Yearbook 2010
Cameroon. Since Cameroon took over the Bakassi Peninsula from Nigeria with UN support in 2008, the area has been problematic. During the year, pirates conducted several raids against vessels and kidnapped crew members with demands for ransom. A previously unknown group called themselves Africa Marine Commando (AMC) in March robbed seven Chinese sailors. They were released five days later by the army, after unclear information that money had been handed over to the kidnappers. In September, four Ukrainians, a Filipino and a Croat were held hostage for almost three weeks, and in November six people were killed when the AMC attacked an oil platform.
According to COUNTRYAAH, Cameroon has a population of 25.22 million (2018). The AMC was described as an offshoot of the Bakassi Freedom Fighters, who have given up the fight for peninsula independence. According to softwareleverage, the kidnappings were said to have become a new source of income for criminal groups who had previously depended on arms smuggling, while Cameroon and Nigeria still both claimed the right to the peninsula.
Demography and economic geography. – West African state, in the heart of Guinea. With literacy at 75% and life expectancy at birth of 55 years, the population of Cameroon (17,463,836 in the 2005 census; 22,818,632 residents, According to an estimate by UNDESA, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, of 2014), made up of 200-300 groups (including Fang, Bamileke, Peul, Duala, Pygmies) is among the most affected by HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), with about 600,000 infected people, 4.3 % of adults, according to 2013 data provided by UNAIDS (United Nations Program on HIV and AIDS). The urban population (54%) is mainly distributed in the capital, Yaoundé (2,930,000 residents, according to an estimate of 2014), and to Douala (2,838,000 residents). Driven by the tertiary sector (46.6% of GDP) and supported by resources such as oil, gas, bauxite, precious woods and products such as palm oil, peanuts, coffee and cocoa, the economy grows by 4-5%, for a GDP per capita at purchasing power parity (PPA) of $ 2982 in 2014. Corruption and poverty (which includes 40% of the residents, especially in the North; 152nd place in the Human Development Index) remain important.
- Abbreviation Finder: Check to see how the two letter abbreviation of CM stands for the country of Cameroon in geography.
History – The political scene of Cameroon continued to be dominated by President Paul Biya, in office since 1982, and by his party, the Rassemblement démocratique du peuple camerounais (DPRK), strongly rooted in the administrative and economic system of the country, one of the most corrupt of the continent. The opposition forces, penalized by the widespread control of the media exercised by the government, they remained relegated to the margins of political life, also weakened by the lack of agreement on a common project. Despite international aid, the economy failed to take off and the internal situation remained extremely precarious, fueling widespread discontent. In 2008, a wave of strikes against the rise in the price of petrol and basic necessities paralyzed the country and was severely repressed by the government. In the same year Biya amended the Constitution to remove the limits to the presidential mandate and, having reapplied to the elections in October 2011, he obtained a new seven-year post with 78% of the votes. The protests of the oppositions that contested the regularity of the vote were of no avail. In 2013, as a sign of openness, the government decided to establish the Senate, provided for by the Constitution, but never took office, and in September he called new legislative and administrative elections which ended, however, once again with the victory of the DPRK. In the international field, Cameroon maintained a privileged relationship with France, on which it depended on the economic level, but over the years it also strengthened relations with the European Union (EU), ratifying in 2014 a new economic partnership agreement with it., and with China. On a regional level, relations improved with Niger, with which an agreement was signed in 2013 for the passage of crude oil, and with Nigeria, although in 2012 the latter again questioned whether it belonged to the Cameroon of the peninsula of Bakassi, located on the border between the two countries and very rich in oil and gas, membership decreed by the International Court of Justice in 2002 and recognized by Nigeria itself in 2008. The serious political instability and wars affecting some neighboring nations, such as Chad, Mali and the Central African Republic. A particular danger, for the security of the state and of the entire area, was represented by the militants of the terrorist group Boko Haram, who have infiltrated the north of the country several times. Numerous civilians and aid workers were kidnapped for ransom. During 2014, the situation at the borders worsened further: not only did the attacks of Boko Haram intensify, but there were also incursions by Central African rebels.