Central African Republic
|
| Basic Facts |
| Country name |
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 |
| Gevernment type | republic |
| Capital |
name: Bangui
geographic coordinates: 4 22 N, 18 35 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Flag description | 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 |
| Currency | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States |
| Internet country code | .cf |
| Ports and terminals | Bangui, Nola, Salo, Nzinga |
| Agriculture products | cotton, coffee, tobacco, manioc (tapioca), yams, millet, corn, bananas; timber |
| Industries | gold and diamond mining, logging, brewing, textiles, footwear, assembly of bicycles and motorcycles |
| Geography |
| Location | Central Africa, north of Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| Coordinates | 7 00 N, 21 00 E |
| Continent | Africa |
| Area |
total: 622,984 sq km
land: 622,984 sq km water: 0 sq km |
| Boundaries |
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 |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Climate | tropical; hot, dry winters; mild to hot, wet summers |
| Terrain | vast, flat to rolling, monotonous plateau; scattered hills in northeast and southwest |
| Natural resources | diamonds, uranium, timber, gold, oil, hydropower |
| Natural hazards | hot, dry, dusty harmattan winds affect northern areas; floods are common |
| People |
| Population | 4,303,356
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 2006 est.) |
| Ethnic groups | Baya 33%, Banda 27%, Mandjia 13%, Sara 10%, Mboum 7%, M'Baka 4%, Yakoma 4%, other 2% |
| Religions | indigenous beliefs 35%, Protestant 25%, Roman Catholic 25%, Muslim 15%
note: animistic beliefs and practices strongly influence the Christian majority |
| Languages | French (official), Sangho (lingua franca and national language), tribal languages |
