Cameroon
Cameroon
Yaoundé, capital of Cameroon, 2003. Source: Elaine Pearson
Cameroon is a nation of twenty million people in Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra (in the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean), between Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria.
The country sometimes referred to as the "hinge of Africa."
Cameroons's major environmental issues include:
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- waterborne diseases are prevalent;
- deforestation;
- overgrazing;
- desertification;
- poaching; and.
- overfishing.
It is susceptible to volcanic activity with periodic releases of poisonous gases from Lake Nyos and Lake Monoun volcanoes.
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.
The region was split into two colonial areas, one French and one British after World war I.
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 permitted 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.
Geography
Location: Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria
Geographic Coordinates: 6 00 N, 12 00 E
Area: 475,440 km2 (469,440 km2 land and 6,000 km2 water)
arable land: 12.54%
permanent crops: 2.52%
other: 84.94% (2005)
Land Boundaries: 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
Joint Border Commission with Nigeria reviewed a 2002 International Court of Justice (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.
There is 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.
Coastline: 402 km
Maritime Claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
Cameroon and Nigeria agreed on maritime delimitation in March 2008.
Natural Hazards: volcanic activity with periodic releases of poisonous gases from Lake Nyos and Lake Monoun volcanoes
Volcanism: Mt. Cameroon (elev. 4,095 m), which last erupted in 2000, is the most frequently active volcano in West Africa; lakes in Oku volcanic field have released fatal levels of gas on occasion, killing some 1,700 people in 1986
Terrain: Diverse, with coastal plain in southwest, dissected plateau in center, mountains in west, plains in north. Its lowest point is the Atlantic Ocean (0 metres) and its highest point is Fako on Mount Cameroon (4,095 metres)
Climate: Varies with terrain, from tropical along coast to semiarid and hot in north
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Source: The Map Library/NASA |
Topography of Cameroon. Source: Wikimedia Commons |
Lake Nyos is a crater lake on the flank of an inactive volcano. Magma beneath the lake leaks carbon dioxide into the waters. In 1986, the lake emitted a large cloud of carbon dioxide that suffocated nearly 1,800 people and some 3,500 livestock in nearby villages.
Ecology and Biodiversity
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See also: Dja Faunal Reserve
Government
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Government Type: republic; multiparty presidential regime Capital: Yaounde - 1.739 million (2009) Other Major Cities: Douala 2.053 million (2009) Administrative Divisions: 10 regions (regions, singular - region);
Independence Date: 1 January 1960 (from French-administered UN trusteeship) Legal System: mixed legal system of English common law, French civil law, and customary law. Cameroon accepts compulsory International Court of Justice (ICJ) jurisdiction; but is a non-party state to the International Criminal court (ICCt) Suffrage: 20 years of age; universal |
Source: Wikimedia Commons |
International Environmental Agreements
Cameroon is party to international agreements on 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, and Whaling.
People and Society
Population: 19,711,291 (July 2011 est.)
Ethnic groups: Cameroon Highlanders 31%, Equatorial Bantu 19%, Kirdi 11%, Fulani 10%, Northwestern Bantu 8%, Eastern Nigritic 7%, other African 13%, non-African less than 1%
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Yaoundé was founded in 1888 by German traders as an agricultural research station and a base for their ivory trade. Today, Yaoundé is the capital and second largest city of Cameroon. Yaoundé lies in the central region of Cameroon. This Landsat 7 image was acquired May 18, 2000. It is a false color. In The city is grey, brown and tan. Vegetation is green and clouds are white. Source: NASA |
Age Structure:
0-14 years: 40.5% (male 4,027,381/female 3,956,219)
15-64 years: 56.2% (male 5,564,570/female 5,505,857)
65 years and over: 3.3% (male 300,929/female 356,335) (2011 est.)
Population Growth Rate: 2.121% (2011 est.)
Birthrate: 33.04 births/1,000 population (2011 est.)
Death Rate: 11.83 deaths/1,000 population (July 2011 est.)
Net Migration Rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2011 est.)
Life Expectancy at Birth: 54.39 years (2011 est.)
Total Fertility Rate: 4.17 children born/woman (2011 est.)
