Cameroon

• volcanic activity with periodic releases of poisonous gases from Lake Nyos and Lake Monoun volcanoes volcanism: Mt. Cameroon (4,095 m), which last erupted in 2000, is the most frequently active volcano in West Africa;
• lakes in Oku volcanic field have released fatal levels of gas on occasion, killing some 1,700 people in 1986

• waterborne diseases are prevalent;
• deforestation and overgrazing result in erosion, desertification, and reduced quality of pastureland;
• poaching;
• overfishing;
• overhunting

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 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

0.97 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.94 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.88 male(s)/female

total population:

0.99 male(s)/female (2020 est.)

degree of risk:

very high (2020)

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases:

malaria and dengue fever

water contact diseases:

schistosomiasis

animal contact diseases:

rabies

respiratory diseases:

meningococcal meningitis

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:

Kamerun, 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)

etymology:

founded as a German colonial settlement of Jaunde in 1888 and named after the local Yaunde (Ewondo) people

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

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 Joseph Dion NGUTE (since 4 January 2019); Deputy Prime Minister Amadou ALI (since 2014)

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 7 October 2018 (next to be held in October 2025);
• prime minister appointed by the president

election results:

Paul BIYA reelected president; percent of vote - Paul BIYA (CPDM) 71.3%, Maurice KAMTO (MRC) 14.2%, Cabral LIBII (Univers) 6.3%, other 8.2%

highest courts:

• 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 magistrates' 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]
• Cameroonian Party for National Reconciliation or PCRN [Cabral LIBII]
• Front for the National Salvation of Cameroon or FSNC [Issa Tchiroma BAKARY]
• 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]
• Union of Socialist Movements

chief of mission:

Ambassador Henri ETOUNDI ESSOMBA (since 27 June 2016)

chancery:

2349 Massachusetts Avenue, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 265-8790

FAX:

[1] (202) 387-3826

chief of mission:

Ambassador Peter Henry BARLERIN (since 20 December 2017)

telephone:

[237] 22220 1500; Consular: [237] 22220 1603

embassy:

Avenue Rosa Parks, Yaoundé

mailing address:

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

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

Fitch rating:

B (2006)

Moody's rating:

B2 (2016)

Standard & Poors rating: B- (2020)

• 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)

• 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 (2019)

number of registered air carriers:

1 (2020); inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 3

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

265,136 (2018)

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

70,000 mt-km (2018)

total:

987 km (2014)

narrow gauge:

987 km 1.000-m gauge (2014)

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

total:

77,589 km (2016)

paved:

5,133 km (2016)

unpaved:

72,456 km (2016)

total:

29

by type:

general cargo 9, other 20 (2019)

oil terminal(s):

Limboh Terminal

river port(s):

Douala (Wouri); Garoua (Benoue)

• the FAC inventory includes a mix of mostly older or second-hand Chinese, Russian, and Western equipment, with a limited quantity of more modern weapons;
• since 2010, the top suppliers to the FAC are China, Russia, Spain, and the US (2019 est.)

• 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)

• the FAC is largely focused on the threat from the terror group Boko Haram along its frontiers with Nigeria and Chad (Far North region) and an insurgency from armed Anglophone separatist groups in the North-West and South-West regions (as of Feb 2020, this internal conflict has left an estimated 3,000 civilians dead and over 500,000 people displaced since fighting started in 2016);
• in addition, the FAC has occasionally deployed units to the border region with the Central African Republic to counter intrusions from armed militias and bandits (2020)

• 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):

314,780 (Central African Republic), 116,960 (Nigeria) (2020)

IDPs:

1,032,942 (2020) (includes far north, northwest, and southwest)