main crops—rice, rubber, corn; food shortages—rice, meat, vegetables, dairy products, sugar, flour
Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70–88), $719 million; Western (non-US) countries (1970–85), $270 million; Communist countries (1970–88), $950 million
Currency: riel (plural—riels); 1 riel (CR) = 100 sen
Exchange rates: riels (CR) per US$1—218 (November 1989) 100.00 (1987), 30.00 (1986), 7.00 (1985)
Fiscal year: calendar year
- Communications
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: 22 total, 9 usable; 6 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; stations—1 AM, no FM, 1 TV
- Defense Forces
Branches: PRK—People's Republic of Kampuchea Armed Forces;
Communist resistance forces—National Army of Democratic Kampuchea
(Khmer Rouge); non-Communist resistance forces—Sihanoukist National
Army (ANS) and Khmer People's National Liberation Front (KPNLF)
Military manpower: males 15–49, 1,857,129; 1,025,456 fit for military service; 61,649 reach military age (18) annually
Defense expenditures: NA
——————————————————————————
Country: Cameroon
- Geography
Total area: 475,440 km2; land area: 469,440 km2
Comparative area: slightly larger than California
Land boundaries: 4,591 km total; 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:
Continental shelf: not specific;
Territorial sea: 50 nm
Disputes: exact locations of the Chad-Niger-Nigeria and Cameroon-Chad-Nigeria tripoints in Lake Chad have not been determined, so the boundary has not been demarcated and border incidents have resulted; 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: 13% arable land; 2% permanent crops; 18% meadows and pastures; 54% forest and woodland; 13% other; includes NEGL% irrigated
Environment: recent volcanic activity with release of poisonous gases; deforestation; overgrazing; desertification
Note: sometimes referred to as the hinge of Africa
- People
Population: 11,092,470 (July 1990), growth rate 2.7% (1990)
Birth rate: 42 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 15 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 120 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 49 years male, 53 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 5.7 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun—Cameroonian(s); adjective—Cameroonian
Ethnic divisions: over 200 tribes of widely differing background; 31%
Cameroon Highlanders, 19% Equatorial Bantu, 11% Kirdi, 10% Fulani, 8%
Northwestern Bantu, 7% Eastern Nigritic, 13% other African, less than 1%
non-African
Religion: 51% indigenous beliefs, 33% Christian, 16% Muslim
Language: English and French (official), 24 major African language groups
Literacy: 56.2%
Labor force: NA; 74.4% agriculture, 11.4% industry and transport, 14.2% other services (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; one-party presidential regime
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 and Head of Government President Paul BIYA (since 6 November 1982)
Political parties and leaders: only party—Cameroon People's
Democratic Movement (RDPC),
