|
| World Fact Book
| Mark H. Solsman
| Documentation Training and Publications, Center for Academic Computing
| mhs108@psu.edu  10/19/93
I
 
_@_Cameroon Geography
 
Total area:
    475,440 km2
Land area:
    469,440 km2
Comparative area:
    slightly larger than California
Land boundaries:
    4,591 km; Central African Republic 797 km, Chad 1,094 km, Congo 523 km,
    Equatorial Guinea 189 km, Gabon 298 km, Nigeria 1,690 km
Coastline:
    402 km
Maritime claims:
  Territorial sea:
    50 nm
Disputes:
    demarcation of international boundaries in Lake Chad, the lack of which has
    led to border incidents in the past, is completed and awaiting ratification
    by Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria; boundary commission created with
    Nigeria to discuss unresolved land and maritime boundaries - has not yet
    convened
Climate:
    varies with terrain from tropical along coast to semiarid and hot in north
Terrain:
    diverse, with coastal plain in southwest, dissected plateau in center,
    mountains in west, plains in north
Natural resources:
    crude oil, bauxite, iron ore, timber, hydropower potential
Land use:
    arable land 13%; permanent crops 2%; meadows and pastures 18%; forest and
    woodland 54%; other 13%; includes irrigated NEGL%
Environment:
    recent volcanic activity with release of poisonous gases; deforestation;
    overgrazing; desertification
Note:
    sometimes referred to as the hinge of Africa
 
:Cameroon People
 
Population:
    12,658,439 (July 1992), growth rate 3.3% (1992)
Birth rate:
    44 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate:
    11 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Net migration rate:
    0 migrants/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
    81 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth:
    55 years male, 60 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate:
    6.4 children born/woman (1992)
Nationality:
    noun - Cameroonian(s); adjective - Cameroonian
Ethnic divisions:
    over 200 tribes of widely differing background; Cameroon Highlanders 31%,
    Equatorial Bantu 19%, Kirdi 11%, Fulani 10%, Northwestern Bantu 8%, Eastern
    Nigritic 7%, other African 13%, non-African less than 1%
Religions:
    indigenous beliefs 51%, Christian 33%, Muslim 16%
Languages:
    English and French (official), 24 major African language groups
Literacy:
    54% (male 66%, female 43%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
Labor force:
    NA; agriculture 74.4%, industry and transport 11.4%, other services 14.2%
    (1983); 50% of population of working age (15-64 years) (1985)
Organized labor:
    under 45% of wage labor force
 
:Cameroon Government
 
Long-form name:
    Republic of Cameroon
Type:
    unitary republic; multiparty presidential regime (opposition parties
    legalized 1990)
Capital:
    Yaounde
Administrative divisions:
    10 provinces; Adamaoua, Centre, Est, Extreme-Nord, Littoral, Nord,
    Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Ouest
Independence:
    1 January 1960 (from UN trusteeship under French administration; formerly
    French Cameroon)
Constitution:
    20 May 1972
Legal system:
    based on French civil law system, with common law influence; has not
    accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday:
    National Day, 20 May (1972)
Executive branch:
    president, Cabinet
Legislative branch:
    unicameral National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale)
Judicial branch:
    Supreme Court
Leaders:
  Chief of State:
    President Paul BIYA (since 6 November 1982)
  Head of Government:
    interim Prime Minister Sadou HAYATOU (since 25 April 1991)
Political parties and leaders:
    Cameroon People's Democratic Movement (RDPC), Paul BIYA, president, is
    government-controlled and was formerly the only party; numerous small
    parties formed since opposition parties were legalized in 1990
Suffrage:
    universal at age 20
Elections:
  National Assembly:
    next to be held 1 March 1992
  President:
    last held 24 April 1988 (next to be held April 1993); results - President
    Paul BIYA reelected without opposition
Other political or pressure groups:
    NA
Member of:
    ACCT (associate), ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, CCC, CEEAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-19, G-77,
    GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT,
    INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, OIC, PCA, UDEAC, UN, UNCTAD,
    UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation:
    Ambassador Paul PONDI; Chancery at 2349 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington,
    DC 20008; telephone (202) 265-8790 through 8794
  US:
    Ambassador Frances D. COOK; Embassy at Rue Nachtigal, Yaounde (mailing
    address is B. P. 817, Yaounde); telephone [237] 234014; FAX [237] 230753;
    there is a US Consulate General in Douala
 
