Economy Overview
Because of its oil resources and favorable agricultural conditions, Cameroon has one of the best-endowed primary commodity economies in sub-Saharan Africa. Still, it faces many of the serious problems facing other underdeveloped countries, such as a top-heavy civil service and a generally unfavorable climate for business enterprise. Since 1990, the government has embarked on various IMF and World Bank programs designed to spur business investment, increase efficiency in agriculture, improve trade, and recapitalize the nation's banks. In June 2000, the government completed an IMF-sponsored, three-year structural adjustment program; however, the IMF is pressing for more reforms, including increased budget transparency, privatization, and poverty reduction programs. International oil and cocoa prices have considerable impact on the economy.
Agriculture Products
coffee, cocoa, cotton, rubber, bananas, oilseed, grains, root starches; livestock; timber
Industries
petroleum production and refining, food processing, light consumer goods, textiles, lumber
Industrial Production Growth Rate
4.2% (1999 est.)
Electricity production
3.613 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity production by source
Fossil fuel: 2.7%
Hydro: 97.3%
Other: 0% (2001)
Nuclear: 0%
Electricity Consumption
3.36 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity Exports
0 kWh (2001)
Electricity Imports
0 kWh (2001)
Currency
Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States
Unemployment Rate
30% (2001 est.)
Population Below Poverty Line
48% (2000 est.)
Household Income or Consumption by Percentage Share
Lowest 10%: 1.9%
Highest 10%: 36.6% (1996)
Distribution of Family Income Gini Index
47.7 (1996)
Budget
Revenues: $2.2 billion
Expenditures: $2.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY 00/01 est.)
Commercial Bank Prime Lending Rate
Market Value of Publicly Traded Shares
Reserves of Foreign Exchange and Gold
Debt External
$8.6 billion (2002 est.)
Stock of Direct Foreign Investment at Home
Stock of Direct Foreign Investment Abroad
Exchange Rates
Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.7 (1999), 589.95 (1998)
