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Communications

Airports [time series]

61 total, 54 usable; 10 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 5 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 22 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Civil air [time series]

5 major transport aircraft

Roadways (Highways) [time series]

about 65,000 km total; includes 2,682 km bituminous, 30,000 km unimproved earth, 32,318 km gravel, earth, and improved earth

Waterways (Inland waterways) [time series]

2,090 km; of decreasing importance

Merchant marine [time series]

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

Ports [time series]

Douala

Railways (Railroads) [time series]

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

Telecommunication systems (Telecommunications) [time series]

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

Military and security forces (Branches) [time series]

Army, Navy, Air Force; paramilitary Gendarmerie

Military expenditures (Defense expenditures) [time series]

1.7% of GDP, or $219 million (1990 est.)

Military manpower [time series]

males 15-49, 2,553,867; 1,286,831 fit for military service; 121,773 reach military age (18) annually

Economy

Agricultural products (Agriculture) [time series]

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

Aid [time series]

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $400 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $3.9 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $29 million; Communist countries (1970-88), $120 million

Budget [time series]

revenues $2.17 billion; expenditures $2.17 billion, including capital expenditures of $833 million (FY88)

Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]

Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (plural--francs); 1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes

Electricity [time series]

752,000 kW capacity; 2,940 million kWh produced, 270 kWh per capita (1989)

Exchange rates [time series]

Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF) per US$1--287.99 (January 1990), 319.01 (1989), 297.85 (1988), 300.54 (1987), 346.30 (1986), 449.26 (1985)

Exports [time series]

$2.0 billion (f.o.b., 1988); commodities--petroleum products 56%, coffee, cocoa, timber, manufactures; partners--EC (particularly the Netherlands) about 50%, US 3%

Debt - external (External debt) [time series]

$4.9 billion (December 1989 est.)

Fiscal year [time series]

1 July-30 June

Real GDP (purchasing power parity) (GDP) [time series]

$12.9 billion, per capita $955; real growth rate - 8.6% (1988)

Imports [time series]

$2.3 billion (c.i.f., 1988); commodities--machines and electrical equipment, transport equipment, chemical products, consumer goods; partners--France 42%, Japan 7%, US 4%

Industrial production growth rate (Industrial production) [time series]

growth rate - 6.4% (FY87)

Industries [time series]

crude oil products, small aluminum plant, food processing, light consumer goods industries, sawmills

Inflation rate (consumer prices) [time series]

8.6% (FY88)

Economic overview (Overview) [time series]

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 is now experiencing serious budgetary difficulties and balance-of-payments disequalibrium. 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.

Unemployment rate [time series]

7% (1985)

Geography

Climate [time series]

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

Coastline [time series]

402 km

Area - comparative (Comparative area) [time series]

slightly larger than California

Continental shelf [time series]

not specific;

Disputes - international (Disputes) [time series]

exact locations of the Chad-Niger-Nigeria and Cameroon-Chad-Nigeria tripoints in Lake Chad have not been determined, so the boundary has not been demarcated and border incidents have resulted; Nigerian proposals to reopen maritime boundary negotiations and redemarcate the entire land boundary have been rejected by Cameroon

Environment - current issues (Environment) [time series]

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

Land boundaries [time series]

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

Land use [time series]

13% arable land; 2% permanent crops; 18% meadows and pastures; 54% forest and woodland; 13% other; includes NEGL% irrigated

Natural resources [time series]

crude oil, bauxite, iron ore, timber, hydropower potential

Note [time series]

sometimes referred to as the hinge of Africa

Terrain [time series]

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

Maritime claims (Territorial sea) [time series]

50 nm

Area (Total area) [time series]

475,440 km2; land area: 469,440 km2

Government

Administrative divisions [time series]

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

Capital [time series]

Yaounde

Political parties (Communists) [time series]

no Communist party or significant number of sympathizers

Constitution [time series]

20 May 1972

Diplomatic representation in the US (Diplomatic representation) [time series]

Ambassador Paul PONDI; Chancery at 2349 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 265-8790 through 8794; US--Ambassador Frances COOK; Embassy at Rue Nachtigal, Yaounde (mailing address is B. P. 817, Yaounde); telephone [237] 234014; there is a US Consulate General in Douala

Executive branch [time series]

president, Cabinet

Flag [time series]

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

Independence [time series]

1 January 1960 (from UN trusteeship under French administration; formerly French Cameroon)

Judicial branch [time series]

Supreme Court Chief of State and Head of Government President Paul BIYA (since 6 November 1982)

Legal system [time series]

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

Legislative branch [time series]

unicameral National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale)

Country name (Long-form name) [time series]

Republic of Cameroon

International organization participation (Member of) [time series]

ACP, AfDB, CCC, EAMA, ECA, EIB (associate), FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IDB--Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, ISO, ITU, Lake Chad Basin Commission, NAM, Niger River Commission, OAU, OIC, UDEAC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

National holiday [time series]

National Day, 20 May (1972)

Political parties (Other political or pressure groups) [time series]

Cameroon People's Union (UPC), remains an illegal group with its factional leaders in exile

Political parties (Political parties and leaders) [time series]

only party--Cameroon People's Democratic Movement (RDPC), Paul Biya, president

Suffrage [time series]

universal at age 21 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 April 1993); results--RDPC is the only party; seats--(180 total) RDPC 180

Government type (Type) [time series]

unitary republic; one-party presidential regime

People

Birth rate [time series]

42 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate [time series]

15 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Ethnic groups (Ethnic divisions) [time series]

over 200 tribes of widely differing background; 31% Cameroon Highlanders, 19% Equatorial Bantu, 11% Kirdi, 10% Fulani, 8% Northwestern Bantu, 7% Eastern Nigritic, 13% other African, less than 1% non-African

Infant mortality rate [time series]

120 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Labor force [time series]

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

Languages (Language) [time series]

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

Life expectancy at birth [time series]

49 years male, 53 years female (1990)

Literacy [time series]

56.2%

Nationality [time series]

noun--Cameroonian(s); adjective--Cameroonian

Net migration rate [time series]

0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Organized labor [time series]

under 45% of wage labor force

Population [time series]

11,092,470 (July 1990), growth rate 2.7% (1990)

Religions (Religion) [time series]

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

Total fertility rate [time series]

5.7 children born/woman (1990)