Cameroon (2004) | Palau (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 10 provinces; Adamaoua, Centre, Est, Extreme-Nord, Littoral, Nord, Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Ouest | 18 states; Aimeliik, Airai, Angaur, Hatobohei, Kayangel, Koror, Melekeok, Ngaraard, Ngarchelong, Ngardmau, Ngatpang, Ngchesar, Ngeremlengui, Ngiwal, Palau Island, Peleliu, Sonsoral, Tobi |
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:
26.88% (male 2,641; female 2,491) 15-64 years: 68.46% (male 7,128; female 5,943) 65 years and over: 4.66% (male 420; female 469) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, cocoa, cotton, rubber, bananas, oilseed, grains, root starches; livestock; timber | coconuts, copra, cassava (tapioca), sweet potatoes |
Airports | 47 (2003 est.) | 3 (2000 est.) |
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:
1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
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:
2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 475,440 sq km
land: 469,440 sq km water: 6,000 sq km |
total:
458 sq km land: 458 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than California | slightly more than 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. | After three decades as part of the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific under US administration, this westernmost cluster of the Caroline Islands opted for independent status in 1978 rather than join the Federated States of Micronesia. A Compact of Free Association with the US was approved in 1986, but not ratified until 1993. It entered into force the following year when the islands gained their independence. |
Birth rate | 35.08 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 19.64 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $2.442 billion
expenditures: $1.941 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.) |
revenues:
$57.7 million expenditures: $80.8 million, including capital expenditures of $17.1 million (FY98/99 est.) |
Capital | Yaounde | Koror; note - a new capital is being built about 20 km northeast of Koror |
Climate | varies with terrain, from tropical along coast to semiarid and hot in north | wet season May to November; hot and humid |
Coastline | 402 km | 1,519 km |
Constitution | 20 May 1972 approved by referendum; 2 June 1972 formally adopted; revised January 1996 | 1 January 1981 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Cameroon
conventional short form: Cameroon former: French Cameroon |
conventional long form:
Republic of Palau conventional short form: Palau local long form: Beluu er a Belau local short form: Belau former: Palau 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.) | 7.23 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $7.236 billion (2003 est.) | $0 (FY99/00) |
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 |
chief of mission:
the Ambassador to the Philippines is accredited to Palau; Charge d'Affaires Allen E. NUGENT embassy: address NA, Koror mailing address: P. O. Box 6028, Republic of Palau 96940 telephone: [680] 488-2920, 2990 FAX: [680] 488-2911 |
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 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Hersey KYOTA chancery: 1150 18th Street NW, Suite 750, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 452-6814 FAX: [1] (202) 452-6281 |
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 | $155.8 million (1995); note - the Compact of Free Association with the US, entered into after the end of the UN trusteeship on 1 October 1994, will provide Palau with up to $700 million in US aid over 15 years in return for furnishing military facilities |
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 consists primarily of subsistence agriculture and fishing. The government is the major employer of the work force, relying heavily on financial assistance from the US. The population enjoys a per capita income of twice that of the Philippines and much of Micronesia. Long-run prospects for the tourist sector have been greatly bolstered by the expansion of air travel in the Pacific and the rising prosperity of leading East Asian countries. |
Electricity - consumption | 3.36 billion kWh (2001) | - |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | - |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | - |
Electricity - production | 3.613 billion kWh (2001) | - |
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: Mount Ngerchelchauus 242 m |
Environment - current issues | water-borne diseases are prevalent; deforestation; overgrazing; desertification; poaching; overfishing | inadequate facilities for disposal of solid waste; threats to the marine ecosystem from sand and coral dredging, illegal fishing practices, and 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 |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Law of the Sea signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
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% | Palauan (Micronesian with Malayan and Melanesian admixtures) 70%, Asian (mainly Filipinos, followed by Chinese, Taiwanese, and Vietnamese) 28%, white 2% (2000 est.) |
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 Tommy Esang REMENGESAU Jr. (since 19 January 2001) and Vice President Sandra PIERANTOZZI (since 19 January 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Tommy Esang REMENGESAU Jr. (since 19 January 2001) and Vice President Sandra PIERANTOZZI (since 19 January 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet elections: president and vice president elected on separate tickets by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2004) election results: Tommy Esang REMENGESAU Jr. elected president; percent of vote - Tommy Esang REMENGESAU Jr. 53%, Peter SUGIYAMA 46%; Sandra PIERANTOZZI elected vice president; percent of vote - Sandra PIERANTOZZI 52%, Alan SEID 45% |
Exports | NA (2001) | $14.3 million (f.o.b., 1996) |
Exports - commodities | crude oil and petroleum products, lumber, cocoa beans, aluminum, coffee, cotton | trochus (type of shellfish), tuna, copra, handicrafts |
Exports - partners | Spain 21.9%, Italy 13.4%, France 10.8%, Netherlands 10.6%, US 7.5%, China 4.4% (2003) | US, Japan |
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 | light blue with a large yellow disk (representing the moon) shifted slightly to the hoist side |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $27.75 billion (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $129 million (1998 est.)
