The former French colony of Ubangi-Shari became the Central African Republic upon independence in 1960. After three tumultuous decades of misrule - mostly by military governments - civilian rule was established in 1993 and lasted for one decade. President Ange-Felix PATASSE's civilian government was plagued by unrest, and in March 2003 he was deposed in a military coup led by General Francois BOZIZE, who established a transitional government. Though the government has the tacit support of civil society groups and the main parties, a wide field of candidates contested the municipal, legislative, and presidential elections held in March and May of 2005 in which General BOZIZE was affirmed as president. The government still does not fully control the countryside, where pockets of lawlessness persist.

Central Africa, north of Democratic Republic of the Congo
7 00 N, 21 00 E
Africa
total: 622,984 sq km ; land: 622,984 sq km ; water: 0 sq km
slightly smaller than Texas
total: 5,203 km ; border countries: Cameroon 797 km, Chad 1,197 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 1,577 km, Republic of the Congo 467 km, Sudan 1,165 km
0 km (landlocked)
none (landlocked)
tropical; hot, dry winters; mild to hot, wet summers
vast, flat to rolling, monotonous plateau; scattered hills in northeast and southwest
lowest point: Oubangui River 335 m ; highest point: Mont Ngaoui 1,420 m
diamonds, uranium, timber, gold, oil, hydropower
arable land: 3.1% ; permanent crops: 0.15% ; other: 96.75% (2005)
20 sq km (2003)
144.4 cu km (2003)
Total: 0.03 cu km/yr (80%/16%/4%) ; Per capita: 7 cu m/yr (2000)
hot, dry, dusty harmattan winds affect northern areas; floods are common
tap water is not potable; poaching has diminished the country's reputation as one of the last great wildlife refuges; desertification; deforestation
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands ; signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea
landlocked; almost the precise center of Africa
4,369,038 ; note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2007 est.)
0-14 years: 41.6% (male 914,566/female 903,849) ; 15-64 years: 54.2% (male 1,174,520/female 1,195,364) ; 65 years and over: 4.1% (male 71,355/female 109,384) (2007 est.)
total: 18.5 years ; male: 18.2 years ; female: 18.9 years (2007 est.)
1.505% (2007 est.)
33.52 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
18.46 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female ; under 15 years: 1.012 male(s)/female ; 15-64 years: 0.983 male(s)/female ; 65 years and over: 0.652 male(s)/female ; total population: 0.978 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
total: 83.97 deaths/1,000 live births ; male: 90.68 deaths/1,000 live births ; female: 77.05 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
total population: 43.74 years ; male: 43.69 years ; female: 43.79 years (2007 est.)
4.32 children born/woman (2007 est.)
13.5% (2003 est.)
260,000 (2003 est.)
23,000 (2003 est.)
noun: Central African(s) ; adjective: Central African
Baya 33%, Banda 27%, Mandjia 13%, Sara 10%, Mboum 7%, M'Baka 4%, Yakoma 4%, other 2%
indigenous beliefs 35%, Protestant 25%, Roman Catholic 25%, Muslim 15% ; note: animistic beliefs and practices strongly influence the Christian majority
French (official), Sangho (lingua franca and national language), tribal languages
definition: age 15 and over can read and write ; total population: 51% ; male: 63.3% ; female: 39.9% (2003 est.)
degree of risk: very high ; food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever ; vectorborne disease: malaria ; respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis (2007)

conventional long form: Central African Republic ; conventional short form: none ; local long form: Republique Centrafricaine ; local short form: none ; former: Ubangi-Shari, Central African Empire ; abbreviation: CAR
republic
name: Bangui ; geographic coordinates: 4 22 N, 18 35 E ; time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
14 prefectures (prefectures, singular - prefecture), 2 economic prefectures* (prefectures economiques, singular - prefecture economique), and 1 commune**; Bamingui-Bangoran, Bangui**, Basse-Kotto, Haute-Kotto, Haut-Mbomou, Kemo, Lobaye, Mambere-Kadei, Mbomou, Nana-Grebizi*, Nana-Mambere, Ombella-Mpoko, Ouaka, Ouham, Ouham-Pende, Sangha-Mbaere*, Vakaga

13 August 1960 (from France)
Republic Day, 1 December (1958)
ratified by popular referendum 5 December 2004; effective 27 December 2004
based on French law
21 years of age; universal
chief of state: President Francois BOZIZE (since 15 March 2003 coup) ; head of government: Prime Minister Faustin-Archange TOUADERA (since 22 January 2008) ; cabinet: Council of Ministers ; elections: under the new constitution, the president elected to a five-year term (eligible for a second term); elections last held 13 March and 8 May 2005 (next to be held in 2010); prime minister appointed by the political party with a parliamentary majority ; election results: Francois BOZIZE elected president; percent of second round balloting - Francois BOZIZE (KNK) 64.6%, Martin ZIGUELE (MLPC) 35.4%
unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (109 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) ; elections: last held 13 March 2005 and 8 May 2005 (next to be held in 2010) ; election results: percent of vote by party - MLPC 43%, RDC 18%, MDD 9%, FPP 6%, PSD 5%, ADP 4%, PUN 3%, FODEM 2%, PLD 2%, UPR 1%, FC 1%, independents 6%; seats by party - MLPC 47, RDC 20, MDD 8, FPP 7, PSD 6, ADP 5, PUN 3, FODEM 2, PLD 2, UPR 1, FC 1, independents 7
Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; Constitutional Court (3 judges appointed by the president, 3 by the president of the National Assembly, and 3 by fellow judges); Court of Appeal; Criminal Courts; Inferior Courts
Alliance for Democracy and Progress or ADP [Jacques MBOLIEDAS]; Central African Democratic Assembly or RDC [Andre KOLINGBA]; Civic Forum or FC [Gen. Timothee MALENDOMA]; Democratic Forum for Modernity or FODEM [Charles MASSI]; Liberal Democratic Party or PLD [Nestor KOMBO-NAGUEMON]; Movement for Democracy and Development or MDD [David DACKO]; Movement for the Liberation of the Central African People or MLPC [Ange-Felix PATASSE] (the party of deposed president); National Convergence or KNK; Patriotic Front for Progress or FPP [Abel GOUMBA]; People's Union for the Republic or UPR [Pierre Sammy MAKFOY]; National Unity Party or PUN [Jean-Paul NGOUPANDE]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Enoch LAKOUE]
NA
ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, BDEAC, CEMAC, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIC (observer), OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
four equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, green, and yellow with a vertical red band in center; there is a yellow five-pointed star on the hoist side of the blue band
chief of mission: Ambassador Emmanuel TOUABOY ; chancery: 1618 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 ; telephone: [1] (202) 483-7800 ; FAX: [1] (202) 332-9893
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires James PANOS ; embassy: Avenue David Dacko, Bangui ; mailing address: B. P. 924, Bangui ; telephone: [236] 61 02 00 ; FAX: [236] 61 44 94 ; note: the embassy is currently operating with a minimal staff





