r the suppression of the UPC in 1971.[8] His political party, the Cameroon National Union (CNU), became the sole legal political party on 1 September 1966 and in 1972, the federal system of government was abolished in favour of a United Republic of Cameroon, headed from Yaoundé.[9] Ahidjo pursued an economic policy of planned liberalism, prioritising cash crops and petroleum exploitation. The government used oil money to create a national cash reserve, pay farmers, and finance major development projects; however, many initiatives failed when Ahidjo appointed unqualified allies to direct them.[10] Ahidjo stepped down on 4 November 1982 and left power to his constitutional successor, Paul Biya. However, Ahidjo remained in control of the CNU and tried to run the country from behind the scenes until Biya and his allies pressured him into resigning. Biya began his administration by moving toward a more democratic government, but a failed coup d'état nudged him toward the leadership style of his predecessor.[11] An economic crisis took effect in the mid-1980s to late 1990s as a result of international economic conditions, drought, falling petroleum prices, and years of corruption, mismanagement, and cronyism. Cameroon turned to foreign aid, cut government spending, and privatised industries. With the reintroduction of multi-party politics in December 1990, Anglophone pressure groups called for greater autonomy, with some advocating complete secession as the Republic of Ambazonia.[12] In February 2008, Cameroon experienced its worst violence in 15 years when a transport union strike in Douala escalated into violent protests in 31 municipal areas.[13][14] Politics and government Main article: Politics of Cameroon President Paul Biya of Cameroon and Ambassador R. Niels Marquardt of the United States, 16 February 2006. The President of Cameroon has broad, unilateral powers to create policy, administer government agencies, command the armed forces, negotiate and ratify treaties, and declare a state of emergency.[15] The president appoints government officials at all levels, from the prime minister (considered the official head of government), to the provincial governors, divisional officers, and urban-council members in large cities. The president is selected by popular vote every seven years. In smaller municipalities, the public elects mayors and councilors. Corruption is rife at all levels of government. In 1997, Cameroon established anti-corruption bureaus in 29 ministries, but only 25% became operational,[16] and in 2007, Transparency International placed Cameroon at number 138 on a list of 163 countries ranked from least to most corrupt.[17] On 18 January 2006, Biya initiated an anti-corruption drive under the direction of the National Anti-Corruption Observatory.[16] A statue of a chief in Bana, West Region, shows the prestige afforded such rulers. The Cameroonian government recognizes the power of traditional authorities provided their rulings do not contradict national law. Cameroon's legal system is largely based on French civil law with common law influences.[1] Although nominally independent, the judiciary falls under the authority of the executive's Ministry of Justice.[18] The president appoints judges at all levels. The judiciary is officially divided into tribunals, the court of appeal, and the supreme court. The National Assembly elects the members of a nine-member High Court of Justice that judges high-ranking members of government in the event they are charged with high treason or harming national security. Human rights organisations accuse police and military forces of mistreating and even torturing criminal suspects, ethnic minorities, homosexuals, and political activists.[19] Prisons are overcrowded with little access to adequate food and medical facilities,[20][21] and prisons run by traditional rulers in the north are charged with holding political opponents at the behest of the government.[22] However, since the early 2000s, an increasing number of police and gendarmes have been prosecuted for improper conduct.[21] The National Assembly makes legislation. The body consists of 180 members who are elected for five-year terms and meet three times per year. Laws are passed on a majority vote. Rarely has the assembly changed or blocked legislation proposed by the president.[18] The 1996 constitution establishes a second house of parliament, the 100-seat Senate, but this body has never been put into practice.[1] The government recognises the authority of traditional chiefs, fons, and lamibe to govern at the local level and to resolve disputes as long as such rulings do not conflict with national law.[23] President Paul Biya's Cameroon People's Democratic Movement (CPDM) was the only legal political party until December 1990. Numerous ethnic and regional political groups have since formed. The primary opposition is the Social Democratic Front (SDF), based largely in the Anglophone region of the country and headed by John Fru Ndi.[24] Biya and his party have maintained control of the presidency and the National Assembly in national elections, but rivals contend that these have been unfair.[12] Human rights organisations allege that the government suppresses the freedoms of opposition groups by preventing demonstrations, disrupting meetings, and arresting opposition leaders and journalists.[22][25] Freedom House ranks Cameroon as "not free" in terms of political rights and civil liberties.[26] The last parliamentary elections were held on 22 July 2007.[27] Cameroon is a member of both the Commonwealth of Nations and La Francophonie. Its foreign policy closely follows that of its main ally, France.[28] The country relies heavily on France for its defence,[18] although military spending is high in comparison to other sectors of government.[29] Biya has clashed with the government of Nigeria over possession of the Bakassi peninsula and with Gabon's president, El Hadj Omar Bongo, over personal rivalries.[24] Nevertheless, civil war presents a more credible threat to national security, as tensions between Anglophones and Francophones remain high.