logo blftrade

Home > Country profiles > Economic and Political Outline

flag Cameroon Cameroon: Economic and Political Outline

Economic Indicators | Foreign Trade in Figures | Sources of General Economic Information | Political Outline

Economic Indicators

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 2009201020112012 (e)2013 (e)
GDP (billions USD) 22.1922.5225.83e27.6229.42
GDP (Constant Prices, Annual % Change) 2.03.2e3.8e4.54.8
GDP per Capita (USD) 1,1141,1031,2341,2871,338
General Government Gross Debt (in % of GDP) 10.612.114.514.715.0
Inflation Rate (%) 3.01.3e2.62.52.5
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

Main Sectors of Industry

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.

 

Find more information about your business sector on our service Market reports search.

 
Monetary Indicators 20062007200820092010
CFA Franc BEAC (XAF) - Average Annual Exchange Rate For 1 USD 522.89479.27447.81472.19495.28

Source: World Bank - Last Available Data.

 

Find out all the exchange rates daily on our service Currency convertor.

 
Learn more about Market Analyses about Cameroon on Globaltrade.net, the Directory for International Trade Service Providers.
 

Indicator of Economic Freedom

Score:
51.8/100
Position:
Mostly unfree
World Rank:
131/179
Regional Rank:
27/45

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.

 

Country Risk

See the Country Risk Analysis Provided By Ducroire.

 

Return to top

Foreign Trade in Figures

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 20072008200920102011
Imports of Goods (million USD) 4,2005,4004,3004,8506,500
Exports of Goods (million USD) 3,6044,3003,3703,9004,600
Imports of Services (million USD) 1,7192,5712,0811,717-
Exports of Services (million USD) 1,2391,3551,1581,105-
Imports of Goods and Services (Annual % Change) 6.25.8-5.24.6-
Exports of Goods and Services (Annual % Change) -12.10.7-4.8-0.3-
Imports of Goods and Services (in % of GDP) 21.235.530.932.5-
Exports of Goods and Services (in % of GDP) 22.132.526.627.9-
Trade Balance (million USD) 735466-389-177-
Trade Balance (Including Service) (million USD) 340-719-920-764-
Foreign Trade (in % of GDP) 43.368.157.560.5-

Source: WTO - World Trade Organization ; World Bank , Last Available Data

 

Main Partner Countries

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

 

Main Products

Main Exports
(% of Exports)
2010
Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous...Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, crude 36.5%
Cocoa beans, whole or broken, raw or roastedCocoa beans, whole or broken, raw or roasted 15.8%
Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous...Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals (excl. crude); preparations containing >= 70% by weight of petroleum oils or of oils obtained from bituminous minerals, these oils being the basic constituents of the preparations, n.e.s.; waste oils containing mainly petroleum or bituminous minerals 12.8%
Wood sawn or chipped lengthwise, sliced or barked,...Wood sawn or chipped lengthwise, sliced or barked, whether or not planed, sanded or end-jointed, of a thickness of > 6 mm 6.4%
Wood in the rough, whether or not stripped of bark...Wood in the rough, whether or not stripped of bark or sapwood, or roughly squared (excl. rough-cut wood for walking sticks, umbrellas, tool shafts and the like; wood in the form of railway sleepers; wood cut into boards or beams, etc.) 3.7%
See More Products 24.8%
Main Imports
(% of Imports)
2010
Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous...Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, crude 24.0%
RiceRice 3.8%
Frozen fish (excl. fish fillets and other fish...Frozen fish (excl. fish fillets and other fish meat of heading 0304) 3.7%
Medicaments consisting of mixed or unmixed...Medicaments consisting of mixed or unmixed products for therapeutic or prophylactic uses, put up in measured doses "incl. those in the form of transdermal administration" or in forms or packings for retail sale (excl. goods of heading 3002, 3005 or 3006) 2.6%
Motor cars and other motor vehicles principally...Motor cars and other motor vehicles principally designed for the transport of persons, incl. station wagons and racing cars (excl. motor vehicles of heading 8702) 2.5%
See More Products 63.3%

Source: Comtrade, Last Available Data

 
 

To go further, check out our service Import-Export flows.

Return to top

Sources of General Economic Information

Ministries
Website of the Government of Cameroon (just in French)
Statistical Office
National Institute of Statistics
Central Bank
Bank of the States of Central Africa
Stock Exchange
Douala Stock Exchange
Search Engines
Dmoz.org
Economic Portals
Portal of the Cameroonian government on the economy
Portal on the economy of Cameroon
Information portal on Cameroon that has an excellent section on the economy

Return to top

Political Outline

Executive Power
The President is the chief of the state and holds the executive powers. The President is also the head of the armed forces. He is elected by popular vote for a seven-year term . He appoints the Prime Minister (who is the head of the government) and the Cabinet. The President has the power to dissolve the National Assembly and declare by decree a state of emergency which shall confer upon him special powers.
Legislative Power
The legislature is unicameral. The members of the parliament (called National Assembly) are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms. The President can either lengthen or shorten the term of the legislature elections. The constitution of the country calls for an upper chamber for the legislature (Senate) but it has not yet been ( as of 2006) formed. The main responsibility of the National Assembly is to pass laws, but rarely has it changed any laws or blocked the passing of a legislation. The political rights of the people of Cameroon are very much limited.
Main Political Parties
RDCP (Democratic Rally of the Cameroonian People), SDF (Social Democratic Front), UDC (Cameroonian Democratic Union), UPC (Union of Cameroonian People), UNDP (National Union for Democracy and Progress)
Current Political Leaders
President: Paul BIYA (since 6th November 1982, re-elected several times, the latest in Oct 2004) – RDCP
Prime Minister: Ephraim INONI (since December 2004) - RDCP
Next Election Dates
Presidential: October 2011
National Assembly: July 2012
 

Indicator of Freedom of the Press

World Rank:
97/179
Evolution:
32 places up compared to 2010

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.).

 

Indicator of Political Freedom

Ranking:
Not Free
Political Freedom:
6/7
Civil Liberties:
6/7

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.

 

Return to top

Any Comments About This Content? Report It to Us.

 

© Export Entreprises SA, All Rights Reserved.
Last Updates: May 2012

TERMS & CONDITIONS | SITEMAP | FAQ | VIDEOS | CONTACT
English
Francais
Country profiles Best trading countries Import-Export flows Market reports search Professional reviews Consumption Data Business alert
Online directories Qualified list of prospects Professional associations Trade shows Your export selling price Landed cost calculator Currency convertor Measurement convertor Translate your documents Test your product Marketplaces directory
Shipping Documents Labelling rules Standards International customs classification no. Local customs classification no. Customs duties and local taxes Export controls Import controls
Presentation Our services Our publications Contact