Cameroon (2005) | Antigua and Barbuda (2002) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Administrative divisions | 10 provinces; Adamaoua, Centre, Est, Extreme-Nord, Littoral, Nord, Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Ouest | 6 parishes and 2 dependencies*; Barbuda*, Redonda*, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Mary, Saint Paul, Saint Peter, Saint Philip |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 41.7% (male 3,457,180/female 3,375,668)
15-64 years: 55% (male 4,537,281/female 4,477,163) 65 years and over: 3.3% (male 239,634/female 293,079) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 28% (male 9,618; female 9,293)
15-64 years: 67.3% (male 22,695; female 22,682) 65 years and over: 4.7% (male 1,289; female 1,871) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, cocoa, cotton, rubber, bananas, oilseed, grains, root starches; livestock; timber | cotton, fruits, vegetables, bananas, coconuts, cucumbers, mangoes, sugarcane; livestock |
Airports | 47 (2004 est.) | 3 (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: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (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: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
Area | total: 475,440 sq km
land: 469,440 sq km water: 6,000 sq km |
total: 443 sq km (Antigua 280 sq km; Barbuda 161 sq km)
land: 442 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Redonda, 1.6 sq km |
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. | The Siboney were the first to inhabit the islands of Antigua and Barbuda in 2400 B.C., but Arawak and Carib Indians populated the islands when Columbus landed on his second voyage in 1493. Early settlements by the Spanish and French were succeeded by the English who formed a colony in 1667. Slavery, established to run the sugar plantations on Antigua, was abolished in 1834. The islands became an independent state within the British Commonwealth of Nations in 1981. |
Birth rate | 34.67 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 18.84 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $2.493 billion
expenditures: $2.248 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
revenues: $123.7 million
expenditures: $145.9 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Yaounde | Saint John's |
Climate | varies with terrain, from tropical along coast to semiarid and hot in north | tropical marine; little seasonal temperature variation |
Coastline | 402 km | 153 km |
Constitution | 20 May 1972 approved by referendum, 2 June 1972 formally adopted; revised January 1996 | 1 November 1981 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Cameroon
conventional short form: Cameroon former: French Cameroon |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Antigua and Barbuda |
Currency | - | East Caribbean dollar (XCD) |
Death rate | 15.4 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 5.75 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $8.46 billion (2004 est.) | $231 million (1999) |
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 |
the US does not have an embassy in Antigua and Barbuda (embassy closed 30 June 1994); the US Ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Antigua and Barbuda |
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 Lionel Alexander HURST
chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016 telephone: [1] (202) 362-5211 FAX: [1] (202) 362-5225 consulate(s) general: Miami |
Disputes - international | ICJ ruled in 2002 on the entire Cameroon-Nigeria land and maritime boundary but the parties formed a Joint Border Commission, which continues to meet regularly to resolve differences bilaterally and have commenced with demarcation in less-contested sections of the boundary, starting in Lake Chad in the north; implementation of the ICJ ruling on the Cameroon-Equatorial Guinea-Nigeria maritime boundary in the Gulf of Guinea is impeded by imprecisely defined coordinates, the unresolved Bakassi 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, then agreed, but has yet to withdraw its forces while much of the indigenous population opposes cession; only Nigeria and Cameroon have heeded the Lake Chad Commission's admonition to ratify the delimitation treaty which also includes Chad and Niger | 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 | $2.3 million (1995) |
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. | Tourism continues to dominate the economy, accounting for more than half of GDP. Weak tourist arrival numbers since early 2000 have slowed the economy, however, and pressed the government into a tight fiscal corner. The dual-island nation's agricultural production is focused on the domestic market and constrained by a limited water supply and a labor shortage stemming from the lure of higher wages in tourism and construction work. Manufacturing comprises enclave-type assembly for export with major products being bedding, handicrafts, and electronic components. Prospects for economic growth in the medium term will continue to depend on income growth in the industrialized world, especially in the US, which accounts for about one-third of all tourist arrivals. |
