I.

Introduction

Cameroon, officially Republic of Cameroon, republic in west-central Africa, bounded on the north by Lake Chad; on the east by Chad and the Central African Republic; on the south by the Congo, Gabon, and Equatorial Guinea; and on the west by the Bight of Bonny (an arm of the Atlantic Ocean) and Nigeria. The country is shaped like an elongated triangle, and forms a bridge between western Africa and central Africa.

From 1961 until 1972 the republic was a federation of East Cameroon, the former French Cameroons, and West Cameroon, part of the former British Cameroons. Following a referendum, Cameroon became a unitary republic on June 2, 1972. The country has a total area of 475,442 sq km (183,569 sq mi). The capital of Cameroon is Yaoundé.

II.

Land and Resources

Cameroon has four distinct topographical regions. In the south is a coastal plain, a region of dense equatorial rainforests. In the centre is the Adamawa Plateau, a region with elevations reaching about 1,370 m (4,500 ft) above sea level. This is a transitional area where forest gives way to the savannah country of the north. In the far north the savannah gradually slopes into the marshland surrounding Lake Chad.

In the west is an area of high, forested mountains of volcanic origin, including Mount Cameroon (4,095 m/13,435 ft), the highest peak in western Africa and an active volcano that last showed signs of life in 2000. The country’s most fertile soils are found in this region.

A.

Rivers and Lakes

In the western mountains, near the Nigerian border, is the volcanic Lake Nyos. The release in 1986 of a noxious mixture of carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide, which had collected below the bed of the lake, killed 2,000 people. An operation began in March 1995 to clear the lake of a further build-up of gases.

Among the principal rivers, the Sanaga and Nyong flow generally west to the Atlantic Ocean, and the Mbéré and Logone flow north from the central plateau into Lake Chad. A network of rivers in the Chad Basin, including the River Benue, links the country with the vast system of the River Niger to the east and north.

B.

Climate

Cameroon has a tropical equatorial climate, humid in the south but increasingly dry to the north. On the coast the average annual rainfall is about 3,890 mm (153 in). On the exposed slopes of the Cameroon Mountains in the west, rainfall is almost constant and sometimes reaches 10,160 mm (400 in) a year. In the semi-arid north-west annual rainfall averages about 380 mm (15 in). A dry season in the north lasts from October to April. The average temperature in the south is 25° C (77° F), on the plateau it is 21.1° C (70° F), and in the north it is 32.2° C (90° F).

C.

Natural Resources

Cameroon is dependent primarily on its agricultural and timber resources. High-yield deposits of bauxite exist in northern Cameroon. Natural gas is found near Douala, and offshore oil deposits are exploited, making Cameroon one of the most diversified primary commodity economies in sub-Saharan Africa. A small amount of gold is mined together with tin ore and limestone. Cameroon’s hydroelectric potential is significant; the largest power station is at Edéa, on the Sanaga River. Total production of electricity in 2003 was 3 billion kWh, of which 96.6 per cent was generated by hydroelectric facilities.

D.

Plants and Animals

Cameroon’s valuable rainforests contain a great number of tree species, including oil palms, bamboo, mahogany, teak, ebony, and rubber. Wildlife is diverse and abundant and includes monkeys, chimpanzees, gorillas, antelopes, lions, and elephants, as well as numerous species of birds and snakes.

E.

Environmental Concerns

The government of Cameroon has designated 20,970 sq km (8,097 sq mi) as protected areas (1997), including the 5,260 sq km (2,03 sq mi) Dja Faunal Reserve, which was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987. The country is so rich in wildlife resources that in its national report to the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), biodiversity was mentioned as one of the few issues not of national concern. Nevertheless, 80 species (1996) in Cameroon are threatened with extinction. In addition, deforestation is of increasing concern: from 1990 to 1995, 646,000 hectares (1,596,000 acres) of forest were lost. About 42 per cent (1995) of Cameroon is forested.

Cameroon's water resources are vast—the country consumes only 0.10 per cent (1980-1997) of available fresh water each year. A very high 97.4 per cent (1998) of the electricity used in Cameroon comes from hydroelectric plants in the country. Although almost all of the population has access to safe water, water-borne diseases such as malaria are serious health care concerns, contributing to a low life expectancy and a high infant mortality rate.

The government has ratified international environmental agreements pertaining to biodiversity, climate change, desertification, endangered species, law of the sea, ozone layer protection, and tropical timber.

III.

Population

The majority of the people are farmers who live in small towns or villages in southern and central Cameroon. Semi-nomadic herders inhabit the north, and in the remote rainforest there are still some Pygmy communities.

A.

