Cameroon (2004) | Northern Mariana Islands (2002) | |
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Administrative divisions | 10 provinces; Adamaoua, Centre, Est, Extreme-Nord, Littoral, Nord, Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Ouest | none (commonwealth in political union with the US); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are four municipalities at the second order; Northern Islands, Rota, Saipan, Tinian |
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.) |
0-14 years: 23.4% (male 9,208; female 8,902)
15-64 years: 74.8% (male 27,041; female 30,781) 65 years and over: 1.8% (male 690; female 689) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, cocoa, cotton, rubber, bananas, oilseed, grains, root starches; livestock; timber | coconuts, fruits, vegetables; cattle |
Airports | 47 (2003 est.) | 6 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 11
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 36
1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 20 under 914 m: 9 (2004 est.) |
total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
Area | total: 475,440 sq km
land: 469,440 sq km water: 6,000 sq km |
total: 477 sq km
land: 477 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes 14 islands including Saipan, Rota, and Tinian |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than California | 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC |
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. | Under US administration as part of the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific, the people of the Northern Mariana Islands decided in the 1970s not to seek independence but instead to forge closer links with the US. Negotiations for territorial status began in 1972. A covenant to establish a commonwealth in political union with the US was approved in 1975. A new government and constitution went into effect in 1978. |
Birth rate | 35.08 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 20.29 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $2.442 billion
expenditures: $1.941 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.) |
revenues: $193 million
expenditures: $223 million, including capital expenditures of NA (FY 2001/02 est.) |
Capital | Yaounde | Saipan |
Climate | varies with terrain, from tropical along coast to semiarid and hot in north | tropical marine; moderated by northeast trade winds, little seasonal temperature variation; dry season December to June, rainy season July to October |
Coastline | 402 km | 1,482 km |
Constitution | 20 May 1972 approved by referendum; 2 June 1972 formally adopted; revised January 1996 | Covenant Agreement effective 4 November 1986 and the Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands effective 1 January 1978 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Cameroon
conventional short form: Cameroon former: French Cameroon |
conventional long form: Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
conventional short form: Northern Mariana Islands former: Mariana Islands District (Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands) |
Currency | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States | US dollar (USD) |
Death rate | 15.34 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 2.42 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $7.236 billion (2003 est.) | $NA |
Dependency status | - | commonwealth in political union with the US; federal funds to the Commonwealth administered by the US Department of the Interior, Office of Insular Affairs |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador George McDade STAPLES
embassy: Rue Nachtigal, Yaounde mailing address: P. O. Box 817, Yaounde; pouch: American Embassy, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-2520 telephone: [237] 223-05-12, 222-25-89, 222-17-94, 223-40-14 FAX: [237] 223-07-53 branch office(s): Douala |
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Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Jerome MENDOUGA
chancery: 2349 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 265-8790 FAX: [1] (202) 387-3826 |
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Disputes - international | ICJ ruled in 2002 on the entire Cameroon-Nigeria land and maritime boundary but the parties formed a Joint Border Commission to resolve differences bilaterally and have commenced with demarcation in less-contested sections of the boundary, starting in Lake Chad in the north; the ICF ruled on an equidistance settlement of Cameroon-Equatorial Guinea-Nigeria maritime boundary in the Gulf of Guinea, however, implementation of the decision is delayed due to imprecisely defined coordinates, the unresolved Bakasi allocation, and a sovereignty dispute between Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon over an island at the mouth of the Ntem River; Nigeria initially rejected cession of the Bakasi Peninsula; Lake Chad Commission continues to urge signatories Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria to ratify delimitation treaty over the lake region, which remains the site of armed clashes among local populations and militias | none |
Economic aid - recipient | on 23 January 2001, the Paris Club agreed to reduce Cameroon's debt of $1.3 billion by $900 million; debt relief now totals $1.26 billion | extensive funding from US |
Economy - overview | Because of its oil resources and favorable agricultural conditions, Cameroon has one of the best-endowed primary commodity economies in sub-Saharan Africa. Still, it faces many of the serious problems facing other underdeveloped countries, such as a top-heavy civil service and a generally unfavorable climate for business enterprise. Since 1990, the government has embarked on various IMF and World Bank programs designed to spur business investment, increase efficiency in agriculture, improve trade, and recapitalize the nation's banks. In June 2000, the government completed an IMF-sponsored, three-year structural adjustment program; however, the IMF is pressing for more reforms, including increased budget transparency, privatization, and poverty reduction programs. International oil and cocoa prices have considerable impact on the economy. | The economy benefits substantially from financial assistance from the US. The rate of funding has declined as locally generated government revenues have grown. The key tourist industry employs about 50% of the work force and accounts for roughly one-fourth of GDP. Japanese tourists predominate. Annual tourist entries have exceeded one-half million in recent years, but financial difficulties in Japan have caused a temporary slowdown. The agricultural sector is made up of cattle ranches and small farms producing coconuts, breadfruit, tomatoes, and melons. Garment production is by far the most important industry with employment of 17,500 mostly Chinese workers and sizable shipments to the US under duty and quota exemptions. |
