_#_Coastline: 402 km
_#_Maritime claims:
Territorial sea: 50 nm
_#_Disputes: demarcation of international boundaries in Lake Chad, the lack of which has led to border incidents in the past, is completed and awaiting ratification by Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria; Nigerian proposals to reopen maritime boundary negotiations and redemarcate the entire land boundary have been rejected by Cameroon
_#_Climate: varies with terrain from tropical along coast to semiarid and hot in north
_#_Terrain: diverse with coastal plain in southwest, dissected plateau in center, mountains in west, plains in north
_#_Natural resources: crude oil, bauxite, iron ore, timber, hydropower potential
_#_Land use: arable land 13%; permanent crops 2%; meadows and pastures 18%; forest and woodland 54%; other 13%; includes irrigated NEGL%
_#_Environment: recent volcanic activity with release of poisonous gases; deforestation; overgrazing; desertification
_#_Note: sometimes referred to as the hinge of Africa
_*People #_Population: 11,390,374 (July 1991), growth rate 2.7% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 41 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 15 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 118 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: 49 years male, 53 years female (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 5.6 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun—Cameroonian(s); adjective—Cameroonian
_#_Ethnic divisions: over 200 tribes of widely differing background; Cameroon Highlanders 31%, Equatorial Bantu 19%, Kirdi 11%, Fulani 10%, Northwestern Bantu 8%, Eastern Nigritic 7%, other African 13%, non-African less than 1%
_#_Religion: indigenous beliefs 51%, Christian 33%, Muslim 16%
_#_Language: English and French (official), 24 major African language groups
_#_Literacy: 54% (male 66%, female 43%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
_#_Labor force: NA; agriculture 74.4%, industry and transport 11.4%, other services 14.2% (1983); 50% of population of working age (15–64 years) (1985)
_#_Organized labor: under 45% of wage labor force
_*Government #_Long-form name: Republic of Cameroon
_#_Type: unitary republic; multiparty presidential regime (opposition parties legalized 1990)
_#_Capital: Yaounde
_#_Administrative divisions: 10 provinces; Adamaoua, Centre, Est, Extreme-Nord, Littoral, Nord, Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Ouest
_#_Independence: 1 January 1960 (from UN trusteeship under French administration; formerly French Cameroon)
_#_Constitution: 20 May 1972
_#_Legal system: based on French civil law system, with common law influence; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
_#_National holiday: National Day, 20 May (1972)
_#_Executive branch: president, Cabinet
_#_Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale)
_#_Judicial branch: Supreme Court
_#_Leaders:
Chief of State President Paul BIYA (since 6 November 1982);
Head of Government interim Prime Minister Sadou HAYATOU (since 25 April 1991)
_#_Political parties and leaders: Cameroon People's Democratic Movement (RDPC), Paul BIYA, president, is government-controlled and was formerly the only party; 17 parties formed by 1 May 1991
_#_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 by the end of 1992); results—RDPC was the only party; seats—(180 total) RDPC 180
_#_Communists: no Communist party or significant number of sympathizers
_#_Other political or pressure groups: NA
_#_Member of: ACCT (associate), ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, CCC, CEEAC, ECA,
FAO, FZ, G-19, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC,
ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, OIC, PCA,
UDEAC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, 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 D. COOK; Embassy at Rue Nachtigal, Yaounde (mailing address is B. P. 817, Yaounde); telephone [237] 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 experienced serious budgetary difficulties and balance-of-payments disequilibrium. Despite the recent upsurge in oil prices, Cameroon's economic outlook is troubled. 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: $11.5 billion, per capita $1,040; real growth rate 0.7% (1990 est.)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 8.6% (FY88)
_#_Unemployment rate: 25% (1990 est.)
_#_Budget: revenues $1.7 billion; expenditures $2.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA million (FY89)
_#_Exports: $2.1 billion (f.o.b., 1990 est.);
commodities—petroleum products 56%, coffee, cocoa, timber, manufactures;
partners—EC (particularly the French) about 50%, US 10%
_#_Imports: $2.1 billion (c.i.f., 1990 est.);
commodities—machines and electrical equipment, transport equipment, chemical products, consumer goods;
partners—France 41%, Germany 9%, US 4%
_#_External debt: $4.9 billion (December 1989 est.)
_#_Industrial production: growth rate - 6.4% (FY87); accounts for 30% of GDP
_#_Electricity: 752,000 kW capacity; 2,940 million kWh produced, 270 kWh per capita (1989)
_#_Industries: crude oil products, food processing, light consumer goods industries textiles, 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
_#_Economic