French Cameroon became independent in 1960 as the Republic of Cameroon. The following year the southern portion of neighboring British Cameroon voted to merge with the new country to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon. In 1972, a new constitution replaced the federation with a unitary state, the United Republic of Cameroon. The country has generally enjoyed stability, which has permitted the development of agriculture, roads, and railways, as well as a petroleum industry. Despite slow movement toward democratic reform, political power remains firmly in the hands of President Paul BIYA.

Central Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria

slightly larger than California

varies with terrain, from tropical along coast to semiarid and hot in north

diverse, with coastal plain in southwest, dissected plateau in center, mountains in west, plains in north

petroleum, bauxite, iron ore, timber, hydropower

volcanic activity with periodic releases of poisonous gases from Lake Nyos and Lake Monoun volcanoes

waterborne diseases are prevalent; deforestation; overgrazing; desertification; poaching; overfishing

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

Cameroon Highlanders 31%, Equatorial Bantu 19%, Kirdi 11%, Fulani 10%, Northwestern Bantu 8%, Eastern Nigritic 7%, other African 13%, non-African less than 1%

24 major African language groups, English (official), French (official)

indigenous beliefs 40%, Christian 40%, Muslim 20%

20,129,878 (July 2012 est.)

32.49 births/1,000 population (2012 est.)

11.66 deaths/1,000 population (July 2012 est.)

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2012 est.)

Douala 2.053 million; YAOUNDE (capital) 1.739 million (2009)

690 deaths/100,000 live births (2010)

4.09 children born/woman (2012 est.)

0.19 physicians/1,000 population (2004)

1.5 beds/1,000 population (2006)

urban: 56% of population

rural: 35% of population

total: 47% of population

urban: 44% of population

rural: 65% of population

total: 53% of population

republic; multiparty presidential regime

10 regions (regions, singular - region); Adamaoua, Centre, Est, Extreme-Nord, Littoral, Nord, North-West (Nord-Ouest), Ouest, Sud, South-West (Sud-Ouest)

1 January 1960 (from French-administered UN trusteeship)

Republic Day (National Day), 20 May (1972)

approved by referendum 20 May 1972; adopted 2 June 1972; revised January 1996; amended April 2008

mixed legal system of English common law, French civil law, and customary law

accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; non-party state to the ICCt

20 years of age; universal

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

Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president); High Court of Justice (consists of nine judges and six substitute judges; elected by the National Assembly)

Cameroon People's Democratic Movement or CPDM [Paul BIYA]; Cameroonian Democratic Union or UDC [Adamou Ndam NJOYA]; Movement for the Defense of the Republic or MDR [Dakole DAISSALA]; Movement for the Liberation and Development of Cameroon or MLDC [Marcel YONDO]; National Union for Democracy and Progress or UNDP [Maigari BELLO BOUBA]; Progressive Movement or MP; Social Democratic Front or SDF [John FRU NDI]; Union of Peoples of Cameroon or UPC [Augustin Frederic KODOCK]

Human Rights Defense Group [Albert MUKONG, president]; Southern Cameroon National Council [Ayamba Ette OTUN]

ACP, AfDB, AU, BDEAC, C, CEMAC, EITI (candidate country), FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MONUSCO, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), red, and yellow, with a yellow five-pointed star centered in the red band; the vertical tricolor recalls the flag of France; red symbolizes unity, yellow the sun, happiness, and the savannahs in the north, and green hope and the forests in the south; the star is referred to as the "star of unity"

Because of its modest 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 confronting other underdeveloped countries, such as stagnant per capita income, a relatively inequitable distribution of income, a top-heavy civil service, endemic corruption, 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. The IMF is pressing for more reforms, including increased budget transparency, privatization, and poverty reduction programs. Subsidies for electricity, food, and fuel have strained the budget. New mining projects - in diamonds, for example - have attracted foreign investment, but large ventures will take time to develop. Cameroon's business environment - one of the world's worst - is a deterrent to foreign investment.

$50.32 billion (2012 est.)

$48.07 billion (2011 est.)

