The
East Region occupies the southeastern portion of the
Republic of Cameroon. It is bordered to the east by the
Central African Republic, to the south by
Congo, to the north by the
Adamawa Region, and to the west by the
Centre and
South Regions. With 109,011 km² of territory, it is the largest region in the nation as well as the most sparsely populated. Historically, the peoples of the East have been settled in Cameroonian territory for longer than any other of the country's many ethnic groups, the first inhabitants being the
Baka (or Babinga)
pygmies.