Norfolk Island (2005) | Cameroon (2001) | |
Administrative divisions | none (territory of Australia) | 10 provinces; Adamaoua, Centre, Est, Extreme-Nord, Littoral, Nord, Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Ouest |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 20.2%
15-64 years: 63.9% 65 years and over: 15.9% (2005 est.) |
0-14 years:
42.37% (male 3,385,898; female 3,310,504) 15-64 years: 54.28% (male 4,305,354; female 4,271,958) 65 years and over: 3.35% (male 244,419; female 285,087) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | Norfolk Island pine seed, Kentia palm seed, cereals, vegetables, fruit; cattle, poultry | coffee, cocoa, cotton, rubber, bananas, oilseed, grains, root starches; livestock; timber |
Airports | 1 (2004 est.) | 49 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 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 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total:
38 1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 21 under 914 m: 10 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 34.6 sq km
land: 34.6 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
475,440 sq km land: 469,440 sq km water: 6,000 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 0.2 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly larger than California |
Background | Two British attempts at establishing the island as a penal colony (1788-1814 and 1825-55) were ultimately abandoned. In 1856, the island was resettled by Pitcairn Islanders, descendants of the Bounty mutineers and their Tahitian companions. | 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 | NA | 36.12 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $20 million
expenditures: $20 million, including capital expenditures of $2 million (FY99/00) |
revenues:
$2.1 billion expenditures: $2.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY00/01 est.) |
Capital | Kingston | Yaounde |
Climate | subtropical; mild, little seasonal temperature variation | varies with terrain, from tropical along coast to semiarid and hot in north |
Coastline | 32 km | 402 km |
Constitution | Norfolk Island Act of 1979 | 20 May 1972 approved by referendum; 2 June 1972 formally adopted; revised January 1996 |
Country name | conventional long form: Territory of Norfolk Island
conventional short form: Norfolk Island |
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 | NA | 11.99 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | NA | $10.9 billion (2000 est.) |
Dependency status | territory of Australia; Canberra administers Commonwealth responsibilities on Norfolk Island through the Department of Environment, Sport, and Territories | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (territory of Australia) | chief of mission:
Ambassador John M. YATES embassy: Rue Nachtigal, Yaounde mailing address: P. O. Box 817, Yaounde; pouch: American Embassy, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-2520 telephone: [237] 23-40-14, 22-25-89, 23-05-12, 22-17-94 FAX: [237] 23-07-53 branch office(s): Douala |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of Australia) | chief of mission:
Ambassador Jerome MENDOUGA chancery: 2349 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 265-8790 FAX: [1] (202) 387-3826 |
Disputes - international | none | delimitation of international boundaries in the vicinity of Lake Chad, the lack of which led to border incidents in the past, is complete and awaits ratification by Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria; tripartite maritime boundary and economic zone dispute with Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria is currently before the ICJ |
Economic aid - recipient | NA | 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 | Tourism, the primary economic activity, has steadily increased over the years and has brought a level of prosperity unusual among inhabitants of the Pacific islands. The agricultural sector has become self-sufficient in the production of beef, poultry, and eggs. | 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. Higher oil prices in 2000 helped to offset the country's lower cocoa export revenues. A rebound in the cocoa market should increase growth to over 5% in 2001. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | 3.227 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | - | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh | 3.47 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
2.59% hydro: 97.41% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Bates 319 m |
lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Fako 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, 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 | descendants of the Bounty mutineers, Australian, New Zealander, Polynesians | 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 | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001), 1.7248 (2000) | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 699.21 (January 2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997), 511.55 (1996); 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); the UK and Australia are represented by Administrator Grant TAMBLING (since 1 November 2003)
head of government: Assembly President and Chief Minister Geoffrey Robert GARDNER (since 5 December 2001) cabinet: Executive Council is made up of four of the nine members of the Legislative Assembly; the council devises government policy and acts as an advisor to the administrator elections: the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the governor general of Australia; chief minister elected by the Legislative Assembly for a term of not more than three years; election last held 20 Ocotber 2004 (next to be held by December 2007) election results: Geoffrey Robert GARDNER elected chief minister; percent of Legislative Assembly vote - 17.2% |
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 | $1.5 million f.o.b. (FY99/00) | $2.1 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | postage stamps, seeds of the Norfolk Island pine and Kentia palm, small quantities of avocados | crude oil and petroleum products, lumber, cocoa beans, aluminum, coffee, cotton |
Exports - partners | Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe | Italy 24%, France 18%, Netherlands 10% (2000 est.) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | 1 July - 30 June |
Flag description | three vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and green with a large green Norfolk Island pine tree centered in the slightly wider white band | 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 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA |
agriculture:
43.4% industry: 20.1% services: 36.5% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - NA | purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA | 4.4% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 29 02 S, 167 57 E | 6 00 N, 12 00 E |
