The Republic of Cameroon is a Central African nation divided into ten provinces with its capital in Yaounde. It has an area of 475,440 square kilometers, slightly larger than the state of California. Cameroon is bordered by Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo and Equatorial Guinea. Cameroon's terrain is diverse, with coastal plain in the southwest, a plateau in the center, mountains in the west, and plains in the north. The climate varies with the terrain, from tropical along the coast to semiarid and hot in the north. Cameroon has a population of just over 15 million (1998) and is growing at a rate of 2.81% annually. Cameroonians have a life expectancy at birth of 51 years. The literacy rate is 63%. Thirty-one percent of the population is of the Cameroon Highlander ethnic grouping, 19% are Equatorial Bantu, 11% are Kirdi, 10% are Fulani, 28% are of other African ethnicities and 1% are of non-African ethnicities. Fifty-one percent of the population ascribes to indigenous faiths, while 33% is Christian and 16% is Muslim. The official languages of Cameroon are French and English, and 24 major African languages are also spoken. The nation is a multiparty unitary republic which gained its independence 1 January 1960 from the French and is currently under the leadership of President Paul Biya and Prime Minister Peter Mafany Musonge. The unit of currency in Cameroon is the Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (CFA). The unicameral legislative branch is called the Assemblee Nationale and consists of 180 popularly elected seats. The major political party, and the only one until opposition parties were legalized in 1990, is the Cameroon People's Democratic Movement or CPDM. Opposition parties include the Cameroonian Democratic Union, the Movement for the Defense of the Republic, the Movement for the Youth of Cameroon, the National Union for Democracy and Progress, the Social Democratic Front, the Union of Cameroonian Populations, and the Union of Cameroonian Democratic Forces. CIA World Factbook: Cameroon Summary of history, culture and business of Cameroon Searchable Cameroon links page Africa Data Dissemination Service Cameroon page Wo Yaa! Cameroon links and search engine (African equivalent of Yahoo) University of Pennsylvania's Cameroon Page Camnet (the Cameroon Internet service provider with links on culture, news and politics in French) Index on Africa (series of links in all areas of interest) <<...>> News and Media Isaha'a Boh Cameroon News in both English and French Africa News Online Cameroon page Washington Post Online Cameroon Page Committee to Protect Journalists (advocates press freedom and journalistic rights in Cameroon) Intelcam (Cameroonian communications network) (In French) <../../asia/regions/westhemi/sample_country.htm> <<...>> Economics World Bank Cameroon page (provides a summary of the nation's development progress, statistical data and a searchable news database) Cameroon Chamber of Commerce Mbendi Cameroon page (business and financial data) <../../asia/regions/westhemi/sample_country.htm> <<...>> Politics Official Website of the Government of Cameroon and the President (in French and English) Another website claiming to be the Official Cameroon Government Homepage (it has a recording of the national anthem) Political Resources on the Net: Cameroon (Collection of links to political Cameroonian web sites and news articles) Amnesty International's page on Cameroon "For the Record 1998" UN Human Rights Report on Cameroon Democratization and Ethnic Rivalries in Cameroon (Articles on ethnic and political issues facing the country) (In French) <<...>> Society and Culture Ethnologue database (details ethnic groups and languages of Cameroon) Cameroon music Official website of Cameroon Football Association (includes local results, contacts, and national team players profiles) (in French and English) Cameroon literature page with special emphasis on women's literature The North Carolina Zoo's project to track and save the elephants of Cameroon (Includes information about elephants and general Cameroon information, has an audio and video information as well) HealthNet page for Cameroon (health and development statistics) The Virtual Institute of Mambila Studies (Internet forum for discussion of research regarding the Mambila people of the Cameroon/Nigeria border) <<...>> History <../../asia/regions/westhemi/sample_country.htm> Mama for Story (articles on ethnicity and history in Cameroon) <<...>> U.S. Foreign Policy INTERNET SITES gopher://gopher.state.gov:70/00ftp%3ADOSFan%3AGopher%3A03%20Publications%20- %20Major%20Reports%3ABackground%20Notes%20Series%3AAfrica%3ACameroon%2C%2019 96 U.S. Department of State Background Notes: Cameroon, March 1996 http://www.state.gov/www/global/human_rights/1999_hrp_report/cameroon.html U.S. Department of State Cameroon Country Report on Human Rights Practices for 1999 Cameroon Consular Information Sheet USAID in Cameroon INTRANET SITES Open-Net site for the Consular Information Page. Includes a country description, entry requirements, medical facilities, information on crime, and embassy locations. This site describes briefly the principal US interests, goals, and strategies, and performance evaluation for Cameroon. <<...>>