Central African Republic
| Central African Republic République centrafricaine
Ködörösêse tî Bêafrîka |
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| Motto: "Unité, Dignité, Travail" (French) "Unity, Dignity, Work" |
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| Anthem: La Renaissance (French) E Zingo (Sango) The Renaissance |
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| Capital and largest city |
Bangui 4°22′N 18°35′E / 4.367°N 18.583°E |
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| Official languages | French Sango |
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| Ethnic groups | 33% Baya 27% Banda 13% Mandjia 10% Sara 7% Mboum 4% M'Baka 4% Yakoma 2% other |
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| Demonym | Central African | |||||
| Government | Republic | |||||
| - | President | Faustin-Archange Touadéra | ||||
| - | Prime Minister | Simplice Sarandji | ||||
| Legislature | National Assembly (suspended) |
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| Independence | ||||||
| - | from France | 13 August 1960 | ||||
| Area | ||||||
| - | Total | 622,984 km2 (43rd) 240,534 sq mi |
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| - | Water (%) | 0 | ||||
| Population | ||||||
| - | 2009 estimate | 4,422,000[1] (124th) | ||||
| - | 2003 census | 3,895,150 | ||||
| - | Density | 7.1/km2 (223rd) 18.4/sq mi |
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| GDP (PPP) | 2011 estimate | |||||
| - | Total | $3.641 billion[2] | ||||
| - | Per capita | $767[2] | ||||
| GDP (nominal) | 2011 estimate | |||||
| - | Total | $2.165 billion[2] | ||||
| - | Per capita | $456[2] | ||||
| Gini (1993) | 61.3[3] very high |
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| HDI (2011) | 0.343 low · 179th |
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| Currency | Central African CFA franc (XAF) | |||||
| Time zone | WAT (UTC+1) | |||||
| - | Summer (DST) | not observed (UTC+1) | ||||
| Drives on the | right[4] | |||||
| Calling code | 236 | |||||
| Internet TLD | .cf | |||||
The Central African Republic (CAR) (French: République centrafricaine, pronounced: [ʁepyblik sɑ̃tʁafʁikɛn], or Centrafrique [sɑ̃tʀafʀik]; Sango Ködörösêse tî Bêafrîka), is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is mostly a plateau or high, flat piece of land about 941 metres above the sea. The CAR covers a land area of about 240,000 square miles (620,000 km2), and has an estimated population of about 4.4 million as of 2008. Bangui is the capital city.
There are thick forests in the south, and these are home to rare gorillas. This part of Africa also has Pygmies.
Other important towns are Bouar, Zinga, and Ouadda. Its southern border is the Ubangi River. There are 3.8 million people in the C.A.R. Most of them belong to the Banda and Baya tribes. The main language is French but some people speak the national language of Sango.
The people mostly grow their own food, but sometimes droughts (long spells without any rain) make this difficult. The C.A.R. also has diamond and uranium mines. It sells these, as well as cotton, coffee and timber to other countries to make money.
The Currency (type of money they use) is the CFA Franc. 1 US Dollar is worth 424.05 CFA Francs.
The country was ruled by France until 1960 when it became independent.
Geography[change | change source]
The Central African Republic is a landlocked nation. It is bordered by the countries of Cameroon, Chad, Sudan, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo.
Much of the Central African Republic is flat, or rolling plateau savanna. It is typically about 500 metres (1,640 ft) above sea level. Most of the northern half is in the World Wildlife Fund's East Sudanian savanna ecoregion. In the northeast are the Fertit Hills. There are scattered hills in the southwest part of the country. To the northwest is the Yade Massif, a granite plateau with an altitude of 1,143 feet (348 m).
At 622,941 square kilometres (240,519 sq mi), the Central African Republic is the world's 42nd-largest country. It is about the size of the Ukraine, and is somewhat smaller than the US state of Texas.
Much of the southern border is formed by tributaries of the Congo River. The Mbomou River in the east merges with the Uele River to form the Ubangi River. In the west, the Sangha River flows through part of the country. The eastern border is along the edge of the Nile River watershed.
Forest covers up to 8% of the land. The densest parts are in the south. The forest is highly diverse. It includes commercially important species of Ayous, Sapelli and Sipo.[5] The deforestation rate is 0.4% per year, and lumber poaching is commonplace.[6]
Prefectures[change | change source]
The Central African Republic is divided into 14 administrative prefectures. There are also 2 economic prefectures and one autonomous commune. The prefectures are further divided into 71 sub-prefectures.
The prefectures of the Central African Republic include:
the two economic prefectures are Nana-Grébizi and Sangha-Mbaéré. The commune is Bangui.
Cities[change | change source]
The largest cities in the Central African Republic are:
- Bangui - 622,771 (census 2006)
- Bimbo - 124,176
- Berbérati - 76,918
- Carnot - 45,421
- Bambari - 41,356
- Bouar - 40,303
- Bossangoa - 36,478
- Bria - 35,204
- Bangassou - 31,553
- Nola - 29,181
Related pages[change | change source]
- Central African Republic at the Olympics
- Central African Republic national football team
- List of rivers of the Central African Republic
References[change | change source]
- ↑ (PDF) World Population Prospects, Table A.1. 2008 revision. United Nations. 2009. http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/wpp2008/wpp2008_text_tables.pdf. Retrieved 2009-03-12.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Central African Republic". International Monetary Fund. http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2012/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?pr.x=96&pr.y=12&sy=2009&ey=2012&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=626&s=NGDPD%2CNGDPDPC%2CPPPGDP%2CPPPPC%2CLP&grp=0&a=. Retrieved 2012-04-18.
- ↑ "Distribution of family income – Gini index". The World Factbook. CIA. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2172.html. Retrieved 2009-09-01.
- ↑ Which side of the road do they drive on? Brian Lucas. August 2005. Retrieved 2009-01-28. Archived 21 July 2007 at WebCite
- ↑ Sold Down the River (English) March 2001, Forests Monitor
- ↑ The Forests of the Congo Basin: State of the Forest 2006. CARPE 13-July-07
Other websites[change | change source]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Central African Republic |
- Pygmy people Hunter-gatherer peoples from the Central African rain forest
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Cameroon | Chad | Sudan | |
| Cameroon |  |
South Sudan | ||
 Central African Republic  |
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| Republic of the Congo | Democratic Republic of the Congo | Democratic Republic of the Congo |
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