Railroads:
612 km 1.000-meter gauge, government owned
Highways:
13,351 km total; 2,622 km bituminous; 7,105 km crushed stone, gravel, or
improved earth; 3,624 km unimproved earth; some roads in disrepair
Inland waterways:
3,700 km navigable all year to craft drawing 0.6 meters; 282 km navigable to
craft drawing 1.8 meters
Ports:
Kampong Saom, Phnom Penh
Airports:
16 total, 8 usable; 5 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over
3,659 m; 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 4 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications:
service barely adequate for government requirements and virtually
nonexistent for general public; international service limited to Vietnam and
other adjacent countries; broadcast stations - 1 AM, no FM, 1 TV
:Cambodia Defense Forces
Branches:
SOC - Cambodian People's Armed Forces (CPAF); Communist resistance forces -
National Army of Democratic Kampuchea (Khmer Rouge); non-Communist
resistance forces - Armee National Kampuchea Independent (ANKI), which is
sometimes anglicized as National Army of Independent Cambodia (NAIC), and
Khmer People's National Liberation Armed Forces (KPNLAF) - under the Paris
peace agreement of October 1991, all four factions are to observe a
cease-fire and prepare for UN-supervised cantonment, disarmament, and 70%
demobilization before the election, with the fate of the remaining 30% to be
determined by the newly elected government - the United Nations Transitional
Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) will verify the cease-fire and disarm the
combatants
Manpower availability:
males 15-49, 1,877,339; 1,032,102 fit for military service; 61,807 reach
military age (18) annually
Defense expenditures:
exchange rate conversion - $NA, NA% of GDP
:Cameroon Geography
Total area:
475,440 km2
Land area:
469,440 km2
Comparative area:
slightly larger than California
Land boundaries:
4,591 km; Central African Republic 797 km, Chad 1,094 km, Congo 523 km,
Equatorial Guinea 189 km, Gabon 298 km, Nigeria 1,690 km
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; boundary commission created with
Nigeria to discuss unresolved land and maritime boundaries - has not yet
convened
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
:Cameroon People
Population:
12,658,439 (July 1992), growth rate 3.3% (1992)
Birth rate:
44 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate:
11 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Net migration rate:
0 migrants/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
81 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth:
55 years male, 60 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate:
6.4 children born/woman (1992)
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%
Religions:
indigenous beliefs 51%, Christian 33%, Muslim 16%
Languages:
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
:Cameroon 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; numerous small
parties formed since opposition parties were legalized in 1990
Suffrage:
universal at age 20
Elections:
National Assembly:
next to be held 1 March 1992
President:
last held 24 April 1988 (next to be held April 1993); results - President
Paul BIYA reelected without opposition
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, INMARSAT,
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; FAX [237] 230753;
there is a US Consulate General in Douala
:Cameroon Government