Grenada (2005) | Cameroon (2002) | |
Administrative divisions | 6 parishes and 1 dependency*; Carriacou and Petit Martinique*, Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Mark, Saint Patrick | 10 provinces; Adamaoua, Centre, Est, Extreme-Nord, Littoral, Nord, Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Ouest |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 33.9% (male 15,329/female 14,997)
15-64 years: 62.7% (male 29,711/female 26,436) 65 years and over: 3.4% (male 1,431/female 1,598) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 42.1% (male 3,443,505; female 3,367,571)
15-64 years: 54.5% (male 4,431,524; female 4,392,155) 65 years and over: 3.4% (male 253,242; female 296,751) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, cocoa, nutmeg, mace, citrus, avocados, root crops, sugarcane, corn, vegetables | coffee, cocoa, cotton, rubber, bananas, oilseed, grains, root starches; livestock; timber |
Airports | 3 (2004 est.) | 49 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
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 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 38
1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 20 under 914 m: 11 (2002) |
Area | total: 344 sq km
land: 344 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 475,440 sq km
land: 469,440 sq km water: 6,000 sq km |
Area - comparative | twice the size of Washington, DC | slightly larger than California |
Background | One of the smallest independent countries in the western hemisphere, Grenada was seized by a Marxist military council on 19 October 1983. Six days later the island was invaded by US forces and those of six other Caribbean nations, which quickly captured the ringleaders and their hundreds of Cuban advisers. Free elections were reinstituted the following year. | 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. |
Birth rate | 22.3 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 35.66 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $85.8 million
expenditures: $102.1 million, including capital expenditures of $28 million (1997) |
revenues: $2.2 billion
expenditures: $2.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY00/01 est.) |
Capital | Saint George's | Yaounde |
Climate | tropical; tempered by northeast trade winds | varies with terrain, from tropical along coast to semiarid and hot in north |
Coastline | 121 km | 402 km |
Constitution | 19 December 1973 | 20 May 1972 approved by referendum; 2 June 1972 formally adopted; revised January 1996 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Grenada |
conventional long form: Republic of Cameroon
conventional short form: Cameroon former: French Cameroon |
Currency | - | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States |
Death rate | 7.17 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 12.08 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $196 million (2000) | $10.9 billion (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: the US Ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Grenada
embassy: Lance-aux-Epines Stretch, Saint George's mailing address: P. O. Box 54, Saint George's, Grenada, West Indies telephone: [1] (473) 444-1173 through 1176 FAX: [1] (473) 444-4820 |
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 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Denis G. ANTOINE
chancery: 1701 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 265-2561 FAX: [1] (202) 265-2468 consulate(s) general: New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Raymond EPOTE
chancery: 2349 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 265-8790 FAX: [1] (202) 387-3826 |
Disputes - international | none | oral arguments on the land and maritime boundary disputes between Cameroon and Nigeria were presented to the ICJ; disputes center around Bakasi Peninsula, where armed clashes continue, Bouram Island on Lake Chad, and the maritime boundary and economic zone dispute in the Gulf of Guinea, which also involves Equatorial Guinea; Lake Chad Basin Commission urges signatories Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria to ratify delimitation treaty over lake region, the site of continuing armed clashes |
Economic aid - recipient | $8.3 million (1995) | on 23 January 2001, the Paris Club agreed to reduce Cameroon's debt of $1.3 billion by $900 million; total debt relief now amounts to $1.26 billion |
Economy - overview | Grenada relies on tourism as its main source of foreign exchange, especially since the construction of an international airport in 1985. Strong performances in construction and manufacturing, together with the development of an offshore financial industry, have also contributed to growth in national output. | 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 and privatization. International oil and cocoa prices have considerable impact on the economy. |
Electricity - consumption | 138.6 million kWh (2002) | 3.369 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 149 million kWh (2002) | 3.623 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 3%
hydro: 97% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Saint Catherine 840 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Fako (on Cameroon Mountain) 4,095 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | water-borne diseases are prevalent; deforestation; overgrazing; desertification; poaching; overfishing |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94