:Cameroon Government
 
Flag:
    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
 
:Cameroon Economy
 
Overview:
    Because of its offshore oil resources, Cameroon has one of the highest
    incomes per capita in tropical Africa. Still, it faces many of the serious
    problems facing other underdeveloped countries, such as political
    instability, a top-heavy civil service, and a generally unfavorable climate
    for business enterprise. The development of the oil sector led rapid
    economic growth between 1970 and 1985. Growth came to an abrupt halt in 1986
    precipitated by steep declines in the prices of major exports: coffee,
    cocoa, and petroleum. Export earnings were cut by almost one-third, and
    inefficiencies in fiscal management were exposed. In 1990-92, with support
    from the IMF and World Bank, the government has begun to introduce reforms
    designed to spur business investment, increase efficiency in agriculture,
    and recapitalize the nation's banks. Nationwide strikes organized by
    opposition parties in 1991, however, undermined these efforts.
GDP:
    exchange rate conversion - $11.5 billion, per capita $1,040; real growth
    rate 0.7% (1990 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
    8.6% (FY88)
Unemployment rate:
    25% (1990 est.)
Budget:
    revenues $1.2 billion; expenditures $1.8 billion, including capital
    expenditures of $NA million (FY89)
Exports:
    $2.1 billion (f.o.b., 1990 est.)
  commodities:
    petroleum products 56%, coffee, cocoa, timber, manufactures
  partners:
    EC (particularly France) about 50%, US 10%
Imports:
    $2.1 billion (c.i.f., 1990 est.)
  commodities:
    machines and electrical equipment, transport equipment, chemical products,
    consumer goods
  partners:
    France 41%, Germany 9%, US 4%
External debt:
    $4.9 billion (December 1989 est.)
Industrial production:
    growth rate - 6.4% (FY87); accounts for 30% of GDP
Electricity:
    755,000 kW capacity; 2,940 million kWh produced, 270 kWh per capita (1991)
Industries:
    crude oil products, food processing, light consumer goods, textiles,
    sawmills
Agriculture:
    the agriculture and forestry sectors provide employment for the majority of
    the population, contributing nearly 25% to GDP and providing a high degree
    of self-sufficiency in staple foods; commercial and food crops include
    coffee, cocoa, timber, cotton, rubber, bananas, oilseed, grains, livestock,
    root starches
Economic aid:
    US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $440 million; Western (non-US)
    countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $4.5 billion; OPEC
    bilateral aid (1979-89), $29 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $125
    million
 
:Cameroon Economy
 
Currency:
    Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (plural - francs); 1 CFA franc (CFAF)
    = 100 centimes
Exchange rates:
    Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF) per US$1 - 269.01 (January
    1992), 282.11 (1991), 272.26 (1990), 319.01 (1989), 297.85 (1988), 300.54
    (1987)
Fiscal year:
    1 July - 30 June
 
:Cameroon Communications
 
Railroads:
    1,003 km total; 858 km 1.000-meter gauge, 145 km 0.600-meter gauge
Highways:
    about 65,000 km total; includes 2,682 km paved, 32,318 km gravel and
    improved earth, and 30,000 km of unimproved earth
Inland waterways:
    2,090 km; of decreasing importance
Ports:
    Douala
Merchant marine:
    2 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 24,122 GRT/33,509 DWT
Civil air:
    5 major transport aircraft
Airports:
    56 total, 50 usable; 10 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with runways over
    3,659 m; 5 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 21 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications:
    good system of open wire, cable, troposcatter, and radio relay; 26,000
    telephones; broadcast stations - 11 AM, 11 FM, 1 TV; 2 Atlantic Ocean
    INTELSAT earth stations
 
:Cameroon Defense Forces
 
Branches:
    Army, Navy (including naval infantry), Air Force; National Gendarmerie,
    Presidential Guards
Manpower availability:
    males 15-49, 2,753,059; 1,385,706 fit for military service; 120,011 reach
    military age (18) annually
Defense expenditures:
    exchange rate conversion - $219 million, 1.7% of GDP (1990 est.)
 
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