Introduction
Background: 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 movement toward democratic reform, political power remains firmly in the hands of an ethnic oligarchy.
Geography
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: 50 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 (on Mount Cameroon) 4,095 m
Natural resources: petroleum, bauxite, iron ore, timber, hydropower
Land use: arable land: 12.81%; permanent crops: 2.58%; other: 84.61% (2001)
Irrigated land: 330 sq km (1998 est.)
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
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
Population: 16,380,005
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 and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2005 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 41.7% (male 3,457,180/female 3,375,668)
15-64 years: 55% (male 4,537,281/female 4,477,163)
65 years and over: 3.3% (male 239,634/female 293,079) (2005 est.)
Median age: total: 18.6 years; male: 18.45 years; female: 18.76 years (2005 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.93% (2005 est.)
Birth rate: 34.67 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Death rate: 15.4 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
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: 0.82 male(s)/female
total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
Infant mortality rate: total: 68.26 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 72.14 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 64.27 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 47.84 years; male: 47.04 years
female: 48.67 years (2005 est.)
Total fertility rate: 4.47 children born/woman (2005 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 diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: malaria and yellow fever are high risks in some locations
water contact disease: schistosomiasis
respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis (2004)
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: 79%; male: 84.7%; female: 73.4% (2003 est.)
Government
Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Cameroon
conventional short form: Cameroon; former: French Cameroon
Government type: unitary republic; multiparty presidential regime (opposition parties legalized in 1990)
note: preponderance of power remains with the president
Capital: Yaounde
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; 2 June 1972 formally adopted; revised January 1996
Legal system: based on French civil law system, with common law influence; has not accepted 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 Dec 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; election last held 11 October 2004 (next to be held NA 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 23 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - RDCP 133, SDF 21, UDC 5, other 21
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 9 judges and 6 substitute judges, elected by the National Assembly)
Economy - overview: Because of its 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. International oil and cocoa prices have considerable impact on the economy.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $30.17 billion (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $1,900 (2004 est.)
Labor force: 6.68 million (2004 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 70%, industry and commerce 13%, other 17%
Unemployment rate: 30% (2001 est.)
Population below poverty line: 48% (2000 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 1.9%
highest 10%: 36.6% (1996)
Distribution of family income - Gini index: 47.7 (1996)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1% (2004 est.)
Investment (gross fixed): 16.1% of GDP (2004 est.)
Budget: revenues: $2.493 billion
expenditures: $2.248 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)
Public debt: 69.1% of GDP (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products: coffee, cocoa, cotton, rubber, bananas, oilseed, grains, root starches; livestock; timber
Industries: petroleum production and refining, aluminum production, food processing, light consumer goods, textiles, lumber, ship repair
Industrial production growth rate: 4.2% (1999 est.)
Electricity - production: 3.571 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - consumption: 3.321 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2002)
Oil - production: 94,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Oil - consumption: 22,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports: NA
Oil - imports: NA
Oil - proved reserves: 80 million bbl (2004 est.)
Natural gas - production: 0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - consumption: 0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - exports: 0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - imports: 0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves: 55.22 billion cu m (2004)
Current account balance: $-149.1 million (2004 est.)
Exports: $2.445 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Exports - commodities: crude oil and petroleum products, lumber, cocoa beans, aluminum, coffee, cotton
Exports - partners: Spain 16.2%, Italy 14.1%, France 10.2%, UK 9.9%, US 9.6%, Netherlands 5.1% (2004)
Imports: $1.979 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities: machinery, electrical equipment, transport equipment, fuel, food
Imports - partners: France 28.2%, Nigeria 9.4%, Belgium 7.6%, US 4.8%, Germany 4.6%, China 4.4%, Italy 4% (2004)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $687.5 million (2004 est.)
Debt - external: $8.46 billion (2004 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: on 23 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
Exchange rates: Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000)
Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June
Communications
Telephones - main lines in use: 110,900 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 1.077 million (2003)
Telephone system: general assessment: available only to business and government
domestic: cable, microwave radio relay, and tropospheric scatter
international: country code - 237; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia
Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 3 (2002)
Television broadcast stations: 1 (2002)
Internet country code: .cm
Internet hosts: 479 (2004)
Internet users: 60,000 (2002)
note: Cameroon also had more than 100 cyber-cafes in 2001
Transportation
Railways: total: 1,008 km
narrow gauge: 1,008 km 1.000-m gauge (2004)
Highways: total: 34,300 km; paved: 4,288 km; unpaved: 30,012 km (1999 est.)
Waterways: navigation mainly on Benue River; limited during rainy season (2004)
Pipelines: gas 90 km; liquid petroleum gas 9 km; oil 1,120 km (2004)
Ports and harbors: Douala, Limboh Terminal
Merchant marine: total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 169,593 GRT/357,023 DWT
by type: petroleum tanker 1 (2005)
Airports: 47 (2004 est.)
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 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 36; 1,524 to 2,437 m: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 20; under 914 m: 9 (2004 est.)
Transnational Issues
Disputes - international: ICJ ruled in 2002 on the entire Cameroon-Nigeria land and maritime boundary but the parties formed a Joint Border Commission, which continues to meet regularly to resolve differences bilaterally and have commenced with demarcation in less-contested sections of the boundary, starting in Lake Chad in the north; implementation of the ICJ ruling on the Cameroon-Equatorial Guinea-Nigeria maritime boundary in the Gulf of Guinea is impeded by imprecisely defined coordinates, the unresolved Bakassi allocation, and a sovereignty dispute between Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon over an island at the mouth of the Ntem River; Nigeria initially rejected cession of the Bakasi Peninsula, then agreed, but has yet to withdraw its forces while much of the indigenous population opposes cession; only Nigeria and Cameroon have heeded the Lake Chad Commission's admonition to ratify the delimitation treaty which also includes Chad and Niger
Refugees and internally displaced persons:
