1993 Edition

Area

total area: 475,440 km2 land area: 469,440 km2 comparative area: slightly larger than California

Climate

varies with terrain from tropical along coast to semiarid and hot in north

Coastline

402 km

Environment

recent volcanic activity with release of poisonous gases; deforestation; overgrazing; desertification

International 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

Irrigated land

280 km2 (1989 est.)

Land boundaries

total 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

Land use

arable land: 13% permanent crops: 2% meadows and pastures: 18% forest and woodland: 54% other: 13%

Location

Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean between Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria

Map references

Africa, Standard Time Zones of the World

Maritime claims

territorial sea: 50 nm

Natural resources

petroleum, bauxite, iron ore, timber, hydropower potential

Note

sometimes referred to as the hinge of Africa

Terrain

diverse, with coastal plain in southwest, dissected plateau in center, mountains in west, plains in north

Birth rate

40.66 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)

Death rate

11.63 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)

Ethnic divisions

Cameroon Highlanders 31%, Equatorial Bantu 19%, Kirdi 11%, Fulani 10%, Northwestern Bantu 8%, Eastern Nigritic 7%, other African 13%, non-African less than 1%

Infant mortality rate

78.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)

Labor force

NA by occupation: agriculture 74.4%, industry and transport 11.4%, other services 14.2% (1983) note: 50% of population of working age (15-64 years) (1985)

Languages

24 major African language groups, English (official), French (official)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 56.66 years male: 54.65 years female: 58.74 years (1993 est.)

Literacy

age 15 and over can read and write (1990) total population: 54% male: 66% female: 43%

Nationality

noun: Cameroonian(s) adjective: Cameroonian

Net migration rate

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)

Population

12,755,873 (July 1993 est.)

Population growth rate

2.9% (1993 est.)

Religions

indigenous beliefs 51%, Christian 33%, Muslim 16%

Total fertility rate

5.88 children born/woman (1993 est.)

Administrative divisions

10 provinces; Adamaoua, Centre, Est, Extreme-Nord, Littoral, Nord, Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Ouest

Capital

Yaounde

Chief of State

President Paul BIYA (since 6 November 1982)

Constitution

20 May 1972

Digraph

CM

Diplomatic representation in US

chief of mission: Ambassador Paul PONDI chancery: 2349 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: (202) 265-8790 through 8794

Executive branch

president, Cabinet

FAX

[237] 230-753 consulate: 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

Head of Government

Prime Minister Simon ACHIDI ACHU (since 9 April 1992)

Independence

1 January 1960 (from UN trusteeship under French administration)

Judicial branch

Supreme Court

Legal system

based on French civil law system, with common law influence; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Legislative branch

unicameral National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale)

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, UNTAC, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Names

conventional long form: Republic of Cameroon conventional short form: Cameroon former: French Cameroon

National Assembly

last held 1 March 1992 (next scheduled for March 1997); results - (180 seats) CPDM 88, UNDP 68, UPC 18, MDR 6

National holiday

National Day, 20 May (1972)

Other political or pressure groups

NA

Political parties and leaders

Cameroon People's Democratic Movement (CPDM), Paul BIYA, president, is government-controlled and was formerly the only party, but opposition parties were legalized in 1990 major opposition parties: National Union for Democracy and Progress (UNDP) major oppositon parties: Social Democratic Front (SDF) major opposition parties: Cameroonian Democratic Union (UDC); Union of Cameroonian Populations (UPC)

President

last held 11 October 1992; results - President Paul BIYA reelected with about 40% of the vote amid widespread allegations of fraud; SDF candidate John FRU NDI got 36% of the vote; UNDP candidate Bello Bouba MAIGARI got 19% of the vote

Suffrage

20 years of age; universal

Type

unitary republic; multiparty presidential regime (opposition parties legalized 1990)

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission: Ambassador Harriet ISOM embassy: Rue Nachtigal, Yaounde mailing address: B. P. 817, Yaounde telephone: [237] 234-014

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

Budget

revenues $1.7 billion; expenditures $2.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $422 million (FY90 est.)

Currency

1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes

Economic aid

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-90), $479 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-90), $4.75 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $29 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $125 million

Electricity

755,000 kW capacity; 2,190 million kWh produced, 190 kWh per capita (1991)

Exchange rates

Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF) per US$1 - 274.06 (January 1993), 264.69 (1992), 282.11 (1991), 272.26 (1990), 319.01 (1989), 297.85 (1988)

Exports

$1.8 billion (f.o.b., 1991) commodities: petroleum products 51%, coffee, beans, cocoa, aluminum products, timber partners: EC (particularly France) about 50%, US, African countries

External debt

$6 billion (1991)

Fiscal year

1 July - 30 June

Imports

$1.2 billion (c.i.f., 1991) commodities: machines and electrical equipment, food, consumer goods, transport equipment partners: EC about 60%, France 41%, Germany 9%, African countries, Japan, US 4%

Industrial production

growth rate 6.4% (FY87); accounts for 30% of GDP

Industries

petroleum production and refining, food processing, light consumer goods, textiles, sawmills

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

3% (1990 est.)

National product

GDP - exchange rate conversion - $11.5 billion (1990 est.)

National product per capita

$1,040 (1990 est.)

National product real growth rate

3% (1990 est.)

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

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.

precipitated by steep declines in the prices of major exports

coffee,

Unemployment rate

25% (1990 est.)

Airports

total: 59 usable: 51 with permanent-surface runways: 11 with runways over 3,659 m: with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 6 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 51

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

Merchant marine

2 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 24,122 GRT/33,509 DWT

Ports

Douala

Railroads

1,003 km total; 858 km 1.000-meter gauge, 145 km 0.600-meter gauge

Telecommunications

good system of open wire, cable, troposcatter, and microwave radio relay; 26,000 telephones, 2 telephones per 1,000 persons, available only to business and government; broadcast stations - 11 AM, 11 FM, 1 TV; 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth stations

Branches

Army, Navy (including Naval Infantry), Air Force, National Gendarmerie, Presidential Guard

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $219 million, less than 2% of GDP (1990 est.)

Manpower availability

males age 15-49 2,844,280; fit for military service 1,432,563; reach military age (18) annually 125,453 (1993 est.)