[30] Education and health A traditional doctor advertises his services in Tatum, Northwest Region. Such healers are popular alternatives to conventionally trained doctors. Most children have access to free, state-run schools or subsidised, private and religious facilities.[31] The educational system is a mixture of British and French precedents[32] with most instruction in English or French.[33] Cameroon has one of the highest school attendance rates in Africa.[31] Girls attend school less regularly than boys do because of cultural attitudes, domestic duties, early marriage and pregnancy, and sexual harassment. Although attendance rates are higher in the south,[31] a disproportionate number of teachers are stationed there, leaving northern schools chronically understaffed.[21] Six state-run universities serve Cameroon's student population. More than 60,000 students were enrolled for the 1998–1999 school year. A council of deans, school directors, and representatives of state ministries governs the schools under the leadership of a vice-chancellor. State funding for universities is low, and student registrations nominally make up 25% of the higher education budget. However, students have fought these fees since their introduction in 1993. Universities have resisted the urge to increase the selectiveness of admissions in an effort to increase revenue from student fees, and the student populations have increased well beyond the 5,000 they were built to educate. Likewise, cuts in faculty salaries in 1993 made it difficult to find and keep qualified staff.[34] Since 1990, private institutions have sprung up in five regions. These schools charge fees that are five to ten times those levied by state schools. Nevertheless, they offer short professional-training programmes in areas such as accounting, management, journalism, and Internet technologies, so they are popular with students. Certain schools nonetheless fall short of government minimum standards of infrastructure and faculty and must operate unlicensed.[34] The quality of health care is generally low.[35] Outside the major cities, facilities are often dirty and poorly equipped.[36] Endemic diseases include dengue fever, filariasis, leishmaniasis, malaria, meningitis, schistosomiasis, and sleeping sickness.[37] The HIV/AIDS seroprevalence rate is estimated at 5.4% for those aged 15–49,[38] although a strong stigma against the illness keeps the number of reported cases artificially low.[35] Traditional healers remain a popular alternative to Western medicine.[39] Territorial Administration The Ministry of Territorial Administration is one of Cameroon's 35 Ministries[40]. Preparation, implementation and assessment of Government policy on territorial administration, decentralization and civil protection is within the framework of the duties assigned to the MINATD[41]. It is the duty of the MINATD to organize the territorial administrative units and external services, to organize national and local elections and referendums in accordance with the constitutional laws. By assuring the preparation and implementation of the laws and regulations and the maintenance of public order, the MINATD acts as a guarantor public liberties including associations and political organizations; religious organizations; non-profit movements, organizations and associations. Performing as a guarantor of the state powers, the MINATD oversees the activities of regional and local authorities. The MINATD is also in charge of preventing and managing the risks related to natural disasters. Regions and divisions Main articles: Regions of Cameroon and Divisions of Cameroon Cameroon is divided into 10 regions. The constitution divides Cameroon into 10 semi-autonomous regions, each under the administration of an elected Regional Council. A presidential decree of 12 November 2008 officially instigated the change from provinces to regions.[42] Each region is headed by a presidentially appointed governor. These leaders are charged with implementing the will of the president, reporting on the general mood and conditions of the regions, administering the civil service, keeping the peace, and overseeing the heads of the smaller administrative units. Governors have broad powers: they may order propaganda in their area and call in the army, gendarmes, and police.[43] All local government officials are employees of the central government’s Ministry of Territorial Administration, from which local governments also get most of their budgets.[44] The regions are subdivided into 58 divisions (French départements). These are headed by presidentially appointed divisional officers (préfets), who perform the governors' duties on a smaller scale. The divisions are further sub-divided into sub-divisions (arrondissements), headed by assistant divisional officers (sous-prefets). The districts, administered by district heads (chefs de district), are the smallest administrative units. These are found in large sub-divisions and in regions that are difficult to reach. The three northernmost regions are the Far North (Extrême Nord), North (Nord), and Adamawa (Adamaoua). Directly south of them are the Centre (Centre) and East (Est). The South Province (Sud) lies on the Gulf of Guinea and the southern border. Cameroon's western region is split into four smaller regions: The Littoral (Littoral) and Southwest (Sud-Ouest) regions are on the coast, and the Northwest (Nord-Ouest) and West (Ouest) regions are in the western grassfields. The Northwest and Southwest were once part of British Cameroons; the other regions were in French Cameroun. Geography and climate Main article: Geography of Cameroon Volcanic plugs dot the landscape near Rhumsiki, Far North Region. At 475,442 square kilometres (183,569 sq mi), Cameroon is the world's 53rd-largest country.[45] It is comparable in size to Papua New Guinea and somewhat larger than the U.S. state of California.[1][46] The country is located in Central and West Africa on the Bight of Bonny, part of the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean. Tourist literature describes Cameroon as "Africa in miniature" because it exhibits all major climates and vegetation of the continent: coast, desert, mountains, rainforest, and savanna.