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Cameroon: Economic and Political Outline
Economic Indicators | Foreign Trade in Figures | Sources of General Economic Information | Political Outline
With a population of 20 million inhabitants and a strategic geographical position on the Gulf of Guinea, which makes it the natural gateway into the landlocked countries and regions of Central Africa (Chad, Central African Republic and northern Congo), Cameroon is undoubtedly an influential country within the economic and monetary community of Central Africa.
The drilling in the offshore oil deposits, since the early 1970s, has made of Cameroon one of the most prosperous nation in tropical Africa; however, economic mismanagement and the overvaluation of the currency have led the country into recession during the last few years. The current account balance has been impaired, fiscal deficits have increased and the foreign debt has grown. The government has committed itself into a series of economic reform programs, supported by the World Bank and the IMF. However, Cameroon's public resources are still characterized by a strong dependence on its oil income, regardless of the fact that the country's oil production is diminishing. Furthermore, Cameroon is not yet able to attract enough foreign investment, mainly because of insufficient infrastructures and for having one of the highest levels of corruption in the world.
The international financial crisis has hit the Cameroonian economy bady, with sharp declines in export values of many productions. Growth has been over 3% in 2011 but the country remains at the bottom of the World Bank rankings on the business environment (161st out of 183) and it is experiencing an unemployment rate of 75% among young graduates. The International Monetary Fund intervened in both 2010 and 2011 to support the economy, providing a sum of EUR 106 million to help deal with the aftermath of the crisis. Strengthening the Cameroonian banking system is also necessary and will be among the development priorities for 2012.
| Main Indicators | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 (e) | 2013 (e) |
| GDP (billions USD) | 22.19 | 22.52 | 25.83e | 27.62 | 29.42 |
| GDP (Constant Prices, Annual % Change) | 2.0 | 3.2e | 3.8e | 4.5 | 4.8 |
| GDP per Capita (USD) | 1,114 | 1,103 | 1,234 | 1,287 | 1,338 |
| General Government Gross Debt (in % of GDP) | 10.6 | 12.1 | 14.5 | 14.7 | 15.0 |
| Inflation Rate (%) | 3.0 | 1.3e | 2.6 | 2.5 | 2.5 |
| Current Account (billions USD) | -0.83 | -0.63 | -0.98 | -0.92 | -0.94 |
| Current Account (in % of GDP) | -3.8 | -2.8 | -3.8e | -3.2 | - |
Source: IMF - World Economic Outlook Database ; World Bank , Last Available Data
Note: (e) Estimated Data
The primary sector contributes nearly 30 % to the GDP and employs approximately 50% of the active population. Before the initiation of the oil trade (which alone today represents 7.4% of the GDP), agriculture was the country's economic pillar. Cameroon remains one of the world's leading producers of certain foodstuffs, namely cocoa, coffee, bananas, palm products, tobacco, rubber and cotton. Fishing and forestry are two of the country's additional important activities. Cameroon's mineral resources include bauxite ore and iron.
The secondary sector accounts for aroun 20 % of the GDP. The country's main industries are food processing, sawmill, the manufacture of light consumer goods and textiles.
The tertiary sector accounts for nearly half of the GDP and it benefits from the economic activity created around large-scale energetic projects. The services sector is booming, driven by the sectors of telecommunications, air traffic and transport.
| Breakdown of Economic Activity By Sector | Agriculture | Industry | Services |
| Employment By Sector (in % of Total Employment) | 61.3 | 9.1 | 22.6 |
| Value Added (in % of GDP) | 19.5 | 30.6 | 49.9 |
| Value Added (Annual % Change) | 3.9 | 0.1 | 5.0 |
Source: World Bank - Last Available Data.
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| Monetary Indicators | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 |
| CFA Franc BEAC (XAF) - Average Annual Exchange Rate For 1 USD | 522.89 | 479.27 | 447.81 | 472.19 | 495.28 |
Source: World Bank - Last Available Data.
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Distribution of Economic freedom in the world
Source: 2011 Index of Economic freedom, Heritage Foundation
Note: The Economic freedom index measure ten components of economic freedom, grouped into four broad categories or pillars of economic freedom: Rule of Law (property rights, freedom from corruption); Limited Government (fiscal freedom, government spending); Regulatory Efficiency (business freedom, labor freedom, monetary freedom); and Open Markets (trade freedom, investment freedom, financial freedom). Each of the freedoms within these four broad categories is individually scored on a scale of 0 to 100. A country’s overall economic freedom score is a simple average of its scores on the 10 individual freedoms.
