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Country Commercial Guides for FY 2000: Cameroon Report prepared by U.S. Embassy Yaounde, released July 1999

CHAPTER X:   ECONOMIC AND TRADE STATISTICS

Cameroon's national income, price, balance of payments, trade and fiscal data became increasingly scant and unreliable in the late 1980s, as the country's data generation systems deteriorated steadily. With help and pressure from the IFIs, the situation is improving, especially in the financial sector, and data reflected below comes from the IFIs and government sources.

APPENDIX A.   COUNTRY DATA

Population:  14.6 million (mid-1999 estimate)
Population growth rate:  3 percent (mid-1998 estimate)
Religions:  Animist (40 percent), Christian (40 percent), Muslim (20 percent)
Government System:  Independent republic, with a strong central government dominated by the President. Branches: Executive - president (head of state elected for a seven year term, renewable only once) and appointed prime minister (head of government). Legislative - unicameral National Assembly (180 members); a Senate and Regional Councils are called for under 1996 constitutional amendments which also create a framework for increased judicial independence. At present, the judiciary remains under the executive's Ministry of Justice, and the new legislative institutions remain unfulfilled. Administrative subdivisions: 10 provinces (to be renamed regions), 56 departments, 276 sub-prefectures.
Languages:  English and French (official), more than 250 indigenous African languages and dialects.

APPENDIX B.   DOMESTIC ECONOMY

(in millions of USD)			1997	  1998     1999 (proj)
GDP (in millions of USD)		9,251.9	 9,206.4    9,326.1
GDP at constant prices growth rate	5%	 4.4%	    4.8%
GDP per capita				677	 628.4      618.5
GNP per capita				559	 583.8	    606
Government Spending (% of GDP)		15.9	 19.1	    19.4
Inflation rate (percent)		4.0%	 5.7%	    2%
Unemployment (estimate)			8%  	 8%	    8%
Foreign Exchange Reserves 
   (in billions of USD) 		2.45	 2.92	    N/A
Average exchange rate ($1/CFA)		507	 587.2	    620.3
Debt Service Ratio of GDP		N/A	 124%	    N/A
Foreign Debt (in millions of USD )	9,323	 9,048	    9,152
Debt outstanding/Exports		416.5%	 358.8%	    312.3%
Debt outstanding/GDP			100.8%	 87.5%	    79.1%
Debt Paid/Exports			38.7% 	 22.2%	    22.2%
U.S. Military Assistance		0.09	 0.10	    0.125

APPENDIX C.   TRADE

  
(in millions of USD)			1997	1998	     1999
Total Country Exports 
  (Cameroon FY-July to June)		1,761	2,244.4	     2,361.8
Total Country Imports 
   (Cameroon FY-July to June)		1,201	1,347	     1,376
U.S. Exports (Calendar Year)		122.0	75.1	     N/A
U.S. Imports (Calendar Year)	 	57.1	57.3	     N/A

APPENDIX D.   INVESTMENT STATISTICS

Data on Direct Foreign Investment is not available in Cameroon. The Embassy has no statistics on Cameroonian direct investment abroad. Given the importance of the informal sector in the Cameroonian economy and of the tentativeness of statistics, data in this CCG should be used judiciously.