]! ^! The former French Cameroon and part of British Cameroon merged in 1961 to form the present country. Cameroon has generally enjoyed stability, which has permitted the development of agriculture, roads, and railways, as well as a petroleum industry. Despite movement toward democratic reform, political power remains firmly in the hands of an ethnic oligarchy. 
]" ^" Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria ^# 6 00 N, 12 00 E ^$ Africa ^% `! 475,440 sq km `" 469,440 sq km `# 6,000 sq km ^& slightly larger than California ^' `! 4,591 km `U Central African Republic 797 km, Chad 1,094 km, Republic of the Congo 523 km, Equatorial Guinea 189 km, Gabon 298 km, Nigeria 1,690 km ^( 402 km ^) `$ 50 nm ^* 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 ^, `% Atlantic Ocean 0 m `& Fako (on Mount Cameroon) 4,095 m ^- petroleum, bauxite, iron ore, timber, hydropower ^. `' 12.81% `( 2.58% `) 84.61% (2001) ^/ 330 sq km (1998 est.) ^0 volcanic activity with periodic releases of poisonous gases from Lake Nyos and Lake Monoun volcanoes ^1 waterborne diseases are prevalent; deforestation; overgrazing; desertification; poaching; overfishing _J `K Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94 `L none of the selected agreements ^2 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 
]# ^3 16,380,005 note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2005 est.) ^4 `* 41.7% (male 3,457,180/female 3,375,668) `+ 55% (male 4,537,281/female 4,477,163) `, 3.3% (male 239,634/female 293,079) (2005 est.) ^5 `! 18.6 years `- 18.45 years `. 18.76 years (2005 est.) ^6 1.93% (2005 est.) ^7 34.67 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^8 15.4 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^9 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^: `/ 1.03 male(s)/female `0 1.02 male(s)/female `+ 1.01 male(s)/female `, 0.82 male(s)/female `1 1.01 male(s)/female (2005 est.) ^; `! 68.26 deaths/1,000 live births `- 72.14 deaths/1,000 live births `. 64.27 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) ^< `1 50.89 years `- 50.71 years `. 51.08 years (2005 est.) ^= 4.47 children born/woman (2005 est.) ^> 6.9% (2003 est.) ^? 560,000 (2003 est.) ^@ 49,000 (2003 est.) __ degree of risk: very high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: malaria and yellow fever are high risks in some locations water contact disease: schistosomiasis respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis (2004) ^A `2 Cameroonian(s) `3 Cameroonian ^B Cameroon Highlanders 31%, Equatorial Bantu 19%, Kirdi 11%, Fulani 10%, Northwestern Bantu 8%, Eastern Nigritic 7%, other African 13%, non-African less than 1% ^C indigenous beliefs 40%, Christian 40%, Muslim 20% ^D 24 major African language groups, English (official), French (official) ^E `M age 15 and over can read and write `1 79% `- 84.7% `. 73.4% (2003 est.) 
]$ ^F `4 Republic of Cameroon `5 Cameroon `X French Cameroon ^H unitary republic; multiparty presidential regime (opposition parties legalized in 1990) note: preponderance of power remains with the president ^I Yaounde ^J 10 provinces; Adamaoua, Centre, Est, Extreme-Nord, Littoral, Nord, Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Ouest ^K 1 January 1960 (from French-administered UN trusteeship) ^L Republic Day (National Day), 20 May (1972) ^M 20 May 1972 approved by referendum, 2 June 1972 formally adopted; revised January 1996 ^N based on French civil law system, with common law influence; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction ^O 20 years of age; universal ^P `6 President Paul BIYA (since 6 November 1982) `7 Prime Minister Ephraim INONI (since 8 Dec 2004) `8 Cabinet appointed by the president from proposals submitted by the prime minister `9 president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 11 October 2004 (next to be held NA October 2011); prime minister appointed by the president `: President Paul BIYA reelected; percent of vote - Paul BIYA 70.9%, John FRU NDI 17.4%, Adamou Ndam NJOYA 4.5%, Garga Haman ADJI 3.7% ^Q unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (180 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms; note - the president can either lengthen or shorten the term of the legislature) `9 last held 23 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007) `: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - RDCP 133, SDF 21, UDC 5, other 21 note: the constitution calls for an upper chamber for the legislature, to be called a Senate, but it has yet to be established ^R Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president); High Court of Justice (consists of 9 judges and 6 substitute judges, elected by the National Assembly) ^S Cameroonian Democratic Union or UDC [Adamou NDAM NJOYA]; Democratic Rally of the Cameroon People or RDCP [Paul BIYA]; Movement for the Defense of the Republic or MDR [Dakole DAISSALA]; Movement for the Liberation and Development of Cameroon or MLDC [leader Marcel YONDO]; Movement for the Youth of Cameroon or MYC [Dieudonne TINA]; National Union for Democracy and Progress or UNDP [Maigari BELLO BOUBA]; Social Democratic Front or SDF [John FRU NDI]; Union of Cameroonian Populations or UPC [Augustin Frederic KODOCK] ^T Southern Cameroon National Council [Ayamba Ette OTUN]; Human Rights Defense Group [Albert MUKONG, president] ^U ABEDA, ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, BDEAC, C, CEMAC, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIK, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO ^V `N Ambassador Jerome MENDOUGA `O 2349 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 `P [1] (202) 265-8790 `Q [1] (202) 387-3826 ^W `N Ambassador George McDade STAPLES `Z Rue Nachtigal, Yaounde `[ P. O. Box 817, Yaounde; pouch: American Embassy, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-2520 `P [237] 223-05-12, 222-25-89, 222-17-94, 223-40-14 `Q [237] 223-07-53 `h Douala ^X 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 
