Reunion (2002) | Cameroon (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (overseas department of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 4 arrondissements, 24 communes, and 47 cantons | 10 provinces; Adamaoua, Centre, Est, Extreme-Nord, Littoral, Nord, Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Ouest |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 31.7% (male 120,864; female 115,251)
15-64 years: 62.5% (male 228,864; female 235,991) 65 years and over: 5.8% (male 17,459; female 25,552) (2002 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 | sugarcane, vanilla, tobacco, tropical fruits, vegetables, corn | coffee, cocoa, cotton, rubber, bananas, oilseed, grains, root starches; livestock; timber |
Airports | 2 (2001) | 49 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
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: 2,517 sq km
land: 2,507 sq km water: 10 sq km |
total:
475,440 sq km land: 469,440 sq km water: 6,000 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Rhode Island | slightly larger than California |
Background | The Portuguese discovered the uninhabited island in 1513. From the 17th to the 19th centuries, French immigration supplemented by influxes of Africans, Chinese, Malays, and Malabar Indians gave the island its ethnic mix. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 cost the island its importance as a stopover on the East Indies trade route. | 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 | 20.7 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 36.12 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: NA
expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
revenues:
$2.1 billion expenditures: $2.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY00/01 est.) |
Capital | Saint-Denis | Yaounde |
Climate | tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry from May to November, hot and rainy from November to April | varies with terrain, from tropical along coast to semiarid and hot in north |
Coastline | 207 km | 402 km |
Constitution | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) | 20 May 1972 approved by referendum; 2 June 1972 formally adopted; revised January 1996 |
Country name | conventional long form: Department of Reunion
conventional short form: Reunion local long form: none local short form: Ile de la Reunion former: Bourbon Island |
conventional long form:
Republic of Cameroon conventional short form: Cameroon former: French Cameroon |
Currency | euro (EUR); French franc (FRF) | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States |
Death rate | 5.51 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 11.99 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $10.9 billion (2000 est.) |
Dependency status | overseas department of France | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas department of France) | 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 (overseas department of France) | 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; note - substantial annual subsidies from France | 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 | The economy has traditionally been based on agriculture. Sugarcane has been the primary crop for more than a century, and in some years it accounts for 85% of exports. The government has been pushing the development of a tourist industry to relieve high unemployment, which amounts to more than 40% of the labor force. The gap in Reunion between the well-off and the poor is extraordinary and accounts for the persistent social tensions. The white and Indian communities are substantially better off than other segments of the population, often approaching European standards, whereas minority groups suffer the poverty and unemployment typical of the poorer nations of the African continent. The outbreak of severe rioting in February 1991 illustrates the seriousness of socioeconomic tensions. The economic well-being of Reunion depends heavily on continued financial assistance from France. | 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 | 1.014 billion kWh (2000) | 3.227 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 1.09 billion kWh (2000) | 3.47 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 55%
hydro: 45% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
fossil fuel:
2.59% hydro: 97.41% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Piton des Neiges 3,069 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 | French, African, Malagasy, Chinese, Pakistani, Indian | 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 | euros per US dollar - 1.1324 (January 2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); French francs per US dollar - 5.8995 (1998), 5.8367 (1997) | 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: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Gonthier FRIEDERICI (since NA)
head of government: President of the General Council Jean-Luc POUDROUX (since NA March 1998) and President of the Regional Council Paul VERGES (since NA March 1993) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of the Interior; the presidents of the General and Regional Councils are elected by the members of those councils |
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 | $214 million f.o.b. (1997) | $2.1 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | sugar 63%, rum and molasses 4%, perfume essences 2%, lobster 3%, (1993) | crude oil and petroleum products, lumber, cocoa beans, aluminum, coffee, cotton |
Exports - partners | France 74%, Japan 6%, Comoros 4% (1994) | Italy 24%, France 18%, Netherlands 10% (2000 est.) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 July - 30 June |
Flag description | the flag of France is used | 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 - $3.4 billion (1998 est.) | 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 - $4,800 (1998 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.8% (1998 est.) | 4.4% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 21 06 S, 55 36 E | 6 00 N, 12 00 E |
Geography - note | this mountainous, volcanic island has an active volcano, Piton de la Fournaise; there is a tropical cyclone center at Saint-Denis, which is the monitoring station for the whole of the Indian Ocean | sometimes referred to as the hinge of Africa |
Highways | total: 2,724 km
paved: 1,300 km (including 73 km of four-lane road) unpaved: 1,424 km note: 370 km of road are maintained by national authorities, 754 km by departmental authorities and 1,600 km by local authorities (1994) |