note: GDP numbers reflect US spending |
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 - $7,100 (1998 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.2% (2003 est.) | -1.4% (1998 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 6 00 N, 12 00 E | 7 30 N, 134 30 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 | includes World War II battleground of Beliliou (Peleliu) and world-famous rock islands; archipelago of six island groups totaling over 200 islands in the Caroline chain |
Highways | total: 34,300 km
paved: 4,288 km unpaved: 30,012 km (1999 est.) |
total:
61 km paved: 36 km unpaved: 25 km |
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) | $126 million (f.o.b., FY99/00) |
Imports - commodities | machinery, electrical equipment, transport equipment, fuel, food | machinery and equipment, fuels, metals; foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | France 21.9%, Nigeria 9.5%, Japan 6.8%, US 5.7%, China 4.9%, Germany 4.3% (2003) | US |
Independence | 1 January 1960 (from French-administered UN trusteeship) | 1 October 1994 (from the US-administered UN Trusteeship) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4.2% (1999 est.) | NA% |
Industries | petroleum production and refining, food processing, light consumer goods, textiles, lumber | tourism, craft items (from shell, wood, pearls), construction, garment making |
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.) |
16.67 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.3% (2003 est.) | NA% |
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 | ACP, ESCAP, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IMF, IOC, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, WHO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | NA |
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) | Supreme Court; National Court; Court of Common Pleas |
Labor force | 6.49 million NA (2003) | 8,300 (1999) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 70%, industry and commerce 13%, other 17% | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services 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:
NA% permanent crops: NA% permanent pastures: NA% forests and woodland: NA% other: NA% |
Languages | 24 major African language groups, English (official), French (official) | English and Palauan official in all states except Sonsoral (Sonsorolese and English are official), Tobi (Tobi and English are official), and Angaur (Angaur, Japanese, and English are official) |
Legal system | based on French civil law system, with common law influence; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on Trust Territory laws, acts of the legislature, municipal, common, and customary laws |
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 Parliament or Olbiil Era Kelulau (OEK) consists of the Senate (16 seats; members elected by popular vote on a population basis to serve four-year terms) and the House of Delegates (16 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2004); House of Delegates - last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2004) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; House of Delegates - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 47.95 years
male: 47.1 years female: 48.83 years (2004 est.) |
total population:
68.89 years male: 65.77 years female: 72.19 years (2001 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: 92% male: 93% female: 90% (1980 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria | Oceania, group of islands in the North Pacific Ocean, southeast of the Philippines |
Map references | Africa | Oceania |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 50 nm | continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive fishing zone: 12 NM extended fishing zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 3 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 (2000 est.) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the US; under a Compact of Free Association between Palau and the US, the US military is granted access to the islands for 50 years |
Military branches | Army, Navy (includes Naval Infantry), Air Force | NA |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $189.2 million (2003) | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.4% (2003) | NA% |
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) | Constitution Day, 9 July (1979) |
Nationality | noun: Cameroonian(s)
adjective: Cameroonian |
noun:
Palauan(s) adjective: Palauan |
Natural hazards | volcanic activity with periodic releases of poisonous gases from Lake Nyos and Lake Monoun volcanoes | typhoons (June to December) |
Natural resources | petroleum, bauxite, iron ore, timber, hydropower | forests, minerals (especially gold), marine products, deep-seabed minerals |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 4.45 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 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] | Palau Nationalist Party [Johnson TORIBIONG]; Ta Belau Party [Kuniwo NAKAMURA] |
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.) |
19,092 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 48% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.97% (2004 est.) | 1.69% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bonaberi, Douala, Garoua, Kribi, Tiko | Koror |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 3 (2002) | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | - | 12,000 (1997) |
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 (Catholics, Seventh-Day Adventists, Jehovah's Witnesses, the Assembly of God, the Liebenzell Mission, and Latter-Day Saints), Modekngei religion (one-third of the population observes this religion which is indigenous to Palau) |
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: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.2 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female total population: 1.14 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 20 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
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 station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 110,900 (2002) | 1,500 (1988) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1.077 million (2003) | 0 (1988) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2002) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | diverse, with coastal plain in southwest, dissected plateau in center, mountains in west, plains in north | varying geologically from the high, mountainous main island of Babelthuap to low, coral islands usually fringed by large barrier reefs |
Total fertility rate | 4.55 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 2.47 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 30% (2001 est.) | 2.3% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | navigation mainly on Benue River; limited during rainy season (2004) | none |