Electricity - consumption | 3.36 billion kWh (2001) | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | - |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | - |
Electricity - production | 3.613 billion kWh (2001) | NA kWh |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Fako (on Mount Cameroon) 4,095 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Agrihan 965 m |
Environment - current issues | water-borne diseases are prevalent; deforestation; overgrazing; desertification; poaching; overfishing | contamination of groundwater on Saipan may contribute to disease; clean-up of landfill; protection of endangered species conflicts with development |
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 |
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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% | Chamorro, Carolinians and other Micronesians, Caucasian, Japanese, Chinese, Filipino, Korean |
Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 581.2 (2003), 696.988 (2002), 733.039 (2001), 711.976 (2000), 615.699 (1999) | the US dollar is used |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Paul BIYA (since 6 November 1982)
head of government: Prime Minister Ephraim INONI (since 8 Dec 2004) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president from proposals submitted by the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 11 October 2004 (next to be held NA October 2011); prime minister appointed by the president election results: President Paul BIYA reelected; percent of vote - Paul BIYA 70.9%, John FRU NDI 17.4%, Adamou Ndam NJOYA 4.5%, Garga Haman ADJI 3.7% |
chief of state: President George W. BUSH of the US (since 20 January 2001); Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (since 20 January 2001)
head of government: Governor Juan N. BABAUTA (since NA January 2002); Lieutenant Governor Diego T. BENEVENTE (since NA January 2002) cabinet: NA elections: US president and vice president elected on the same ticket for four-year terms; governor and lieutenant governor elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held NA November 2001 (next to be held NA November 2005) election results: Juan N. BABAUTA elected governor in a four-way race; percent of vote - Juan N. BABAUTA (Republican Party) 49% |
Exports | NA (2001) | $NA |
Exports - commodities | crude oil and petroleum products, lumber, cocoa beans, aluminum, coffee, cotton | garments |
Exports - partners | Spain 21.9%, Italy 13.4%, France 10.8%, Netherlands 10.6%, US 7.5%, China 4.4% (2003) | US |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | 1 October - 30 September |
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 | blue, with a white, five-pointed star superimposed on the gray silhouette of a latte stone (a traditional foundation stone used in building) in the center, surrounded by a wreath |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $27.75 billion (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $900 million
note: GDP numbers reflect US spending (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 42.6%
industry: 19.8% services: 37.6% (2003 est.) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,800 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $12,500 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.2% (2003 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 6 00 N, 12 00 E | 15 12 N, 145 45 E |
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 | strategic location in the North Pacific Ocean |
Heliports | - | 1 (2002) |
Highways | total: 34,300 km
paved: 4,288 km unpaved: 30,012 km (1999 est.) |
total: 362 km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km (1991) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1.9%
highest 10%: 36.6% (1996) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | NA (2001) | $NA |
Imports - commodities | machinery, electrical equipment, transport equipment, fuel, food | food, construction equipment and materials, petroleum products |
Imports - partners | France 21.9%, Nigeria 9.5%, Japan 6.8%, US 5.7%, China 4.9%, Germany 4.3% (2003) | US, Japan |
Independence | 1 January 1960 (from French-administered UN trusteeship) | none (commonwealth in political union with the US) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4.2% (1999 est.) | NA% |
Industries | petroleum production and refining, food processing, light consumer goods, textiles, lumber | tourism, construction, garments, handicrafts |
Infant mortality rate | total: 69.18 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 73.16 deaths/1,000 live births female: 65.09 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
5.61 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.3% (2003 est.) | 1.2% (1997 est.) |
International organization participation | ABEDA, ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, BDEAC, C, CEMAC, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIK, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | ESCAP (associate), Interpol (subbureau), SPC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2001) |
Irrigated land | 330 sq km (1998 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president); High Court of Justice (consists of 9 judges and 6 substitute judges, elected by the National Assembly) | Commonwealth Supreme Court; Superior Court; Federal District Court |
Labor force | 6.49 million NA (2003) | 6,006 total indigenous labor force; 2,699 unemployed; 28,717 foreign workers (1995) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 70%, industry and commerce 13%, other 17% | NA |
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 |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 12.81%
permanent crops: 2.58% other: 84.61% (2001) |
arable land: 15.22%
permanent crops: 6.52% other: 78.26% (1998 est.) |
Languages | 24 major African language groups, English (official), French (official) | English, Chamorro, Carolinian
