French Cameroon became independent in 1960 as the Republic of Cameroon. The following year the southern portion of neighboring British Cameroon voted to merge with the new country to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon. In 1972, a new constitution replaced the federation with a unitary state, the United Republic of Cameroon. The country has generally enjoyed stability, which has enabled the development of agriculture, roads, and railways, as well as a petroleum industry. Despite slow movement toward democratic reform, political power remains firmly in the hands of President Paul BIYA.

Central Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria

6 00 N, 12 00 E

Africa

slightly larger than California

402 km

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

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

highest point: Fako 4,095 m (on Cameroon Mountain)

petroleum, bauxite, iron ore, timber, hydropower

arable land 13.1%; permanent crops 3.3%; permanent pasture 4.2%

290 sq km (2012)

volcanic activity with periodic releases of poisonous gases from Lake Nyos and Lake Monoun volcanoes

waterborne diseases are prevalent; deforestation; overgrazing; desertification; poaching; overfishing

sometimes referred to as the hinge of Africa; throughout the country there are areas of thermal springs and indications of current or prior volcanic activity; Mount Cameroon, the highest mountain in Sub-Saharan west Africa, is an active volcano

24,360,803

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

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

Catholic 38.4%, Protestant 26.3%, other Christian 4.5%, Muslim 20.9%, animist 5.6%, other 1%, non-believer 3.2% (2005 est.)

Cameroon has a large youth population, with more than 60% of the populace under the age of 25. Fertility is falling but remains at a high level, especially among poor, rural, and uneducated women, in part because of inadequate access to contraception. Life expectancy remains low at about 55 years due to the prevalence of HIV and AIDs and an elevated maternal mortality rate, which has remained high since 1990. Cameroon, particularly the northern region, is vulnerable to food insecurity largely because of government mismanagement, corruption, high production costs, inadequate infrastructure, and natural disasters. Despite economic growth in some regions, poverty is on the rise, and is most prevalent in rural areas, which are especially affected by a shortage of jobs, declining incomes, poor school and health care infrastructure, and a lack of clean water and sanitation. Underinvestment in social safety nets and ineffective public financial management also contribute to Cameroon’s high rate of poverty.

International migration has been driven by unemployment (including fewer government jobs), poverty, the search for educational opportunities, and corruption. The US and Europe are preferred destinations, but, with tighter immigration restrictions in these countries, young Cameroonians are increasingly turning to neighboring states, such as Gabon and Nigeria, South Africa, other parts of Africa, and the Near and Far East. Cameroon’s limited resources make it dependent on UN support to host more than 300,000 refugees and asylum seekers. These refugees and asylum seekers are primarily from the Central African Republic and more recently Nigeria.

2.58% (2016 est.)

35.8 births/1,000 population (2016 est.)

9.8 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.)

-0.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.)

YAOUNDE (capital) 3.066 million; Douala 2.943 million (2015)

19.7

596 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)

4.7 children born/woman (2016 est.)

23.4% (2011)

4.1% of GDP (2014)

0.08 physicians/1,000 population (2009)

1.3 beds/1,000 population (2010)

urban: 94.8% of population

rural: 52.7% of population

total: 75.6% of population

urban: 5.2% of population

rural: 47.3% of population

total: 24.4% of population (2015 est.)

urban: 61.8% of population

rural: 26.8% of population

total: 45.8% of population

urban: 38.2% of population

rural: 73.2% of population

total: 54.2% of population (2015 est.)

4.46% (2015 est.)

619,200 (2015 est.)

33,100 (2015 est.)

