Simple directory > Regional > Cameroon

Country : Cameroon Official name: République du Cameroun (Republic of Cameroon) Head of State: President Paul Biya (since 1982; last re-elected 11 Oct 2004) Head of government: Prime Minister Ephraïm Inoni (appointed by the President 8 Dec 2004) Ruling party: Coalition: Rassemblement Démocratique du Peuple Camerounais (RDPC) (Cameroon People's Democratic Rally) and Union Nationale pour la Démocratie et le Progrès (UNDP) (National Union for Democracy and Progress) Area: 475,442 square km Population: 16.79 million (2004) Capital: Yaoundé Official language: French, English Currency: CFA franc (CFAf) = 100 centimes (Communauté Financière Africaine (African Financial Community) franc) Exchange rate: CFAf507.21 per US$ (Nov 2004); CFAf655.95 per euro (pegged from Jan 1999) GDP per capita: US$841 (2003) GDP real growth: 4.20% (2003) Unemployment: 30.00% (2003) Inflation: 2.80% (2003) Oil production: 68,000 bpd (2003) Balance of trade: US$116.00 million (2003) Foreign debt: US$8.49 billion (2003)

Historical profile

1470s Portuguese mariners arrived and gave Cameroon its name. Having found what they thought to be shrimps ('camaroes') in the main river, they named it Rio dos Camaroes.

1884 Germany established the protectorate of Kamerun.

1916 The German governor was ousted by the Allies in the First World War.

The post-war League of Nations gave mandates for four-fifths of the territory to France, and the remainder to Britain. After the Second World War the League of Nations mandates were converted to United Nations (UN) trust territories.

1960 French East Cameroon gained its independence.

1961 British West Cameroon gained its independence.

1972 A unified state was formed, with the Union Nationale Camerounaise (UNC) (Cameroonian National Union) dominating both the executive and legislative branches.

1982 Prime Minister Paul Biya became president after the resignation of President Ahidjo.

1985 Biya renamed the ruling party the Rassemblement Démocratique du Peuple Camerounais (RDPC) (Cameroon People's Democratic Rally), and introduced a number of political reforms which were largely viewed as cosmetic.

1990 A multi-party political system was legalised. Although this change marked the gradual opening of the Cameroonian political system, subsequent elections were marred by irregularities and accusations of electoral fraud.

1997 President Paul Biya was re-elected. The elections were boycotted by the three main opposition parties after their complaints about the handling of voter registration were ignored, allowing Biya to win with 92 per cent of the vote.

1999 English-speaking secessionists, led by the Southern Cameroon National Council (SCNC), announced a breakaway republic in the south, the Federal Republic of Southern Cameroon.

2001 Demonstrations calling for decentralisation of power were banned and several southern Cameroon separatists were killed.

2002 The ruling RDPC increased its number of seats in the legislative elections. The International Court of Justice gave sovereignty of the potentially oil-rich Bakassi Peninsula, claimed by Cameroon and Nigeria, to Cameroon.

2003 On 19 March, Cameroon's communication minister ordered the closure of a private radio station, Magic FM, for running programmes critical of the government.

2004 In June, President Paul Biya returned from a private stay in Europe in good health, dispelling rumours of his death. He was re-elected in the 11 October presidential elections. On 8 December, the President appointed a new government with Ephraïm Inoni as prime minister.

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