Cameroon

 

Bureau of African Affairs                                                     
June 2007                                                                     
                                                                       
  Background Note: Cameroon                                                   
                                               
  Cameroon dancers perform in front of                                        
  the National Assembly in Yaounde,                                           
  Cameroon, July 7, 1996. [© AP Images]                                       
                                                                       
  Flag of Cameroon is three equal vertical bands of green on hoist side, red, 
  and yellow with a yellow five-pointed star centered in the red band.        
                                                                       
  PROFILE                                                                     
                                                                       
  OFFICIAL NAME:                                                              
  Republic of Cameroon                                                        
                                                                       
  Geography                                                                   
  Area: 475,000 sq. km. (184,000) sq. mi.), about the size of California.     
  Cities (2003 Census Bureau estimates): Capital--Yaounde (pop. 1,111,641).   
  Other major cities--Douala (1.3 million), Garoua (424,312), Maroua (409,546),
  Bafoussam (319,457), Bamenda (321,490), Nkongsamba (166,262), and Ngaoundere
  (216,300).                                                                  
  Terrain: Northern plains, central and western highlands, southern and coastal
  tropical forests. Mt. Cameroon (13,353 ft.) in the southwest is the highest 
  peak in West Africa and the sixth in Africa.                                
  Climate: Northern plains, the Sahel region--semiarid and hot (7-month dry   
  season); central and western highlands where Yaounde is located--cooler,    
  shorter dry season; southern tropical forest--warm, 4-month dry season;     
  coastal tropical forest, where Douala is located--warm, humid year-round.   
                                                                       
  People                                                                      
  Nationality: English noun and adjective--Cameroonian(s); French noun and    
  adjective--Camerounais(e).                                                  
  Population (2007 est.): 18,060,382.                                         
  Annual growth rate (2007 est.): 2.241%.                                     
  Ethnic groups: About 250.                                                   
  Religions: Christian 53%, Muslim 22%, indigenous African 25%.               
  Languages: French and English (both official) and about 270 African languages
  and dialects, including pidgin, Fulfulde, and Ewondo.                       
  Education: Compulsory between ages 6 and 14. Attendance--65%. Literacy--75%.
  Health: Infant mortality rate (2007)--6.6%. Life expectancy (2007)--52.86   
  yrs.                                                                        
  Work force: Agriculture--70%. Industry and commerce--13%.                   
                                                                       
  Government                                                                  
  Type: Republic; strong central government dominated by president.           
  Independence: January 1, 1960 (for areas formerly ruled by France) and      
  October 1, 1961 (for territory formerly ruled by Britain).                  
  Constitution: June 2, 1972, last amended in January 1996.                   
  Branches: Executive--president (chief of state), 7-yr. term, renewable once;
  appointed prime minister (head of government). Legislative--unicameral      
  National Assembly (180 members, 5-yr. terms; meets briefly three times a    
  year--March, June, November); a new Senate is called for under constitutional
  changes made in early 1996. Judicial--falls under the executive's Ministry of
  Justice.                                                                    
  Administrative subdivisions: 10 provinces, 58 departments or divisions, 349 
  subprefectures or subdivisions.                                             
  Political parties: Cameroon People's Democratic Movement (CPDM) or its      
  predecessor parties have ruled since independence. Major opposition parties:
  the Social Democratic Front (SDF), the National Union for Democracy and     
  Progress (NUDP), and the Cameroon Democratic Union (CDU).                   
  Suffrage: Universal at 20.                                                  
                                                                       
