Cameroon

agricultural land:

20.6%;

• arable land 13.1%;
• permanent crops 3.3%;
• permanent pasture 4.2%

forest:

41.7%

other:

37.7% (2011 est.)

• 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 because of its central location on the continent and its position at the west-south juncture of the Gulf of Guinea;
• 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:

1.01 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

1.01 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.95 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.87 male(s)/female

total population:

1.01 male(s)/female (2016 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 (2016)

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

etymology:

• in the 15th century, Portuguese explorers named the area near the mouth of the Wouri River the Rio dos Camaroes (River of Prawns) after the abundant shrimp in the water;
• over time the designation became Cameroon in English;
• this is the only instance where a country is named after a crustacean

name:

Yaounde

geographic coordinates:

3 52 N, 11 31 E

time difference:

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

history:

several previous; latest effective 18 January 1996

amendments:

• proposed by the president of the republic or by Parliament;
• amendment drafts require approval of at least one-third of the membership in either house of Parliament;
• passage requires absolute majority vote of the Parliament membership;
• passage of drafts requested by the president for a second reading in Parliament requires two-thirds majority vote of its membership;
• the president can opt to submit drafts to a referendum, in which case passage requires a simple majority;
• constitutional articles on Cameroon’s unity and territorial integrity and its democratic principles cannot be amended;
• amended 2008 (2017)

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

at least one parent must be a citizen of Cameroon

dual citizenship recognized:

no

residency requirement for naturalization:

5 years

chief of state:

President Paul BIYA (since 6 November 1982)

head of government:

Prime Minister Philemon YANG (since 30 June 2009)

cabinet:

Cabinet proposed by the prime minister, appointed by the president

elections/appointments:

• president directly elected by simple majority popular vote for a 7-year term (no term limits);
• election last held on 9 October 2011 (next to be held in October 2018);
• prime minister appointed by the president

election results:

Paul BIYA reelected president; percent of vote - Paul BIYA (CPDM) 78.0%, John FRU NDI (SDF) 10.7%, Garga Haman ADJI 3.2%, other 8.1%

description:

• bicameral Parliament or Parlement consists of the Senate or Senat (100 seats; 70 members indirectly elected by regional councils and 30 appointed by the president; members serve 5-year terms) and the National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (180 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 5-year terms);
• note - the 100-member Senate was formed at the time of the April 2013 election

elections:

Senate last held on 14 April 2013 (next to be held in 2018); 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 Assembly - 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

• Alliance for Democracy and Development
• Cameroon People's Democratic Movement or CPDM [Paul BIYA]
• Cameroon People's Party or CPP [Edith Kah WALLA]
• Cameroon Renaissance Movement or MRC [Maurice KAMTO]
• 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 [Jean-Jacques EKINDI]
• Social Democratic Front or SDF [John FRU NDI]
• Union of Peoples of Cameroon or UPC [Provisionary Management Bureau]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Essomba ETOUNDI (since 27 June 2016)

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 (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Matthew SMITH (since 7 September 2017)

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] 22220 1500; Consular: [237] 22220 1603

FAX:

[237] 22220 1500 Ext. 4531; Consular FAX: [237] 22220 1752

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 and officially adopted in 1957; the anthem has French and English versions whose lyrics differ

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

agriculture:

70%

industry:

13%

services:

17% (2001 est.)

lowest 10%:

37.5%

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 4 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 over 65 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) (2016)

• 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)

number of registered air carriers:

1; inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 3

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

267,208

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

0 mt-km (2015)

total:

987 km

narrow gauge:

987 km 1.000-m gauge

note: railway connections generally efficient but limited; rail lines connect major cities of Douala, Yaounde, Ngaoundere, and Garoua; passenger and freight service provided by CAMRAIL (2014)

country comparison to the world: 89

total:

51,350 km

paved:

4,108 km

unpaved:

47,242 km

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

country comparison to the world: 78

river port(s):

Douala (Wouri); Garoua (Benoue)

oil 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;
• periodic government calls for volunteers (2012)

• 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

refugees (country of origin):

241,354 (Central African Republic); 90,428 (Nigeria) (2017)

IDPs:

328,785 (2017)