Cameroon

Republic of Cameroon

unitary republicIndependence 1 January 1960 (from UN trusteeship under French

Cameroon as the 1999 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 103 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalYaounde

Position6 00 N, 12 00 E

Area475,440 sq km

LocationWestern Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between

Populationas each edition published it

15.46 million July 1999 est. · 11.09m in 1990

Population growth% a year

2.79% 1999 est. · 2.9% in 1993

Median ageyears

Not in this edition 18.4 yrs in 2003

Life expectancyyears at birth

51.32 years 1999 est. · 56.66 yrs in 1993

Fertility ratechildren per woman

5.8 children per woman 1999 est. · 5.7 in 1990

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

75.69 deaths per 1,000 live births 1999 est. · 120 in 1990

GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars

$2,000 1998 est. · $1,040 in 1993

GDP real growth% a year

5% 1998 est. · 3% in 1993

Geography

Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between | Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria

18 fields

Land useshare of 475,440 sq km

arable land 13%permanent crops 2%permanent pastures 4%forests and woodland 78%other 3% (1993 est.)irrigated 210 sq km (1993 est.)

Area

475,440sq km

land: 469,440 sq kmwater: 6,000 sq kmslightly larger than California

Coastline

402km

territorial sea: 50 nm

Highest point

4,095m

Fakolowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m

Land boundaries

4,591km

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

Location

Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria

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

Natural resources

petroleum, bauxite, iron ore, timber, hydropower

Natural hazards

recent volcanic activity with release of poisonous gases

Environment--current issues

water-borne diseases are prevalent;
deforestation;
overgrazing;
desertification;
poaching;
overfishing

Environment--international agreements

party to:: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94
signed, but not ratified:: Nuclear Test Ban

Geography--note

sometimes referred to as the hinge of Africa

People

15 fields

Population

15,456,092

(July 1999 est.)growth rate: 2.79% (1999 est.)

Per 1,000 population(1999 est.)

Birth

41.84Death

13.95

Male · female

TotalMale · femaleLife expectancy years (1999 est.)51.32

49.75 · 52.94

TotalMale · femaleLiteracy (1995 est.)63.4%

75% · 52.1%

MaleFemaleLiteracy definition: age 15 and over can read and write

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 51%Christian 33%Muslim 16%

Age structure

0-14 years:: 46% (male 3,562,553; female 3,528,778)
15-64 years:: 51% (male 3,907,946; female 3,943,035)
65 years and over:: 3% (male 231,521; female 282,259) (1999 est.)

Net migration rate

NA migrant(s)/1,000 population; note--there may be some migration but figures are not available

Sex ratio

at birth:: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years:: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years:: 0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over:: 0.82 male(s)/female
total population:: 0.99 male(s)/female (1999 est.)

Infant mortality rate

75.69 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)

Nationality

noun:: Cameroonian(s)
adjective:: Cameroonian

Languages

24 major African language groups, English (official), French (official)

Government

Unitary republic; President Paul BIYA (since 6 November 1982); Prime Minister Peter Mafany MUSONGE (since 19 September 1996)

19 fields

Legislature, 173 seats, elected 11 May 1997one dot, one seat

-CDPM 109SDF 43UNDP 13UDC 5UPC-K 1MDR 1MLJC 1

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)

Administrative divisions

10 provinces; Adamaoua, Centre, Est, Extreme-Nord, Littoral, Nord, Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Ouest

Independence

1 January 1960 (from UN trusteeship under French administration)

Legal system

based on French civil law system, with common law influence; does not accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Executive branch

chief of state:: President Paul BIYA (since 6 November 1982)
head of government:: Prime Minister Peter Mafany MUSONGE (since 19 September 1996)
cabinet:: Cabinet appointed by the president
elections:: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term;
election last held 12 October 1997 (next to be held NA October 2004);
prime minister appointed by the president
election results:: President Paul BIYA reelected;
percent of vote--Paul BIYA 93%;
note--supporters of the opposition candidates boycotted the elections, making a comparison of vote shares relatively meaningless

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 11 May 1997 (next to be held NA 2002)
election results:: percent of vote by party--NA;
seats by party--CDPM 109, SDF 43, UNDP 13, UDC 5, UPC-K 1, MDR 1, MLJC 1;
note--7 contested seats will be filled in an election at a time to be set by the Supreme Court

note: the constitution calls for an upper chamber for the legislature, to be called Senate, which the government proposed to establish in 1998

Judicial branch

Supreme Court, judges are appointed by the president

Political parties and leaders

Cameroon People's Democratic Movement or CPDM (government-controlled and the only party until; major opposition parties: Cameroonian Democratic Union or UDC Frederick KODOG]; Union of Cameroonian Democratic Forces or UFOC

Political pressure groups and leaders

Alliance for Change or general]

International organization participation

ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, C, CCC, CEEAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-19, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UDEAC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNITAR, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US

chief of mission:: Ambassador Jerome MENDOUGA
chancery:: 2349 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission:: Ambassador John M. YATES
embassy:: Rue Nachtigal, Yaounde
mailing address:: B. P. 817, Yaounde; pouch: American Embassy, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-2520

Flag description

three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), red, and yellow with a yellow five-pointed star centered in the red band;
uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia

Economy

Because of its oil resources and favorable | agricultural conditions, Cameroon has one of the best-endowed | primary commodity economies in sub-Saharan Africa.