  Economy                                                                     
  GDP (2006): $16.37 billion.                                                 
  Annual real GDP growth rate (2006): 4.1%.                                   
  Natural resources: Oil, timber, hydroelectric power, natural gas, cobalt,   
  nickel.                                                                     
  Agriculture (2006): 45.2% of GDP. Products--timber, coffee, tea, bananas,   
  cocoa, rubber, palm oil, pineapples, cotton. Arable land (2005 est.)--12.54%.
  Industry (2006): 16.1% of GDP.                                              
  Services (2006): 38.7% of GDP.                                              
  Trade (2002): Exports--$1.8 billion (2002): crude oil, timber and finished  
  wood products, cotton, cocoa, aluminum and aluminum products, coffee, rubber,
  bananas. Major markets--European Union, CEMAC, China, U.S., Nigeria         
  (informal). Imports--$1.9 billion (2002): crude oil, vehicles,              
  pharmaceuticals, aluminum oxide, rubber, foodstuffs and grains, agricultural
  inputs, lubricants, used clothing. Major suppliers--France, Nigeria, Italy, 
  U.S., Germany, Belgium, Japan.                                              
                                                                       
  PEOPLE                                                                      
  Cameroon's estimated 250 ethnic groups form five large regional-cultural    
  groups: western highlanders (or grassfielders), including the Bamileke,     
  Bamoun, and many smaller entities in the northwest (est. 38% of population);
  coastal tropical forest peoples, including the Bassa, Douala, and many      
  smaller entities in the Southwest (12%); southern tropical forest peoples,  
  including the Ewondo, Bulu, and Fang (all Beti subgroups), Maka and Pygmies 
  (officially called Bakas) (18%); predominantly Islamic peoples of the       
  northern semi-arid regions (the Sahel) and central highlands, including the 
  Fulani, also known as Peuhl in French (14%); and the "Kirdi", non-Islamic or
  recently Islamic peoples of the northern desert and central highlands (18%).
                                                                       
  The people concentrated in the southwest and northwest provinces--around Buea
  and Bamenda--use standard English and "pidgin," as well as their local      
  languages. In the three northern provinces--Adamaoua, North, and Far        
  North--French and Fulfulde, the language of the Fulani, are widely spoken.  
  Elsewhere, French is the principal language, although pidgin and some local 
  languages such as Ewondo, the dialect of a Beti clan from the Yaounde area, 
  also are widely spoken. Although Yaounde is Cameroon's capital, Douala is the
  largest city, main seaport, and main industrial and commercial center.      
                                                                       
  The western highlands are the most fertile in Cameroon and have a relatively
  healthy environment in higher altitudes. This region is densely populated and
  has intensive agriculture, commerce, cohesive communities, and historical   
  emigration pressures. From here, Bantu migrations into eastern, southern, and
  central Africa are believed to have originated about 2,000 years ago.       
  Bamileke people from this area have in recent years migrated to towns       
  elsewhere in Cameroon, such as the coastal provinces, where they form much of
  the business community. About 20,000 non-Africans, including more than 6,000
  French and 2,400 U. S. citizens, reside in Cameroon.                        
                                                                       
  HISTORY                                                                     
  The earliest inhabitants of Cameroon were probably the Bakas (Pygmies). They
  still inhabit the forests of the south and east provinces. Bantu speakers   
  originating in the Cameroonian highlands were among the first groups to move
  out before other invaders. During the late 1770s and early 1800s, the Fulani,
  a pastoral Islamic people of the western Sahel, conquered most of what is now
  northern Cameroon, subjugating or displacing its largely non-Muslim         
  inhabitants.                                                                
                                                                       
  Although the Portuguese arrived on Cameroon's coast in the 1500s, malaria   
  prevented significant European settlement and conquest of the interior until
  the late 1870s, when large supplies of the malaria suppressant, quinine,    
  became available. The early European presence in Cameroon was primarily     
  devoted to coastal trade and the acquisition of slaves. The northern part of
  Cameroon was an important part of the Muslim slave trade network. The slave 
  trade was largely suppressed by the mid-19th century. Christian missions    
  established a presence in the late 19th century and continue to play a role 
  in Cameroonian life.                                                        
                                                                       
