Cameroon

==Economy and infrastructure==
{{Main|Economy of Cameroon}}

Cameroon's per capita GDP ([[Purchasing power parity]]) was estimated as US$3,700 in 2017. Major export markets include the Netherlands, France, China, Belgium, Italy, Algeria, and Malaysia.<ref name="CIA"/>

Cameroon has had a decade{{when|date=February 2023}} of strong economic performance, with GDP growing at an average of 4% per year. During the 2004–2008 period, public debt was reduced from over 60% of GDP to 10% and official reserves quadrupled to over US$3&nbsp;billion.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mfw4a.org/cameroon/cameroon-financial-sector-profile.html|title=Cameroon Financial Sector Profile|publisher=MFW4A|access-date=24 September 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110513110637/http://www.mfw4a.org/cameroon/cameroon-financial-sector-profile.html|archive-date=13 May 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> Cameroon is part of the [[Bank of Central African States]] (of which it is the dominant economy),<ref name="Musa Biya plan"/> the [[Customs and Economic Union of Central Africa]] (UDEAC) and the [[Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa]] (OHADA).<ref name="ohada.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.ohada.com/index.php|title=The business law portal in Africa|publisher=OHADA|access-date=22 March 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090326033744/http://www.ohada.com/index.php|archive-date=26 March 2009}}</ref> Its currency is the [[CFA franc]].<ref name="CIA"/>

Unemployment was estimated at 3.38% in 2019,<ref>{{cite web|title=Cameroon Unemployment rate – data, chart|url=https://www.theglobaleconomy.com/Cameroon/unemployment_rate/|website=TheGlobalEconomy.com|access-date=2020-05-19}}</ref> and 23.8% of the population was living below the international [[poverty threshold]] of US$1.90 a day in 2014.<ref>{{cite web|title=Poverty headcount ratio at $1.90 a day (2011 PPP) (% of population) – Cameroon {{!}} Data|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.DDAY?locations=CM|website=data.worldbank.org|access-date=2020-05-18}}</ref> Since the late 1980s, Cameroon has been following programmes advocated by the [[World Bank]] and [[International Monetary Fund]] (IMF) to reduce poverty, privatise industries, and increase economic growth.<ref name="State Dept"/> The government has taken measures to encourage [[Tourism in Cameroon|tourism]] in the country.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://nl.nabc.nl/Portals/0/docs/Country%20information%20pdf/CAMEROON%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf | title=Cameroon Business Mission Fact Sheet 2010–2011 | publisher=Netherlands-African Business Council | year=2011 | access-date=3 March 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131013032607/http://nl.nabc.nl/Portals/0/docs/Country%20information%20pdf/CAMEROON%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf | archive-date=13 October 2013}}</ref>

An estimated 70% of the population farms, and agriculture comprised an estimated 16.7% of GDP in 2017.<ref name="CIA"/> Most agriculture is done at the subsistence scale by local farmers using simple tools. They sell their surplus produce, and some maintain separate fields for commercial use. Urban centres are particularly reliant on peasant agriculture for their foodstuffs. Soils and climate on the coast encourage extensive commercial cultivation of bananas, cocoa, oil palms, rubber, and tea. Inland on the South Cameroon Plateau, cash crops include coffee, sugar, and tobacco. Coffee is a major cash crop in the western highlands, and in the north, natural conditions favour crops such as cotton, groundnuts, and rice. Production of [[Fair trade#Textiles|Fairtrade cotton]] was initiated in Cameroon in 2004.<ref>Fairtrade International, University of Greenwich and Institute of Development Studies, [https://files.fairtrade.net/publications/2011_FairtradeCotton_ImpactMaliSenegaCameroonIndia_Summary.pdf Fairtrade Cotton: Assessing Impact in Mali, Senegal, Cameroon and India], published May 2011, accessed 31 August 2021</ref>

