The former French Cameroon and
part of British Cameroon merged in 1961 to form the present country.
Cameroon has generally enjoyed stability, which has permitted the
development of agriculture, roads, and railways, as well as a petroleum
industry. Despite a slow movement toward democratic reform, political
power remains firmly in the hands of President Paul BIYA.
Geography
Cameroon
Location:
Western Africa, bordering the
Bight of Biafra, between Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria
Geographic coordinates:
6 00 N, 12 00 E
Map references:
Africa
Area:
total: 475,440 sq km
land: 469,440 sq km water: 6,000 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly larger than California
Land boundaries:
total: 4,591 km
border countries: Central African Republic 797 km, Chad 1,094
km, Republic of the Congo 523 km, Equatorial Guinea 189 km, Gabon 298 km,
Nigeria 1,690 km
Coastline:
402 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
Climate:
varies with terrain, from
tropical along coast to semiarid and hot in north
Terrain:
diverse, with coastal plain in
southwest, dissected plateau in center, mountains in west, plains in north
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic
Ocean 0 m highest point: Fako 4,095 m (on Mt. Cameroon)
total: 0.99 cu km/yr
(18%/8%/74%) per capita: 61 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards:
volcanic activity with periodic
releases of poisonous gases from Lake Nyos and Lake Monoun volcanoes
Environment - current issues:
waterborne diseases are
prevalent; deforestation; overgrazing; desertification; poaching;
overfishing
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity,
Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection,
Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed,
but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:
sometimes referred to as the
hinge of Africa; throughout the country there are areas of thermal springs
and indications of current or prior volcanic activity; Mount Cameroon, the
highest mountain in Sub-Saharan west Africa, is an active volcano
People
Cameroon
Population:
18,467,692 note:
estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of
excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy,
higher infant mortality, higher death rates, lower population growth
rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than
would otherwise be expected (July 2008 est.)
total: 19 years
male: 18.9 years female: 19.2 years (2008 est.)
Population growth rate:
2.218% (2008 est.)
Birth rate:
34.59 births/1,000 population
(2008 est.)
Death rate:
12.41 deaths/1,000 population
(2008 est.)
Net migration rate:
NA
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03
male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64
years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.85
male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2008
est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 64.57
deaths/1,000 live births male: 69.39 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 59.62 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 53.3
years male: 52.54 years female: 54.08 years (2008
est.)
Total fertility rate:
4.41 children born/woman (2008
est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
6.9% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
560,000 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
49,000 (2003 est.)
Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: very
high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal
diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever vectorborne
diseases: malaria and yellow fever water contact disease:
schistosomiasis respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis
animal contact disease: rabies (2008)
Nationality:
noun: Cameroonian(s)
adjective: Cameroonian
Ethnic groups:
Cameroon Highlanders 31%,
Equatorial Bantu 19%, Kirdi 11%, Fulani 10%, Northwestern Bantu 8%,
Eastern Nigritic 7%, other African 13%, non-African less than 1%
Religions:
indigenous beliefs 40%,
Christian 40%, Muslim 20%
Languages:
24 major African language
groups, English (official), French (official)
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and
over can read and write total population: 67.9%
male: 77% female: 59.8% (2001 est.)
Government
Cameroon
Country name:
conventional long form:
Republic of Cameroon conventional short form: Cameroon
local long form: Republique du Cameroun/Republic of Cameroon
local short form: Cameroun/Cameroon former: French
Cameroon, British Cameroon, Federal Republic of Cameroon, United Republic
of Cameroon
Government type:
republic; multiparty
presidential regime
Capital:
name: Yaounde
geographic coordinates: 3 52 N, 11 31 E time
difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard
Time)
Administrative divisions:
10 provinces; Adamaoua, Centre,
Est, Extreme-Nord, Littoral, Nord, Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Ouest
Independence:
1 January 1960 (from
French-administered UN trusteeship)
National holiday:
Republic Day (National Day), 20
May (1972)
Constitution:
20 May 1972 approved by
referendum, adopted 2 June 1972; revised January 1996
Legal system:
based on French civil law
system, with common law influence; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:
20 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state:
President Paul BIYA (since 6 November 1982) head of government:
Prime Minister Ephraim INONI (since 8 December 2004) cabinet:
Cabinet appointed by the president from proposals submitted by the prime
minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a
seven-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 11
October 2004 (next to be held by October 2011); prime minister appointed
by the president election results: President Paul BIYA
reelected; percent of vote - Paul BIYA 70.9%, John FRU NDI 17.4%, Adamou
Ndam NJOYA 4.5%, Garga Haman ADJI 3.7%
Legislative branch:
unicameral National Assembly or
Assemblee Nationale (180 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote
to serve five-year terms); note - the president can either lengthen or
shorten the term of the legislature elections: last held 22
July 2007 (next to be held in 2012) election results: percent
of vote by party - NA; seats by party - RDCP 140, SDF 14, UDC 4, UNDP 4,
MP 1, vacant 17; note - vacant seats will be determined in a yet to be
scheduled by-election after the Supreme Court nullified results in five
districts note: the constitution calls for an upper chamber for
the legislature, to be called a Senate, but it has yet to be established
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court (judges are
