Between 1961 and 1972, Cameroon was a federal republic made up of two federated states,
East Cameroon and
West Cameroon. A unitary system came into being in 1972. The country was then divided into provinces. In 1983, Centre-South Province was divided into Centre and South and at the same time, Adamawa and Far North Provinces were split from North Province. See summary of administrative history in Zeitlyn 2018. In 2008, the
President of the Republic of Cameroon, President
Paul Biya signed decrees abolishing "provinces" and replacing them with "regions". Hence, all of the country's ten provinces are now known as regions. The Northwest region and Southwest region were granted special status in December 2019, giving them additional powers. File:Carte des États de la République fédérale du Cameroun.png|States of the Federal Republic of Cameroon (1961–1972) File:Cameroon provinces 1972-1983.png|Provinces of Cameroon (1972–1983) == List ==