[[File:Taureaux et vaches hollandais à wallya Cameroun.jpg|thumb|Dutch bulls and cows at Wallya community during the rainy season in Cameroon]]
Livestock are raised throughout the country.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fao.org/ag/AGP/AGPC/doc/Counprof/cameroon/figure10.htm|access-date=12 April 2013|title=Cameroon livestock production map|publisher=FAO|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130605182824/http://www.fao.org/ag/AGP/AGPC/doc/Counprof/cameroon/figure10.htm|archive-date=5 June 2013}}</ref> Fishing employs 5,000 people and provides over 100,000 tons of seafood each year.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fao.org/docrep/X0229E/x0229e05.htm|access-date=12 April 2013|author=Som, Julienne|title=Women's role in Cameroon fishing communities|publisher=FAO|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130603014448/http://www.fao.org/docrep/X0229E/x0229e05.htm|archive-date=3 June 2013}}</ref><ref name=awf>{{cite web|url=http://www.awf.org/country/cameroon|access-date=12 April 2013|title=Cameroon|publisher=AWF|date=28 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130416202141/http://www.awf.org/country/cameroon|archive-date=16 April 2013}}</ref> [[Bushmeat]], long a staple food for rural Cameroonians, is today a delicacy in the country's urban centres. The commercial bushmeat trade has now surpassed deforestation as the main threat to wildlife in Cameroon.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1920391.stm|access-date=12 April 2013|publisher=BBC|title=UK project tackles bushmeat diet|date=10 April 2002|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140427082156/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1920391.stm|archive-date=27 April 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/cooking_in_the_danger_zone/7282187.stm|access-date=12 April 2013|title=Cameroon's bushmeat dilemma|date=14 March 2008|publisher=BBC|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120529040509/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/cooking_in_the_danger_zone/7282187.stm|archive-date=29 May 2012}}</ref>

The southern rainforest has vast timber reserves, estimated to cover 37% of Cameroon's total land area.<ref name=awf/> However, large areas of the forest are difficult to reach. Logging, largely handled by foreign-owned firms,<ref name=awf/> provides the government US$60&nbsp;million a year in taxes ({{as of|1998|lc=yes}}), and laws mandate the safe and sustainable exploitation of timber. Nevertheless, in practice, the industry is one of the least regulated in Cameroon.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/where_we_work/congo_basin_forests/problems/deforestation/logging/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120608041738/http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/where_we_work/congo_basin_forests/problems/deforestation/logging/|url-status=dead|archive-date=8 June 2012|publisher=WWF|access-date=12 April 2013|title=Logging in the Green Heart of Africa}}</ref>

Factory-based industry accounted for an estimated 26.5% of GDP in 2017.<ref name="CIA"/> More than 75% of Cameroon's industrial strength is located in [[Douala]] and [[Bonabéri]]. Cameroon possesses substantial mineral resources, but these are not extensively mined (see ''[[Mining in Cameroon]]'').<ref name="State Dept"/> Petroleum exploitation has fallen since 1986, but this is still a substantial sector such that dips in prices have a strong effect on the economy.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/pdp/2006/pdp02.pdf|access-date=12 April 2013|title=Strengthening Transparency in the Oil Sector in Cameroon|author=Cossé, Stéphane|publisher=IMF|year=2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120606061216/http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/pdp/2006/pdp02.pdf|archive-date=6 June 2012}}</ref> Rapids and waterfalls obstruct the southern rivers, but these sites offer opportunities for hydroelectric development and supply most of Cameroon's energy. The Sanaga River powers the largest hydroelectric station, located at Edéa. The rest of Cameroon's energy comes from oil-powered thermal engines. Much of the country remains without reliable power supplies.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.climateparl.net/cpcontent/pdfs/Kribi,%202010-03-27,%20Parlementarians.pdf|access-date=12 April 2013|title=Harnessing Central Africa's Hydropower Potential|author=Prevost, Yves|publisher=Climate Parliament|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140427082535/http://www.climateparl.net/cpcontent/pdfs/Kribi%2C%202010-03-27%2C%20Parlementarians.pdf|archive-date=27 April 2014}}</ref>