Population Characteristics

Cameroon has a population of 18,467,692 (2008 estimate), giving an average population density of 39 people per sq km (102 per sq mi). The population distribution is very uneven, however. The main concentrations are in the southern cities and towns; the western mountains; and the savannah zone of the north. Average life expectancy in 2008 was around 52.5 years for men, and 54.1 years for women.

B.

Principal Cities

Yaoundé, with a population of 1,616,000 (2003 estimate), is the main commercial centre, as well as the capital. Douala, on the Bight of Bonny, with a population of 1,494,700 (2001), is the chief port. Other important towns include Maroua, population 140,000 (1992 estimate), Bafoussam, 120,000 (1992 estimate), and Garoua, 160,000 (1992 estimate).

C.

Religion

Over one half of the population adheres to traditional religions; about 16 per cent of the population is Muslim; the remaining 33 per cent is Christian. Muslims predominate in the north and Christians in the south.

D.

Language

Around 280 languages are spoken in Cameroon. English and French are the official languages; French dominates, while English is confined mainly to the west. The country contains a great number of ethnic groups, who speak 24 major languages. Among the major ethnic groups are the Bamileke, a Bantu-speaking people of the central area, and the northern Fulani, a Muslim people. Beti is spoken by 2 million people, primarily in the Centre and South provinces, and also in the East province. Cameroon Pidgin is spoken by about 2 million people, chiefly as a second language. It is mainly spoken in the South-West and North-West provinces and is mutually intelligible with some other West African pidgins.

E.

Education

French principles of education predominate in Cameroon’s secondary and technical schools. Mission schools play an important role in education and are partly subsidized by the government. In 1993–1994 the total enrolment in primary schools was about 1.89 million, and 546,400 in secondary schools. The University of Yaoundé, which was established in 1962, has faculties of law, arts, and science. More than 31,000 students are enrolled in institutions of higher education. Adult literacy is estimated at 81.1 per cent of adults (2005). In 2002–2003, 4.1 per cent of the country’s gross national product (GNP) was spent on education.

IV.

Economy

In 2004 Cameroon had a GNP (World Bank estimate) of US$12,993 million, equivalent to US$990 per capita. Cameroon has one of the most diversified economies in sub-Saharan Africa. However, it faces many of the serious problems facing other developing countries, such as political instability and a generally unfavourable climate for business enterprise. In 1990-1993, the government began to introduce reforms designed to spur business investment, increase efficiency in agriculture, and privatize the nation’s banks, with support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank. Political instability following suspect elections in 1992 brought IMF/World Bank structural adjustment to a halt, and progress toward privatization of remaining state industry remains slow.

Oil is the most important export, accounting for more than two thirds of earnings. The development of the oil sector led to rapid economic growth between 1970 and 1985, after which growth came to a halt in 1986, precipitated by steep declines in the prices of coffee, cocoa, and petroleum, the country’s main exports.

Agricultural activities are the main occupation of the vast majority of the population of Cameroon. Agricultural and forestry products are also important exports. In 1999 the estimated national budget showed revenues of US$1,203 million and expenditure of US$1,409 million. The average deficit is about 5 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP).

A.

Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing

The principal cash crops of Cameroon are coffee, cacao, palm oil and kernels, cotton, rubber, sugar cane, and bananas. In 2006 yearly production of coffee and cacao, the leading export commodities, amounted to about 40,500 and 164,553 tonnes respectively. The main food crops include plantains, yams, groundnuts (peanuts), cassava, maize, sorghum, and millet.

Livestock-raising is important in the central Adamawa Massif and northern savannah regions. In 2006 the livestock population included 6 million head of cattle, 4.4 million goats, 1.3 million pigs which are kept in the non-Muslim areas, and 3.8 million sheep.

Timber was traditionally one of Cameroon’s most valuable exports, and it is still a significant contributor to foreign exchange earnings. Production consists mainly of mahogany, ebony, and teak from the southern rainforest for export. The annual timber cut in 2006 amounted to 11.4 million cu m (401 million cu ft), of which 9.57 million cu m (338 million cu ft) was for fuel wood. Fishing was until recently dominated by freshwater subsistence activity. Deep-sea fishing activity, however, has increased rapidly, especially from the port of Douala. In 2005 the catch was 142,682 tonnes, including 67,345 tonnes from the sea.

B.

Mining

One of the largest single industrial enterprises in Cameroon is the aluminium smelting plant at Edéa. In 2004 77,000 tonnes of aluminium were produced from imported bauxite. Offshore petroleum exploitation began in the late 1970s, and an oil refinery has been built. Cameroon’s output of crude oil from the Kole field, mostly for export, reached about 24.5 million barrels per year in 2004. Small amounts of gold and tin concentrates are also produced.