note: 86% of population speaks a language other than English at home |
Legal system | based on French civil law system, with common law influence; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on US system, except for customs, wages, immigration laws, and taxation |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (180 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms; note - the president can either lengthen or shorten the term of the legislature)
elections: last held 23 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - RDCP 133, SDF 21, UDC 5, other 21 note: the constitution calls for an upper chamber for the legislature, to be called a Senate, but it has yet to be established |
bicameral Legislature consists of the Senate (9 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year staggered terms) and the House of Representatives (18 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 5 November 2001 (next to be held NA November 2003); House of Representatives - last held 5 November 2001 (next to be held NA November 2003) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Republican Party 4, Democratic Party 3, Reform Party 1, independent 1; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Republican Party 16, Democratic Party 1, Covenant Party 1 note: the Northern Mariana Islands does not have a nonvoting delegate in the US Congress; instead, it has an elected official or "resident representative" located in Washington, DC; seats by party - Republican Party 1 (Pedro A. TENORIO) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 47.95 years
male: 47.1 years female: 48.83 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 75.95 years
male: 72.85 years female: 79.23 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 79% male: 84.7% female: 73.4% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97% male: 97% female: 96% (1980 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria | Oceania, islands in the North Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines |
Map references | Africa | Oceania |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 50 nm | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 169,593 GRT/357,023 DWT
by type: petroleum tanker 1 (2004 est.) |
none (2002 est.) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the US |
Military branches | Army, Navy (includes Naval Infantry), Air Force | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $189.2 million (2003) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.4% (2003) | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 3,898,944 (2004 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 1,979,151 (2004 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 184,054 (2004 est.) | - |
National holiday | Republic Day (National Day), 20 May (1972) | Commonwealth Day, 8 January (1978) |
Nationality | noun: Cameroonian(s)
adjective: Cameroonian |
noun: NA
adjective: NA |
Natural hazards | volcanic activity with periodic releases of poisonous gases from Lake Nyos and Lake Monoun volcanoes | active volcanoes on Pagan and Agrihan; typhoons (especially August to November) |
Natural resources | petroleum, bauxite, iron ore, timber, hydropower | arable land, fish |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 17.02 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 90 km; liquid petroleum gas 9 km; oil 1,120 km (2004) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Cameroonian Democratic Union or UDC [Adamou NDAM NJOYA]; Democratic Rally of the Cameroon People or RDCP [Paul BIYA]; Movement for the Defense of the Republic or MDR [Dakole DAISSALA]; Movement for the Liberation and Development of Cameroon or MLDC [leader Marcel YONDO]; Movement for the Youth of Cameroon or MYC [Dieudonne TINA]; National Union for Democracy and Progress or UNDP [Maigari BELLO BOUBA]; Social Democratic Front or SDF [John FRU NDI]; Union of Cameroonian Populations or UPC [Augustin Frederic KODOCK] | Democratic Party [Dr. Carlos S. CAMACHO]; Republican Party [Benigno R. FITIAL] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Southern Cameroon National Council [Ayamba Ette OTUN]; Human Rights Defense Group [Albert MUKONG, president] | NA |
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.) |
77,311 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 48% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.97% (2004 est.) | 3.49% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bonaberi, Douala, Garoua, Kribi, Tiko | Saipan, Tinian |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 3 (2002) | AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | - | NA |
Railways | total: 1,008 km
narrow gauge: 1,008 km 1.000-m gauge (2003) |
0 km |
Religions | indigenous beliefs 40%, Christian 40%, Muslim 20% | Christian (Roman Catholic majority, although traditional beliefs and taboos may still be found) |
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.) |
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.88 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1 male(s)/female total population: 0.92 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 20 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal; indigenous inhabitants are US citizens but do not vote in US presidential elections |
Telephone system | general assessment: available only to business and government
domestic: cable, microwave radio relay, and tropospheric scatter international: country code - 237; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia |
general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 110,900 (2002) | 21,000 (1996) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1.077 million (2003) | 1,200 (1995) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2002) | 1 (on Saipan and one station planned for Rota; in addition, two cable services on Saipan provide varied programming from satellite networks) (1997) |
Terrain | diverse, with coastal plain in southwest, dissected plateau in center, mountains in west, plains in north | southern islands are limestone with level terraces and fringing coral reefs; northern islands are volcanic |
Total fertility rate | 4.55 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 1.76 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 30% (2001 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | navigation mainly on Benue River; limited during rainy season (2004) | none |