Cameroon

Country Summary

Introduction

Background

Cameroon resulted from the merger of former French and British Cameroon in the early 1960s. The country has generally enjoyed stability, permitting the development of agriculture, roads, railways, and a petroleum industry.

Geography

Area

total: 475,440 sq km
land: 472,710 sq km
water: 2,730 sq km

Climate

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

Natural resources

petroleum, bauxite, iron ore, timber, hydropower

People and Society

Population

30,135,732 (2023 est.)

Ethnic groups

Bamileke-Bamu 24.3%, Beti/Bassa, Mbam 21.6%, Biu-Mandara 14.6%, Arab-Choa/Hausa/Kanuri 11%, Adamawa-Ubangi, 9.8%, Grassfields 7.7%, Kako, Meka/Pygmy 3.3%, Cotier/Ngoe/Oroko 2.7%, Southwestern Bantu 0.7%, foreign/other ethnic group 4.5% (2018 est.)

Languages

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

Religions

Roman Catholic 38.3%, Protestant 25.5%, other Christian 6.9%, Muslim 24.4%, animist 2.2%, other 0.5%, none 2.2% (2018 est.)

Population growth rate

2.73% (2023 est.)

Government

Government type

presidential republic

Capital

name: Yaounde

Executive branch

chief of state: President Paul BIYA (since 6 November 1982)
head of government: Prime Minister Joseph Dion NGUTE (since 4 January 2019); Deputy Prime Minister Amadou ALI (since 2014)

Legislative branch

description: bicameral Parliament or Parlement consists of:
Senate or Senat (100 seats; 70 members indirectly elected by regional councils and 30 appointed by the president; members serve 5-year terms)
National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (180 seats; members directly elected in 49 single and multi-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 5-year terms)

Economy

Economic overview

largest CEMAC economy with many natural resources; recent political instability and terrorism reducing economic output; systemic corruption; poor property rights enforcement; increasing poverty in northern regions

Real GDP (purchasing power parity)

$100.648 billion (2021 est.)
$97.103 billion (2020 est.)
$96.852 billion (2019 est.)

Real GDP per capita

$3,700 (2021 est.)
$3,700 (2020 est.)
$3,800 (2019 est.)

Agricultural products

cassava, plantains, maize, oil palm fruit, taro, sugar cane, sorghum, tomatoes, bananas, vegetables

Industries

petroleum production and refining, aluminum production, food processing, light consumer goods, textiles, lumber, ship repair

Remittances

0.82% of GDP (2020 est.)
0.9% of GDP (2019 est.)
0.83% of GDP (2018 est.)

Exports

$7.449 billion (2021 est.)
$6.124 billion (2020 est.)
$7.731 billion (2019 est.)

Exports - partners

China 17%, Netherlands 14%, Italy 9%, United Arab Emirates 8%, India 7%, United States 6%, Belgium 6%, Spain 5%, France 5% (2019)

Exports - commodities

crude petroleum, natural gas, cocoa beans, lumber, gold, bananas (2021)

Imports

$9.027 billion (2021 est.)
$7.212 billion (2020 est.)
$9.085 billion (2019 est.)

Imports - partners

China 28%, Nigeria 15%, France 9%, Belgium 6% (2019)

Imports - commodities

crude petroleum, scrap vessels, rice, special purpose ships, packaged medicines (2019)

Exchange rates

Cooperation Financiere en Afrique Centrale francs (XAF) per US dollar -
Exchange rates:
554.531 (2021 est.)
575.586 (2020 est.)
585.911 (2019 est.)
555.446 (2018 est.)
580.657 (2017 est.)


Page last updated: Wednesday, December 06, 2023