Cameroon
|
| Basic Facts |
| Country name |
conventional long form: Republic of Cameroon
conventional short form: Cameroon local long form: Republique du Cameroun/Republic of Cameroon local short form: Cameroun/Cameroon former: French Cameroon, British Cameroon, Federal Republic of Cameroon, United Republic of Cameroon |
| Gevernment type | republic; multiparty presidential regime |
| Capital |
name: Yaounde
geographic coordinates: 3 52 N, 11 31 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Flag description | three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), red, and yellow with a yellow five-pointed star centered in the red band; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia |
| Currency | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States |
| Internet country code | .cm |
| Ports and terminals | Douala, Limboh Terminal |
| Agriculture products | coffee, cocoa, cotton, rubber, bananas, oilseed, grains, root starches; livestock; timber |
| Industries | petroleum production and refining, aluminum production, food processing, light consumer goods, textiles, lumber, ship repair |
| Geography |
| Location | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria |
| Coordinates | 6 00 N, 12 00 E |
| Continent | Africa |
| Area |
total: 475,440 sq km
land: 469,440 sq km water: 6,000 sq km |
| 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 |
| 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 | petroleum, bauxite, iron ore, timber, hydropower |
| Natural hazards | volcanic activity with periodic releases of poisonous gases from Lake Nyos and Lake Monoun volcanoes |
| People |
| Population | 17,340,702
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 2006 est.) |
| 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) |
