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Communications

Airports [time series]

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

Civil air [time series]

5 major transport aircraft

Roadways (Highways) [time series]

about 65,000 km total; includes 2,682 km paved, 32,318 km gravel and improved earth, and 30,000 km of unimproved 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; broadcast stations - 11 AM, 11 FM, 1 TV; 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth stations

Defense Forces

Military and security forces (Branches) [time series]

Army, Navy (including naval infantry), Air Force; National Gendarmerie, Presidential Guards

Military expenditures (Defense expenditures) [time series]

exchange rate conversion - $219 million, 1.7% of GDP (1990 est.)

Manpower availability [time series]

males 15-49, 2,753,059; 1,385,706 fit for military service; 120,011 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

Budget [time series]

revenues $1.2 billion; expenditures $1.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA million (FY89)

Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]

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

Economic aid [time series]

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

Electricity [time series]

755,000 kW capacity; 2,940 million kWh produced, 270 kWh per capita (1991)

Exchange rates [time series]

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)

Exports [time series]

$2.1 billion (f.o.b., 1990 est.) commodities: petroleum products 56%, coffee, cocoa, timber, manufactures partners: EC (particularly France) about 50%, US 10%

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]

exchange rate conversion - $11.5 billion, per capita $1,040; real growth rate 0.7% (1990 est.)

Imports [time series]

$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%

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

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

Industries [time series]

crude oil products, food processing, light consumer goods, textiles, sawmills

Inflation rate (consumer prices) [time series]

8.6% (FY88)

Economic overview (Overview) [time series]

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.

Unemployment rate [time series]

25% (1990 est.)

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

Disputes - international (Disputes) [time series]

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

Environment - current issues (Environment) [time series]

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

Area (Land area) [time series]

469,440 km2

Land boundaries [time series]

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 [time series]

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

Maritime claims [time series]

Territorial sea: 50 nm

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

Area (Total area) [time series]

475,440 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

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 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

Executive branch (Elections) [time series]

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

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

Executive branch (Leaders) [time series]

Chief of State: President Paul BIYA (since 6 November 1982) Head of Government: interim Prime Minister Sadou HAYATOU (since 25 April 1991)

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]

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

National holiday [time series]

National Day, 20 May (1972)

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

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

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 [time series]

universal at age 20

Government type (Type) [time series]

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

People

Birth rate [time series]

44 births/1,000 population (1992)

Death rate [time series]

11 deaths/1,000 population (1992)

Ethnic groups (Ethnic divisions) [time series]

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%

Infant mortality rate [time series]

81 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)

Labor force [time series]

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

Languages [time series]

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

Life expectancy at birth [time series]

55 years male, 60 years female (1992)

Literacy [time series]

54% (male 66%, female 43%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)

Nationality [time series]

noun - Cameroonian(s); adjective - Cameroonian

Net migration rate [time series]

0 migrants/1,000 population (1992)

Organized labor [time series]

under 45% of wage labor force

Population [time series]

12,658,439 (July 1992), growth rate 3.3% (1992)

Religions [time series]

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

Total fertility rate [time series]

6.4 children born/woman (1992)