Cameroon

total:

0.97 cu km/yr (23%/10%/68%)

per capita:

58.9 cu m/yr (2005)

• 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

noun:

Cameroonian(s)

adjective:

Cameroonian

at birth:

1.03 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.02 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.02 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

1.02 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.9 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.84 male(s)/female

total population:

1.01 male(s)/female (2013 est.)

degree of risk:

very high

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases:

malaria, dengue fever, and yellow fever

water contact disease:

schistosomiasis

respiratory disease:

meningococcal meningitis

animal contact disease:

rabies (2013)

total number:

1,396,281

percentage:

31 % (2006 est.)

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)

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 (with no term limits per 2008 constitutional amendment);
• election last held on 9 October 2011 (next to be held in October 2018);
• prime minister appointed by the president

election results:

President Paul BIYA reelected; percent of vote - Paul BIYA 78.0%, John FRU NDI 10.7%, Garga Haman ADJI 3.2%, Adamou Ndam NJOYA 1.7%, Paul Abine AYAH 1.3%, other 5.1%

• bicameral legislature consisting of an upper house or Senate (100 seats; 70 indirectly elected by municipal councils, 30 appointed by the President) and a 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;
• a senate was initially designated in 1996 by constitutional amendment but was only convened following a presidential decree in 2013

elections:

Senate last held on 14 April 2013 (next to be held NA); National Assembly last held on 30 September 2013 (next to be held in 2018)

election results:

• Senate percent of vote by party - NA;
• seats by party - CPDM 56, SDF 14;
• National Assembley percent of vote by party - NA;
• seats by party - CPDM 148, SDF 18, UNDP 5, UDC 4, UPC 3, other 2

highest court(s):

• Supreme Court of Cameroon (consists of 9 titular and 6 surrogate judges and organized into judicial, administrative, and audit chambers);
• Constitutional Council (consists of 11 members)

judge selection and term of office:

• Supreme Court judges appointed by the president with the advice of the Higher Judicial Council of Cameroon (a body chaired by the president and includes the minister of justice, selected magistrates, and representatives of the National Assembly);
• judge term NA;
• Constitutional Council members appointed by the president for single 9-year terms

subordinate courts:

• Parliamentary Court of Justice (jurisdiction limited to cases involving the president and prime minister);
• appellate and first instance courts;
• circuit and magistrate's courts

• Cameroon People's Democratic Movement or CPDM [Paul BIYA]
• Cameroon People's Party [Edith Kah WALLA]
• 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 (since 12 September 2008)

chancery:

2349 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008; current temporary address - 3400 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 265-8790

FAX:

[1] (202) 387-3826

chief of mission:

Ambassador Robert P. JACKSON (since 12 October 2010)

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 15 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

• coffee, cocoa, cotton, rubber, bananas, oilseed, grains, cassava (manioc);
• livestock;
• timber

agriculture:

70%

industry:

13%

services:

17% (2001 est.)

lowest 10%:

2.3%

highest 10%:

35.4% (2001)

general assessment:

• system includes cable, microwave radio relay, and tropospheric scatter;
• Camtel, the monopoly provider of fixed-line service, provides connections for only about 3 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 50 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) (2011)

• government maintains tight control over broadcast media;
• state-owned Cameroon Radio Television (CRTV), broadcasting on both a TV 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:

1,245 km

country comparison to the world: 82

narrow gauge:

1,245 km 1.000-m gauge (2008)

total:

51,350 km

country comparison to the world: 77

paved:

4,108 km

unpaved:

47,242 km

note: there are 28,857 km of national roads (2011)

river port(s):

Douala (Wouri); Garoua (Benoue)

oil/gas terminal(s):

Limboh Terminal

• 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 (2012)

males age 16-49:

4,667,251

females age 16-49:

4,548,909 (2010 est.)

males age 16-49:

2,794,998

females age 16-49:

2,718,110 (2010 est.)

male:

215,248

female:

211,636 (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 agreed 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