Cameroonian (Bantu) DNA
Genetic origins and closest populations · Cameroon · Sub-Saharan Africa
Cameroon lies at the hinge of West and Central Africa, and the grasslands near its border with Nigeria are widely seen as the homeland of the Bantu languages. From there, over the last 4,000 to 5,000 years, Bantu-speaking farmers spread across most of Central, Eastern and Southern Africa. In our model, the Cameroonian Bantu average is 78.5% West African, 11.1% Nilotic East African, 9.3% Western rainforest forager (BiAka) and 1.2% Southern African forager. The BiAka share, far above that of the Igbo in neighbouring Nigeria (2.7%), reflects long contact with the forager peoples of the Central African rainforest. The neighbours tell the Bantu story: the closest modern averages are not West Africans but the Umbundu and Ganguela of Angola (0.0099 and 0.0105), the Tikar of Cameroon and the Ovambo of Namibia. The closest ancient groups are 19th-century people with a Central/Southern African Bantu profile on Saint Helena (0.0174) and people from Kindoki in the Congo, from around 1700 (0.0198).
- Largest ancient components in our model: West African 78.5%, Nilotic East African 11.1%, Western rainforest foragers (BiAka) 9.3%
- Closest modern population in our data: Umbundu, distance 0.0099
- Closest ancient group in our data: Saint Helena Late Modern Rupert's Valley (Central/Southern African Bantu Profile), distance 0.0174
This page sums up what the DNA of the Cameroonian (Bantu) sample tells us about deep origins. It is built from the averaged Global25 (G25) coordinates of individuals sampled in Cameroon, listed in the G25 sheet as "Cameroonian_Bantu", and it is one of 335 populations in our atlas. An average describes the group as a whole, not any single person in it.
Ancient make-up of the Cameroonian (Bantu) average
Modelled as a mix of deep ancestral reference populations, the Cameroonian (Bantu) average comes out as 78.5% West African, 11.1% Nilotic East African and 9.3% Western rainforest foragers (BiAka). The West African component reflects ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. With well over half of the total, this single source dominates the profile.
Smaller traces of Southern African foragers (San) (under 5%) also appear. At that level they can reflect real minor ancestry, but also simple model noise, so they should not be over-read. The fit is acceptable (fit distance 0.029): treat the proportions as a good approximation rather than exact values. This population was modelled with a global set of reference populations (ancient genomes, plus modern stand-ins where no suitable ancient genome exists), because West Eurasian sources alone cannot describe it.
Sankofa – African Ancestry Report
Closest modern populations to Cameroonian (Bantu)
Ranking every modern population by genetic distance puts Umbundu first for Cameroonian (Bantu), at 0.010, then Tikar (South) and Ganguela. Even the tenth closest, Cameroon (Mbo), is only 0.016 away: Cameroonian (Bantu) belongs to a dense cluster of related populations, so small differences inside that cluster should not be over-interpreted.
| # | Population | Distance | Closeness |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Umbundu | 0.0099 | Very close |
| 2 | Tikar (South) | 0.0103 | Very close |
| 3 | Ganguela | 0.0105 | Very close |
| 4 | Kongo (Republic of the Congo) | 0.0132 | Very close |
| 5 | Ovambo (Namibia) | 0.0135 | Very close |
| 6 | Kongo | 0.0137 | Very close |
| 7 | Nyaneka | 0.0152 | Very close |
| 8 | Kwangali (Namibia) | 0.0155 | Very close |
| 9 | Lemande | 0.0157 | Very close |
| 10 | Cameroon (Mbo) | 0.0162 | Very close |
Distances are Euclidean distances between averaged G25 coordinates. On our scale, below 0.025 is very close, below 0.050 close, below 0.080 moderate, and beyond that distant.
Closest ancient populations to Cameroonian (Bantu)
Looking back in time, the ancient sample that most resembles the Cameroonian (Bantu) average is Saint Helena Late Modern Rupert's Valley (Central/Southern African Bantu Profile) (Late Modern, c. 1800-1950 AD), at 0.017. COG Kindoki 230BP and Democratic Republic of the Congo Kindoki 230BP come next. That is a very close match, which suggests strong genetic continuity between those ancient people (or close relatives of theirs) and the modern population. A close ancient match is not proof of direct descent: it means those individuals carried a similar overall mix of ancestry.