Electricity - consumption | 3.321 billion kWh (2002) | 93 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 3.571 billion kWh (2002) | 100 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Fako (on Mount Cameroon) 4,095 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Boggy Peak 402 m |
Environment - current issues | waterborne diseases are prevalent; deforestation; overgrazing; desertification; poaching; overfishing | water management - a major concern because of limited natural fresh water resources - is further hampered by the clearing of trees to increase crop production, causing rainfall to run off quickly |
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, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling
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% | black, British, Portuguese, Lebanese, Syrian |
Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000) | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7000 (fixed rate since 1976) |
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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General James B. CARLISLE (since NA 1993)
head of government: Prime Minister Lester Bryant BIRD (since 8 March 1994); Deputy Prime Minister Robin YEARWOOD cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general chosen by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general |
Exports | NA | $40 million (2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | crude oil and petroleum products, lumber, cocoa beans, aluminum, coffee, cotton | petroleum products 48%, manufactures 23%, machinery and transport equipment 17%, food and live animals 4%, other 8% |
Exports - partners | Spain 15.2%, Italy 12.3%, UK 10.2%, France 9.2%, US 8.8%, South Korea 7.1%, Netherlands 4.3% (2004) | OECS 26%, Barbados 15%, Guyana 4%, Trinidad and Tobago 2%, US 0.3% |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | 1 April - 31 March |
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 | red, with an inverted isosceles triangle based on the top edge of the flag; the triangle contains three horizontal bands of black (top), light blue, and white, with a yellow rising sun in the black band |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $674 million (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 43.7%
industry: 20.1% services: 36.2% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: 4%
industry: 19% services: 77% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,900 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $10,000 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.9% (2004 est.) | 3.5% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 6 00 N, 12 00 E | 17 03 N, 61 48 W |
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 | Antigua has a deeply indented shoreline with many natural harbors and beaches; Barbuda has a very large western harbor |
Highways | total: 34,300 km
paved: 4,288 km unpaved: 30,012 km (1999 est.) |
total: 1,165 km
paved: 384 km unpaved: 781 km note: it is assumed that the main roads are paved; the secondary roads are assumed to be unpaved (1995) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1.9%
highest 10%: 36.6% (1996) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | - | considered a minor transshipment point for narcotics bound for the US and Europe; more significant as an offshore financial center |
Imports | NA | $357 million (2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery, electrical equipment, transport equipment, fuel, food | food and live animals, machinery and transport equipment, manufactures, chemicals, oil |
Imports - partners | France 28.2%, Nigeria 9.9%, Belgium 7.6%, US 4.9%, China 4.8%, Germany 4.6%, Italy 4.1% (2004) | US 27%, UK 16%, Canada 4%, OECS 3% |
Independence | 1 January 1960 (from French-administered UN trusteeship) | 1 November 1981 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4.2% (1999 est.) | 6% (1997 est.) |
Industries | petroleum production and refining, aluminum production, food processing, light consumer goods, textiles, lumber, ship repair | tourism, construction, light manufacturing (clothing, alcohol, household appliances) |
Infant mortality rate | total: 68.26 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 72.14 deaths/1,000 live births female: 64.27 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
21.61 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1% (2004 est.) | 0.4% (2000 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 | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, NAM (observer), OAS, OECS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 16 (2000) |
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) | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based in Saint Lucia; one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the Court of Summary Jurisdiction) |
Labor force | 6.68 million (2004 est.) | 30,000 |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 70%, industry and commerce 13%, other 17% | commerce and services 82%, agriculture 11%, industry 7% (1983) (1983) |
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: 18.18%
permanent crops: 0% other: 81.82% (1998 est.) |
Languages | 24 major African language groups, English (official), French (official) | English (official), local dialects |
Legal system | based on French civil law system, with common law influence; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on English common law |