Geography - note | most of the 32-km coastline consists of almost inaccessible cliffs, but the land slopes down to the sea in one small southern area on Sydney Bay, where the capital of Kingston is situated | sometimes referred to as the hinge of Africa |
Highways | total: 80 km
paved: 53 km unpaved: 27 km (2001) |
total:
34,300 km paved: 4,288 km unpaved: 30,012 km (1995) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $17.9 million c.i.f. (FY91/92) | $1.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | NA | machines and electrical equipment, transport equipment, fuel, food |
Imports - partners | Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe | France 29%, Germany 7%, US 6%, Japan 6% (2000 est.) |
Independence | none (territory of Australia) | 1 January 1960 (from French-administered UN trusteeship) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | 4.2% (1999 est.) |
Industries | tourism, light industry, ready mixed concrete | petroleum production and refining, food processing, light consumer goods, textiles, lumber |
Infant mortality rate | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
69.83 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA | 2% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | UPU | 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, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNITAR, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA | 210 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Court of Petty Sessions | 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 | 1,345 | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | tourism 90%, subsistence agriculture 10% | 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: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001) |
arable land:
13% permanent crops: 2% permanent pastures: 4% forests and woodland: 78% other: 3% (1993 est.) |
Languages | English (official), Norfolk a mixture of 18th century English and ancient Tahitian | 24 major African language groups, English (official), French (official) |
Legal system | based on the laws of Australia, local ordinances and acts; English common law applies in matters not covered by either Australian or Norfolk Island law | based on French civil law system, with common law influence; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Assembly (9 seats; members elected by electors who have nine equal votes each but only four votes can be given to any one candidate; members serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 20 October 2004 (next to be held by December 2007) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 9 (note - no political parties) |
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 17 May 1997 (next to be held NA 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - RDCP 109, SDF 43, UNDP 13, UDC 5, UPC-K 1, MDR 1, MLJC 1; note - results from 7 contested seats were cancelled by the Supreme Court, further elections on 3 August 1997 gave these seats to the RDPC 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: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total population:
54.59 years male: 53.76 years female: 55.44 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | NA | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 63.4% male: 75% female: 52.1% (1995 est.) |
Location | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria |
Map references | Oceania | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
territorial sea:
50 NM |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of Australia | - |
Military branches | - | Army, Navy (includes Naval Infantry), Air Force, National Gendarmerie, Presidential Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $118.6 million (FY00/01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 1.4% (FY98/99) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
3,762,369 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
1,903,149 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
174,308 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Bounty Day (commemorates the arrival of Pitcairn Islanders), 8 June (1856) | Republic Day, 20 May (1972) |
Nationality | noun: Norfolk Islander(s)
adjective: Norfolk Islander(s) |
noun:
Cameroonian(s) adjective: Cameroonian |
Natural hazards | typhoons (especially May to July) | recent volcanic activity with release of poisonous gases |
Natural resources | fish | petroleum, bauxite, iron ore, timber, hydropower |
Net migration rate | NA | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) NA migrant(s)/1,000 population |
Political parties and leaders | none | 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 NA]; Movement for the Youth of Cameroon or MLJC [Marcel YONDO]; National Union for Democracy and Progress or UNDP [Maigari BELLO BOUBA, chairman]; Social Democratic Front or SDF [John FRU NDI]; Union of Cameroonian Populations has two sections UPC-N [Ndeh NTUMAZAH] and UPC-K [Augustin Frederic KODOCK] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | Cameroon Anglophone Movement or CAM [Vishe FAI, secretary general]; Southern Cameroon National Council [Nfor Ngala NFOR, acting] |
Population | 1,828 (July 2005 est.) | 15,803,220
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 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | 48% (2000 est.) |
Population growth rate | -0.01% (2005 est.) | 2.41% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none; loading jetties at Kingston and Cascade | Bonaberi, Douala, Garoua, Kribi, Tiko |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 3, shortwave 0 (2005) | AM 11, FM 8, shortwave 3 (1998) |
Radios | - | 2.27 million (1997) |
Railways | - | total:
1,104 km narrow gauge: 1,104 km 1.000-m gauge (1995 est.) |
Religions | Anglican 34.9%, Roman Catholic 11.7%, Uniting Church in Australia 11.2%, Seventh-Day Adventist 2.8%, Australian Christian 2.4%, Jehovah's Witness 0.9%, other 2.7%, unspecified 15.3%, none 18.1% (2001 census) | indigenous beliefs 40%, Christian 40%, Muslim 20% |
Sex ratio | NA | 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: 0.86 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 20 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: adequate
domestic: free local calls international: country code - 672; undersea coaxial cable links with Australia, New Zealand, and Canada; satellite earth station |
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 | 2,532; note - a mix of analog (2500) and digital (32) circuits (2004) | 75,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (proposed cellular service disallowed in August 2002 island referendum) (2002) | 4,200 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (local programming station plus two repeaters that bring in Australian programs by satellite) (2005) | 1 (1998) |
Terrain | volcanic formation with mostly rolling plains | diverse, with coastal plain in southwest, dissected plateau in center, mountains in west, plains in north |
Total fertility rate | NA | 4.8 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 0% | 30% (1998 est.) |
Waterways | - | 2,090 km (of decreasing importance) |