signed, but not ratified: Nuclear Test Ban |
Ethnic groups | black 82%, mixed black and European 13%, European and East Indian 5%, and trace of Arawak/Carib Amerindian | Cameroon Highlanders 31%, Equatorial Bantu 19%, Kirdi 11%, Fulani 10%, Northwestern Bantu 8%, Eastern Nigritic 7%, other African 13%, non-African less than 1% |
Exchange rates | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003), 2.7 (2002), 2.7 (2001), 2.7 (2000) | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 742.79 (January 2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997); note - from 1 January 1999, the XAF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XAF per euro |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Daniel WILLIAMS (since 9 August 1996)
head of government: Prime Minister Keith MITCHELL (since 22 June 1995) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; 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 |
chief of state: President Paul BIYA (since 6 November 1982)
head of government: Prime Minister Peter Mafany MUSONGE (since 19 September 1996) 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 12 October 1997 (next to be held NA October 2004); prime minister appointed by the president election results: President Paul BIYA reelected; percent of vote - Paul BIYA 92.6%; note - supporters of the opposition candidates boycotted the elections, making a comparison of vote shares relatively meaningless |
Exports | NA | $2.1 billion f.o.b. (2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | bananas, cocoa, nutmeg, fruit and vegetables, clothing, mace | crude oil and petroleum products, lumber, cocoa beans, aluminum, coffee, cotton |
Exports - partners | Saint Lucia 12.7%, US 12.2%, Antigua and Barbuda 8.7%, Netherlands 7.9%, Saint Kitts and Nevis 7.8%, Dominica 7.8%, Germany 7.1%, France 4.6% (2004) | Italy 24%, France 18%, Netherlands 10% (2000 est.) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 July - 30 June |
Flag description | a rectangle divided diagonally into yellow triangles (top and bottom) and green triangles (hoist side and outer side), with a red border around the flag; there are seven yellow, five-pointed stars with three centered in the top red border, three centered in the bottom red border, and one on a red disk superimposed at the center of the flag; there is also a symbolic nutmeg pod on the hoist-side triangle (Grenada is the world's second-largest producer of nutmeg, after Indonesia); the seven stars represent the seven administrative divisions | 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 |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $26.4 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 7.7%
industry: 23.9% services: 68.4% (2000) |
agriculture: 44%
industry: 20% services: 36% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $5,000 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.5% (2002 est.) | 4.9% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 12 07 N, 61 40 W | 6 00 N, 12 00 E |
Geography - note | the administration of the islands of the Grenadines group is divided between Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada | 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 |
Highways | total: 1,040 km
paved: 638 km unpaved: 402 km (1999 est.) |
total: 34,300 km
paved: 4,288 km unpaved: 30,012 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | small-scale cannabis cultivation; lesser transshipment point for marijuana and cocaine to US | - |
Imports | NA | $1.5 billion f.o.b. (2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | food, manufactured goods, machinery, chemicals, fuel | machinery, electrical equipment, transport equipment, fuel, food |
Imports - partners | Trinidad and Tobago 29.6%, US 27.8%, UK 4.8% (2004) | France 29%, Germany 7%, US 6%, Japan 6% (2000 est.) |
Independence | 7 February 1974 (from UK) | 1 January 1960 (from French-administered UN trusteeship) |
Industrial production growth rate | 0.7% (1997 est.) | 4.2% (1999 est.) |
Industries | food and beverages, textiles, light assembly operations, tourism, construction | petroleum production and refining, food processing, light consumer goods, textiles, lumber |
Infant mortality rate | total: 14.62 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 14.18 deaths/1,000 live births female: 15.07 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
68.79 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.8% (2001 est.) | 2% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WTO | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, C, CCC, CEEAC, CEMAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-19, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MONUC, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMIK, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2002) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 330 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | West Indies Associate States Supreme Court (an associate judge resides in Grenada) | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president); High Court of Justice (consists of nine judges and 6 substitute judges, elected by the National Assembly) |