Three trans-African automobile routes pass through Cameroon:
* [[File:Schild TAH8.svg|20px]] the [[Lagos-Mombasa Highway]]
* [[File:Schild TAH3.svg|20px]] the [[Tripoli-Cape Town Highway]]
* [[File:Schild TAH5.svg|20px]] the [[Dakar-N'Djamena Highway]]
[[Transport in Cameroon]] is often difficult. Only 6.6% of the roadways are tarred.<ref name="CIA"/> Roadblocks often serve little other purpose than to allow police and gendarmes to collect bribes from travellers.<ref>[[#Hudgens|Hudgens and Trillo]] 1036.</ref> Road banditry has long hampered transport along the eastern and western borders, and since 2005, the problem has intensified in the east as the [[Central African Republic]] has further destabilised.<ref name="Musa Gunmen"/>
[[File:Bateau au port de Douala1.jpg|thumb|Douala seaport]]
[[Intercity bus service]]s run by multiple private companies connect all major cities. They are the most popular means of transportation followed by the rail service ''[[Camrail]]''. Rail service runs from [[Kumba]] in the west to [[Bélabo]] in the east and north to [[Ngaoundéré]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.worldtravelguide.net/cameroon/getting-around|access-date=12 April 2013|publisher=World Travel Guide|title=Getting around Cameroon|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130627051533/http://www.worldtravelguide.net/cameroon/getting-around|archive-date=27 June 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> International airports are located in [[Douala International Airport|Douala]] and [[Yaoundé Nsimalen International Airport|Yaoundé]], with a third under construction in [[Maroua]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cameroononline.org/2013/04/03/equipments-for-the-future-maroua-international-airport/ |access-date=12 April 2013 |title=Equipment for the Future Maroua International Airport |publisher=Cameroon Online |date=3 April 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130509073605/http://www.cameroononline.org/2013/04/03/equipments-for-the-future-maroua-international-airport/ |archive-date=9 May 2013 }}</ref> Douala is the country's principal seaport.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.soschildrensvillages.ca/where-we-help/africa/cameroon/douala/pages/default.aspx|access-date=12 April 2013|title=SOS Children's Village Douala|publisher=SOS Children's Villages|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130615075059/http://www.soschildrensvillages.ca/where-we-help/africa/cameroon/douala/pages/default.aspx|archive-date=15 June 2013}}</ref> In the north, the Bénoué River is seasonally navigable from Garoua across into Nigeria.<ref>[[#DeLancey|DeLancey and DeLancey]] 68.</ref>

Although press freedoms have improved since the first decade of the 21st century, the press is corrupt and beholden to special interests and political groups.<ref name="Reporters">"Cameroon – Annual Report 2007".</ref> Newspapers routinely self-censor to avoid government reprisals.<ref name="Human Rights Report"/> The major radio and television stations are state-run and other [[communications in Cameroon|communications]], such as land-based telephones and telegraphs, are largely under government control.<ref>[[#Mbaku|Mbaku]] 20.</ref> However, cell phone networks and Internet providers have increased dramatically since the first decade of the 21st century<ref>[[#Mbaku|Mbaku]] 20–1.</ref> and are largely unregulated.<ref name="Freedom House"/>

Cameroon was ranked 123rd in the [[Global Innovation Index]] in 2023.<ref>{{Cite book |last=WIPO |title=Global Innovation Index 2023, 15th Edition |url=https://www.wipo.int/global_innovation_index/en/2023/index.html |access-date=2023-10-29 |website=www.wipo.int |date=30 October 2023 |publisher=World Intellectual Property Organization |doi=10.34667/tind.46596 |isbn=9789280534320 |language=en}}</ref>
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