C.

Manufacturing

Other industrial activity is dominated by the processing of agricultural and timber products; textiles, fertilizers, and cement are also produced.

D.

Currency and Banking

Cameroon is a member of the Franc Zone, and the monetary unit is the CFA franc of 100 centimes (449.18 CFA francs equalled US$1; early 2008). The issuing authority is the central bank of the states grouped in the central African currency region of the Franc Zone, based in Yaoundé. In January 1994 the CFA franc was devalued by 50 per cent against its fixed exchange rate with the French franc, leading to a surge in inflation in 1994 (48 per cent).

E.

Commerce and Trade

In 2003, Cameroon’s annual exports earned US$2,246 million, while imports cost US$2,021 million. France, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United States are the leading trade partners.

F.

Transport

Of the 50,000 km (31,069 mi) of roads in 2004, about 10 per cent were paved. Unpaved roads are frequently impassable during the rainy season. There were 7.2 passenger vehicles per 1,000 people in 1997. The country had 1,016 km (631 mi) of railways in 2006. The overwhelming majority of port traffic is handled at Douala, which is also an important port for the trade of adjacent landlocked states; Kribi is the country’s second port. The port of Garoua on the River Benue in the north is open two to three months a year and handles most of the trade with Nigeria. Cameroon Airlines (Camair) provides domestic and international services. The main international airports are at Douala, Garoua, and Yaoundé; a number of smaller airfields exist.

G.

Communications

The state-controlled radio and television broadcasting organization has its headquarters at Yaoundé, and local radio stations in Douala, Garoua, and Buea. In 1997 about 2 million radio receivers, 520,000 television sets, and 6.2 (2004) telephones per 1,000 people were in use.

V.

Government

Cameroon is governed under a constitution promulgated in 1972 and substantially revised.

A.

Executive and Legislature

The president of the republic is head of state and commander of the armed forces and is elected to a seven-year term by universal suffrage. Until 1992 the federal ministers, including the prime minister, were appointed by the president, and by statute were not permitted to be members of the legislature. The president also appoints the governors of the ten provinces.

Legislative power in Cameroon is vested in the unicameral National Assembly, which consists of 180 members elected to five-year terms. The Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (RDPC) was the sole legal party from 1966 until December 1990, when the National Assembly legalized opposition parties, the most important of which are the National Union for Democracy and Progress (UNDP; Union Nationale pour la Démocratie et le Progrès), the Social Democratic Front (SDF; Front Social-Démocratique), the Cameroon Democratic Union (UDC; Union Démocratique du Cameroun), and the Union of the People's of Cameroon (UPC; Union des Populations du Cameroun). The RDPC won 152 seats at the 2007 general election; the SDF was the largest minority party with 14.

B.

Judiciary

The judicial system of Cameroon is largely based on the French system with an admixture of elements from the British system. The highest judicial body is the Supreme Court. Other courts are the appeals courts, regional courts, and magistrates’ courts. Judges are appointed by the president.

C.

Health and Welfare

In 2004 there were 5,216 people per doctor and in 2008 an infant mortality rate of 65 deaths per 1,000 live births; in 1999 3.4 per cent of government expenditure was spent on health care.

D.

International Organizations

Cameroon is a member of the United Nations (UN), the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), and the African Union.

VI.

History

Little is known of the early settlement of present-day Cameroon. The original inhabitants probably extended settlement from the interior to the east coast in successive waves of migration, until the 13th century. Certainly by the time of the first European contacts, there was a number of well-established groups on the coast, including the Bubi, Bakweri, and Douala. The coast was explored late in the 15th century by the Portuguese, who named the estuary to the south of Mount Cameroon Rio das Camerões (“river of prawns”). Merchants established trading stations along the coast in the 17th century, buying slaves, ivory, and rubber. British traders and missionaries were especially active in the area after 1845. The Germans and British began to explore inland after 1860, and in 1884 the former established a protectorate over the Douala area; the British, taken by surprise, offered no resistance to their claim.

A.

European Rule

Transport difficulties and local resistance slowed German exploitation of the area, but they eventually established large cacao, palm, and rubber plantations. They also built roads and began the construction of a railway and the port of Douala on the Atlantic coast.

Anglo-French forces invaded the German colony in 1916. After World War I, at the Treaty of Versailles (1919), one fifth of the former German-dominated territory, which was contiguous with eastern Nigeria, was assigned to Great Britain, and the remaining four fifths was assigned to France as a mandate under the League of Nations.

