of the oil sector led rapid
economic growth between 1970 and 1985. Growth came to an abrupt halt in 1986
precipitated by steep declines in the prices of major exports: coffee,
cocoa, and petroleum. Export earnings were cut by almost one-third, and
inefficiencies in fiscal management were exposed. In 1990-92, with support
from the IMF and World Bank, the government has begun to introduce reforms
designed to spur business investment, increase efficiency in agriculture,
and recapitalize the nation's banks. Nationwide strikes organized by
opposition parties in 1991, however, undermined these efforts.
GDP:
exchange rate conversion - $11.5 billion, per capita $1,040; real growth
rate 0.7% (1990 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
8.6% (FY88)
Unemployment rate:
25% (1990 est.)
Budget:
revenues $1.2 billion; expenditures $1.8 billion, including capital
expenditures of $NA million (FY89)
Exports:
$2.1 billion (f.o.b., 1990 est.)
commodities:
petroleum products 56%, coffee, cocoa, timber, manufactures
partners:
EC (particularly France) about 50%, US 10%
Imports:
$2.1 billion (c.i.f., 1990 est.)
commodities:
machines and electrical equipment, transport equipment, chemical products,
consumer goods
partners:
France 41%, Germany 9%, US 4%
External debt:
$4.9 billion (December 1989 est.)
Industrial production:
growth rate - 6.4% (FY87); accounts for 30% of GDP
Electricity:
755,000 kW capacity; 2,940 million kWh produced, 270 kWh per capita (1991)
Industries:
crude oil products, food processing, light consumer goods, textiles,
sawmills
Agriculture:
the agriculture and forestry sectors provide employment for the majority of
the population, contributing nearly 25% to GDP and providing a high degree
of self-sufficiency in staple foods; commercial and food crops include
coffee, cocoa, timber, cotton, rubber, bananas, oilseed, grains, livestock,
root starches
Economic aid:
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $440 million; Western (non-US)
countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $4.5 billion; OPEC
bilateral aid (1979-89), $29 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $125
million

:Cameroon Economy

Currency:
Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (plural - francs); 1 CFA franc (CFAF)
= 100 centimes
Exchange rates:
Communaute Financiere A