The 1992 CIA World Factbook. United States. Central Intelligence Agency

Currency:

       riel (plural - riels); 1 riel (CR) = 100 sen

       Exchange rates:

       riels (CR) per US$1 - 714 (May 1992), 500 (December 1991), 560 (1990),

       159.00 (1988), 100.00 (1987)

       Fiscal year:

       calendar year

      :Cambodia Communications

      Railroads:

       612 km 1.000-meter gauge, government owned

       Highways:

       13,351 km total; 2,622 km bituminous; 7,105 km crushed stone, gravel, or

       improved earth; 3,624 km unimproved earth; some roads in disrepair

       Inland waterways:

       3,700 km navigable all year to craft drawing 0.6 meters; 282 km navigable to

       craft drawing 1.8 meters

       Ports:

       Kampong Saom, Phnom Penh

       Airports:

       16 total, 8 usable; 5 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over

       3,659 m; 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 4 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

       Telecommunications:

       service barely adequate for government requirements and virtually

       nonexistent for general public; international service limited to Vietnam and

       other adjacent countries; broadcast stations - 1 AM, no FM, 1 TV

      :Cambodia Defense Forces

      Branches:

       SOC - Cambodian People's Armed Forces (CPAF); Communist resistance forces -

       National Army of Democratic Kampuchea (Khmer Rouge); non-Communist

       resistance forces - Armee National Kampuchea Independent (ANKI), which is

       sometimes anglicized as National Army of Independent Cambodia (NAIC), and

       Khmer People's National Liberation Armed Forces (KPNLAF) - under the Paris

       peace agreement of October 1991, all four factions are to observe a

       cease-fire and prepare for UN-supervised cantonment, disarmament, and 70%

       demobilization before the election, with the fate of the remaining 30% to be

       determined by the newly elected government - the United Nations Transitional

       Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) will verify the cease-fire and disarm the

       combatants

       Manpower availability:

       males 15-49, 1,877,339; 1,032,102 fit for military service; 61,807 reach

       military age (18) annually

       Defense expenditures:

       exchange rate conversion - $NA, NA% of GDP

      :Cameroon Geography

      Total area:

       475,440 km2

       Land area:

       469,440 km2

       Comparative area:

       slightly larger than California

       Land boundaries:

       4,591 km; Central African Republic 797 km, Chad 1,094 km, Congo 523 km,

       Equatorial Guinea 189 km, Gabon 298 km, Nigeria 1,690 km

       Coastline:

       402 km

       Maritime claims:

       Territorial sea:

       50 nm

       Disputes:

       demarcation of international boundaries in Lake Chad, the lack of which has

       led to border incidents in the past, is completed and awaiting ratification

       by Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria; boundary commission created with

       Nigeria to discuss unresolved land and maritime boundaries - has not yet

       convened

       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

       Natural resources:

       crude oil, bauxite, iron ore, timber, hydropower potential

       Land use:

       arable land 13%; permanent crops 2%; meadows and pastures 18%; forest and

       woodland 54%; other 13%; includes irrigated NEGL%

       Environment:

       recent volcanic activity with release of poisonous gases; deforestation;

       overgrazing; desertification

       Note:

       sometimes referred to as the hinge of Africa

      :Cameroon People

      Population:

       12,658,439 (July 1992), growth rate 3.3% (1992)

       Birth rate:

       44 births/1,000 population (1992)

       Death rate:

       11 deaths/1,000 population (1992)

       Net migration rate:

       0 migrants/1,000 population (1992)

       Infant mortality rate:

       81 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)

       Life expectancy at birth:

       55 years male, 60 years female (1992)

       Total fertility rate:

       6.4 children born/woman (1992)

       Nationality:

       noun - Cameroonian(s); adjective - Cameroonian

       Ethnic divisions:

       over 200 tribes of widely differing background; Cameroon Highlanders 31%,

       Equatorial Bantu 19%, Kirdi 11%, Fulani 10%, Northwestern Bantu 8%, Eastern

       Nigritic 7%, other African 13%, non-African less than 1%

       Religions:

       indigenous beliefs 51%, Christian 33%, Muslim 16%

       Languages:

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

       Literacy:

       54% (male 66%, female 43%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)

       Labor force:

       NA; agriculture 74.4%, industry and transport 11.4%, other services 14.2%

       (1983); 50% of population of working age (15-64 years) (1985)

       Organized labor:

       under 45% of wage labor force

      :Cameroon Government

      Long-form name:

       Republic of Cameroon

       Type:

       unitary republic; multiparty presidential regime (opposition parties

       legalized 1990)

       Capital:

       Yaounde

       Administrative divisions:

       10 provinces; Adamaoua, Centre, Est, Extreme-Nord, Littoral, Nord,

       Nord-Ouest, Ouest, Sud, Sud-Ouest

       Independence:

       1 January 1960 (from UN trusteeship under French administration; formerly