The British Cameroons consisted of the Northern and Southern Cameroons, which were separated by a 72-km (45-mi) strip along the River Benue. The northern territory, inhabited by peoples of Sudanese origin, was always administered as a part of northern Nigeria. The Southern Cameroons, peopled by a variety of ethnic groups, was administered as part of the Nigerian federation but had a locally elected legislature. The French Cameroons was administered as a separate territory. Neither area, however, experienced much social or economic progress.

B.

Independence

After World War II ended in 1945, the mandates were made trust territories of the United Nations. In the following years political ferment grew enormously in the French territory, where more than 100 parties were formed between 1948 and 1960. The campaign for independence, intermittently violent, gained steady momentum during the 1950s, until the French granted self-government in December 1958; the full independence of the French Cameroons was achieved on January 1, 1960. The country took the name East Cameroon, and Ahmadou Ahidjo, prime minister since 1958, became the first president. The new republic was admitted to the United Nations in September 1960.

The following year the UN sponsored a plebiscite in the British Cameroons. As a result, the Southern Cameroons was federated with the Republic of Cameroon in October 1961, while the Northern Cameroons joined Nigeria.

C.

Rebellion and Unity

When Cameroon became independent, President Ahidjo’s government was faced with a rebellion incited by the Cameroon People’s Union, a pro-Communist party. By 1963, however, the revolt had been suppressed, and Ahidjo soon established the authority of his regime. In 1966 the six major parties merged into the RDPC, which was declared the only legal party in the country. In 1972 Ahidjo sponsored a national referendum that changed Cameroon from a federal to a unitary state, called the United Republic of Cameroon.

Reaffirmed in office in 1975 and again in 1980, President Ahidjo resigned unexpectedly in November 1982. He was succeeded in office by Paul Biya, the former prime minister. Relations between Biya and Ahidjo deteriorated, and in July 1983 Ahidjo (who had retained the leadership of the RDPC) went into exile in France and gave up his party post, which Biya assumed. Biya won election to his first full term as president in January 1984. During the same month, the constitution was amended to abolish the office of prime minister and change the country’s name to the Republic of Cameroon. Biya suppressed a coup attempt that April.

D.

Political Reforms

Biya ran unopposed in the presidential election of April 1988, held a year ahead of schedule to coincide with legislative balloting. Facing rising popular discontent in the early 1990s, he began to implement political reforms. The monopoly of the RDPC was removed in December 1990, and a large number of opposition parties began to form. Thirty-two parties contested the first multi-party elections held in March 1992. The fragmentation of the opposition helped the RDPC to retain power, winning 89 seats. The UNDP was the most successful of the opposition groups, winning 65 seats.

Following the elections, the RDPC established a coalition government with the UNDP and two of the other main parliamentary opposition parties. Biya won the presidential election, held in October 1992, with 40 per cent of the vote. The elections did not end opposition to the government, however. In 1994 a new extra-parliamentary opposition grouping, the Front of Allies for Change, was formed by an alliance of 16 small parties that challenged the results of the 1992 elections.

In October 1997, Biya was re-elected president in an election boycotted by the three main opposition parties, who claimed the turnout had been less than 10 per cent. In an effort to increase their impact on the country's politics, two of Cameroon's opposition parties, the SDF and the UDC formed a coalition in February 1998. Accusations of fraud accompanied the July 2002 legislative elections, which saw the ruling RDPC increase its representation in the National Assembly. Opposition parties called for the results to be annulled. In October 2004, Biya won his seventh term of office by taking nearly 71 per cent of the popular vote. He appointed Ephraïm Inoni as his new prime minister in December. Fraud was reported following the 2007 election in which the RDPC took 152 seats in the National Assembly.

E.

The Bakassi Dispute

A long-standing dispute between Cameroon and Nigeria over the presumed oil-rich Bakassi Peninsula flared up in 1994. Fighting continued sporadically since then, with both sides deploying larger and larger forces. In 1998, in spite of protest by Nigeria, the case went to the International Court at The Hague. The court finally awarded the peninsula to Cameroon in October 2002. The ruling was challenged by Nigeria despite the fact that the decision cannot be overruled and for many months Nigeria refused to hand over the area. Talks continued to try to end the dispute. As part of the border agreement, Nigeria handed over 32 villages to Cameroon. In January 2004 both countries agreed to joint security patrols along the border. Finally, in 2006, the dispute was resolved in favour of Cameroon.

In June 2000, World Bank funding was approved for an oil project in Chad that would involve the creation of a pipeline through Cameroon to the coast. Concerns were voiced by environmental groups and human rights organizations, and fears were also expressed about the destabilizing effect a large project on this scale might have on a country that has been repeatedly denounced for its high level of corruption. The pipeline began pumping oil in 2003.