| # | Ancient sample or group | Period | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saint Helena Late Modern Rupert's Valley (Central/Southern African Bantu Profile) | Late Modern, c. 1800-1950 AD | 0.0174 |
| 2 | COG Kindoki 230BP | c. 1700 AD | 0.0198 |
| 3 | Democratic Republic of the Congo Kindoki 230BP | c. 1700 AD | 0.0209 |
| 4 | Democratic Republic of the Congo Ngongo Mbata 220BP | c. 1750 AD | 0.0327 |
| 5 | COG NgongoMbata 220BP | c. 1750 AD | 0.0337 |
| 6 | Tanzania Pemba 600BP | c. 1350 AD | 0.0391 |
| 7 | Saint Helena Late Modern Rupert's Valley (West/Central African Profile) | Late Modern, c. 1800-1950 AD | 0.0393 |
| 8 | Tanzania Early Modern Lindi Swahili (Bantu Zone P Profile) | Early Modern, c. 1500-1800 AD | 0.0444 |
| 9 | South Africa Newcastle 400BP | c. 1550 AD | 0.0534 |
| 10 | South Africa Eland Cave 400BP | c. 1550 AD | 0.0545 |
Ancient DNA from Cameroon
Our ancient DNA database holds 6 individuals excavated in present-day Cameroon, dated from about 5,963 BC to 1,147 BC. The most frequent Y-DNA haplogroups among them are A00 (1), B1 (1) and B2b (1), and the most frequent mtDNA haplogroups are L0 (2), L1 (2) and H (1). These are people who lived on the same land in the past, not necessarily ancestors of today's Cameroonian (Bantu) population.
Ancient sample data compiled by Nomad on the GenArchivist forum.
Most frequent Y-DNA haplogroups in ancient samples from Cameroon
Browse them in our ancient DNA database: 6 from Cameroon.
Compare yourself with Cameroonian (Bantu)
Paste your G25 coordinates (scaled, one line, with or without a name in front) and we compute your genetic distance to the Cameroonian (Bantu) average and to its closest neighbours, right in your browser. Nothing is uploaded or stored.
| # | Population | Your distance | Closeness |
|---|
This list only covers Cameroonian (Bantu) and its neighbours. To find out which of our reports actually fits your DNA, run the free Report Finder: it runs the same fit test that every report uses before an order.
No G25 coordinates yet? Get a free simulated G25 from your raw DNA file, or order G25 coordinates.
About these numbers
A word of caution: these figures describe the average of the Cameroonian (Bantu) individuals who were sampled, not every person who identifies as Cameroonian (Bantu). Individuals vary around that average, and identity is about history, language and family, not about a genetic score. Read this page as a map of deep ancestry, not as a definition.
Method: averaged G25 coordinates, Euclidean distances to other modern and ancient averages, and a non-negative least-squares model against deep ancestral reference populations (data generated 2026-10-01). Read the full method.
Thanks: to Nomad (GenArchivist) for the population and ancient sample collection this atlas is built on, and to Davidski (Eurogenes) for Global25.
Go deeper than the average
This page describes the Cameroonian (Bantu) average. Your own DNA has its own story: Sankofa – African Ancestry Report (15€) models your genome against the ancient sources and modern communities of the region, era by era, in a personal PDF report.
A report built for people of predominantly Sub-Saharan African (SSA) ancestry: modelling against 230+ regional African populations (West, Central, East & Southern Africa, the Horn of Africa, Madagascar) plus the European, Amerindian and...
More populations from Sub-Saharan Africa
Frequently asked questions
What is the ancient genetic make-up of Cameroonian (Bantu)?
Modelled with deep ancestral reference populations, the Cameroonian (Bantu) average is about 78.5% West African, 11.1% Nilotic East African and 9.3% Western rainforest foragers (BiAka). These proportions are model estimates for a group average, not exact values for any one person.
Which populations are genetically closest to Cameroonian (Bantu)?
In the G25 data, the closest modern populations to the Cameroonian (Bantu) average are Umbundu, Tikar (South) and Ganguela. The closest ancient matches are Saint Helena Late Modern Rupert's Valley (Central/Southern African Bantu Profile), COG Kindoki 230BP and Democratic Republic of the Congo Kindoki 230BP.
Can a DNA test tell me if I am Cameroonian (Bantu)?
No DNA test can confirm an ethnicity or a nationality. What DNA can show is how similar your genome is to the sampled Cameroonian (Bantu) average and to its neighbours. If you have G25 coordinates, paste them in the comparison box on this page to check that for free.
Which ExploreYourDNA report suits Cameroonian (Bantu) ancestry?
Sankofa – African Ancestry Report is the report built for this heritage, and its reference panel fits the Cameroonian (Bantu) average closely. Your own DNA may differ from the average, so the free Report Finder checks every report against your file before you buy.
Where does the data on this page come from?
From the averaged Global25 (G25) coordinates of the sampled individuals: genetic distances to other modern and ancient population averages, and a non-negative least-squares model against deep ancestral reference populations. The full method is described at https://www.exploreyourdna.com/populations#method.