Current Environmental Issues: waterborne diseases are prevalent; deforestation; overgrazing; desertification; poaching; overfishing

Geography

Source: CIA

Location: Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria

Geographic Coordinates: 6 00 N, 12 00 E

Area:

total: 475,440 sq km
land: 469,440 sq km
water: 6,000 sq km

Land Boundaries:

total: 4,591 km
border countries: 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

Coastline: 402 km

Maritime Claims:

territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm

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

Terrain

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

Elevation Extremes:

lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Fako 4,095 m (on Mt. Cameroon)

Climate

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

Government

Government Type: republic; multiparty presidential regime

Capital: Yaounde

Independence Date: 1 January 1960 (from French-administered UN trusteeship)

Legal System: based on French civil law system, with common law influence; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 20 years of age; universal

International Agreement

Environmental-international Agreement:

party to: 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, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

People and Society

Population: 18,467,692

Age Structure:

0-14 years: 41.1% (male 3,826,232/female 3,757,859)
15-64 years: 55.7% (male 5,164,338/female 5,122,817)
65 years and over: 3.2% (male 274,821/female 321,625) (2008 est.)

Population Growth Rate: 2.218% (2008 est.)

Birthrate: 34.59 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death Rate: 12.41 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Net Migration Rate: NA

Life Expectancy at Birth:

total population: 53.3 years
male: 52.54 years
female: 54.08 years (2008 est.)

Total Fertility Rate: 4.41 children born/woman (2008 est.)

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

Literacy:

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 67.9%
male: 77%
female: 59.8% (2001 est.)

Water

Total Renewable Water Resources: 285.5 cu km (2003)

Freshwater Withdrawal (domestic, industrial, agricultural):

total: 0.99 cu km/yr (18%/8%/74%)
per capita: 61 cu m/yr (2000)

Agriculture

Agricultural Products: coffee, cocoa, cotton, rubber, bananas, oilseed, grains, root starches; livestock; timber

Irrigated Land: 260 sq km (2003)

Resources

Natural Resources: petroleum, bauxite, iron ore, timber, hydropower

Land Use:

arable land: 12.54%
permanent crops: 2.52%
other: 84.94% (2005)

Energy

Health

Prevalence Rate of HIV/AIDS in Adults: 6.9% (2003 est.)

Conflict

International Disputes:

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 agree 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

Refugees and internally Displaced Persons: refugees (country of origin): 20,000-30,000 (Chad); 3,000 (Nigeria); 24,000 (Central African Republic) (2007)

Trafficking in Persons:

current situation: Cameroon is a source, transit, and destination country for women and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation; most victims are children trafficked within country, with girls primarily trafficked for domestic servitude and sexual exploitation; both boys and girls are also trafficked within Cameroon for forced labor in sweatshops, bars, restaurants, and on tea and cocoa plantations; children are trafficked into Cameroon from neighboring states for forced labor in agriculture, fishing, street vending, and spare-parts shops; Cameroon is a transit country for children trafficked between Gabon and Nigeria, and from Nigeria to Saudi Arabia; it is a source country for women transported by sex-trafficking rings to Europe
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - Cameroon is on the Tier 2 Watch List for its failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat human trafficking in 2007, particularly in terms of efforts to prosecute and convict trafficking offenders; while Cameroon reported some arrests of traffickers, none of them were prosecuted or punished; the government does not identify trafficking victims among vulnerable populations nor does it monitor the number of victims it intercepts (2008)

Economy

Because of its modest 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. In 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. International oil and cocoa prices have a significant impact on the economy.

GDP (Purchasing Power Parity): $39.37 billion (2007 est.)

GDP (Official Exchange Rate): $20.65 billion (2007 est.)

GDP-real growth rate: 3.3% (2007 est.)

GDP-per capita (PPP): $2,100 (2007 est.)

GDP-composition by sector:

agriculture: 43.9%
industry: 15.8%
services: 40.3% (2007 est.)

Population Below Poverty Line: 48% (2000 est.)

Household Income or Consumption by Percentage Share:

lowest 10%: 2.3%
highest 10%: 35.4% (2001)

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

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

Export Partners: Spain 20%, Italy 15.9%, France 11.8%, South Korea 8.5%, Netherlands 6.2%, US 5.8% (2006)

Imports: machinery, electrical equipment, transport equipment, fuel, food

Import Partners: France 23.3%, Nigeria 12.8%, China 9%, Belgium 5.8%, US 4% (2006)

Economic Aid Recipients: $413.8 million (2005)

Currency: Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF)

Communications

Telephones-main line in use: 100,300 (2005)

Telephones-mobile/cellular: 2.253 million (2005)

Radio Broadcast Stations: AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 3 (2001)

Television Broadcast Stations: 1 (2001)

Internet Hosts: 512 (2007)

Internet Users: 370,000 (2006)

Transportation

Airports: 45 (2007)

Pipelines: gas 27 km; liquid petroleum gas 5 km; oil 1,110 km (2007)

Railways:

total: 987 km
narrow gauge: 987 km 1.000-m gauge (2006)

Roadways:

total: 50,000 km
paved: 5,000 km
unpaved: 45,000 km (2004)

Ports and Terminals: Douala, Limboh Terminal