Departments of Cameroon

Cameroon is divided into ten provinces, which are subdivided into 58 départements (departments). (The departments in Nord-Ouest and Sud-Ouest provinces, which used to be part of the British mandate, are sometimes called "divisions".) The departments are further subdivided into 315 arrondissements (as of 1999), and then into districts. The table below shows all of the departments of Cameroon. Some of the department names have been changed to their French forms. The Prime Minister's Website  has maps of the departments by province (click on the province name).

Change history:

1. Before ~1972, the departments and divisions were the primary subdivisions of Cameroon. They are described on the Provinces of Cameroon page.
2. ~1975: Bamenda division (capital Bamenda) split into Bui, Mezam, and Momo divisions. Ndian division formed from parts of Kumba and Victoria. The name of the remaining part of Kumba changed to Meme; the name of the remaining part of Victoria changed to Fako, and the name of its capital, Victoria, changed to Limbe. The name of Mamfe division changed to Manyu; the name of Nkambe division changed to Donga-Mantung; the name of Wum division changed to Menchum. The table below shows the resulting situation.

1. 1983-08-22: Centre-Sud province split into two provinces: Centre and Sud, where Sud province consisted of Dja-et-Lobo, Kribi, and Ntem departments. Nord province split into three provinces: Adamaoua, Nord, and Extrême-Nord, where Adamaoua consisted of Adamaoua department only, and Nord consisted of Bénoué department only.
2. ~1984: Adamaoua department split into Djerem, Faro-Deo, Mayo-Banyo, Mbere, and Vina; name of Bamoun department changed to Noun; Faro, Mayorey, and Mayo-Louti departments split from Bénoué; Kaele department split from Diamaré; Margui-Wandala department split into Mayo-Sava and Mayo-Tsanaga; Mfoundi department split from Méfou.
3. ~1986: Capital of Lékié department moved from Obala to Monatele; name of Kribi department changed to Océan.

1. ~1995: Mbam department split into Mbam-et-Inoubou and Mbam-et-Kim; Méfou split into Mefou-et-Afamba and Mefou-et-Akono; Ngo-Ketunjia department split from Mezam; Hauts-Plateaux and Koung-Khi departments split from Mifi; Ntem department split into Mvila and Vallée du Ntem. Name of Kaele department changed to Mayo-Kani.
2. ~1998: Lebialem department split from Manyu; Kupe-Manenguba department split from Meme; Boyo department split from Menchum.

Other names of subdivisions:

Except where otherwise labeled, these are variant spellings that I've found. The word "et" can be replaced by "and" to create an English form.

1. Bénoué: Benue
2. Boumba-et-Ngoko: Boumba-Nkogo, Bumba-Nkogo
3. Bui: Mbui
4. Dja-et-Lobo: Ja-et-Lobo
5. Djerem: Jerem
6. Donga-Mantung: Ndonga Mantung, Ndonga Mentum; Nkambe (obsolete)
7. Faro-Deo: Faro et Déo
8. Haute-Sanaga: Upper Sanaga
9. Haut-Nkam: Upper Nkam
10. Haut-Nyong: Upper Nyong
11. Hauts-Plateaux: Upper Plateaux
12. Kadey: Kadeï
13. Koung-Khi: Koung-Ki
14. Koupé-Manengouba: Koupé et Manengouba, Kupe-Manenguba
15. Lom-et-Djerem: Lom-et-Jerem
16. Mayo-Banyo: Maya Banyo
17. Mayo-Danay: Mayo-Danai
18. Mayo-Kani: Kaele (obsolete)
19. Mayo-Louti: Mayo-Luti
20. Mayo-Tsanaga: Maya Tsanaga, Mayo Sanaga, Mayo-Tsanga
21. Mbam-et-Inoubou: Mbam et Inougou
22. Mefou-et-Afamba: Mefou Afamba
23. Menchum: Mentchum, Mentum
24. Menoua: Menua
25. Mfoundi: Mfundi
26. Moungo: Mungo
27. Mvila: Ntem
28. Ndian: Ndan, Ndiang
29. Ngo-Ketunjia: Ngocketunja, Ngogetunjia, Ngok Etunjia
30. Noun: Bamoun (obsolete); Nun
31. Nyong-et-Kéllé: Nyong-et-Kele
32. Nyong-et-Mfoumou: Myong and Mfoumou, Nyong et Mfoumo, Nyong-et-Mfumu
33. Nyong-et-Soo: Myong and So'o, Nyong-et-So, Nyong et So'o
34. Océan: Kribi (obsolete)
35. Wouri: Wuri