Situated in West Africa, Cameroon, shaped like an elongated triangle, contains an area of 475,440 sq km (183,568 sq mi), extending 1,206 km (749 mi) N – S and 717 km (446 mi) E – W . Comparatively, the area occupied by Cameroon is slightly larger than the state of California. It is bordered on the N and NE by Chad, on the E by the Central African Republic, on the E and S by the Republic of Congo, Gabon, and Equatorial Guinea, on the SW by the Gulf of Guinea (Atlantic Ocean), and on the W and NW by Nigeria, with a total boundary length of 4,993 km (3,103 mi). The coastline accounts for 402 km (249 mi) of this length.
Cameroon's capital city, Yaoundé, is located in the south central part of the country.