The 2004 CIA World Factbook. United States. Central Intelligence Agency
page was last updated on 10 February, 2005
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@Cameroon
Introduction Cameroon
Background:
The former French Cameroon and part of British Cameroon merged in
1961 to form the present country. Cameroon has generally enjoyed
stability, which has permitted the development of agriculture,
roads, and railways, as well as a petroleum industry. Despite
movement toward democratic reform, political power remains firmly in
the hands of an ethnic oligarchy.
Geography Cameroon
Location:
Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Equatorial
Guinea and Nigeria
Geographic coordinates:
6 00 N, 12 00 E
Map references:
Africa
Area:
total: 475,440 sq km
water: 6,000 sq km
land: 469,440 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly larger than California
Land boundaries:
total: 4,591 km
border countries: Central African Republic 797 km, Chad 1,094 km,
Republic of the Congo 523 km, Equatorial Guinea 189 km, Gabon 298
km, Nigeria 1,690 km
Coastline:
402 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 50 nm
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
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Fako (on Mount Cameroon) 4,095 m
Natural resources:
petroleum, bauxite, iron ore, timber, hydropower
Land use: arable land: 12.81% permanent crops: 2.58% other: 84.61% (2001)
Irrigated land:
330 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:
volcanic activity with periodic releases of poisonous gases from
Lake Nyos and Lake Monoun volcanoes
Environment - current issues:
water-borne diseases are prevalent; deforestation; overgrazing;
desertification; poaching; overfishing
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law
of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical
Timber 94
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:
sometimes referred to as the hinge of Africa; throughout the
country there are areas of thermal springs and indications of
current or prior volcanic activity; Mount Cameroon, the highest
mountain in Sub-Saharan west Africa, is an active volcano
People Cameroon
Population:
16,063,678
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the
effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower
life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower
population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of
population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July
2004 est.)
Age structure:
0–14 years: 42% (male 3,416,086; female 3,334,904)
15–64 years: 54.8% (male 4,425,246; female 4,370,329)
65 years and over: 3.2% (male 233,506; female 283,607) (2004 est.)
Median age:
total: 18.5 years
male: 18.3 years
female: 18.6 years (2004 est.)
Population growth rate:
1.97% (2004 est.)
Birth rate:
35.08 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Death rate:
15.34 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Net migration rate:
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15–64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female
total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2004 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 69.18 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 65.09 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 73.16 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 47.95 years
male: 47.1 years
female: 48.83 years (2004 est.)
Total fertility rate:
4.55 children born/woman (2004 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
6.9% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
560,000 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
49,000 (2003 est.)
Major infectious diseases:
typhoid fever, malaria, yellow fever, schistosomiasis
overall degree of risk: very high (2004)
Nationality:
noun: Cameroonian(s)
adjective: Cameroonian
Ethnic groups:
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 40%, Christian 40%, Muslim 20%
Languages:
24 major African language groups, English (official), French
(official)
Literacy: