The life expectancy is 48.99 years (47.87 years for males and 50.16 years for females), the twentieth lowest out of 222 countries.[2][3]

Cameroon's population is almost evenly divided between urban and rural dwellers.[4] Population density is highest in the large urban centres, the western highlands, and the northeastern plain.[5] Douala, Yaoundé, and Garoua are the largest cities. In contrast, the Adamawa Plateau, southeastern Bénoué depression, and most of the South Cameroon Plateau are sparsely populated.[6] People from the overpopulated western highlands and the underdeveloped north are moving to the coastal plantation zone and urban centres for employment.[7] Smaller movements are occurring as workers seek employment in lumber mills and plantations in the south and east.[8] Although the national sex ratio is relatively even, these out-migrants are primarily males, which leads to unbalanced ratios in some regions.[9]

Both monogamous and polygamous marriage are practiced, and the average Cameroonian family is large and extended.[10] In the north, women tend to the home, and men herd cattle or work as farmers. In the south, women grow the family's food, and men provide meat and grow cash crops. Cameroonian society is male-dominated, and violence and discrimination against women is common.[11][12][13] At the onset of puberty, an estimated 26% of girls are subjected to breast ironing, a practice by which their breasts are pounded or massaged with heated objects to prevent them from developing. The goal is to prevent the girls from becoming precociously sexually active and to protect them from sexual assault.[14] Female genital mutilation is practiced in portions of the Far North and Southwest provinces.[15]

The homes of the Musgum, in the Far North Province, are made of earth and grass.
The homes of the Musgum, in the Far North Province, are made of earth and grass.

Estimates identify anywhere from 230 to 282 different ethnic and linguistic groups in Cameroon.[16][17] The Adamawa Plateau broadly bisects these into northern and southern divisions. The northern peoples are Sudanese ethnic groups, who live in the central highlands and the northern lowlands, and the Fulani, who are spread throughout northern Cameroon. A small number of Shuwa Arabs live near Lake Chad. Southern Cameroon is inhabited by speakers of Bantu and Semi-Bantu languages. Bantu-speaking groups inhabit the coastal and equatorial zones, while speakers of Semi-Bantu languages live in the Western grassfields. Some 5,000 Pygmies roam the southeastern and coastal rainforests or live in small, roadside settlements.[18] War in the Central African Republic has driven more than 20,000 refugees to Cameroon's Adamawa and East provinces since 2002,[19] and kidnappings of Cameroonian citizens by Central African bandits have increased since 2005.[20] Nigerians, especially Igbo, make up the largest group of foreign nationals.[21]

Cameroon has a high level of religious freedom and diversity.[12] The northern peoples are predominantly Muslim, although some ethnic groups retain native animist beliefs and are called Kirdi ("pagan") by the Fulani. The U.S. Department of State claims that some Muslims discriminate against Christians and followers of traditional beliefs in the north.[12] Southern ethnic groups predominantly follow Christian or animist beliefs, or a syncretic combination of the two. People widely believe in witchcraft, and the government outlaws such practices.[22] Suspected witches are often subject to mob violence.[12]

The European languages introduced during colonialism have created a linguistic divide between the English-speaking fifth of the population who live in the Northwest and Southwest provinces and the French-speaking remainder of the country.[23] Both English and French are official languages. Cameroonian Pidgin English is the most common lingua franca, especially in the formerly British-administered territories.[24] A mixture of English, French, and Pidgin called Camfranglais has been gaining popularity in urban centres since the mid-1970s.[25]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ World Population Prospects.
  2. ^ a b "Rwanda". World Factbook.
  3. ^ "Rank Order - Life expectancy at birth". World Factbook
  4. ^ West 3.
  5. ^ Neba 109–11.
  6. ^ Neba 111.
  7. ^ Neba 105–6.
  8. ^ Neba 106.
  9. ^ Neba 103–4.
  10. ^ Mbaku 139.
  11. ^ Mbaku 141.
  12. ^ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Human_Rights_Report
  13. ^ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Freedom_House
  14. ^ Sa'ah.
  15. ^ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named EHRC
  16. ^ Neba 65, 67.
  17. ^ West 13.
  18. ^ Neba 48.
  19. ^ International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
  20. ^ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Musa
  21. ^ Neba 108.
  22. ^ Geschiere 169–70.
  23. ^ DeLancey and DeLancey 28.
  24. ^ Neba 94.
  25. ^ DeLancey and DeLancey 131; Niba.