Labor force | 42,300 (1996) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 24%, industry 14%, services 62% (1999 est.) | agriculture 70%, industry and commerce 13%, other 17% |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 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 |
Land use | arable land: 5.88%
permanent crops: 29.41% other: 64.71% (2001) |
arable land: 12.81%
permanent crops: 2.58% other: 84.61% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English (official), French patois | 24 major African language groups, English (official), French (official) |
Legal system | based on English common law | based on French civil law system, with common law influence; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (a 13-member body, 10 appointed by the government and three by the leader of the opposition) and the House of Representatives (15 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held on 27 November 2003 (next to be held by November 2008) election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NNP 8, NDC 7 |
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 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 64.53 years
male: 62.74 years female: 66.31 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 54.36 years
male: 53.51 years female: 55.23 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98% male: 98% female: 98% (1970 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 63.4% male: 75% female: 52.1% (1995 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
territorial sea: 50 NM |
Military branches | no regular military forces; Royal Grenada Police Force | Army, Navy (includes naval infantry), Air Force, National Gendarmerie, Presidential Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | NA | $118.6 million (FY00/01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | 1.4% (FY98/99) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 3,872,965 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 1,959,357 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 174,308 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 7 February (1974) | Republic Day (National Day), 20 May (1972) |
Nationality | noun: Grenadian(s)
adjective: Grenadian |
noun: Cameroonian(s)
adjective: Cameroonian |
Natural hazards | lies on edge of hurricane belt; hurricane season lasts from June to November | volcanic activity with periodic releases of poisonous gases from Lake Nyos and Lake Monoun volcanoes |
Natural resources | timber, tropical fruit, deepwater harbors | petroleum, bauxite, iron ore, timber, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -13.25 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | NA migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Grenada United Labor Party or GULP [Gloria Payne BANFIELD]; National Democratic Congress or NDC [Tillman THOMAS]; New National Party or NNP [Keith MITCHELL]; People Labor Movement or PLM [Dr. Francis ALEXIS] | 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, chairman]; Social Democratic Front or SDF [John FRU NDI]; Union of Cameroonian Populations or UPC [Augustin Frederic KODOCK] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Southern Cameroon National Council [Frederick Ebong ALOBWEDE]; Human Rights Defense Group [Albert MUKONG, president] |
Population | 89,502 (July 2005 est.) | 16,184,748
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 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 32% (2000) | 48% (2000 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.19% (2005 est.) | 2.36% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Saint George's | Bonaberi, Douala, Garoua, Kribi, Tiko |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 3 (2002) |
Radios | - | 2.27 million (1997) |
Railways | - | 1,008 km
narrow gauge: 1,008 km 1.000-m gauge (2002) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 53%, Anglican 13.8%, other Protestant 33.2% | indigenous beliefs 40%, Christian 40%, Muslim 20% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.12 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female total population: 1.08 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
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: 0.85 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 20 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: automatic, islandwide telephone system
domestic: interisland VHF and UHF radiotelephone links international: country code - 1-473; new SHF radiotelephone links to Trinidad and Tobago and Saint Vincent; VHF and UHF radio links to Trinidad |
general assessment: available only to business and government
domestic: cable, microwave radio relay, and tropospheric scatter international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 33,500 (2002) | 95,000 (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 7,600 (2002) | 300,000 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (1997) | 1 (2002) |
Terrain | volcanic in origin with central mountains | diverse, with coastal plain in southwest, dissected plateau in center, mountains in west, plains in north |
Total fertility rate | 2.37 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 4.72 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 12.5% (2000) | 30% (2001 est.) |
Waterways | - | 2,090 km (of decreasing importance) (2002) |