Subsistence agriculture, together with forestry, remains the backbone of the economy of the Central African Republic (CAR), with more than 70% of the population living in outlying areas. The agricultural sector generates more than half of GDP. Timber has accounted for about 16% of export earnings and the diamond industry, for 40%. Important constraints to economic development include the CAR's landlocked position, a poor transportation system, a largely unskilled work force, and a legacy of misdirected macroeconomic policies. Factional fighting between the government and its opponents remains a drag on economic revitalization. Distribution of income is extraordinarily unequal. Grants from France and the international community can only partially meet humanitarian needs.
$3.101 billion (2007 est.)
$1.65 billion (2007 est.)
4% (2007 est.)
$700 (2007 est.)
agriculture: 55% ; industry: 20% ; services: 25% (2001 est.)
1.857 million (2006)

8% (23% for Bangui) (2001 est.)
NA%
lowest 10%: 0.7% ; highest 10%: 47.7% (1993)
61.3 (1993)
4% (2007 est.)

revenues: $250 million ; expenditures: $273 million (2007 est.)

timber, cotton, coffee, tobacco, manioc (tapioca), yams, millet, corn, bananas; timber
gold and diamond mining, logging, brewing, textiles, footwear, assembly of bicycles and motorcycles
3% (2002)
109 million kWh (2005)
fossil fuel: 19.8% ; hydro: 80.2% ; nuclear: 0% ; other: 0% (2001)
101.4 million kWh (2005)
0 kWh (2005)
0 kWh (2005)
0 bbl/day (2005)
2,300 bbl/day (2005 est.)
0 bbl/day (2004)
2,201 bbl/day (2004)
0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)
0 cu m (2005 est.)
0 cu m (2005 est.)
0 cu m (2005 est.)
0 cu m (2005)
0 cu m (1 January 2006)

$146.7 million f.o.b. (2007 est.)
diamonds, timber, cotton, coffee, tobacco
Belgium 30.7%, Spain 10.7%, Indonesia 8%, France 7.8%, China 6.9%, Democratic Republic of the Congo 6%, Turkey 5%, Italy 4.7% (2006)
$237.3 million f.o.b. (2007 est.)
France 15.4%, Netherlands 15.1%, US 9.2%, Cameroon 8.9% (2006)


$1.153 billion (2007 est.)


$NA
Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States
XAF
Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 481.8 (2007), 522.59 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003)
calendar year
ODA, $95.29 million; note - traditional budget subsidies from France (2005 est.)
10,000 (2005)
100,000 (2005)
general assessment: limited telephone service; fixed-line connections for well less than 1 per 100 persons coupled with mobile-cellular usage of only about 3 per 100 persons ; domestic: network consists principally of microwave radio relay and low-capacity, low-powered radiotelephone communication ; international: country code - 236; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2007)
AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 1 (2001)
283,000 (1997)
1 (2001)
18,000 (1997)
.cf
15 (2007)
1 (2002)
13,000 (2006)

51 (2007)
total: 3 ; 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 ; 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2007)
total: 48 ; 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 ; 1,524 to 2,437 m: 10 ; 914 to 1,523 m: 24 ; under 914 m: 13 (2007)



total: 23,810 km (1999)
2,800 km (primarily on the Oubangui and Sangha rivers) (2006)

Bangui, Nola, Salo, Nzinga

Central African Armed Forces (Forces Armees Centrafricaines, FACA): Ground Forces, Military Air Service, General Directorate of Gendarmerie Inspection (DGIG); National Police (2006)
18 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service; 2-year conscript service obligation (2006)
males age 18-49: 853,760 ; females age 18-49: 835,426 (2005 est.)
males age 18-49: 416,091 ; females age 18-49: 383,056 (2005 est.)

1.1% (2006 est.)

periodic skirmishes over water and grazing rights among related pastoral populations along the border with southern Sudan persist
refugees (country of origin): 19,960 (Sudan), 3,325 (Democratic Republic of the Congo); note - UNHCR resumed repatriation of Southern Sudanese refugees in 2006 ; IDPs: 150,000 (ongoing unrest following coup in 2003) (2006)

current situation: Central African Republic is a source and destination country for children trafficked for domestic servitude, sexual exploitation, and forced labor in shops and commercial labor activities; while the majority of child victims are trafficked within the country, some are also trafficked to and from Cameroon and Nigeria ; tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - the Central African Republic failed to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat trafficking in persons during 2005, specifically its inadequate law enforcement response to trafficking crimes
