Background Notes : Cameroon

Background Notes : Cameroon (03/09)

Cameroon

March 2009

Bureau of African Affairs

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. 1.1 million). 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 (2008 est.): 18,467,692.
Annual growth rate (2008 est.): 2.218%.
Ethnic groups: About 250.
Religions: Christian 40%, Muslim 20%, indigenous African 40%.
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 (2008)--64.6/1,000 live births. Life expectancy (2007)--53.3 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 2008.
Branches: Executive--president (chief of state), 7-year term, no term limits; appointed prime minister (head of government). Legislative--unicameral National Assembly (180 members; meets briefly three times a year--March, June, November); a new Senate was 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 (2007 est.): $20.646 billion.
Annual real GDP growth rate (2007): 3.3%.
GDP per capita (2007 est.): $1,095.
Inflation (2007 est.): 0.9%.
Natural resources: Oil, timber, hydroelectric power, natural gas, cobalt, nickel, iron ore, uranium.
Agriculture (2007): 44.3% of GDP. Products--timber, coffee, tea, bananas, cocoa, rubber, palm oil, pineapples, cotton. Arable land (2005 est.)--12.54%.
Industry (2007): 15.9% of GDP.
Services (2007): 39.8% of GDP.
Trade (2007): Exports--$3.7 billion: 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--$3.6 billion: 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 among the most fertile regions 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, 1997, and 2004. His Cameroon People's Democratic Movement (CPDM) party holds a sizeable majority in the legislature following 2007 elections--153 deputies out of a total of 180.

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS
The 1972 constitution (amended in 1996 and 2008) 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 seldom makes 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 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 called 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 would be appointed by the president, and the remaining two-thirds would be chosen by indirect elections. As of June 2008, neither the Senate nor the regional council had been created. In April 2008, the National Assembly acceded to constitutional changes proposed by the presidency that, inter alia, removed presidential term limits and provided the President with immunity from prosecution for acts committed while in office.

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. 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. Each of Cameroon's national elections has been 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 and July 2007, 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 U.S. Embassy. NEO reported that it was satisfied with the conduct of the election but noted some irregularities and problems with voter registration. The U.S. 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% of the vote. In December 2006, the President decreed the creation of Elections Cameroon (ELECAM), an independent body responsible for the organization, management and supervision of all election operations and referendums. The decree stipulated its creation by the end of June 2008. The U.S. Embassy provided monitors for the July 2007 parliamentary and municipal elections and concurred with the analysis of other observers and diplomatic missions, who noted some improvements but persistent flaws, especially in the registration of voters and the prevention of voter fraud (indelible ink).

Cameroon has a number of private newspapers, radio stations, and four private television stations. Officially censorship was abolished in 1996, but the government sometimes seizes or suspends newspapers. Mutations, a prominent private French-daily newspaper in Cameroon, was seized on April 14, 2003 after the paper published articles on "Life after Biya."

Since November 2007, the Ministry of Communication has stepped up harassment and arresting of journalists. In February 2008, the government closed Magic FM radio, a Voice of America (VOA) affiliate, and confiscated their equipment, which included VOA transmission equipment, and the same fate awaited Equinoxe Radio and Television after carrying controversial reports and critical commentaries about the regime. Journalists have been fired from their jobs for openly discussing the change of the constitution and the U.S. Ambassador's remarks requesting the government to reopen closed stations and to return U.S. Government equipment. The government also banned a popular song on the radio about constitutional change.

Radio and television continue to be a virtual monopoly of the state-owned broadcaster, the Cameroon Radio-Television Corporation (CRTV). However, there are two independent television stations and many more regional private radio stations, although many are owned by or financed by parliamentarians, mayors, or party officials.

Since the issuance of the decree authorizing the creation of private radio and television on April 3, 2000, only two stations have received a license from the government. On April 9, 2008 the Minister of Communication gave two television stations and one radio station until July 2008 to pay the remainder of their license fee or be shut down. Most media houses have applied and are currently operating while their applications are pending. The private radio stations broadcasting in Yaounde, Douala, Bafoussam, Bamenda, and Limbe continue to broadcast, and their existence is tolerated by the government. 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 Cameroon Government's human rights record has generally improved, although it remains deeply flawed, including significant problems over the past year. There continue to be reported abuses, including beatings of detainees, arbitrary arrests, and illegal searches. Journalists continue to be intimidated, threatened and arrested when discussing subjects considered sensitive by the Cameroonian Government. The judiciary is frequently corrupt, inefficient, and subject to political influence. Corruption is a major problem, although the government has recently arrested several prominent officials for corruption.

Principal Government Officials
President--Paul Biya
President of the National Assembly--Djibril Cavaye Yeguie
Prime Minister--Ephraim Inoni
Minister of External Relations--Henri Eyebe Ayissi
Minister of Defense--Remy Ze Meka
Ambassador to the United States--Joseph Bienvenu Charles Foe Atangana
Ambassador to the United Nations--Michel Tommo Monthe

Cameroon maintains an embassy in the United States at 2349 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 (tel.: 202-265-8790).

ECONOMY
Cameroon is blessed with an abundance of natural resources, including in the agriculture, mining, forestry, and oil and gas sectors. Cameroon is the commercial and economic leader in the sub-region, though regional trade, especially with Nigeria, remains under-realized.

Cameroon's economy is highly dependent on commodity exports, and swings in world prices strongly affect its growth. Cameroon's economic development has been retarded by economic mismanagement, pervasive corruption, and a challenging business environment (for local and foreign investors). Cameroon remains one of the lowest-ranked economies on the World Bank's annual Doing Business and similar surveys and regularly ranks among the most corrupt countries in the world. Over the last three years, GDP growth has averaged 3%, which is far below the population's expectations and insufficient to meet the Millennium Challenge goals. Despite boasting a higher GDP per capita than either Senegal or Ghana, Cameroon lags behind these two countries in important socio-economic indicators, including in health and education. The government has professed a determination to foster urgent economic growth and job creation, and there is a decided up-tick in interest in the mining sector, but it is not yet clear how well these promises will translate into improved performance.