  Beginning in 1884, all of present-day Cameroon and parts of several of its  
  neighbors became the German colony of Kamerun, with a capital first at Buea 
  and later at Yaounde. After World War I, this colony was partitioned between
  Britain and France under a June 28, 1919 League of Nations mandate. France  
  gained the larger geographical share, transferred outlying regions to       
  neighboring French colonies, and ruled the rest from Yaounde. Britain's     
  territory--a strip bordering Nigeria from the sea to Lake Chad, with an equal
  population--was ruled from Lagos.                                           
                                                                       
  In 1955, the outlawed Union of the Peoples of Cameroon (UPC), based largely 
  among the Bamileke and Bassa ethnic groups, began an armed struggle for     
  independence in French Cameroon. This rebellion continued, with diminishing 
  intensity, even after independence. Estimates of death from this conflict   
  vary from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands.                       
                                                                       
  French Cameroon achieved independence in 1960 as the Republic of Cameroon.  
  The following year the largely Muslim northern two-thirds of British Cameroon
  voted to join Nigeria; the largely Christian southern third voted to join   
  with the Republic of Cameroon to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon. The 
  formerly French and British regions each maintained substantial autonomy.   
  Ahmadou Ahidjo, a French-educated Fulani, was chosen President of the       
  federation in 1961. Ahidjo, relying on a pervasive internal security        
  apparatus, outlawed all political parties but his own in 1966. He           
  successfully suppressed the UPC rebellion, capturing the last important rebel
  leader in 1970. In 1972, a new constitution replaced the federation with a  
  unitary state.                                                              
                                                                       
  Ahidjo resigned as President in 1982 and was constitutionally succeeded by  
  his Prime Minister, Paul Biya, a career official from the Bulu-Beti ethnic  
  group. Ahidjo later regretted his choice of successors, but his supporters  
  failed to overthrow Biya in a 1984 coup. Biya won single-candidate elections
  in 1984 and 1988 and flawed multiparty elections in 1992 and 1997. His      
  Cameroon People's Democratic Movement (CPDM) party holds a sizeable majority
  in the legislature following 2002 elections--149 deputies out of a total of 
  180. Elections for the National Assembly and for local governments are      
  scheduled for July 22, 2007, but preparations are not yet complete.         
                                                                       
  GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS                                         
  The 1972 constitution as modified by 1996 reforms provides for a strong     
  central government dominated by the executive. The president is empowered to
  name and dismiss cabinet members, judges, generals, provincial governors,   
  prefects, sub-prefects, and heads of Cameroon's parastatal (about 100       
  state-controlled) firms, obligate or disburse expenditures, approve or veto 
  regulations, declare states of emergency, and appropriate and spend profits 
  of parastatal firms. The president is not required to consult the National  
  Assembly.                                                                   
                                                                       
  The judiciary is subordinate to the executive branch's Ministry of Justice. 
  The Supreme Court may review the constitutionality of a law only at the     
  president's request.                                                        
                                                                       
  The 180-member National Assembly meets in ordinary session three times a year
  (March-April, June-July, and November-December), and has seldom, until      
  recently, made major changes in legislation proposed by the executive. Laws 
  are adopted by majority vote of members present or, if the president demands
  a second reading, of a total membership.                                    
                                                                       
  Following government pledges to reform the strongly centralized 1972        
  constitution, the National Assembly adopted a number of amendments in       
  December 1995, which were promulgated in a new constitution in January 1996.
  The amendments call for the establishment of a 100-member Senate as part of a
  bicameral legislature, the creation of regional councils, and the fixing of 
  the presidential term to 7 years, renewable once. One-third of senators are 
  to be appointed by the president, and the remaining two-thirds are to be    
  chosen by indirect elections. As of September 2005, the government had not  
  established the Senate or regional councils.                                
                                                                       
  All local government officials are employees of the central government's    
  Ministry of Territorial Administration, from which local governments also get
  most of their budgets.                                                      
                                                                       
  While the president, the minister of justice, and the president's judicial  
  advisers (the Supreme Court) top the judicial hierarchy, traditional rulers,
  courts, and councils also exercise functions of government. Traditional     
  courts still play a major role in domestic, property, and probate law. Tribal
  laws and customs are honored in the formal court system when not in conflict
  with national law. Traditional rulers receive stipends from the national    
  government.                                                                 
                                                                       