$46.13 billion (2010 est.)

$24.51 billion (2012 est.)

8.264 million (2012 est.)

19.8% of GDP (2012 est.)

21.4% of GDP (2012 est.)

-1.5% of GDP (2012 est.)

14.7% of GDP (2012 est.)

13.9% of GDP (2011 est.)

NA% (31 December 2010 est.)

4.25% (31 December 2009 est.)

14% (31 December 2012 est.)

14% (31 December 2011 est.)

$3.973 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

$3.514 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$6.279 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

$5.66 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$2.81 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

$2.523 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

coffee, cocoa, cotton, rubber, bananas, oilseed, grains, cassava (manioc); livestock; timber

-$946.4 million (2012 est.)

-$1.365 billion (2011 est.)

$6.538 billion (2012 est.)

$5.544 billion (2011 est.)

crude oil and petroleum products, lumber, cocoa beans, aluminum, coffee, cotton

Spain 13.4%, China 11.4%, Netherlands 9.8%, Italy 8.9%, France 6.4%, US 5.9%, India 5.7%, Germany 4.8%, Belgium 4.1% (2011)

$6.597 billion (2012 est.)

$6.108 billion (2011 est.)

machinery, electrical equipment, transport equipment, fuel, food

China 16.8%, France 16.6%, Nigeria 12.3%, Belgium 5.3%, Italy 4.3%, US 4.2% (2011)

$3.851 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

$3.245 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$3.343 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

$3.147 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

Cooperation Financiere en Afrique Centrale francs (XAF) per dollar -

5.589 billion kWh (2009 est.)

5.049 billion kWh (2009 est.)

1.115 million kW (2009 est.)

27.8% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

72.2% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

61,580 bbl/day (2011 est.)

64,740 bbl/day (2009 est.)

32,490 bbl/day (2009 est.)

200 million bbl (1 January 2012 est.)

42,520 bbl/day (2008 est.)

29,410 bbl/day (2011 est.)

17,470 bbl/day (2008 est.)

5,715 bbl/day (2008 est.)

20 million cu m (2010 est.)

20 million cu m (2009 est.)

135.1 billion cu m (1 January 2012 est.)

7.361 million Mt (2010 est.)

10.486 million (2011)

government maintains tight control over broadcast media; state-owned Cameroon Radio Television (CRTV), broadcasting on both a TV and radio network, was the only officially recognized and fully licensed broadcaster until August 2007 when the government finally issued licenses to 2 private TV broadcasters and 1 private radio broadcaster; about 70 privately-owned, unlicensed radio stations operating but are subject to closure at any time; foreign news services required to partner with state-owned national station (2007)

(major rivers in the south, such as the Wouri and the Sanaga, are largely non-navigable; in the north, the Benue, which connects through Nigeria to the Niger River, is navigable in the rainy season only to the port of Garoua) (2010)

Douala, Garoua, Limboh Terminal

Special Rapid Intervention Brigade (Brigade Speciale d'Intervention Rapide, BSIR), Cameroon Armed Forces (Forces Armees Camerounaises, FAC), Army (L'Armee de Terre), Air Force (Armee de l'Air du Cameroun, AAC), Fire Fighter Corps, Gendarmerie, Navy (Marine Nationale Republique (MNR), includes naval infantry) (2012)

18-23 years of age for male and female voluntary military service; no conscription; high school graduation required; service obligation 4 years; the government makes periodic calls for volunteers (2012)

Joint Border Commission with Nigeria reviewed 2002 ICJ ruling on the entire boundary and bilaterally resolved differences, including June 2006 Greentree Agreement that immediately ceded sovereignty of the Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon with a full phase-out of Nigerian control and patriation of residents in 2008; Cameroon and Nigeria agreed on maritime delimitation in March 2008; sovereignty dispute between Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon over an island at the mouth of the Ntem River; only Nigeria and Cameroon have heeded the Lake Chad Commission's admonition to ratify the delimitation treaty, which also includes the Chad-Niger and Niger-Nigeria boundaries