reform, political power remains firmly in the hands
of an ethnic oligarchy.

Geography Cameroon

Location: Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between
Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria

Geographic coordinates: 6 00 N, 12 00 E

Map references: Africa

Area: total: 475,440 sq km water: 6,000 sq km land: 469,440 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly larger than California

Land boundaries: total: 4,591 km border countries: Central African
Republic 797 km, Chad 1,094 km, Republic of the Congo 523 km, Equatorial
Guinea 189 km, Gabon 298 km, Nigeria 1,690 km

Coastline: 402 km

Maritime claims: territorial sea: 50 NM

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

Terrain: diverse, with coastal plain in southwest, dissected plateau
in center, mountains in west, plains in north

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point:
Fako (on Cameroon Mountain) 4,095 m

Natural resources: petroleum, bauxite, iron ore, timber, hydropower

Land use: arable land: 13% permanent crops: 3% other: 84% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land: 330 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards: volcanic activity with periodic releases of poisonous
gases from Lake Nyos and Lake Monoun volcanoes

Environment - current issues: water-borne diseases are prevalent;
deforestation; overgrazing; desertification; poaching; overfishing

Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate
Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of
the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94
signed, but not ratified: Nuclear Test Ban

Geography - note: sometimes referred to as the hinge of Africa;
throughout the country there are areas of thermal springs and indications
of current or prior volcanic activity; Mount Cameroon, the highest
mountain in Sub-Saharan west Africa, is an active volcano

People Cameroon

Population: 16,184,748 note: estimates for this country explicitly take
into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result
in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower
population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population
by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2002 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 42.1% (male 3,443,505; female 3,367,571)
15-64 years: 54.5% (male 4,431,524; female 4,392,155) 65 years and over:
3.4% (male