  The government adopted legislation in 1990 to authorize the formation of    
  multiple political parties and ease restrictions on forming civil           
  associations and private newspapers. Cameroon's first multiparty legislative
  and presidential elections were held in 1992 followed by municipal elections
  in 1996 and another round of legislative and presidential elections in 1997.
  Because the government refused to consider opposition demands for an        
  independent election commission, the three major opposition parties boycotted
  the October 1997 presidential election, which Biya easily won. All of these 
  elections were marred by severe irregularities. In December 2000, the       
  National Assembly passed legislation creating the National Elections        
  Observatory (NEO), an election watchdog body. NEO played an active role in  
  supervising the conduct of local and legislative elections in June 2002,    
  which demonstrated some progress but were still hampered by irregularities. 
  The NEO also supervised the conduct of the presidential election in October 
  2004 as did many diplomatic missions, including the US Embassy. NEO reported
  that it was satisfied with the conduct of the election but noted some       
  irregularities and problems with voter registration. The US Embassy also    
  noted these issues with the election, as well as reports of non-indelible   
  ink, but concluded that the irregularities were not severe enough to impact 
  the final result. The incumbent, Paul Biya, was re-elected with 70.92 per   
  cent of the vote. Cameroon has a number of independent newspapers. Censorship
  was abolished in 1996, but the government sometimes seizes or suspends      
  newspapers. Mutation, the only private daily newspaper in Cameroon, was     
  seized on April 14, 2003 after the paper published articles on "Life after  
  Biya." Occasionally the government arrests journalists.                     
                                                                       
  Radio and television continue to be a virtual monopoly of the state-owned   
  broadcaster, the Cameroon Radio-Television Corporation (CRTV), despite the  
  effective liberalization of radio and television in 2000. Since the issuance
  of the decree authorizing the creation of private radio and television on   
  April 3, 2000, not a single station has received a license from the         
  government, though many have applied and are currently operating while their
  applications are pending. There are some 15 such private radio stations     
  broadcasting in Yaounde, Douala, Bafoussam, Bamenda, and Limbe; their       
  existence is tolerated by the government. Magic FM, a private radio station 
  in Yaounde, and a Voice of America (VOA) affiliate, was shut down in 2003   
  after carrying controversial reports and critical commentaries on the regime,
  but was later reopened. There are a dozen community radio stations supported
  by the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) which 
  are exempted from licenses and have no political content. Radio coverage    
  extends to about 80% of the country, while television covers 60% of the     
  territory. The sole private television station--TV Max--broadcasts only in  
  the economic capital of Douala.                                             
                                                                       
  The Cameroonian Government's human rights record has been improving over the
  years but remains flawed. There continue to be reported abuses, including   
  beatings of detainees, arbitrary arrests, and illegal searches. The judiciary
  is frequently corrupt, inefficient, and subject to political influence.     
                                                                       
  Principal Government Officials                                              
  President--Paul Biya                                                        
  President of the National Assembly--Djibril Cavaye Yeguie                   
  Prime Minister--Ephraim Inoni                                               
  Ambassador to the United States--Jerome Mendouga                            
  Ambassador to the United Nations--Martin Belinga                            
                                                                       
  Cameroon maintains an embassy in the United States at 2349 Massachusetts    
  Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 (tel.: 202-265-8790).                       
                                                                       
  ECONOMY                                                                     
  For a quarter-century following independence, Cameroon was one of the most  
  prosperous countries in Africa. The drop in commodity prices for its        
  principal exports--oil, cocoa, coffee, and cotton--in the mid-1980s, combined
  with an overvalued currency and economic mismanagement, led to a decade-long
  recession. Real per capita gross domestic product (GDP) fell by more than 60%
  from 1986 to 1994. The current account and fiscal deficits widened, and     
  foreign debt grew.                                                          
                                                                       
