Political parties and leaders: only party—Cameroon People's
Democratic Movement (RDPC), Paul Biya, president
Suffrage: universal at age 21
Elections: President—last held 24 April 1988 (next to be held April 1993); results—President Paul Biya reelected without opposition;
National Assembly—last held 24 April 1988 (next to be held April 1993); results—RDPC is the only party; seats—(180 total) RDPC 180
Communists: no Communist party or significant number of sympathizers
Other political or pressure groups: Cameroon People's Union (UPC), remains an illegal group with its factional leaders in exile
Member of: ACP, AfDB, CCC, EAMA, ECA, EIB (associate), FAO, G-77, GATT,
IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IDB—Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC,
ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, ISO, ITU, Lake Chad Basin Commission,
NAM, Niger River Commission, OAU, OIC, UDEAC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WTO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Paul PONDI; Chancery at 2349 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 265–8790 through 8794; US—Ambassador Frances COOK; Embassy at Rue Nachtigal, Yaounde (mailing address is B. P. 817, Yaounde); telephone p237o 234014; there is a US Consulate General in Douala
Flag: three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), red, and yellow with a yellow five-pointed star centered in the red band; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia
- Economy Overview: Over the past decade the economy has registered a remarkable performance because of the development of an offshore oil industry. Real GDP growth annually averaged 10% from 1978 to 1985. In 1986 Cameroon had one of the highest levels of income per capita in tropical Africa, with oil revenues picking up the slack as growth in other sectors softened. Because of the sharp drop in oil prices, however, the economy is now experiencing serious budgetary difficulties and balance-of-payments disequalibrium. Oil reserves currently being exploited will be depleted in the early 1990s, so ways must be found to boost agricultural and industrial exports in the medium term. The Sixth Cameroon Development Plan (1986–91) stresses balanced development and designates agriculture as the basis of the country's economic future.
GDP: $12.9 billion, per capita $955; real growth rate - 8.6% (1988)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 8.6% (FY88)
Unemployment rate: 7% (1985)
Budget: revenues $2.17 billion; expenditures $2.17 billion, including capital expenditures of $833 million (FY88)
Exports: $2.0 billion (f.o.b., 1988); commodities—petroleum products 56%, coffee, cocoa, timber, manufactures; partners—EC (particularly the Netherlands) about 50%, US 3%
Imports: $2.3 billion (c.i.f., 1988); commodities—machines and electrical equipment, transport equipment, chemical products, consumer goods; partners—France 42%, Japan 7%, US 4%
External debt: $4.9 billion (December 1989 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate - 6.4% (FY87)
Electricity: 752,000 kW capacity; 2,940 million kWh produced, 270 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: crude oil products, small aluminum plant, food processing, light consumer goods industries, sawmills
Agriculture: the agriculture and forestry sectors provide employment for the majority of the population, contributing nearly 25% to GDP and providing a high degree of self-sufficiency in staple foods; commercial and food crops include coffee, cocoa, timber, cotton, rubber, bananas, oilseed, grains, livestock, root starches
Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70–88), $400 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970–87), $3.9 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979–89), $29 million; Communist countries (1970–88), $120 million
Currency: Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (plural—francs); 1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates: Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF) per US$1—287.99 (January 1990), 319.01 (1989), 297.85 (1988), 300.54 (1987), 346.30 (1986), 449.26 (1985)
Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June
- Communications Railroads: 1,003 km total; 858 km 1.000-meter gauge, 145 km 0.600-meter gauge
Highways: about 65,000 km total; includes 2,682 km bituminous, 30,000 km unimproved earth, 32,318 km gravel, earth, and improved earth
Inland waterways: 2,090 km; of decreasing importance
Ports: Douala
Merchant marine: 2 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 24,122 GRT/33,509 DWT
Civil air: 5 major transport aircraft
Airports: 61 total, 54 usable; 10 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 5 with runways 2,440–3,659 m; 22 with runways 1,220–2,439 m
Telecommunications: good system of open wire, cable, troposcatter, and radio relay; 26,000 telephones; stations—10 AM, 1 FM, 1 TV; 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth stations
- Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force; paramilitary Gendarmerie
Military manpower: males 15–49, 2,553,867; 1,286,831 fit for military service; 121,773 reach military age (18) annually
Defense expenditures: 1.7% of GDP, or $219 million (1990 est.)
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Country: Canada
- Geography
Total area: 9,976,140 km2; land area: 9,220,970 km2
Comparative area: slightly larger than US
Land boundaries: 8,893 km with US (includes 2,477 km with Alaska)
Coastline: 243,791 km
Maritime claims:
Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation;
Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Disputes: maritime boundary disputes with France (St. Pierre and Miquelon) and US
Climate: varies from temperate in south to subarctic and arctic in north
Terrain: mostly plains with mountains in west and lowlands in southeast
Natural resources: nickel, zinc, copper, gold, lead, molybdenum, potash, silver, fish, timber, wildlife, coal, crude oil, natural gas
Land use: 5% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 3% meadows and pastures; 35% forest and woodland; 57% other; includes NEGL% irrigated
Environment: 80% of population concentrated within 160 km of US border; continuous permafrost in north a serious obstacle to development
Note: second-largest country in world (after USSR); strategic location between USSR and US via north polar route
- People
Population: 26,538,229 (July 1990), growth rate 1.1% (1990)
Birth rate: 14 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: 5 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 7 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 74 years male, 81 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 1.7 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun—Canadian(s); adjective—Canadian
Ethnic