Cameroon - Migration

In 1981, nearly 10,000 Cameroonians living in Gabon were repatriated following anti-Cameroonian demonstrations there, and an estimated 120,000 Cameroonians were involved in the expulsion of foreigners from Nigeria in 1983. At the end of 1980 there were 110,000 refugees from Chad at a camp in Kousséri, but by the end of 1981, all but 25,000 had returned to Chad. The camp was closed in March 1982, with the remaining refugees transferred to the Poli region. As of 1995, there were an estimated 42,900 Chadian refugees in Cameroon. In 1998, the voluntary repatriation of Chadian refugees continued, but a new group of refugees, mostly urban dwellers seeking asylum, began arriving from Rwanda, Congo, and the DROC. As of 2000 there were 150,000 migrants living in Cameroon, including the 43,700 refugees. The net migration rate that year was 0.1 per 1,000 population. The government views the migration levels as satisfactory.