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Cameroon is open to international trade. It is a member of the Commonwealth, the Free Trade Zone and the CEMAC (Central African Economic and Monetary Community), as well as the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS). The share of foreign trade in Cameroon in relation to its GDP is around 50%.
Its three main export partners are Spain, with more than 18% of exports going to this country, China (12%) and France (over 8%). The main export commodities are mineral fuels, oil, wood, coal, cocoa, cotton, and aluminum. Its three main import suppliers are France (around 17% of imports), China (9%) and Equatorial Guinea (9%). Cameroon mainly imports mineral fuels, oil, cereals, vehicles, machinery, electrical and electronic equipment.
The European Union is Cameroon's primary trade partner, accounting for more than 50% of its trade (apart from oil). On January 15, 2009, the two entities signed an economic partnership agreement. Consequently, Cameroon has committed itself to liberalize 80% of its imports from this area over a period of 15 years. For some years now, eastern Asian countries (especially China, Japan, India and Thailand) have been reinforcing their trade ties with Cameroon. Today, this zone represents almost 20% of the country's total trade.
Due to the massive import of food products, the country's trade balance remains in deficit. Like in 2011, Cameroon has to improve its level of openness in 2012, in order to improve its foreign trade performance.
| Foreign Trade Indicators | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 |
| Imports of Goods (million USD) | 4,200 | 5,400 | 4,300 | 4,850 | 6,500 |
| Exports of Goods (million USD) | 3,604 | 4,300 | 3,370 | 3,900 | 4,600 |
| Imports of Services (million USD) | 1,719 | 2,571 | 2,081 | 1,717 | - |
| Exports of Services (million USD) | 1,239 | 1,355 | 1,158 | 1,105 | - |
| Imports of Goods and Services (Annual % Change) | 6.2 | 5.8 | -5.2 | 4.6 | - |
| Exports of Goods and Services (Annual % Change) | -12.1 | 0.7 | -4.8 | -0.3 | - |
| Imports of Goods and Services (in % of GDP) | 21.2 | 35.5 | 30.9 | 32.5 | - |
| Exports of Goods and Services (in % of GDP) | 22.1 | 32.5 | 26.6 | 27.9 | - |
| Trade Balance (million USD) | 735 | 466 | -389 | -177 | - |
| Trade Balance (Including Service) (million USD) | 340 | -719 | -920 | -764 | - |
| Foreign Trade (in % of GDP) | 43.3 | 68.1 | 57.5 | 60.5 | - |
Source: WTO - World Trade Organization ; World Bank , Last Available Data
| Main Customers (% of Exports) |
2010 |
| Spain | 18.5% |
| Netherlands | 13.1% |
| Italy | 9.7% |
| Chad | 8.7% |
| China | 8.5% |
| See More Countries | 41.5% |
| Main Suppliers (% of Imports) |
2010 |
| Nigeria | 18.2% |
| France | 14.6% |
| China | 10.6% |
| Germany | 3.7% |
| United States | 3.3% |
| See More Countries | 49.6% |
Source: Comtrade, Last Available Data
Source: Comtrade, Last Available Data
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Source: Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2011, Reporters Without Borders
Note: The world rankings, published annually, measures the violations of press freedom worldwide. It reflects the degree of freedom enjoyed by journalists, the media and digital citizens of each country and the means used by states to respect and uphold this freedom. Finally, a note and a position is assigned to each country. To compile this index, Reporters Without Borders (RWB) prepared a questionnaire sent to partner organizations,150 RWB correspondents, journalists, researchers, jurists and activists of human rights, including the main criteria - 44 in total - to assess the situation of press freedom in a given country. It includes every kind of direct attacks against journalists and digital citizens (murders, imprisonment, assault, threats, etc.) or against the media (censorship, confiscation, searches and harassment etc.).
Map of freedom 2010
Source: Freedom House
Note: The Indicator of Political Freedom provides an annual evaluation of the state of freedom in a country as experienced by individuals. The survey measures freedom according to two broad categories: political rights and civil liberties. The ratings process is based on a checklist of 10 political rights questions (on Electoral Process, Political Pluralism and Participation, Functioning of Government) and 15 civil liberties questions (on Freedom of Expression, Belief, Associational and Organizational Rights, Rule of Law, Personal Autonomy and Individual Rights). Scores are awarded to each of these questions on a scale of 0 to 4, where a score of 0 represents the smallest degree and 4 the greatest degree of rights or liberties present. The total score awarded to the political rights and civil liberties checklist determines the political rights and civil liberties rating. Each rating of 1 through 7, with 1 representing the highest and 7 the lowest level of freedom, corresponds to a range of total scores.
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Last Updates: May 2012