Languages: 24 major African language groups, English (official), French (official)
Literacy: 67.9% (male: 77% - female: 59.8% [2001 est.])
Urbanization: 58% of total population (2010) growing at an annual rate of change of 3.3% (2010-15 est.)
Water
Total Renewable Water Resources: 285.5 cu km (2003)
Freshwater Withdrawal: Total: 0.99 cu km/yr (18% domestic, 8% industrial, 74% agricultural).
Per capita Freshwater Withdrawal:: 61 cu m/yr (2000)
Access to improved sources of drinking water: 74% of population
Access to improved sanitation facilities: 47% of population
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.
Energy
| Production | Consumption | Exports | Imports | Reserves | |
| Electricity | 4.09 billion kWh (2005) | 3.435 billion kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2005) | |
| Oil | 82,670 bbl/day (2005 est.) | 24,200 bbl/day (2005 est.) | 107,400 bbl/day (2004) | 63,710 bbl/day (2004) | 95 million bbl (2007 est.) |
| Natural Gas | 0 cu m (2005 est.) | 0 cu m (2005 est.) | 0 cu m (2005 est.) | 0 cu m (2005 est.) | 105.9 billion cu m (1 January 2006 est.) |
| Source: CIA Factbook | |||||
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 confronting other underdeveloped countries, such as stagnant per capita income, a relatively inequitable distribution of income, a top-heavy civil service, endemic corruption, and a generally unfavorable climate for business enterprise.
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The steep forested slopes of the seventeen million-year-old Monts Bamboutos volcano rise 2740 meters (8990 feet) above sea level in southwestern Cameroon. The collapsed volcano provides loose, rich volcanic soil, which has brought farmers to the region. Now, the same soil that attracted farmers is a threat to their lives and livelihoods. As the trees were removed to make way for agriculture on slopes as steep as 30 degrees, the soil eroded into loose, unstable layers—a perfect formula for landslides. In 2003, heavy rains triggered a series of deadly landslides in the caldera. At least 20 people died, and hundreds more were left homeless. The threat posed by landslides to the region is increasing both because soil-anchoring trees are being cleared and because the susceptible population around the crater is growing. The above image, taken on March 8, 2004, shows some of the patterns of development that led to the landslides. Here, bare soil is reddish brown. A dark green finger of forest projects into the center of the image from the left. Tiny, brighter green squares are agricultural fields. The patterned grid of green on the slopes of the mountain have been cultivated. Source: NASA. Credit: Image courtesy MITI, ERSDAC, JAROS, and the U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team, caption information courtesy ParBleu technologies. |
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 is pressing for more reforms, including increased budget transparency, privatization, and poverty reduction programs.
Subsidies for electricity, food, and fuel have strained the budget.
New mining projects - in diamonds, for example - have attracted foreign investment, but large ventures will take time to develop.
Cameroon's business environment - one of the world's worst - is a deterrent to foreign investment.
GDP (Purchasing Power Parity): $47.12 billion (2011 est.)
GDP (Official Exchange Rate): $25.8 billion (2011 est.)
GDP-per capita (PPP): $2,300 (2011 est.)
GDP-composition by sector:
agriculture: 19.7%
industry: 31.9%
services: 48.4% (2011 est.)
Population Below Poverty Line: 48% (2000 est.)
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
Imports: machinery, electrical equipment, transport equipment, fuel, food
Currency: Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF)
Ports and Terminals: Douala, Limboh Terminal
Citation
Central Intelligence Agency (Lead Author);CIA World Factbook (Content Source);Lakhdar Boukerrou, Peter Saundry (Topic Editor) "Cameroon". In: Encyclopedia of Earth. Eds. Cutler J. Cleveland (Washington, D.C.: Environmental Information Coalition, National Council for Science and the Environment). [First published in the Encyclopedia of Earth May 17, 2010; Last revised Date February 4, 2012; Retrieved February 9, 2012 <http://www.eoearth.org/article/Cameroon>
The Author
The Central Intelligence Agency was created in 1947 with the signing of the National Security Act by President Harry S. Truman. The act also created a Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) to serve as head of the United States intelligence community; act as the principal adviser to the President for intelligence matters related to the national security; and serve as head of the Central Intelligence Agency. The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 amended the National Securit ... (Full Bio)
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