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The modern state of Cameroon was created in 1961 by the unification of two former colonies, one British and one French. Since then it has struggled from one-party rule to a multi-party system in which the freedom of expression is severely limited.
Overview
Cameroon began its independence with a bloody insurrection which was suppressed only with the help of French forces. There followed 20 years of repressive government under President Ahmadou Ahidjo. Nonetheless, Cameroon saw investment in agriculture, education, health care and transport. In 1982 Mr Ahidjo was succeeded by his prime minister, Paul Biya. Faced with popular discontent, Mr Biya allowed multi-party presidential elections in 1992, which he won.
Bakassi handover followed years of bitter feuding with Nigeria
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In 1994 and 1996 Cameroon and Nigeria fought over the disputed, oil-rich Bakassi peninsula. Nigeria withdrew its troops from the area in 2006 in line with an international court ruling which awarded sovereignty to Cameroon. In November 2007 the Nigerian senate passed a motion declaring as illegal the Nigeria-Cameroon agreement for the Bakassi Peninsula to be handed over to Cameroon. Internally, there are tensions over the two mainly English-speaking southern provinces. A secessionist movement, the Southern Cameroon National Council (SCNC), emerged in the 1990s and has been declared as illegal. Cameroon has one of the highest literacy rates in Africa. However, the country's progress is hampered by a level of corruption that is among the highest in the world. In 1986 Cameroon made the world headlines when poisonous gases escaped from Lake Nyos, killing nearly 2,000 people.
Facts
- Full name: Republic of Cameroon
- Population: 19.5 million (UN, 2009)
- Capital: Yaounde
- Area: 475,442 sq km (183,568 sq miles)
- Major languages: French, English, languages of Bantu, Semi-Bantu and Sudanic groups
- Major religions: Christianity, Islam, indigenous beliefs
- Life expectancy: 50 years (men), 52 years (women) (UN)
- Monetary unit: 1 CFA (Communaute Financiere Africaine) franc = 100 centimes
- Main exports: Crude oil and petroleum products, timber, cocoa, aluminium, coffee, cotton
- GNI per capita: US $1,150 (World Bank, 2008)
- Internet domain: .cm
- International dialling code: +237
Leaders
President: Paul Biya Cameroon's parliament in April 2008 passed a controversial amendment to the constitution enabling President Paul Biya to run for a third term of office in 2011. The veteran politician - who has ruled the country since 1982 - won a new seven-year term in presidential elections in October 2004. Commonwealth observers accepted the result, but said the poll lacked credibility in key areas. Opposition parties alleged widespread fraud.
Paul Biya, president since 1982
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Mr Biya won multi-party polls in 1992 and 1997. The latter were boycotted by the three main opposition parties. Before becoming president, Mr Biya spent his entire political career in the service of President Ahmadou Ahidjo, becoming prime minister in 1975. With Mr Ahidjo's resignation in 1982 he assumed the leadership and set about replacing his predecessor's northern allies with fellow southerners. In 1983 he accused Mr Ahidjo of organising a coup against him, forcing the former president to flee the country. Born in 1933, Paul Biya was educated in Cameroon and France, where he studied law at the Sorbonne.
Media
The government tightly controls the broadcast media. State-run CRTV operates national TV and radio networks and provincial radio stations. State TV's monopoly was broken with the arrival in 2001 of TV Max, Cameroon's first private TV station. Dozens of private radio stations sprang up following a liberalisation of telecommunications in 2000. Newspapers - the public's main source of news - are subject to considerable official restrictions. Tough libel legislation is in place. In 2006 the media rights body Reporters Without Borders noted that: "Draconian laws regularly put journalists behind bars." Secessionists in the mainly English-speaking southern provinces have used pirate radio broadcasts to spread their message. BBC programming in English, French and Hausa is available across much of the country via FM relays. The press
- Le Messager - privately-owned, Douala-based
- Cameroon Tribune - state-owned daily in French, English
- Mutations - privately-owned French-language daily
- The Herald - English-language
- The Post - private, English-language
- La Nouvelle Expression - private, French-language
Television Radio
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