The South Region (French: Région du Sud) is located in the southwestern and south-central portion of the Republic of Cameroon.

The South Region has a fair amount of industry, its main commerce consisting of logging, timber, mining, and offshore oil drilling.

The soil is primarily ferrallitic except for southwestern portions near the border with Equatorial Guinea and moving north to Ebolowa, where it is mixed.

Much of this land has been intensely exploited for logging, however, allowing sunlight to penetrate to the forest floor and for thick undergrowth to flourish.

The southern rain forest supports abundant wildlife, including some of Cameroon's last populations of chimpanzees, gorillas, and elephants.

The majority of the inhabitants of the South are members of various Bantu tribes that are collectively known as the Beti-Pahuin (Béti-Pahouin), the Fang-Beti, or simply the Fang.

The Beti portion of the group is primarily situated in the Centre Province, but large numbers of Ewondo and Bane inhabit the Ntem and the Dja and Lobo divisions of the South.

They are further broken down into the Bulu proper, who inhabit the rich cocoa producing area from Kribi to Ebolowa and east through Sangmélima and Djoum.

The Bakolo (Bakolle) are a coastal people north of Kribi, and the Bakola live inland from the border with Equatorial Guinea to Ngumba territory.

The South is also home to some of Cameroon's oldest continuous inhabitants, pygmies of the Baka (Babinga, Bibaya) and Beye'ele tribes.

These hunter-gatherers roam the forests of the region, particularly the area at the center and southeast of the province from Ebolowa to Ambam and Djoum with the Lala on the coast near Lolodorf, Bipindi, and Kribi.

The South is one of Cameroon's most economically robust areas due to its numerous plantations and the tourism generated by its scenic beaches.

Vegetables and spices are grown close to the house, while tubers such as cassava, cocoyams, and yams are planted with plantains in larger fields further into the forest.

Modest cattle rearing takes place inland from Kribi, as well, though the area's thick forests and the presence of the tsetse fly prevents larger-scale operations.

This latter development has led to a great depopulation of many animal species, especially as demand has risen in urban centers such as Yaoundé for bushmeat from the region.

However, because the largest trees within the South itself have mostly been harvested, the region is increasingly being used as a transport network for logging vehicles from Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Congo on their way to the ports of Kribi and Douala.

Ebolowa was in past years an important ivory-working center, but government regulations and the scarcity of elephants in modern times have dampened this part of the economy.

The pipe's mouth is located just south of Kribi, a fact that promises to bring in high revenues for both Cameroon and the province.

Undertow is a significant problem, however, and several bathers drown on Kribi's beaches each year, a fact the locals personify as the siren-like "Mami Water".

Local artists and vendors frequent the area around the falls, as do drivers offering to take passengers to Kribi or 65 km further south to see the Lala Pygmy village Elogbatindi, .

These efforts are largely concentrated on the area's two major parks, the Dja and Campo Reserves, both of which are bases for various gorilla habituation projects.

The Netherlands Development Organisation runs another project that takes travellers to the Campo Reserve and then to traditional homes in Ebodjé, a village 25 km north.

President Paul Biya, himself a Bulu from a village near Sangmélima, enjoys widespread support in the South due to its place as the heart of Bululand.

The region is further divided into four departments (départements), also called divisions, each under the supervision of a presidentially appointed prefect (préfet) or senior divisional officer.

Archaeological finds in the areas of Kribi and Lobé attest to human presence in the territory of the South Province since prehistory.

Of the area's current inhabitants, the earliest to arrive were the Pygmies, who moved in from further south and east in ancient times and lived for centuries as hunter-gatherers in the forests.

The Ntumu, Fang, and Mvae moved toward the Dja valley and into present-day Gabon while the Bulu travelled west along the Nyong to their present territory.

Europeans knew the entire western coast of the present-day South Province since Portuguese ships first explored it in 1472.

The French greatly expanded the road network through the region and improved the port at Kribi, albeit still with native forced labour.

The West African coast has several structural basins, along with counterparts along the South American margin, which formed during the Late Jurassic to Albian-Cenomanian rifting associated with the breakup of Gondwanaland.