]% ^Y Because of its oil resources and favorable agricultural conditions, Cameroon has one of the best-endowed primary commodity economies in sub-Saharan Africa. Still, it faces many of the serious problems facing other underdeveloped countries, such as a top-heavy civil service 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. In June 2000, the government completed an IMF-sponsored, three-year structural adjustment program; however, the IMF is pressing for more reforms, including increased budget transparency, privatization, and poverty reduction programs. International oil and cocoa prices have considerable impact on the economy. ^Z $30.17 billion (2004 est.) ^[ 4.9% (2004 est.) ^\ purchasing power parity - $1,900 (2004 est.) ^] `; 43.7% `< 20.1% `= 36.2% (2004 est.) ^^ 6.68 million (2004 est.) ^_ agriculture 70%, industry and commerce 13%, other 17% ^` 30% (2001 est.) ^a 48% (2000 est.) _! `> 1.9% `? 36.6% (1996) _d 47.7 (1996) _" 1% (2004 est.) _P 16.1% of GDP (2004 est.) _# `@ $2.493 billion `A $2.248 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) _Q 69.1% of GDP (2004 est.) _$ coffee, cocoa, cotton, rubber, bananas, oilseed, grains, root starches; livestock; timber _% petroleum production and refining, aluminum production, food processing, light consumer goods, textiles, lumber, ship repair _& 4.2% (1999 est.) _' 3.571 billion kWh (2002) _( 3.321 billion kWh (2002) _) 0 kWh (2002) _* 0 kWh (2002) _+ 94,000 bbl/day (2004 est.) _, 22,000 bbl/day (2001 est.) _- NA _. NA _R 80 million bbl (2004 est.) _S 0 cu m (2001 est.) _T 0 cu m (2001 est.) _U 0 cu m (2001 est.) _V 0 cu m (2001 est.) _W 55.22 billion cu m (2004) _X $-149.1 million (2004 est.) _/ $2.445 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.) _0 crude oil and petroleum products, lumber, cocoa beans, aluminum, coffee, cotton _1 Spain 15.2%, Italy 12.3%, UK 10.2%, France 9.2%, US 8.8%, South Korea 7.1%, Netherlands 4.3% (2004) _2 $1.979 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.) _3 machinery, electrical equipment, transport equipment, fuel, food _4 France 28.2%, Nigeria 9.9%, Belgium 7.6%, US 4.9%, China 4.8%, Germany 4.6%, Italy 4.1% (2004) _Y $687.5 million (2004 est.) _5 $8.46 billion (2004 est.) _6 on 23 January 2001, the Paris Club agreed to reduce Cameroon's debt of $1.3 billion by $900 million; debt relief now totals $1.26 billion _7 Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States _8 Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000) _9 1 July - 30 June 
]& _: 110,900 (2002) _; 1.077 million (2003) _< `B available only to business and government `C cable, microwave radio relay, and tropospheric scatter `D country code - 237; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia _= AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 3 (2002) _> 1 (2002) _? .cm _@ 479 (2004) _A 60,000 (2002) note: Cameroon also had more than 100 cyber-cafes in 2001 
]' _e `! 1,008 km `c 1,008 km 1.000-m gauge (2004) _B `! 34,300 km `E 4,288 km `F 30,012 km (1999 est.) _b navigation mainly on Benue River; limited during rainy season (2004) _[ gas 90 km; liquid petroleum gas 9 km; oil 1,120 km (2004) _C Douala, Limboh Terminal _K `! 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 169,593 GRT/357,023 DWT by type: petroleum tanker 1 (2005) _D 47 (2004 est.) _E `! 11 `] 2 `G 4 `^ 3 `_ 1 `T 1 (2004 est.) _L `! 36 `^ 7 `_ 20 `T 9 (2004 est.) 
]( _F Cameroon Armed Forces: Army, Navy (includes Naval Infantry), Air Force _M 18 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription (1999) _] males age 18-49: 3,410,440 (2005 est.) Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 1,720,385 (2005 est.) _^ `` 188,662 (2005 est.) _N $221.1 million (2004) _O 1.6% (2004) 
]) _H ICJ ruled in 2002 on the entire Cameroon-Nigeria land and maritime boundary but the parties formed a Joint Border Commission, which continues to meet regularly to resolve differences bilaterally and have commenced with demarcation in less-contested sections of the boundary, starting in Lake Chad in the north; implementation of the ICJ ruling on the Cameroon-Equatorial Guinea-Nigeria maritime boundary in the Gulf of Guinea is impeded by imprecisely defined coordinates, the unresolved Bakassi allocation, and a sovereignty dispute between Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon over an island at the mouth of the Ntem River; Nigeria initially rejected cession of the Bakasi Peninsula, then agreed, but has yet to withdraw its forces while much of the indigenous population opposes cession; only Nigeria and Cameroon have heeded the Lake Chad Commission's admonition to ratify the delimitation treaty which also includes Chad and Niger _c `d 39,261 (Chad) 16,983 (Nigeria) 9,634 (Cote d'Ivoire) (2004) 