9.6% (2014)

14.8% (2014)

3% of GDP (2013)

presidential republic

10 regions (regions, singular - region); Adamaoua, Centre, East (Est), Far North (Extreme-Nord), Littoral, North (Nord), North-West (Nord-Ouest), West (Ouest), South (Sud), South-West (Sud-Ouest)

1 January 1960 (from French-administered UN trusteeship)

State Unification Day (National Day), 20 May (1972)

several previous; latest effective 18 January 1996; amended 2008 (2016)

mixed legal system of English common law, French civil law, and customary law

accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; non-party state to the ICCt

20 years of age; universal

Cameroon People's Democratic Movement or CPDM [Paul BIYA]

Cameroon People's Party or CPP [Edith Kah WALLA]

Cameroon Renaissance Movement or MRC [Maurice KAMTO]

Cameroonian Democratic Union or UDC [Adamou Ndam NJOYA]

Movement for the Defense of the Republic or MDR [Dakole DAISSALA]

Movement for the Liberation and Development of Cameroon or MLDC [Marcel YONDO]

National Union for Democracy and Progress or UNDP [Maigari BELLO BOUBA]

Progressive Movement or MP [Jean-Jacques EKINDI]

Social Democratic Front or SDF [John FRU NDI]

Union of Peoples of Cameroon or UPC [Provisionary Management Bureau]

Network of Human Rights Defenders in Central Africa or REDHAC [Maximilliene Ngo MBE]

Tribunal 53 [Patrice NGANANG]

ACP, AfDB, AU, BDEAC, C, CEMAC, EITI (compliant country), FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MONUSCO, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), red, and yellow, with a yellow five-pointed star centered in the red band; the vertical tricolor recalls the flag of France; red symbolizes unity, yellow the sun, happiness, and the savannahs in the north, and green hope and the forests in the south; the star is referred to as the "star of unity"

lion; national colors: green, red, yellow

Modest oil resources and favorable agricultural conditions provide Cameroon with one of the best-endowed primary commodity economies in Sub-Saharan Africa. Oil remains Cameroon’s main export commodity, and despite falling global oil prices, still accounts for nearly 40% of export earnings. Cameroon’s economy suffers from factors that often impact underdeveloped countries, such as stagnant per capita income, a relatively inequitable distribution of income, a top-heavy civil service, endemic corruption, continuing inefficiencies of a large parastatal system in key sectors, and a generally unfavorable climate for business enterprise.

Since 1990, the government has embarked on various IMF and World Bank programs designed to spur business investment, increase efficiency in agriculture, improve trade, and recapitalize the nation's banks. The IMF continues to press for economic reforms, including increased budget transparency, privatization, and poverty reduction programs. The Government of Cameroon provides subsidies for electricity, food, and fuel that have strained the federal budget and diverted funds from education, healthcare, and infrastructure projects, especially in 2015, as low oil prices have led to lower revenues.

Cameroon devotes significant resources to several large infrastructure projects currently under construction, including a deep sea port in Kribi and the Lom Pangar Hydropower Project. Cameroon’s energy sector continues to diversify, recently opening a natural gas powered electricity generating plant. Cameroon continues to seek foreign investment to improve its inadequate infrastructure, create jobs, and improve its economic footprint, but its unfavorable business environment remains a significant deterrent to foreign investment.

$72.64 billion (2015 est.)

$68.61 billion (2014 est.)

$64.78 billion (2013 est.)

$28.48 billion (2015 est.)

5.9% (2015 est.)

5.9% (2014 est.)

5.6% (2013 est.)

$3,100 (2015 est.)

$3,000 (2014 est.)

$2,900 (2013 est.)

22.2% of GDP (2015 est.)

20.8% of GDP (2014 est.)

19.5% of GDP (2013 est.)

coffee, cocoa, cotton, rubber, bananas, oilseed, grains, cassava (manioc, tapioca); livestock; timber

petroleum production and refining, aluminum production, food processing, light consumer goods, textiles, lumber, ship repair

7.2% (2015 est.)

9.379 million (2015 est.)

30% (2001 est.)

48% (2000 est.)

44.6 (2001)

47.7 (1996)

16.8% of GDP (2015 est.)

-5.3% of GDP (2015 est.)

28.6% of GDP (2015 est.)

22.7% of GDP (2014 est.)

1 July - 30 June

2.7% (2015 est.)

1.9% (2014 est.)

4.25% (31 December 2009)

13% (31 December 2015 est.)

