Cameroon

This Page was last updated on the 2 November, 2006.

Country	Cameroon
Official Name	Republic of Cameroon
Former Name	Cameroon (name given by Portuguese in 1470s from word for shrimps (camarõs); Kamerun (German 1884-1918); as a League of Nations Trust Territory was divided under British (west) and French (east) mandate on 28 June 1919; French Cameroon gained independence as the Republic of Cameroon in 1960; northern two-thirds of British Cameroon voted to join Nigeria in 1961; the southern third voted to join the Republic of Cameroon and formed Federal Republic of Cameroon; former French and part of British Cameroon merged to form the present Cameroon on 1 October 1961; became the United Republic of Cameroon on 20 May 1972.)
Capital	Yaounde
Main Towns	Bafoussam (pop. 319,457), Bamenda (pop. 321,490), Douala (pop. 1.3 million), Garoua (pop. 424,312), Kumba, Limbe, Maroua, Ngaoundere (pop. 216,300), Nkongsamba (pop. 166,262), Yaounde (pop. 1,111,641)
Subdivisions	10 provinces: Adamaoua, Centre, Est, Extreme-Nord, Littoral, Nord, Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Ouest.
Independence	1 January 1960 (from French-administered UN trusteeship)
Constitution	20 May 1972 approved by referendum; 2 June 1972 formally adopted; revised January 1996
National Holiday	Republic Day (National Day), 20 May (1972)
UN Membership	20 September 1960
OAU Membership	25 May 1963 – now African Union (AU)
Commonwealth	1 November 1995
Other Organisations	In alphabetical order according to abbreviation/acronym: Agency for the French-Speaking Community (ACCT), Africa-Caribbean-Pacific-European Union (ACP-EU), African Development Bank (AfDB or AFDB), Central African States Development Bank (BDEAC), Central African States Economic Community (CEAC), Central African Economic and Monetary Community (or Economic and Monetary Community of Central African States, CEMAC), Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Franc Zone (FZ), Group of 19 (G-19), Group of 77 at the United Nations (G-77), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), International Criminal Court (ICCt - signatory), International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (ICRM), International Development Association (IDA), Islamic Development Bank (IDB), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), International Finance Corporation (IFC), International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRCS), International Labour Organisation (ILO), International Monetary Fund (IMF), International Maritime Organisation (IMO), International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol), International Olympic Committee (IOC), International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO - correspondent), International Telecommunications Union (ITU), United Nations Organisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC), Non Aligned Movement (NAM), Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), International Organisation of the Francophonie (OIF), Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), United Nations Security Council (temporary), United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), Universal Postal Union (UPU), World Confederation of Labour (WCL), World Customs Organization (WCO, former Customs Cooperation Council [CCC]), World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU), World Health Organisation (WHO), World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), World Tourism Organisation (WToO), World Trade Organisation (WTrO).
Population	World Bank Figures: 14,784,130 (1999), 15,117,000 (2000), 15,445,580 (2001), 15,769,271 (2002), 16,087,472 (2003) Other Sources: 13,521,000 (July 1995), 15,803,220 (July 2001 est.) 15,746,179 (July 2003 est.) 16,380,005 (July 2005 est.)
Area	183,568 sq. mls. (475,440 sq. kms.)
Density	25 per sq.km. (1995)
Highest Point	Cameroon Mt. 13,451 ft. (4,100 m.)
Lowest Point	Atlantic Ocean - sea level
Neighbours	Central African Republic (E), Equatorial Guinea (S), Gabon (S), Nigeria (NW)
Life Expectancy	57 years (1995), total population: 54.59 years, male: 53.76 years, female: 55.44 years (2001 est.) total population: 48.05 years male: 47.15 years female: 48.97 years (2003 est.) total population: 47.84 years male: 47.04 years female: 48.67 years (2005 est.)
Infant Mortality Rate	total: 70.12 deaths/1,000 live births female: 65.91 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) male: 74.2 deaths/1,000 live births total: 68.26 deaths/1,000 live births male: 72.14 deaths/1,000 live births female: 64.27 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