30 fields

GDP per capita, PPP

$2,000

purchasing power parity? · (1998 est.)

Real growth rate

(1998 est.)industrial production growth: NA%

Inflation, consumer prices

2.5%

(1998 est.)

Unemployment rate

30%

(1998 est.)

GDP--composition by sector(1997 est.)

agriculture 42%industry 22%services 36% (1997 est.)

Trading partnersexports left, imports right

25%

Italy

16%

France

25%

20%

Spain

Nigeria

Netherlands

Germany

Exports $1.6 billion (f.o.b., 1998)Imports $1.3 billion (f.o.b., 1998)(1997 est.)

Budget

Revenues

$2.23 billionExpenditures

$2.23 billion

expenditures including capital expenditures of $NA (FY96/97 est.)

Electricity

fossil fuel 2.93%hydro 97.07%nuclear 0% · other 0%

Electricity production

2.73 billion (1996)Electricity consumption

2.73 billion (1996)

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. The government, however, has failed to press forward vigorously with these programs.

The latest enhanced structural adjustment agreement was signed in October 1997; the parties hope this will prove more successful, yet government mismanagement and corruption remain problems. Inflation has been brought back under control. Progress toward privatization of remaining state industry may support economic growth in 1999-2000.

GDP

purchasing power parity--$29.6 billion (1998 est.)

Population below poverty line

40% (1984 est.)

Labor force

Industries

petroleum production and refining, food processing, light consumer goods, textiles, lumber

Agriculture--products

coffee, cocoa, cotton, rubber, bananas, oilseed, grains, root starches;
livestock;
timber

Exports

$1.6 billion (f.o.b., 1998)

Exports--commodities

crude oil and petroleum products, lumber, cocoa beans, aluminum, coffee, cotton

Imports

$1.3 billion (f.o.b., 1998)

Imports--commodities

machines and electrical equipment, transport equipment, fuel, food

Debt--external

$8.7 billion (1998 est.)

Economic aid--recipient

$606.1 million (1995); note?France signed two loan agreements totaling $55 million in September 1997, and the Paris Club agreed in October 1997 to reduce the official debt by 50% and to reschedule it on favorable terms with a consolidation of payments due through 2000

Currency

1 Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates

Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF) per US$1--575 (January 1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997), 511.55 (1996), 499.15 (1995), 555.20 (1994)

Fiscal year

1 July--30 June

Communications

6 fields

Fixed lines

36,737

(1991 est.)

Telephone system

available only to business and government

domestic:: cable, microwave radio relay, and tropospheric scatter
international:: satellite earth stations--2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 11, FM 8, shortwave 3 (1998)

Radios

6 million (1998 est.)

Television broadcast stations

1 (1998)

Televisions

15,000 (1998)

Transportation

7 fields

Airports by runway lengthpaved only

under 914 m

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

Airports by runway lengthunpaved only

under 914 m

total: 41 1,524 to 2,437 m: 8 914 to 1,523 m: 21

Networkskm

Highways

34,300Railways

1,104Waterways

2,090

Highways: paved: 4,288 km · unpaved: 30,012 km (1995 est.) · Railways: narrow gauge: 1,104 km 1.000-m gauge (1995 est.) · Waterways: ; of decreasing importance

Railways

total:: 1,104 km
narrow gauge:: 1,104 km 1.000-m gauge (1995 est.)

Highways

total:: 34,300 km
paved:: 4,288 km
unpaved:: 30,012 km (1995 est.)

Military

Army, Navy (includes Naval Infantry), Air | Force, National Gendarmerie, Presidential Guard

7 fields

Military expenditures--percent of GDP

1.4%

(FY98/99)

Transnational Issues

1 field

Disputes--international

delimitation of international boundaries in the vicinity of Lake Chad, the lack of which led to border incidents in the past, is completed and awaits ratification by Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria;
dispute with Nigeria over land and maritime boundaries around the Bakasi Peninsula and Lake Chad is currently before the International Court of Justice

Central Intelligence Agency. “Cameroon.” The World Factbook 1999. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/cameroon/1999.

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