  The government embarked upon a series of economic reform programs supported 
  by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) beginning in the late
  1980s. Many of these measures have been painful; the government slashed civil
  service salaries by 65% in 1993. The CFA franc--the common currency of      
  Cameroon and 13 other African states--was devalued by 50% in January 1994.  
  The government failed to meet the conditions of the first four IMF programs.
                                                                       
  In December 2000, the IMF approved a 3-year Enhanced Structural Adjustment  
  Facility (ESAF) program worth $133.7 million to reduce poverty and improve  
  social services. The successful completion of the program will allow Cameroon
  to receive $2 billion in debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor        
  Countries (HIPC) Initiative. Pursuant to the initiative, the IMF is requiring
  the Cameroonian Government to enhance its macroeconomic planning and        
  financial accountability; continue efforts to privatize the remaining       
  non-financial parastatal enterprises; increase price competition in the     
  banking sector; improve the judicial system; and implement good governance  
  practices.                                                                  
                                                                       
  In late August 2003, the Board of Directors of both the IMF and World Bank  
  approved Cameroon's Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) with high marks.
  The paper integrated the main points of the Millennium Development Goal,    
  which outlined Cameroon's priorities in alleviating poverty and undertaking 
  strong macroeconomic commitments in the short and long term. By late summer 
  2004 Cameroon had met most of its PRGF targets. A lackluster performance in 
  the fiscal arena, however, led the country off track and resulted in Cameroon
  not achieving the HIPC completion point. Negotiations are currently underway
  to create a new program so Cameroon can eventually qualify for HIPC debt    
  forgiveness.                                                                
                                                                       
  The privatization program has lagged because of legal and political         
  obstacles; difficult negotiations with the government on issues such as sale
  price, financial disclosure, tax arrears, and overlapping debts; and in some
  cases, a lack of willing buyers.                                            
                                                                       
  The most noticeable recent problem involves the privatization of CamAir, the
  government-owned airline. In the response to a public request for proposals,
  a willing buyer which met the published criteria was in fact available, but 
  the government decided it wanted to adopt a totally different approach, and 
  selected another firm which did not meet the original specifications. This  
  new proposal, if ultimately adopted, might well result in better service and
  more revenue, but the procedures for changing the requested proposals were  
  anything but transparent.                                                   
                                                                       
  France is Cameroon's main trading partner and source of private investment  
  and foreign aid. Cameroon has a bilateral investment treaty with the United 
  States. In addition to existing investment in the oil sector, U.S. investment
  in Cameroon, estimated at over $1 million, is progressively growing due     
  primarily to both construction of the Chad-Cameroon pipeline and cobalt and 
  nickel mining.                                                              
                                                                       
  For further information on Cameroon's economic trends, trade, or investment 
  climate, contact the International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of 
  Commerce, Washington, DC 20230 and/or the Commerce Department district office
  in any local federal building.                                              
                                                                       
  DEFENSE                                                                     
  The Cameroonian military generally has been an apolitical force dominated by
  civilian control. Traditional dependence on the French defense capability,  
  although reduced, continues. French military advisers remain closely involved
  in preparing the Cameroonian forces for deployment to the Bakassi Peninsula,
  where there is a contested border with Nigeria. The armed forces number     
  approximately 28,000 personnel in ground, air, and naval forces, the majority
  being the army and naval ground forces.                                     
                                                                       
  Cameroon's goal is to develop a military with the capacity to contribute to 
  peacekeeping efforts. While equipment needs pose a significant challenge,   
  Cameroonian officers are already receiving training both in Africa and      
  abroad, for example in Italy and the U.S.                                   
                                                                       
  FOREIGN RELATIONS                                                           
  Cameroon's noncontentious, low-profile approach to foreign relations puts it
  squarely in the middle of other African and developing country states on    
  major issues. It supports the principles of noninterference in the affairs of
  third countries and increased assistance to underdeveloped countries.       
  Cameroon is an active participant in the United Nations, where its voting   
  record demonstrates its commitment to causes that include international     
  peacekeeping, the rule of law, environmental protection, and Third World    
  economic development. In the UN and other human rights fora, Cameroon's     
  nonconfrontational approach has generally led it to avoid criticizing other 
  countries. Cameroon's position on the UN Security Council, in the Africa    
  rotational seat since January 2002, ended December 2003.                    
                                                                       
