Countries of the World/COUNTRYS.BIN/dp/0070/00700.txt

Text File | 1991-06-24 | 11KB | 226 lines

$Unique_ID{COW00700}
$Pretitle{366}
$Title{Cameroon
Front Matter}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Harold D. Nelson}
$Affiliation{HQ, Department of the Army}
$Subject{cameroon
united
french
national
african
area
country
system
central
cfaf}
$Date{1974}
$Log{Figure 1.*0070001.scf
}
Country:     Cameroon
Book:        Area Handbook for the United Republic of Cameroon
Author:      Harold D. Nelson
Affiliation: HQ, Department of the Army
Date:        1974

Front Matter

Authors:
Margarita Dobert, Gordon C. McDonald, James McLaughlin, Barbara Marvin, Philip
W. Moeller

Foreword

     This volume is one of a series of handbooks prepared by Foreign Area
Studies (FAS) of The American University, designed to be useful to military
and other personnel who need a convenient compilation of basic facts about
the social, economic, political, and military institutions and practices of
various countries. The emphasis is on objective description of the nation's
present society and the kinds of possible or probable changes that might be
expected in the future. The handbook seeks to present as full and as balanced
an integrated exposition as limitations on space and research time permit. It
was compiled from information available in openly published material. An
extensive bibliography is provided to permit recourse to other published
sources for more detailed information. There has been no attempt to express
any specific point of view or to make policy recommendations. The contents of
the handbook represent the work of the authors and FAS and do not represent
the official view of the United States government.

     An effort has been made to make the handbook as comprehensive as
possible. It can be expected, however, that the material, interpretations,
and conclusions are subject to modification in the light of new information
and developments. Such corrections, additions, and suggestions for factual,
interpretive, or other change as readers may have will be welcomed for use in
future revisions. Comments may be addressed to:

The Director
Foreign Area Studies
The American University
5010 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20016

Preface

     Independent since January 1, 1960, Cameroon is the only country in all of
Africa that was formed by the union of French and British colonial
territories. Despite great ethnic and cultural diversity and an ongoing
conflict of old and new perspectives and ways of life, Cameroonians are
striving to build a unified nation-state.

     The Area Handbook for the United Republic of Cameroon seeks to provide a
compact and objective exposition of the dominant social, political, and
economic aspects of Cameroonian society. It is designed to give the reader an
understanding of the forces operating within a developing country that hopes
to serve as a bridge between French-speaking and English-speaking Africa.
There remain, however, a number of gaps in information on certain subjects to
which the reader's attention has been called. Most of these have resulted from
a general scarcity of available source materials.

     The spelling of place names and proper names follows the usage of the
United States Board on Geographic Names in its gazetteer published in 1962 and
the supplement published in August 1972. The metric system has been used for
tonnages, unless otherwise noted. Conversion factors for Cameroonian currency
appear in the Glossary, which is included as an appendix for the reader's
convenience. English spelling follows Webster's Seventh New Collegiate
Dictionary.

     The authors wish to thank those persons in various governmental and
international organizations who gave of their time, documents, and special
knowledge of the country to help improve the work. Chapter 7, Education and
the Arts and Sciences, was prepared by Janet I. Ritchie.

Country Summary

     1. COUNTRY: Full name, United Republic of Cameroon; short form, Cameroon;
former United Nations trust territory of French Cameroun and southern part of
trust territory of British Cameroons; date of independence, January 1, 1960;
capital, Yaounde.

     2. SIZE: 183,500 square miles; maximum north-south length, 700 miles;
east-west, 450 miles.

     3. TOPOGRAPHY: Four natural regions: northern plains, central and
southern plateaus, western highlands and mountains, and coastal plains along
Gulf of Guinea.

     4. CLIMATE: Subarid and hot in northern plains area, with seven-month
dry season; central plateaus and western highlands are slightly cooler because
of elevation and have much shorter dry season, shading into year-round
rainfall in southwest; coastal lowlands monotonously warm and humid throughout
the year.

     5. POPULATION: 6.1 million estimated in 1973. Heaviest concentrations in
southwest and in Maroua-Garoua area of Northern Province. Densities per square
mile ranged from less than fifteen in Eastern Province to 194 in Western
Province. Rapid urbanization, with about 25 percent in urban areas in 1973.
Approximately 200 ethnic groups.

     6. LANGUAGES: Twenty-four major languages and numerous dialects; official
languages are French and English; French is dominant in government, commerce,
and mass media.

     7. RELIGION: Muslims predominate in north, Christians in south; about
half of the population adheres to indigenous beliefs and practices.

     8. EDUCATION: Between 65 and 70 percent of school-age population in
primary and secondary schools. In former West Cameroon most schools are
private institutions; in former East Cameroon majority are public
institutions, and private schools are decreasing. New integrated educational
system being started throughout country to serve needs of national development
and unity. Educational advancement limited by shortage of qualified teachers.
Increasing number of graduates from University of Cameroon. Literacy rate
estimated at about 15 percent for total population; lowest rates in northern
area.

     9. HEALTH: Fairly high incidence of disease reflects nutritionally
inadequate diets, insufficient medical care, and poor sanitation practices.
Endemic diseases include malaria, various parasitic infestations, and
kwashiorkor. Malaria and tuberculosis are chief health problems. Health
services are capable of coping with major epidemics and providing fairly good
modern medical care in southern urban centers, but only limited care available
elsewhere.

     10. GOVERNMENT: Unitary national government with highly centralized
administration. All seats in unicameral national assembly, which has little
real power, held by members of a single unified party led by President Ahmadou
Ahidjo. Most authority vested in president.

     11. JUSTICE: Independent judiciary and considerable protection for civil
rights provided by constitution. Court system in 1973 not yet reorganized;
was still divided along lines of earlier federal administrative structure.
Courts of former West Cameroon functioned under British system; those in
former East Cameroon functioned according to French tradition; both applied
national codes but used different legal procedures. Both systems had three
levels of courts; highest level was single national Supreme Court, which heard
final appeals and had limited responsibilities for ensuring constitutionally
of legislation.

     12. ECONOMY: One of most advanced in Black Africa. Small-scale crop
production for subsistence and export predominates; modern sector, including
manufacturing, grew rapidly in 1960s, provided half of gross domestic product
(GDP) in 1970. Dependence on France declining, but economy still vulnerable to
trends in industrial countries.

     13. PRINCIPAL EXPORTS: Cocoa beans and cocoa products, coffee, logs,
aluminum, cotton, rubber, bananas, palm products, groundnuts (peanuts).

     14. PRINCIPAL IMPORTS: Machinery and transport equipment; intermediate
goods for industry.

     15. CURRENCY: Uses African Financial Community franc (Communaute
Financiere Africaine franc - CFAF) tied to French franc (CFAF 50 equal 1 French
fran