13% (31 December 2014 est.)

$3.691 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$3.877 billion (31 December 2014 est.)

$5.53 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$6.217 billion (31 December 2014 est.)

$4.448 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$4.769 billion (31 December 2014 est.)

$230 million (31 December 2012 est.)

-$1.647 billion (2015 est.)

-$1.396 billion (2014 est.)

$5.756 billion (2015 est.)

$6.679 billion (2014 est.)

crude oil and petroleum products, lumber, cocoa beans, aluminum, coffee, cotton

China 16.7%, India 15.7%, Spain 6.2%, Belgium 6.1%, France 6.1%, Portugal 5.6%, Netherlands 5%, Italy 5% (2015)

$6.5 billion (2015 est.)

$6.915 billion (2014 est.)

machinery, electrical equipment, transport equipment, fuel, food

China 27.9%, Nigeria 13.9%, France 10.9%, Belgium 4.1% (2015)

$2.714 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$3.204 billion (31 December 2014 est.)

$6.3 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$5.289 billion (31 December 2014 est.)

Cooperation Financiere en Afrique Centrale francs (XAF) per dollar -

591.45 (2015 est.)

494.42 (2014 est.)

494.42 (2013 est.)

510.53 (2012 est.)

471.87 (2011 est.)

6.8 billion kWh (2014 est.)

6.1 billion kWh (2014 est.)

0 kWh (2013 est.)

0 kWh (2013 est.)

1.1 million kW (2014 est.)

28.5% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)

71.5% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)

95,960 bbl/day (2015 est.)

50,830 bbl/day (2013 est.)

37,600 bbl/day (2013 est.)

200 million bbl (1 January 2016 es)

51,670 bbl/day (2013 est.)

43,000 bbl/day (2014 est.)

14,590 bbl/day (2013 est.)

4,134 bbl/day (2013 est.)

469 million cu m (2014 est.)

469 million cu m (2014 est.)

0 cu m (2013 est.)

0 cu m (2013 est.)

135.1 billion cu m (1 January 2016 es)

6.5 million Mt (2013 est.)

government maintains tight control over broadcast media; state-owned Cameroon Radio Television (CRTV), broadcasting on both a TV and radio network, was the only officially recognized and fully licensed broadcaster until August 2007, when the government finally issued licenses to 2 private TV broadcasters and 1 private radio broadcaster; about 70 privately owned, unlicensed radio stations operating but are subject to closure at any time; foreign news services required to partner with state-owned national station (2007)

.cm

TJ (2016)

33 (2013)

gas 53 km; liquid petroleum gas 5 km; oil 1,107 km; water 35 km (2013)

(major rivers in the south, such as the Wouri and the Sanaga, are largely non-navigable; in the north, the Benue, which connects through Nigeria to the Niger River, is navigable in the rainy season only to the port of Garoua) (2010)

Cameroon Armed Forces (Forces Armees Camerounaises, FAC): Army (L'Armee de Terre), Navy (Marine Nationale Republique (MNR), includes naval infantry), Air Force (Armee de l'Air du Cameroun, AAC), Rapid Intervention Brigade, Fire Fighter Corps, Gendarmerie (2015)

18-23 years of age for male and female voluntary military service; no conscription; high school graduation required; service obligation 4 years; periodic government calls for volunteers (2012)

1.42% of GDP (2012)

1.37% of GDP (2011)

1.42% of GDP (2010)

Joint Border Commission with Nigeria reviewed 2002 ICJ ruling on the entire boundary and bilaterally resolved differences, including June 2006 Greentree Agreement that immediately ceded sovereignty of the Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon with a full phase-out of Nigerian control and patriation of residents in 2008; Cameroon and Nigeria agreed on maritime delimitation in March 2008; sovereignty dispute between Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon over an island at the mouth of the Ntem River; only Nigeria and Cameroon have heeded the Lake Chad Commission's admonition to ratify the delimitation treaty, which also includes the Chad-Niger and Niger-Nigeria boundaries