Cameroon

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.

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

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94

signed, but not ratified:

Nuclear Test Ban

• 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

0-14 years:

42.1% (male 3,443,505; female 3,367,571)

15-64 years:

54.5% (male 4,431,524; female 4,392,155)

65 years and over:

3.4% (male 253,242; female 296,751) (2002 est.)

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 (2002 est.)

noun:

Cameroonian(s)

adjective:

Cameroonian

conventional long form:

Republic of Cameroon

conventional short form:

Cameroon

former:

French Cameroon

• 20 May 1972 approved by referendum;
• 2 June 1972 formally adopted;
• revised January 1996

chief of state:

President Paul BIYA (since 6 November 1982)

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

head of government:

Prime Minister Peter Mafany MUSONGE (since 19 September 1996)

cabinet:

Cabinet appointed by the president from proposals submitted by the prime minister

election results:

• President Paul BIYA reelected;
• percent of vote - Paul BIYA 92.6%;
• note - supporters of the opposition candidates boycotted the elections, making a comparison of vote shares relatively meaningless

• Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president);
• High Court of Justice (consists of nine judges and 6 substitute judges, elected by the National Assembly)

• Cameroonian Democratic Union or UDC [Adamou NDAM NJOYA];
• Democratic Rally of the Cameroon People or RDCP [Paul BIYA];
• Movement for the Defense of the Republic or MDR [Dakole DAISSALA];
• Movement for the Liberation and Development of Cameroon or MLDC [leader Marcel YONDO];
• Movement for the Youth of Cameroon or MYC [Dieudonne TINA];
• National Union for Democracy and Progress or UNDP [Maigari BELLO BOUBA, chairman];
• Social Democratic Front or SDF [John FRU NDI];
• Union of Cameroonian Populations or UPC [Augustin Frederic KODOCK]

chief of mission:

Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Raymond EPOTE

chancery:

2349 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

FAX:

[1] (202) 387-3826

telephone:

[1] (202) 265-8790

chief of mission:

Ambassador George McDade STAPLES

embassy:

Rue Nachtigal, Yaounde

mailing address:

P. O. Box 817, Yaounde; pouch: American Embassy, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-2520

telephone:

[237] 223-05-12, 222-25-89, 222-17-94, 223-40-14

FAX:

[237] 223-07-53

branch office(s):

Douala

• 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

lowest 10%:

NA%

highest 10%:

NA%

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

• Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 742.79 (January 2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997);
• note - from 1 January 1999, the XAF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XAF per euro

general assessment:

available only to business and government

domestic:

cable, microwave radio relay, and tropospheric scatter

international:

satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

total:

34,300 km

paved:

4,288 km

unpaved:

30,012 km (2000)

• oral arguments on the land and maritime boundary disputes between Cameroon and Nigeria were presented to the ICJ;
• disputes center around Bakasi Peninsula, where armed clashes continue, Bouram Island on Lake Chad, and the maritime boundary and economic zone dispute in the Gulf of Guinea, which also involves Equatorial Guinea;
• Lake Chad Basin Commission urges signatories Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria to ratify delimitation treaty over lake region, the site of continuing armed clashes