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 slow movement toward democratic reform, political power remains firmly in the hands of President Paul BIYA.

total:

0.99 cu km/yr (18%/8%/74%)

per capita:

61 cu m/yr (2000)

• waterborne diseases are prevalent;
• deforestation;
• overgrazing;
• desertification;
• poaching;
• overfishing

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

• 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

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 (2010 est.)

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 (2009)

noun:

Cameroonian(s)

adjective:

Cameroonian

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

name:

Yaounde

geographic coordinates:

3 52 N, 11 31 E

time difference:

UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

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

chief of state:

President Paul BIYA (since 6 November 1982)

head of government:

Prime Minister Philemon YANG (since 30 June 2009)

cabinet:

Cabinet appointed by the president from proposals submitted by the prime minister; (For more information visit theWorld Leaders website)

elections:

• president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term (eligible for a second term);
• election last held on 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%

• 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 on 22 July 2007 (next to be held in 2012)

election results:

percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - CPDM 140, SDF 14, UDC 4, UNDP 4, MP 1, vacant 17

note: the constitution calls for an upper chamber for the legislature, to be called a Senate, but it has yet to be established

• 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)

• Cameroon People's Democratic Movement or CPDM [Paul BIYA];
• Cameroonian Democratic Union or UDC [Adamou Ndam NJOYA];
• 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]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Joseph FOE-ATANGANA

chancery:

2349 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 265-8790

FAX:

[1] (202) 387-3826

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

• three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), red, and yellow, with a yellow five-pointed star centered in the red band;
• the vertical tricolor recalls the flag of France;
• red symbolizes unity, yellow the sun, happiness, and the savannahs in the north, and green hope and the forests in the south;
• the star is referred to as the "star of unity"

note: uses the popular Pan-African colors of Ethiopia

name:

"O Cameroun, Berceau de nos Ancetres" (O Cameroon, Cradle of Our Forefathers)

lyrics/music:

Rene Djam AFAME, Samuel Minkio BAMBA, Moise Nyatte NKO"O [French], Benard Nsokika FONLON [English]/Rene Djam AFAME

note: adopted 1957; Cameroon's anthem, also known as "Chant de Ralliement" (The Rallying Song), has been used unofficially since 1948 although officially adopted in 1957; the anthem has French and English versions whose lyrics differ

agriculture:

70%

industry:

13%

services:

17% (2001 est.)

lowest 10%:

2.3%

highest 10%:

35.4% (2001)

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

general assessment:

• system includes cable, microwave radio relay, and tropospheric scatter;
• Camtel, the monopoly provider of fixed-line service, provides connections for only about 1 per 100 persons;
• equipment is old and outdated, and connections with many parts of the country are unreliable

domestic:

mobile-cellular usage, in part a reflection of the poor condition and general inadequacy of the fixed-line network, has increased sharply, reaching a subscribership base of 40 per 100 persons

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) (2009)

• government maintains tight control over broadcast media;
• state-owned Cameroon Radio Television (CRTV), broadcasting on both a television and radio network, was the only officially recognized and fully licensed broadcaster until August 2007 when the government finally issued licenses to 2 private TV broadcasters and 1 private radio broadcaster;
• about 70 privately-owned unlicensed radio stations operating but are subject to closure at any time;
• foreign news services required to partner with state-owned national station (2007)

total:

987 km

country comparison to the world: 90

narrow gauge:

987 km 1.000-m gauge (2008)

total:

50,000 km

country comparison to the world: 81

paved:

5,000 km

unpaved:

45,000 km (2004)

• major rivers in the south, such as the Wouri and the Sanaga, are largely non-navigable;
• in the north, the Benue, which connects through Nigeria to the Niger River, is navigable in the rainy season only to the port of Garoua (2010)

• 18-23 years of age for male and female voluntary military service;
• no conscription;
• high school graduation required;
• service obligation 4 years;
• the government makes periodic calls for volunteers (2010)

males age 16-49:

4,553,576

females age 16-49:

4,443,217 (2010 est.)

males age 16-49:

2,721,307

females age 16-49:

2,647,640 (2010 est.)

male:

213,538

female:

209,549 (2010 est.)

• Joint Border Commission with Nigeria reviewed 2002 ICJ ruling on the entire boundary and bilaterally resolved differences, including June 2006 Greentree Agreement that immediately ceded sovereignty of the Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon with a full phase-out of Nigerian control and patriation of residents in 2008;
• Cameroon and Nigeria agree on maritime delimitation in March 2008;
• 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

refugees (country of origin):

• 20,000-30,000 (Chad);
• 3,000 (Nigeria);
• 24,000 (Central African Republic) (2007)

current situation:

• Cameroon is a source, transit, and destination country for women and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation;
• most victims are children trafficked within country, with girls primarily trafficked for domestic servitude and sexual exploitation;
• both boys and girls are also trafficked within Cameroon for forced labor in sweatshops, bars, restaurants, and on tea and cocoa plantations;
• children are trafficked into Cameroon from neighboring states for forced labor in agriculture, fishing, street vending, and spare-parts shops;
• Cameroon is a transit country for children trafficked between Gabon and Nigeria, and from Nigeria to Saudi Arabia;
• it is a source country for women transported by sex-trafficking rings to Europe

tier rating:

• Tier 2 Watch List - Cameroon is on the Tier 2 Watch List for its failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat human trafficking in 2007, particularly in terms of efforts to prosecute and convict trafficking offenders;
• while Cameroon reported some arrests of traffickers, none of them were prosecuted or punished;
• the government does not identify trafficking victims among vulnerable populations nor does it monitor the number of victims it intercepts (2008)