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 | $2.5 billion c.i.f. (1997) | $1.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | manufactured goods, food, beverages, tobacco, machinery and transportation equipment, raw materials, and petroleum products | machines and electrical equipment, transport equipment, fuel, food |
Imports - partners | France 64%, Bahrain 3%, Germany 3%, Italy 3% (1994) | France 29%, Germany 7%, US 6%, Japan 6% (2000 est.) |
Independence | none (overseas department of France) | 1 January 1960 (from French-administered UN trusteeship) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 4.2% (1999 est.) |
Industries | sugar, rum, cigarettes, handicraft items, flower oil extraction | petroleum production and refining, food processing, light consumer goods, textiles, lumber |
Infant mortality rate | 8.31 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 69.83 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA% | 2% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | FZ, InOC, WFTU | 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) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 120 sq km (1998 est.) | 210 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel | 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 | 261,000 (1995) (1995) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 8%, industry 19%, services 73% (1990) (1990) | 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: 13.2%
permanent crops: 2% other: 84.8% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
13% permanent crops: 2% permanent pastures: 4% forests and woodland: 78% other: 3% (1993 est.) |
Languages | French (official), Creole widely used | 24 major African language groups, English (official), French (official) |
Legal system | French law | based on French civil law system, with common law influence; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral General Council (49 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council (45 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held 15 and 22 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004); Regional Council - last held 15 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - various right-wing candidates 13, PCR 10, PS 10, UDF 8, RPR 6, other left-wing candidates 2; Regional Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PCR 19, UDF 9, RPR 8, various right-wing candidates 4, various left-wing candidates 5 note: Reunion elects three representatives to the French Senate; elections last held NA 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; Reunion also elects five deputies to the French National Assembly; elections last held 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP-RPR 1, UMP 1, PCR 1 |
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: 73.18 years
male: 69.78 years female: 76.74 years (2002 est.) |
total population:
54.59 years male: 53.76 years female: 55.44 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 79% male: 76% female: 80% (1982 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 63.4% male: 75% female: 52.1% (1995 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria |
Map references | World | Africa |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea:
50 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 28,264 GRT/44,885 DWT
ships by type: chemical tanker 1 note: includes a foreign-owned ship registered here as a flag of convenience: France 1 (2002 est.) |
- |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of France | - |
Military branches | no regular indigenous military forces; French forces (including Army, Navy, Air Force, and Gendarmerie) | 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: 194,485 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49:
3,762,369 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 99,251 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49:
1,903,149 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 6,243 (2002 est.) | males:
174,308 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) | Republic Day, 20 May (1972) |
Nationality | noun: Reunionese (singular and plural)
adjective: Reunionese |
noun:
Cameroonian(s) adjective: Cameroonian |
Natural hazards | periodic, devastating cyclones (December to April); Piton de la Fournaise on the southeastern coast is an active volcano | recent volcanic activity with release of poisonous gases |
Natural resources | fish, arable land, hydropower | petroleum, bauxite, iron ore, timber, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) NA migrant(s)/1,000 population |
Political parties and leaders | Communist Party of Reunion or PCR [Paul VERGES]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Andre Maurice PIHOUEE]; Socialist Party or PS [Jean-Claude FRUTEAU]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Gilbert GERARD] | 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 | NA | Cameroon Anglophone Movement or CAM [Vishe FAI, secretary general]; Southern Cameroon National Council [Nfor Ngala NFOR, acting] |
Population | 743,981 (July 2002 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 | 1.52% (2002 est.) | 2.41% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Le Port, Pointe des Galets | Bonaberi, Douala, Garoua, Kribi, Tiko |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 55, shortwave 0 (2001) | AM 11, FM 8, shortwave 3 (1998) |
Radios | 173,000 (1997) | 2.27 million (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | total:
1,104 km narrow gauge: 1,104 km 1.000-m gauge (1995 est.) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 86%, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist (1995) | indigenous beliefs 40%, Christian 40%, Muslim 20% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2002 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: 0.86 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 system; principal center is Saint-Denis
domestic: modern open wire and microwave radio relay network international: radiotelephone communication to Comoros, France, Madagascar; new microwave route to Mauritius; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
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 | 268,500 (1999) | 75,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 197,000 (September 2000) | 4,200 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 35 (plus 18 low-power repeaters) (2001) | 1 (1998) |
Terrain | mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast | diverse, with coastal plain in southwest, dissected plateau in center, mountains in west, plains in north |
Total fertility rate | 2.55 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 4.8 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 42.8% (1998) (1998) | 30% (1998 est.) |
Waterways | none | 2,090 km (of decreasing importance) |