  Cameroon enjoys good relations with the United States and other developed   
  countries. It has particularly close ties with France, with whom it has     
  numerous military, economic, and cultural agreements. China has a number of 
  health and infrastructure projects underway in Cameroon, and it has also    
  pledged $1 million in military aid. Cameroon enjoys generally good relations
  with its African neighbors. Cameroon has successfully resolved its border   
  dispute with Nigeria in the oil-rich Bakassi Peninsula through peaceful legal
  means after having submitted the case to the International Court of Justice 
  (ICJ). With the support of the UN, both countries are working closely       
  together to peacefully implement the ICJ ruling, and a genuine peaceful     
  turnover of the peninsula by Nigeria has begun. Roughly 5,000 Nigerians have
  moved back into Nigeria thus far. Cameroon is a member of CEMAC (Economic and
  Monetary Community of Central Africa) and supports UN peacekeeping activities
  in Central Africa.                                                          
                                                                       
  U.S.-CAMEROONIAN RELATIONS                                                  
  U.S.-Cameroonian relations are close, although from time to time they have  
  been affected by concerns over human rights abuses and the pace of political
  and economic liberalization. The bilateral U.S. Agency for International    
  Development (USAID) program in Cameroon closed for budgetary reasons in 1994.
                                                                       
  However, approximately 140 Peace Corps volunteers continue to work          
  successfully in agroforestry, community development, education, and health. 
  The Public Affairs section of the U.S. Embassy in Yaounde organizes and funds
  diverse cultural, educational, and information exchanges. It maintains a    
  library and helps foster the development of Cameroon's independent press by 
  providing information in a number of areas, including U.S. human rights and 
  democratization policies. The Embassy's Self-help and Democracy and Human   
  Rights Funds are some of the largest in Africa.                             
                                                                       
  Through several State Department and USAID regional funds, the Embassy also 
  provides funds for: refugees, HIV/AIDS, democratization and girl's          
  scholarships. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) provided a commodity
  grant valued at $6 million in 2003 to fund agricultural development projects
  in the North and Far North provinces. A similar program for $4 million was  
  approved in 2004. The program will fund an agricultural development and     
  nutrition enhancement project in the East and Adamawa provinces.            
                                                                       
  The United States and Cameroon work together in the United Nations and a    
  number of other multilateral organizations. While in the UN Security Council
  in 2002, Cameroon worked closely with the United States on a number of      
  initiatives. The U.S. Government continues to provide substantial funding for
  international financial institutions, such as the World Bank, IMF, and      
  African Development Bank, that provide financial and other assistance to    
  Cameroon.                                                                   
                                                                       
  Principal U.S. Officials                                                    
  Ambassador--R. Niels Marquardt                                              
  Deputy Chief of Mission--Richard Nelson                                     
  Management Officer--Charles F. Werderman                                    
  Public Affairs Officer--Judith Ravin                                        
  Political/Economic/Commercial Officer --Katherine Brucker                   
  Defense Attache'--Major Matthew Sousa                                       
  Peace Corps Director--Robert Strauss                                        
  Consular Officer--William Swaney                                            
                                                                       
  The U.S. Embassy in Cameroon has moved from its previous downtown Yaounde   
  location to a New Embassy Compound adjacent to the golf course at the base of
  the Mont Fébé. The new Embassy Chancery contacts are: Tel: (237) 220 15 00/ 
  Fax: (237) 220 16 20 while the Consular Section can be reached directly at  
  Tel: (237) 220 16 03/Fax: (237) 220 1752. The mailing address is: B.P. 817, 
  Yaounde, Cameroon. The U.S. mailing address is American Embassy Yaounde,    
  Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-2520.                             
                                                                       
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