CAMEROON
GEOGRAPHY
Total area: 475,440 km2; land area: 469,440 km2
Comparative area: slightly larger than California
Land boundaries: 4,591 km total; 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;
Nigerian proposals to reopen maritime boundary negotiations and
redemarcate the entire land boundary have been rejected by Cameroon
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
PEOPLE
Population: 11,390,374 (July 1991), growth rate 2.7% (1991)
Birth rate: 41 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate: 15 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
Infant mortality rate: 118 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Life expectancy at birth: 49 years male, 53 years female (1991)
Total fertility rate: 5.6 children born/woman (1991)
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%
Religion: indigenous beliefs 51%, Christian 33%, Muslim 16%
Language: 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
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; 17 parties formed by 1 May 1991
Suffrage: universal at age 21
Elections:
President--last held 24 April 1988 (next to be held April 1993);
results--President Paul BIYA reelected without opposition;
National Assembly--last held 24 April 1988 (next to be
held by the end of 1992);
results--RDPC was the only party;
seats--(180 total) RDPC 180
Communists: no Communist party or significant number of
sympathizers
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, 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; there is
a US Consulate General in Douala
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
ECONOMY
Overview: Over the past decade the economy has registered a
remarkable performance because of the development of an offshore oil
industry. Real GDP growth annually averaged 10% from 1978 to 1985. In
1986 Cameroon had one of the highest levels of income per capita in
tropical Africa, with oil revenues picking up the slack as growth in
other sectors softened. Because of the sharp drop in oil prices, however,
the economy experienced serious budgetary difficulties and
balance-of-payments disequilibrium. Despite the recent upsurge in oil
prices, Cameroon's economic outlook is troubled. Oil reserves currently
being exploited will be depleted in the early 1990s, so ways must be
found to boost agricultural and industrial exports in the medium term.
The Sixth Cameroon Development Plan (1986-91) stresses balanced
development and designates agriculture as the basis of the country's
economic future.
GDP: $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 $1.7 billion; expenditures $2.2 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 the French) 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: 752,000 kW capacity; 2,940 million kWh produced,
270 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: crude oil products, food processing, light consumer
goods industries 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
(1970-88), $4.2 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $29 million;
Communist countries (1970-89), $125 million
Currency: Communaute Financiere Africaine franc
(plural--francs); 1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates: Communaute Financiere Africaine francs
(CFAF) per US$1--256.54 (January 1991), 272.26 (1990), 319.01 (1989),
297.85 (1988), 300.54 (1987), 346.30 (1986), 449.26 (1985)
Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June
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 bituminous,
30,000 km unimproved earth, 32,318 km gravel, earth, and improved 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: 60 total, 52 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; stations--10 AM, 1 FM, 1 TV; 2
Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth stations
DEFENSE FORCES
Branches: Army, Navy (including Marines), Air Force; paramilitary
Gendarmerie
Manpower availability: males 15-49, 2,628,909; 1,324,899 fit for
military service; 125,421 reach military age (18) annually
Defense expenditures: $219 million, 1.7% of GDP (1990 est.)