Cameroon

World Book Index

Introduction

Background
Cameroon resulted from the merger of former French Cameroon and British Cameroon in the early 1960s. The country has generally enjoyed stability, permitting the development of agriculture, roads, railways, and a petroleum industry.

Geography

Area
total : 475,440 sq km
land: 472,710 sq km
water: 2,730 sq km

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

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

People and Society

Population
total: 30,966,105 (2024 est.)

Ethnic groups
Bamileke-Bamu 22.2%, Biu-Mandara 16.4%, Arab-Choa/Hausa/Kanuri 13.5%, Beti/Bassa, Mbam 13.1%, Grassfields 9.9%, Adamawa-Ubangi, 9.8%, Cotier/Ngoe/Oroko 4.6%, Southwestern Bantu 4.3%, Kako/Meka 2.3%, foreign/other ethnic group 3.8% (2022 est.)

Languages
24 major African language groups, English (official), French (official)

Religions
Roman Catholic 33.1%, Muslim 30.6%, Protestant 27.1% other Christian 6.1%, animist 1.3%, other 0.7%, none 1.2% (2022 est.)

Population growth rate
2.71% (2024 est.)

Government

Government type
presidential republic

Capital
name: Yaounde

Executive branch
chief of state: President Paul BIYA (since 6 November 1982)
head of government: Prime Minister Joseph NGUTE (since 4 January 2019)

Diplomatic representation in the US
chief of mission: Ambassador Henri ETOUNDI ESSOMBA (since 27 June 2016)

Diplomatic representation from the US
chief of mission: Ambassador Christopher J. LAMORA (since 21 March 2022)

Economy

Economic overview
largest CEMAC economy with many natural resources; recent political instability and terrorism reducing economic output; systemic corruption; poor property rights enforcement; increasing poverty in northern regions

Real GDP (purchasing power parity)
$143.264 billion (2024 est.)
$138.191 billion (2023 est.)
$133.843 billion (2022 est.)

Real GDP per capita
$4,900 (2024 est.)
$4,900 (2023 est.)
$4,800 (2022 est.)

Exports
$8.353 billion (2023 est.)
$8.641 billion (2022 est.)
$7.447 billion (2021 est.)

Exports - partners
Netherlands 21%, France 14%, UAE 13%, India 9%, China 8% (2023)

Exports - commodities
crude petroleum, natural gas, gold, cocoa beans, wood (2023)

Imports
$10.294 billion (2023 est.)
$9.759 billion (2022 est.)
$9.025 billion (2021 est.)

Imports - partners
China 43%, France 6%, India 6%, Belgium 4%, UAE 4% (2023)

Imports - commodities
garments, refined petroleum, plastic products, wheat, rice (2023)

Human Development Index

The country's Human Development Index (HDI) is 0.588, ranking it 155th out of 193 countries tested. (more information)

World Happiness Report

The World Happiness Report ranked the country 114th out of 158 countries tested with a score of 4.657. (more information)