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. A three-year Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) approved by the IMF in October 2005 was to end by the end of 2008. It was not clear whether the Fund would continue with lending after this date.

Official statistics indicate that inflation is under control (projected by the World Bank at 2.9% in 2008), but anecdotal evidence suggests Cameroonians are frustrated and perceive their spending power is weakening. Public frustration over rising prices was partly to blame for an outbreak of social unrest and violence in many Cameroonian cities in February 2008. In March 2008, the government announced a reduction in food import tariffs and other measures designed to reduce the cost of basic commodities.

The government has made halting progress on its privatization program. The National Water Utility Corporation (SNEC) was split into two entities. CAMWATER--to handle infrastructure--remains in government hands, and a reformed SNEC is now owned by a consortium led by the Moroccan Water Utility. Plans to privatize national air company CAMAIR and national telecom CAMTEL, however, have repeatedly faltered because of political sensitivities and concerns about corruption. CAMAIR was declared officially defunct and ceased to operate in May 2008. CAMTEL remains under the control of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications.

The European Union remains Cameroon's main trading bloc, accounting for 36.6% of total imports and 66.1% of exports. France is Cameroon's main trading partner, but the United States is the leading investor in Cameroon (largely through the Chad-Cameroon pipeline and energy provider AES Sonel). According to press reports, China recently became the number one importer of Cameroonian exports, especially unprocessed timber.

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 at senior levels of all the armed forces and the gendarmes. The armed forces number approximately 28,000 personnel in ground, air, and naval forces, with the majority being in the army and gendarmes.

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, and Cameroon has recently become an African Contingency Operations Training and Assistance (ACOTA) partner.

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 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 provides some military assistance. 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: biodiversity protection, 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. Similar programs were approved in 2004, 2005, and 2006. The $4 million 2004 program was to fund an agricultural development and nutrition enhancement project in the East and Adamawa provinces. The $4 million 2005 program was to integrate tree crops and agri-business to enhance household livelihood security in vulnerable communities of the Center and South West provinces. The 2006 project was to focus on an agroforestry program to be carried out in the North West and West 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, which provide financial and other assistance to Cameroon.

Principal U.S. Officials
Ambassador--Janet E. Garvey
Deputy Chief of Mission--Stephen Fox
Management Officer--Charles F. Werderman
Public Affairs Officer--Richard Johannsen
Political/Economic Officer--Scott Ticknor
Defense Attache--Major Matthew Sousa
Peace Corps Director--James Ham
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) 2220 15 00/Fax: (237) 2220 16 20 while the Consular Section can be reached directly at Tel: (237) 2220 16 03/Fax: (237) 2220 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.

TRAVEL AND BUSINESS INFORMATION
The U.S. Department of State's Consular Information Program advises Americans traveling and residing abroad through Country Specific Information, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings. Country Specific Information exists for all countries and includes information on entry and exit requirements, currency regulations, health conditions, safety and security, crime, political disturbances, and the addresses of the U.S. embassies and consulates abroad. Travel Alerts are issued to disseminate information quickly about terrorist threats and other relatively short-term conditions overseas that pose significant risks to the security of American travelers. Travel Warnings are issued when the State Department recommends that Americans avoid travel to a certain country because the situation is dangerous or unstable.

For the latest security information, Americans living and traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs Internet web site at http://www.travel.state.gov, where the current Worldwide Caution, Travel Alerts, and Travel Warnings can be found. Consular Affairs Publications, which contain information on obtaining passports and planning a safe trip abroad, are also available at http://www.travel.state.gov. For additional information on international travel, see http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/Travel/International.shtml.

The Department of State encourages all U.S. citizens traveling or residing abroad to register via the State Department's travel registration website or at the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate abroad. Registration will make your presence and whereabouts known in case it is necessary to contact you in an emergency and will enable you to receive up-to-date information on security conditions.

Emergency information concerning Americans traveling abroad may be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the U.S. and Canada or the regular toll line 1-202-501-4444 for callers outside the U.S. and Canada.

The National Passport Information Center (NPIC) is the U.S. Department of State's single, centralized public contact center for U.S. passport information. Telephone: 1-877-4-USA-PPT (1-877-487-2778); TDD/TTY: 1-888-874-7793. Passport information is available 24 hours, 7 days a week. You may speak with a representative Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., Eastern Time, excluding federal holidays.

Travelers can check the latest health information with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. A hotline at 800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636) and a web site at http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/default.aspx give the most recent health advisories, immunization recommendations or requirements, and advice on food and drinking water safety for regions and countries. The CDC publication "Health Information for International Travel" can be found at http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/contentYellowBook.aspx.

Further Electronic Information
Department of State Web Site. Available on the Internet at http://www.state.gov, the Department of State web site provides timely, global access to official U.S. foreign policy information, including Background Notes and daily press briefings along with the directory of key officers of Foreign Service posts and more. The Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) provides security information and regional news that impact U.S. companies working abroad through its website http://www.osac.gov

Export.gov provides a portal to all export-related assistance and market information offered by the federal government and provides trade leads, free export counseling, help with the export process, and more.

STAT-USA/Internet, a service of the U.S. Department of Commerce, provides authoritative economic, business, and international trade information from the Federal government. The site includes current and historical trade-related releases, international market research, trade opportunities, and country analysis and provides access to the National Trade Data Bank.

ENDS

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