Geography
Area: 475,000 sq. km. (184,000) sq. mi.), about the size of
California.
Cities (2003 Census Bureau estimates): Capital--Yaounde (pop.
1,111,641). Other major cities--Douala (1.3 million), Garoua
(424,312), Maroua (409,546), Bafoussam (319,457), Bamenda (321,490),
Nkongsamba (166,262), and Ngaoundere (216,300).
Terrain: Northern plains, central and western highlands, southern and
coastal tropical forests. Mt. Cameroon (13,353 ft.) in the southwest
is the highest peak in West Africa and the sixth in Africa.
Climate: Northern plains, the Sahel region--semiarid and hot (7-month
dry season); central and western highlands where Yaounde is
located--cooler, shorter dry season; southern tropical forest--warm,
4-month dry season; coastal tropical forest, where Douala is
located--warm, humid year-round.
People
Nationality: English noun and adjective--Cameroonian(s); French
noun and adjective--Camerounais(e).
Population (2003 est.): 16.5 million (52% in rural areas).
Annual growth rate: 2.9%.
Ethnic groups: About 250.
Christian singles note-Religions: Christian 53%, Muslim 22%, indigenous
African 25%.
Languages: French and English (both official) and about 270 African
languages and dialects, including pidgin, Fulfulde, and Ewondo.
Education: Compulsory between ages 6 and 14. Attendance--65%. Literacy--75%.
Health: Infant mortality rate (1999)--9.5%. Life expectancy (1999)--50
yrs.
Work force: Agriculture--70%. Industry and commerce--13%.
Government
Type: Republic; strong central government dominated by president.
Independence: January 1, 1960 (for areas formerly ruled by France) and
October 1, 1961 (for territory formerly ruled by Britain).
Constitution: June 2, 1972, last amended in January 1996.
Branches: Executive--president (chief of state), 7-yr. term,
renewable once; appointed prime minister (head of government). Legislative--unicameral
National Assembly (180 members, 5-yr. terms; meets briefly three times
a year--March, June, November); a new Senate is called for under
constitutional changes made in early 1996. Judicial--falls
under the executive's Ministry of Justice.
Administrative subdivisions: 10 provinces, 58 departments or
divisions, 349 subprefectures or subdivisions.
Political parties: Cameroon People's Democratic Movement (CPDM) or its
predecessor parties have ruled since independence. Major opposition
parties: the Social Democratic Front (SDF), the National Union for
Democracy and Progress (NUDP), and the Cameroon Democratic Union (CDU).
Suffrage: Universal at 20.
Economy
GDP (2002): $10.1 billion.
Annual growth rate (2002): 4.0%.
Natural resources: Oil, timber, hydroelectric power, natural gas,
cobalt, nickel.
Agriculture (2002): 27% of GDP. Products--timber, coffee, tea,
bananas, cocoa, rubber, palm oil, pineapples, cotton. Arable land
(2003 Agricultural Ministry estimate)--30%.
Manufacturing (2002): 30% of GDP.
Services (2002): 43% of GDP.
Trade (2002): Exports--$1.8 billion (2002): crude oil, timber
and finished wood products, cotton, cocoa, aluminum and aluminum
products, coffee, rubber, bananas. Major markets--European
Union, CEMAC, China, U.S., Nigeria (informal). Imports--$1.9
billion (2002): crude oil, vehicles, pharmaceuticals, aluminum oxide,
rubber, foodstuffs and grains, agricultural inputs, lubricants, used
clothing. Major suppliers--France, Nigeria, Italy, U.S.,
Germany, Belgium, Japan.
PEOPLE
Christian singles note-Cameroon's estimated 250 ethnic groups form five
large regional-cultural groups: western highlanders (or grassfielders),
including the Bamileke, Bamoun, and many smaller entities in the
northwest (est. 38% of population); coastal tropical forest peoples,
including the Bassa, Douala, and many smaller entities in the
Southwest (12%); southern tropical forest peoples, including the
Ewondo, Bulu, and Fang (all Beti subgroups), Maka and Pygmies
(officially called Bakas) (18%); predominantly Islamic peoples of the
northern semi-arid regions (the Sahel) and central highlands,
including the Fulani, also known as Peuhl in French (14%); and the
"Kirdi", non-Islamic or recently Islamic peoples of the
northern desert and central highlands (18%).
The people concentrated in the southwest and northwest
provinces--around Buea and Bamenda--use standard English and
"pidgin," as well as their local languages. In the three
northern provinces--Adamaoua, North, and Far North--French and
Fulfulde, the language of the Fulani, are widely spoken. Elsewhere,
French is the principal language, although pidgin and some local
languages such as Ewondo, the dialect of a Beti clan from the Yaounde
area, also are widely spoken. Although Yaounde is Cameroon's capital,
Douala is the largest city, main seaport, and main industrial and
commercial center.
The western highlands are the most fertile in Cameroon and have a
relatively healthy environment in higher altitudes. This region is
densely populated and has intensive agriculture, commerce, cohesive
communities, and historical emigration pressures. From here, Bantu
migrations into eastern, southern, and central Africa are believed to
have originated about 2,000 years ago. Bamileke people from this area
have in recent years migrated to towns elsewhere in Cameroon, such as
the coastal provinces, where they form much of the business community.
About 20,000 non-Africans, including more than 6,000 French and 2,400
U. S. citizens, reside in Cameroon.
