The Republic of Cameroon (0)

The Republic of Cameroon
Cameroon
· A unitary republic of central and western Africa
· Bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast;
the Central African Republic to the east; and
Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the
Congo to the south.
· Cameroon's coastline lies on the Bight of Bonny, part
of the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean.
· The country is called "Africa in miniature" for its
geological and cultural diversity.
History
· The territory of present day Cameroon was first settled
during the Neolithic
· Portuguese sailors reached the coast in 1472
· The German Empire claimed the territory as the colony of
Kamerun in 1884 and began a steady push inland.
· An economic crisis took effect in the mid-1980s to late
1990s as a result of international economic conditions,
drought, falling petroleum prices, and years of corruption,
mismanagement, and cronyism.
Politics and Government
· The President of Cameroon has broad, unilateral powers to
create policy, administer government agencies, command
the armed forces, negotiate and ratify treaties, and declare a
state of emergency
· The president appoints government officials at all levels,
from the prime minister (considered the official head of
government), to the provincial governors, divisional
officers, and urban-council members in large cities)
· Cameroon's legal system is largely based on French civil
law with common law influences
· The judiciary is officially divided into tribunals, the court
of appeal, and the supreme court.
Politics and Government
· Human rights organisations accuse police and military forces
of mistreating and even torturing criminal suspects, ethnic
minorities, homosexuals, and political activists
· The National Assembly makes legislation. The body consists of
180 members who are elected for five-year terms and meet
three times per year. Laws are passed on a majority vote.
Rarely has the assembly changed or blocked legislation
proposed by the president.
· President Paul Biya's Cameroon People's Democratic
Movement (CPDM) was the only legal political party until
December 1990. Numerous ethnic and regional political groups
have since formed
· The last parliamentary elections were held on 22 July 2007.
Education
· Most children have access to free, state-run schools or
private and religious facilities. The educational system is a
mixture of British and French precedentswith most
instruction in English or French.
· Seven state-run universities serve Cameroon's student
population. More than 60,000 students were enrolled for the
1998­1999 school year.
· Since 1990, private institutions have sprung up in at least
five regions. These schools charge fees that are five to ten
times those levied by state schools. Nevertheless, they offer
short professional-training programmes in areas such as
accounting, management, journalism, and Internet
technologies, so they are popular with students.
Health
· The quality of health care is generally low
· Outside the major cities, facilities are often dirty
and poorly equipped.
· Endemic diseases include dengue fever, filariasis,
leishmaniasis, malaria, meningitis,
schistosomiasis, and sleeping sickness
· The HIV/AIDS seroprevalencerate is estimated at
5.4% for those aged 15­49, although a strong
stigma against the illness keeps the number of
reported cases artificially low
Geography and climate
· At 475,442 square kilometers, Cameroon is the world's 53rd-largest
country.It is comparable in size to Papua New Guinea and
somewhat larger than the U.S. state of California
· Cameroon is divided into five major geographic zones distinguished
by dominant physical, climatic, and vegetative features. The coastal
plain extends 15 to 150 kilometerrs inland from the Gulf of Guinea
and has an average elevation of 90 meters
· An irregular chain of mountains, hills, and plateaus known as the
Cameroon range extends from Mount Cameroon on the coast--
Cameroon's highest point at 4,095 meters
· Cameroon has four patterns of drainage. In the south, the principal
rivers are the Ntem, Nyong, Sanaga, and Wouri.
· The Logone flows northward into Lake Chad, which Cameroon
shares with three neighbouring countries.
Economy and
Infrastructure
· Major export markets include France,
Italy, South Korea, Spain, and the
United Kingdom
· Cameroon is part of the Bank of
Central African States and the Customs
and Economic Union of Central Africa
(UDEAC). Its currency is the CFA
franc.
· Cameroon's natural resources are
better suited to agriculture and forestry
than to industry. An estimated 70% of
the population farms, and agriculture
comprised an estimated 45.2% of GDP
in 2006
· Inland on the South Cameroon
Plateau, cash crops include coffee,
sugar, and tobacco. Coffee is a major
cash crop in the western highlands, and
in the north, natural conditions favour
crops such as cotton, groundnuts, and
rice.
· Livestock are raised throughout the
country. Fishing employs some 5,000
people and provides 20,000 tons of
seafood each year.
Economy and infrastructure
· Transport in Cameroon is often difficult. Roads are
poorly maintained and subject to inclement weather,
since only 10% of the roadways are tarred.
· Rail service runs from Kumba in the west to Bélabo
in the east and north to Ngaoundéré. International
airports are located in Douala and Garoua with a
smaller facility at Y aoundé.
· The major radio and television stations are state-run,
and other communications, such as land-based
telephones and telegraphs, are largely under
government control
Religion
· The Christian community, makes up 40 percent of the
population. There is also 40 percent of the population
who maintain Indigenous beliefs, and Islam is practiced
by 20 percent of the country's population.
· Christians are concentrated chiefly in the southern and
western provinces and Muslims reside in large numbers
in every province. There is significant internal migration.
Large cities have significant populations of both groups,
with mosques and churches often located near each other.
Religion
·The Christian community, makes up
40 percent of the population. There is
also 40 percent of the population who
maintain Indigenous beliefs, and Islam
is practiced by 20 percent of the
country's population
· Christians are concentrated chiefly in
the southern and western provinces
and Muslims reside in large numbers
in every province. There is significant
internal migration. Large cities have
significant populations of both groups,
with mosques and churches often
located near each other.
Culture
· Each of Cameroon's ethnic groups has its own unique cultural forms. Typical
celebrations include births, deaths, plantings, harvests, and religious rituals
· Seven national holidays are observed throughout the year, and movable
holidays include the Christian holy days of Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Easter
Monday, and Ascension; and the Muslim holy days of 'Id al-Fitr, 'Id al-Adha,
and Eid Miladun Nabi.
· Music and dance are an integral part of Cameroonian ceremonies, festivals,
social gatherings, and storytelling. Traditional dances are highly choreographed
and separate men and women or forbid participation by one sex altogether.
· Cuisine varies by region, but a large, one-course, evening meal is common
throughout the country. A typical dish is based on cocoyams, maize, manioc,
millet, plantains, potatoes, rice, or yams, often pounded into dough-like fufu
(cous-cous)
· Traditional arts and crafts are practiced throughout the country for commercial,
decorative, and religious purposes. Woodcarvings and sculptures are especially
common
Culture
· National policy strongly advocates sport in all forms.
Traditional sports include canoe racing and wrestling, and
several hundred runners participate in the 40 km Mount
Cameroon Race of Hope each year
· Cameroon is one of the few tropical countries to have
competed in the Winter Olympics. However, sport in
Cameroon is dominated by association football (soccer)
· The Cameroon national football team has been one of the
most successful in the world since its strong showing in
the 1990 FIFA World Cup. Cameroon has won four
African Cup of Nations titles and the gold medal at the
2000 Olympics