_#_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.)
_%_
_@_Canada
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 9,976,140 km2; land area: 9,220,970 km2
_#_Comparative area: slightly larger than US
_#_Land boundaries: 8,893 km with US (includes 2,477 km with Alaska)
_#_Coastline: 243,791 km
_#_Maritime claims:
Continental shelf: 200 m (depth) or to depth of exploitation;
Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;