CAMEROON, MOUNT

French Mont Cameroun, volcanic massif of southwestern Cameroon, rising to a height of 13,435 feet (4,095 m) and extending 14 miles (23 km) inland from the Gulf of Guinea. It is the highest peak in sub-Saharan western and central Africa and the westernmost extension of a series of hills and mountains that form a natural boundary between northern Cameroon and Nigeria. The city of Buea, Cameroon, lies on the southeastern slope of the mountain, and the port of Victoria lies at its southern foot. The side of the mountain facing the sea has a mean annual rainfall of more than 400 inches (10,000 mm) and is one of the wettest places in the world. The mountain's rich volcanic soils support bananas, rubber, oil palms, tea, and cacao. Valleys are used as pasture. The Englishman Sir Richard Burton (182190) climbed its summit in 1861. Still active, the volcano last erupted in 1959. The economy Until the late 20th century the economy of Cameroon was basically agricultural; it has since experienced a shift toward a mining economy. Cameroon's main problem, in common with the other developing countries of Africa, is the acquisition of capital to finance resource development. When foreign investment capital is scarce, the country depends largely on the sale of its products on the world market. Fluctuations in world prices of raw materials such as cocoa and coffee, however, make the future unpredictable. The government sets guidelines in its five-year plans and attracts private capital for the development of certain sectors of the economy. The first two plans (196165 and 196671) concentrated on expansion of educational facilities, diversification of farm production, and selective industrialization and on rural development and the introduction of rural cooperatives, respectively. Subsequent plans have extended these, relying on increasingly greater proportions of private investment. Foreign indebtedness rose along with development spending, though the government was successful in keeping its debt service within reasonable levels. In the late 1980s, however, budget deficits compelled Cameroon to resort to external borrowing and to accept the intervention of the International Monetary Fund's structural readjustment programs. There are four different company tax systems, which offer various benefits to developing industries. Most tax revenues are obtained from petroleum royalties, corporation profit levies, property taxes, and import and export duties. Worker-employer relations have been peaceful since 1960, which may, in part, result from government appointment of top union officials and the illegality of strikes. Employers' associations include Chambers of Commerce in Douala and Yaound and associations for those engaged in industry and the import-export trade. The two main trade unions are the National Union of Private Journalists and the Organization des Syndicats des Travailleurs Cameroonais, both based in Yaound. Agriculture, forestry, and fishing The growth of the petroleum industry since 1980 has resulted in a gradual decline in the importance of agriculture, forestry, and fishing to the gross domestic product. About three-fourths of the working population are engaged in this sector, compared with 90 percent in the 1970s. Primary agricultural and forest products provide about one-third of total export earnings, with cocoa and coffee the leading agricultural exports. Small family holdings are responsible for about 80 percent of the agricultural exports, with less than 10 percent coming from commercial plantations. The main subsistence crops include plantain, beans, potatoes, yams, cassava, corn (maize), and oil palm in the south and peanuts (groundnuts), millet, and cassava in the north. Cocoa is grown mainly in the south. The country ranks as the world's fifth largest producer. Robusta coffee, which accounts for about 85 percent of the coffee crop, is grown both in the southern warm and humid parts of the country and in the western high plateau, where arabica coffee is also grown. Yields have been adversely affected by the increasing age of the plantations and delay in modernizing. Cotton was introduced in 1952; it is grown largely in the grasslands by private farmers. Systematic diversification of agricultural production into such crops as palm oil, rubber, and sugar has taken place. Food production has kept pace with population growth, and the country is generally self-sufficient. Domestic consumption of meat is reasonably high. Livestock is exported to Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, and Congo (Brazzaville), and hides and skins to Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea. Commercial fishing constitutes about one-third of the total marine catch, while traditional coastal fishing makes up the remainder. The freshwater catch is about one-third the size of the marine catch. About one-half of the country is forested, but only about one-third of the available hardwood forest resources are exploited. Forestry is limited to the most accessible areas along the DoualaYaound railway and the main roads. The land Relief Cameroon can be divided into the southern, western, central, and northern geographic regions. The southern region extends from the Sanaga River to the southern border and from the coast eastward to the Central African Republic and Congo (Brazzaville). It consists of coastal plains that are about 25 miles (40 kilometres) wide and a densely forested plateau with an average elevation of a little more than 2,000 feet (600 metres). The western region extends north and west from the Sanaga River and continues north along the Nigerian border as far as the Bnou (Benue) River. The relief is mostly mountainous, the result of a volcanic rift that extends northward from the island of Bioko (Fernando Po). Near the coast, the active volcanic Mount Cameroon rises to the highest elevation in western Africa13,435 feet (4,095 metres). The central region extends east from the western highlands and from the Sanaga River north to the Bnou River. The land rises progressively to the north and includes the Adamawa (Adamaoua) Plateau, with elevations between 2,450 and 4,450 feet. North of the Bnou River, the savanna plain declines in elevation as it approaches the Lake Chad basin. The region contains scattered inselbergs, or mounds of erosion-resistant rock rising above the plains. The Gotel Mountains of the Adamawa trend from south to north, culminating in the Mandara Mountains of the northwest. Drainage The rivers of Cameroon form four large drainage systems. In the south, the Sanaga, Wouri, Nyong, and Ntem rivers drain into the Atlantic Ocean. The Bnou River and its tributary, the Kbi, flow into the Niger River basin of Nigeria. The Logone and Chari riverswhich form part of the eastern border with Chaddrain into Lake Chad, whereas the Ngoko River joins the Sangha River and flows into the Congo (Zaire) River basin. The people The country has been described as a racial crossroads because of its more than 200 different ethnic groups. There are three main linguistic groups: the Bantu-speaking people of the south, the Sudanic-speaking people of the north, and those who speak the Semi-Bantu languages of the west. The Bantu settled in the Cameroons from equatorial Africa. The first group that invaded the country included the Maka, Ndjem, and Duala. They were followed at the beginning of the 19th century by the Fang (Pangwe) and Beti peoples. The Sudanic-speaking peoples include the Sao, who live on the Adamawa Plateau; the Fulani; and the Kanuri. The Fulani came from the Niger basin in two waves, in the 11th and 19th centuries; they were Muslims who converted and subjugated the peoples of the Logone valley and the Kbi and Faro river valleys. The third ethnic group consists mainly of small tribes, except for the Bantu-related Bamileke, who live between the lower slopes of the Adamawa Plateau and Mount Cameroon. Other western Semi-Bantu-speaking tribes include the Tikar, who live in the Bamenda region and in the western high plateau. The oldest inhabitants of the country are the Pygmies, locally known as the Baguielli and Babinga, who live in the southern forests. They have been hunters and gatherers for thousands of years and live in small hunting bands. European missions and colonization led to the introduction of European languages. During the colonial era German was the official language; it was later replaced by English and French, which have retained their official status. About one-quarter of the population continue to adhere to traditional religious beliefs. More than two-fifths of the population are Christian, mainly Roman Catholic. Muslims comprise one-fifth of the population. Cameroon's population is growing at about the same high rate as sub-Saharan Africa as a whole. The birth and death rates, however, are both somewhat lower than average. Nearly half the population are below age 15, and more than two-fifths, a comparatively high proportion, live in urban areas. Life expectancy, at 51 years, has improved greatly in the late 20th century.