Yearbook 2008
Cameroon. Several cities were shaken at the beginning of the year by protests against the government and at least 20 people were shot dead by police. The unrest was triggered by sharply increased food and fuel prices but were also protests against the government’s plans to change the constitution so that President Paul Biya could be re-elected an unlimited number of times.
The RDPC (Cameroonian People’s Democratic Movement), despite the protests by virtue of its stable majority, was able to change the constitution, allowing the president to run for re-election in 2011, when he would otherwise have been forced to resign. He is also guaranteed prosecution for all future crimes.
The government sought to mitigate the effects of the price increases through increased minimum wages and abolished import duties on basic foodstuffs.
- ABBREVIATIONFINDER: Click to see the meanings of 2-letter acronym and abbreviation of CM in general and in geography as Cameroon in particular.
In August, Cameroon formally took over the disputed Bakassi Peninsula from Nigeria by virtue of a ruling in the International Court of Justice in The Hague. The landslide was met with protests by the Nigerian people in the area and several times during the year Cameroonian soldiers were attacked by armed rebels.
Population 2008
According to Countryaah reports, the population of Cameroon in 2008 was 20,341,130, ranking number 58 in the world. The population growth rate was 2.780% yearly, and the population density was 43.0311 people per km2.