HIV/AIDS	adult prevalence rate: 11.8% (2001 est.) 6.9% (2003 est.) people living with HIV/AIDS: 920,000 (2001 est.) 560,000 (2003 est.) deaths: 53,000 (2001 est.) 49,000 (2003 est.) IRIN Plus News - HIV/AIDS Treatment Map: Cameroon - Updated: Sept 2004 Population: 16 million HIV Prevalence Rate (%) 2003 End: 6.9 No. Of People living with HIV/AIDS: 860,000 No. Of People in need of ART: 86,000 No. Of People Currently On ART (Sep 04): 12,000 No. Of People on ART Public Sector: Not Defined No. Of People on ART in Non Govt Programmes: Not Defined No. Of People Exptd to be on ART (2005 End): 36,000 Front Line Drug Regimen: Nevirapine+Lamivudine+Stavudine and Zidovudine+Lamivudine+Efavirenz HIV/AIDS Treatment Sites: 83 Global Fund 2 Year Approved Funding (Round 3: Approved 10-Sep-04): US$14,641,407.00 Total Funds Disbursed By The Global Fund: US$6,557,467.00 Total Funds Disbursed By The World Bank Multi-Country HIV/AIDS Programme (MAP): US$50 million Total Funds Disbursed By PEPFAR: Nil Source: WHO, Ministry of Health, UNAIDS
Adult Literacy Rate	total population: 63.4%, male: 75%, female: 52.1% (1995 est.) total population: 79% male: 84.7% female: 73.4% (2003 est.)
Ethnic Groups	Cameroon Highlanders 31%, Equatorial Bantu 19%, Kirdi 11%, Fulani 10%, Northwestern Bantu 8%, Eastern Nigritic 7%, Hamitic Arab (Choa), other African 13%, non-African less than 1%
Languages	24 major African language groups, about 270 African languages and dialects, including pidgin, Fulfulde, and Ewondo. English (official), French (official)
Religions	Muslim 20%, Christian 40%, Traditional Religion (Animist) 40%
Type of Government	Unitary republic, multiparty presidential regime
President	Paul Biya (since 6 November 1982 [19/10/2005])
Prime Minister	Ephraim Inoni (since 8 Dec 2004) [last checked 2/11/2006]
Political Parties	Cameroonian Democratic Union (UDC); Democratic Rally of the Cameroon People (RDCP); Movement for the Defense of the Republic (MDR); Movement for the Liberation and Development of Cameroon (MLDC); Movement for the Youth of Cameroon (MYC); National Union for Democracy and Progress (UNDP); Social Democratic Front (SDF); Union of Cameroonian Populations (UPC)
Ruling Party	Democratic Rally of the Cameroon People (RDCP)
Currency	Communaute Financiere Africaine (CFA, XAF) Franc (100 centimes) Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000)
GDP	US$830 (1992) US$7,931m (1995) GDP: US$10.1 billion (2002) US$13.6.bn (2004 est) purchasing power parity - $30.17 billion (2004 est.) per capita purchasing power parity - US$1,700 (2002 est.) per capita: purchasing power parity - $1,900 (2004 est.)
GNP	US$900 (1992) US$750 (1994) US$650 (1995)
Per Capita Income
Population Below Poverty Line	48% (2000 est.)
Land Use	arable land: 12.81% permanent crops: 2.58% other: 84.61% (2001) Irrigated land: 330 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural Resources	petroleum, natural gas, cobalt, nickel, bauxite, iron ore, timber, hydroelectric power
Oil and Natural Gas	Oil production: 76,650 bbl/day (2001 est.) 94,000 bbl/day (2004 est.) consumption: 22,000 bbl/day (2001 est.) 22,000 bbl/day (2001 est.) exports: NA (2001) imports: NA (2001) proved reserves: 200 million bbl (January 2002 est.) 80 million bbl (2004 est.) Natural gas - proved reserves: 55.22 billion cu m (January 2002 est.) 55.22 billion cu m (2004) Pipelines: gas 90 km; liquid petroleum gas 9 km; oil 1,120 km (2004)
Military	branches: Army, Navy (includes naval infantry), Air Force, National Gendarmerie, Presidential Guard Manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 3,799,841 (2003 est.) males age 18-49: 3,410,440 (2005 est.) Expenditures - US$118.6 million, 1.4% of GDP (FY98) US$221.1 million, 1.6% of GDP (2004)
Economic Aid Received	the Paris Club agreed (23 January 2001) to reduce Cameroon's debt ofUS$1.3 billion by US$900 million; total debt relief now amounts to US$1.26 billion Aid per Capita (World Bank): US$29 (1999), US$25 (2000), US$32 (2001), US$39 (2002), US$55 (2003)
Debt	Moderately indebted (HIPC) World Bank Figures: US$6,252,000,256 (2000), US$4,928,000,000 (2001), US$4,840,800,256 (2002), US$5,077,700,096 (2003) Other Sources: US$9,350m (1995), US$10.9 billion (2000 est.) US$8.6 billion (2002 est.) US$8.46 billion (2004 est.)
Major Imports	Machinery & transport equipment, Iron & Steel, Paper & alied products, pharmaceuticals, electrical equipment, fuel crude oil, vehicles, pharmaceuticals, aluminum oxide, rubber, foodstuffs and grains, agricultural inputs, lubricants, used clothing (2002)
Imports from	France 28.8%, Nigeria 11.9%, Italy 2.7% (2001) France, Nigeria, Italy, U.S., Germany, Belgium, Japan (2002) US$1.9 billion (2002) France 28.2%, Nigeria 9.4%, Belgium 7.6%, US 4.8%, Germany 4.6%, China 4.4%, Italy 4% (2004) US$1.979 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Major Exports	Crude petroleum products 40%, Cocoa 7%, Coffee 6%, aluminium, wood, cotton, rubber, bananas, cocoa beans crude oil, timber and finished wood products, cotton, cocoa, aluminum and aluminum products, coffee, rubber, bananas (2002)
Exports to	Italy 21.7%, Spain 12.2%, France 10.6% (2001) European Union, CEMAC, China, U.S., Nigeria (informal)(2002) US$1.8 billion (2002) Spain 16.2%, Italy 14.1%, France 10.2%, UK 9.9%, US 9.6%, Netherlands 5.1% (2004) US$2.445 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

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The White Fathers, Sutton Coldfield, 2 November 2006

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