Cameroon
Click to enlarge
Countries
- Benin
- Burkina Faso
- Burundi
- Cameroon
- Central African Republic
- Congo Brazza
- Democratic Republic of Congo
- Equatorial Guinea
- Gabon
- Guinea
- Ivory Coast
- Mali
- Niger
- Rwanda
- Senegal
- Togo
Other Regions
Cameroon is located in Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria. The capital is Yaounde. Population was estimated at 15.7 million in 2003, and is growing at a rate of 2.02 percent. Population estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS. The official languages of Cameroon are English and French, but 24 other major African languages are spoken as well.
Because of its oil resources and favorable agricultural conditions, Cameroon has one of the best-endowed primary commodity economies in sub-Saharan Africa. Still, it faces many of the serious problems facing other underdeveloped countries, such as a top-heavy civil service and a generally unfavorable climate for business enterprise. Since 1990, the government has embarked on various IMF and World Bank programs designed to spur business investment, increase efficiency in agriculture, improve trade, and recapitalize the nation's banks. In June 2000, the government completed an IMF-sponsored, three-year structural adjustment program; however, the IMF is pressing for more reforms, including increased budget transparency, privatization, and poverty reduction programs.
Publications
Organisations
- SOS Children
- United Action for Children
- Assistance and International Action
- OFACA (Organisation for the Fight against Child Abuse)