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 consists of the Senate (17-member body appointed by the governor general) and the House of Representatives (17 seats; members are elected by proportional representation to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Representatives - last held 9 March 1999 (next to be held prior to March 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - ALP 53.2%, UPP 45.5%, independent 1.3%; seats by party - ALP 12, UPP 4, independent 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 50.89 years
male: 50.71 years female: 51.08 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 71.02 years
male: 68.72 years female: 73.45 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 has completed five or more years of schooling
total population: 89% male: 90% female: 88% (1960 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria | Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east-southeast of Puerto Rico |
Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 50 nm | contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin 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 (2005) |
total: 762 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,541,940 GRT/5,894,553 DWT
ships by type: bulk 20, cargo 469, chemical tanker 9, combination bulk 4, container 202, liquefied gas 7, multi-functional large-load carrier 6, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 9, roll on/roll off 35 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Australia 1, Bangladesh 2, Belgium 3, Colombia 1, Cuba 1, Estonia 1, Germany 747, Greece 1, Iceland 8, Latvia 1, Lebanon 2, Lithuania 1, Netherlands 22, New Zealand 2, Portugal 1, Slovenia 6, South Africa 1, Sweden 2, United Kingdom 1, United States 7 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Cameroon Armed Forces: Army, Navy (includes Naval Infantry), Air Force | Royal Antigua and Barbuda Defense Force, Royal Antigua and Barbuda Police Force (including the Coast Guard) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $221.1 million (2004) | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.6% (2004) | NA% |
National holiday | Republic Day (National Day), 20 May (1972) | Independence Day (National Day), 1 November (1981) |
Nationality | noun: Cameroonian(s)
adjective: Cameroonian |
noun: Antiguan(s), Barbudan(s)
adjective: Antiguan, Barbudan |
Natural hazards | volcanic activity with periodic releases of poisonous gases from Lake Nyos and Lake Monoun volcanoes | hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October); periodic droughts |
Natural resources | petroleum, bauxite, iron ore, timber, hydropower | NEGL; pleasant climate fosters tourism |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | -6.23 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] | Antigua Labor Party or ALP [Lester Bryant BIRD]; Barbuda People's Movement or BPM [Thomas H. FRANK]; United Progressive Party or UPP [Baldwin SPENCER] (a coalition of three opposition parties - United National Democratic Party or UNDP, Antigua Caribbean Liberation Movement or ACLM, and Progressive Labor Movement or PLM) |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Southern Cameroon National Council [Ayamba Ette OTUN]; Human Rights Defense Group [Albert MUKONG, president] | Antigua Trades and Labor Union or ATLU [William ROBINSON]; People's Democratic Movement or PDM [Hugh MARSHALL] |
Population | 16,380,005
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 2005 est.) |
67,448 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 48% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.93% (2005 est.) | 0.69% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Douala, Limboh Terminal | Saint John's |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 3 (2002) | AM 4, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | - | 36,000 (1997) |
Railways | total: 1,008 km
narrow gauge: 1,008 km 1.000-m gauge (2004) |
total: 77 km
narrow gauge: 64 km 0.760-m gauge; 13 km 0.610-m gauge (used almost exclusively for handling sugarcane) (2001 est.) |
Religions | indigenous beliefs 40%, Christian 40%, Muslim 20% | Christian, (predominantly Anglican with other Protestant, and some Roman Catholic) |
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 (2005 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2002 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: good automatic telephone system international: 1 coaxial submarine cable; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); tropospheric scatter to Saba (Netherlands Antilles) and Guadeloupe |
Telephones - main lines in use | 110,900 (2002) | 28,000 (1996) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1.077 million (2003) | 1,300 (1996) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2002) | 2 (1997) |
Terrain | diverse, with coastal plain in southwest, dissected plateau in center, mountains in west, plains in north | mostly low-lying limestone and coral islands, with some higher volcanic areas |
Total fertility rate | 4.47 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 2.29 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 30% (2001 est.) | 7% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | navigation mainly on Benue River; limited during rainy season (2004) | none |