[47] The country's neighbours are Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon is divided into five major geographic zones distinguished by dominant physical, climatic, and vegetative features. The coastal plain extends 15 to 150 kilometres (9 to 93 mi) (10 to 90 mi) inland from the Gulf of Guinea[48] and has an average elevation of 90 metres (295 ft).[49] Exceedingly hot and humid with a short dry season, this belt is densely forested and includes some of the wettest places on earth, part of the Cross-Sanaga-Bioko coastal forests.[50][51] The South Cameroon Plateau rises from the coastal plain to an average elevation of 650 metres (2,133 ft).[52] Equatorial rainforest dominates this region, although its alternation between wet and dry seasons makes it is less humid than the coast. This area is part of the Atlantic Equatorial coastal forests ecoregion. Countryside near Ngaoundal in Cameroon's Adamawa Region. An irregular chain of mountains, hills, and plateaus known as the Cameroon range extends from Mount Cameroon on the coast—Cameroon's highest point at 4,095 metres (13,435 ft)[53]—almost to Lake Chad at Cameroon's northern tip. This region has a mild climate, particularly on the Western High Plateau, although rainfall is high. Its soils are among Cameroon's most fertile, especially around volcanic Mount Cameroon.[53] Volcanism here has created crater lakes. On 21 August 1986, one of these, Lake Nyos, belched carbon dioxide and killed between 1,700 and 2,000 people.[54] This area has been delineated by the World Wildlife Fund as the Cameroonian Highlands forests ecoregion. The southern plateau rises northward to the grassy, rugged Adamawa Plateau. This feature stretches from the western mountain area and forms a barrier between the country's north and south. Its average elevation is 1,100 metres (3,609 ft),[52] and its temperature ranges from 22 °C (71.6 °F) to 25 °C (77 °F) with high rainfall.[55] The northern lowland region extends from the edge of the Adamawa to Lake Chad with an average elevation of 300 to 350 metres (984 to 1,148 ft).[53] Its characteristic vegetation is savanna scrub and grass. This is an arid region with sparse rainfall and high median temperatures. Cameroon has four patterns of drainage. In the south, the principal rivers are the Ntem, Nyong, Sanaga, and Wouri. These flow southwestward or westward directly into the Gulf of Guinea. The Dja and Kadéï drain southeastward into the Congo River. In northern Cameroon, the Bénoué River runs north and west and empties into the Niger. The Logone flows northward into Lake Chad, which Cameroon shares with three neighbouring countries. Industrial zones/regions Douala industrial region Bonaberi Industrial Zone Dibombari industrial zone Bassa industrial zone Edea industrial region Tiko-Limbe Industrial region Yaounde industrial region Garoua – Figuil region Befoussam – Bamenda industrial region Economy and infrastructure Fishing is a major industry in Cameroon. Fifteenth-century Portuguese explorers found prawns in such abundance that they named the area Rio dos Camarões ("River of Prawns"), the name from which Cameroon derives. This prawn was caught at Limbe in 2007. Main article: Economy of Cameroon Cameroon's per-capita GDP (PPP) was estimated as US $2,300 in 2008,[56] one of the ten highest in sub-Saharan Africa.[57] Major export markets include France, Italy, South Korea, Spain, and the United Kingdom.[1] Cameroon is part of the Bank of Central African States (of which it is the dominant economy),[57] the Customs and Economic Union of Central Africa (UDEAC) and the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (OHADA).[58] Its currency is the CFA franc. Red tape, high taxes, and endemic corruption have impeded growth of the private sector. Unemployment was estimated at 30% in 2001, and about a third of the population was living below the international poverty threshold of US$1.25 a day in 2009.[59] 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.[18] Tourism is a growing sector, particularly in the coastal area, around Mount Cameroon, and in the north. Cameroon's natural resources are very well suited to agriculture and arboriculture. An estimated 70% of the population farms, and agriculture comprised an estimated 19.8% of GDP in 2009.[1] 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. Reliance on agricultural exports makes Cameroon vulnerable to shifts in their prices.[1] A Fulani herder drives his cattle in northern Cameroon. Livestock are raised throughout the country. Fishing employs some 5,000 people and provides 20,000 tons of seafood each year. 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. The southern rainforest has vast timber reserves, estimated to cover 37% of Cameroon's total land area. However, large areas of the forest are difficult to reach. Logging, largely handled by foreign-owned firms, provides the government US$60 million a year, and laws mandate the safe and sustainable exploitation of timber. Nevertheless, in practice, the industry is one of the least regulated in Cameroon. A bush taxi attempts to pass a stalled logging vehicle on the road between Abong-Mbang and Lomié, East Region. Factory-based industry accounted for an estimated 29.7% of GDP in 2009.[1] 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.[18] Petroleum exploitation has fallen since 1985, but this is still a substantial sector such that dips in prices have a strong effect on the economy. 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. Transport in Cameroon is often difficult. Except for the several relatively good toll roads which connect major cities (all of them one-lane) roads are poorly maintained and subject to inclement weather, since only 10% of the roadways are tarred.[1] Roadblocks often serve little other purpose than to allow police and gendarmes to collect bribes from travellers.[60] Road banditry has long hampered transport along the eastern and western borders, and since 2005, the problem has intens