appointed by the president); High Court of Justice (consists of nine
judges and six substitute judges, elected by the National Assembly)
Political parties and leaders:
Cameroonian Democratic Union or
UDC [Adamou Ndam NJOYA]; Cameroon People's Democratic Movement or RDPC
[Paul BIYA]; Movement for the Defense of the Republic or MDR [Dakole
DAISSALA]; Movement for the Liberation and Development of Cameroon or MLDC
[Marcel YONDO]; National Union for Democracy and Progress or UNDP [Maigari
BELLO BOUBA]; Progressive Movement or MP; Social Democratic Front or SDF
[John FRU NDI]; Union of Peoples of Cameroon or UPC [Augustin Frederic
KODOCK]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Southern Cameroon National
Council [Ayamba Ette OTUN]; Human Rights Defense Group [Albert MUKONG,
president]
chief of mission:
Ambassador Janet E. GARVEY embassy: Avenue Rosa Parks, Yaounde
mailing address: P. O. Box 817, Yaounde; pouch: American
Embassy, US Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-2520
telephone: [237] 2220 15 00; Consular: [237] 2220 16 03
FAX: [237] 2220 16 00 Ext. 4531; Consular FAX: [237] 2220 17 52
branch office(s): Douala
Flag description:
three equal vertical bands of
green (hoist side), red, and yellow with a yellow five-pointed star
centered in the red band note: uses the popular pan-African
colors of Ethiopia
Economy
Cameroon
Economy - overview:
Because of its modest oil
resources and favorable agricultural conditions, Cameroon has one of the
best-endowed primary commodity economies in sub-Saharan Africa. Still, it
faces many of the serious problems facing other underdeveloped countries,
such as a top-heavy civil service and a generally unfavorable climate for
business enterprise. Since 1990, the government has embarked on various
IMF and World Bank programs designed to spur business investment, increase
efficiency in agriculture, improve trade, and recapitalize the nation's
banks. In June 2000, the government completed an IMF-sponsored, three-year
structural adjustment program; however, the IMF is pressing for more
reforms, including increased budget transparency, privatization, and
poverty reduction programs. In January 2001, the Paris Club agreed to
reduce Cameroon's debt of $1.3 billion by $900 million; debt relief now
totals $1.26 billion. International oil and cocoa prices have a
significant impact on the economy.
Spain 21.4%, Italy 15.4%,
France 11.6%, South Korea 7.3%, Netherlands 7.2%, US 5.7%, Belgium 4.2%
(2006)
Imports:
$3.632 billion f.o.b. (2007
est.)
Imports - commodities:
machinery, electrical
equipment, transport equipment, fuel, food
Imports - partners:
France 23.6%, Nigeria 13.2%,
China 7.2%, Belgium 6.1%, US 4.5% (2006)
Economic aid - recipient:
$413.8 million (2005)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$2.341 billion (31 December
2007 est.)
Debt - external:
$2.449 billion (31 December
2007 est.)
Market value of publicly traded shares:
Currency (code):
Communaute Financiere Africaine
franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central
African States
Currency code:
XAF
Exchange rates:
Communaute Financiere Africaine
francs (XAF) per US dollar - 493.51 (2007), 522.59 (2006), 527.47 (2005),
528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003)
Fiscal year:
1 July - 30 June
Communications
Cameroon
Telephones - main lines in use:
100,300 (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
2.253 million (2005)
Telephone system:
general assessment:
fixed-line connections stand at less than 1 per 100 persons; equipment is
old and outdated, and connections with many parts of the country are
unreliable; mobile-cellular usage, in part a reflection of the poor
condition and general inadequacy of the fixed-line network, has been
increasing steadily and currently stands at 14 per 100 persons
domestic: cable, microwave radio relay, and tropospheric
scatter international: country code - 237; landing point for
the SAT-3/WASC fiber-optic submarine cable that provides connectivity to
Europe and Asia; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
(2007)
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 3 (2001)
Radios:
2.27 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations:
1 (2001)
Televisions:
450,000 (1997)
Internet country code:
.cm
Internet hosts:
512 (2007)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
1 (2002)
Internet users:
370,000 (2006)
Transportation
Cameroon
Airports:
45 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 11 over
3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m:
3 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 34 1,524
to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 20 under 914 m: 8
(2007)
Pipelines:
gas 27 km; liquid petroleum gas
5 km; oil 1,110 km (2007)
Railways:
total: 987 km
narrow gauge: 987 km 1.000-m gauge (2006)
Roadways:
total: 50,000 km
paved: 5,000 km unpaved: 45,000 km (2004)
Waterways:
navigation mainly on Benue
River; limited during rainy season (2005)
Merchant marine:
total: 1 ship (1000 GRT
or over) 38,613 GRT/68,820 DWT by type: petroleum tanker 1
foreign-owned: 1 (France 1) (2007)
Ports and terminals:
Douala, Limboh Terminal
Military
Cameroon
Military branches:
Cameroon Armed Forces: Army,
Navy (includes naval infantry), Air Force (Armee de l'Air du Cameroun,
AAC) (2008)
Military service age and obligation:
18 years of age for voluntary
military service; no conscription; the government makes periodic calls for
volunteers (2006)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16-49:
4,321,175 females age 16-49: 4,228,625 (2008 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49:
2,567,428 females age 16-49: 2,498,990 (2008 est.)
Manpower reaching military service age annually:
males age 16-49: 212,205
females age 16-49: 207,545 (2008 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
1.3% (2006)
Transnational Issues
Cameroon
Disputes - international:
Joint Border Commission with
Nigeria reviewed 2002 ICJ ruling on the entire boundary and bilaterally
resolved differences, including June 2006 Greentree Agreement that
immediately cedes sovereignty of the Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon with a
phase-out of Nigerian control within two years while resolving patriation
issues; implementation of the ICJ ruling on the Cameroon-Equatorial
Guinea-Nigeria maritime boundary in the Gulf of Guinea is pending due to
imprecisely defined coordinates and a sovereignty dispute between
Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon over an island at the mouth of the Ntem
River; only Nigeria and Cameroon have heeded the Lake Chad Commission's
admonition to ratify the delimitation treaty, which also includes the
Chad-Niger and Niger-Nigeria boundaries
