The Central African Republic mainly consists of Sudano-Guineansavanna, but the country also includes aSahelo-Sudanian zone in the north and anequatorial forest zone in the south. Two-thirds of the country is within theUbangi River basin (which flows into theCongo), while the remaining third lies in the basin of theChari, which flows intoLake Chad.
What is today the Central African Republic has been inhabited since at least 8000 BCE. The country's borders were established by France, which began annexing portions to theFrench Congo in the late 19th century and in 1903 established the separate colony ofUbangi-Shari, part ofFrench Equatorial Africa. After gaining independence from France in 1960, the Central African Republic was ruled by a series of autocratic leaders, including underJean-Bedel Bokassa who changed the country's name to theCentral African Empire and ruled as a monarch from 1976 to 1979.[11] TheCentral African Republic Bush War began in 2004 and, despite a peace treaty in 2007 and another in 2011, civil war resumed in 2012. The civil war perpetuated the country's poorhuman rights record: it was characterized by widespread and increasing abuses by various participating armed groups.
The name of the Central African Republic is derived from the country's geographical location in the central region of Africa and its republican form of government. From 1976 to 1979, the country was known as theCentral African Empire.
TheBouar Megaliths, pictured here on a 1967 Central African stamp, date back to the very late Neolithic Era (c. 3500–2700 BCE).
Approximately 10,000 years ago,desertification forcedhunter-gatherer societies south into the Sahel regions of northern Central Africa, where some groups settled.[18] Farming began as part of theNeolithic Revolution.[19] Initial farming ofwhite yam progressed intomillet andsorghum, and before 3000BCE[20] the domestication ofAfrican oil palm improved the groups' nutrition and allowed for expansion of the local populations.[21] This agricultural revolution, combined with a "Fish-stew Revolution", in which fishing began to take place and the use of boats, allowed for the transportation of goods. Products were often moved inceramic pots.[citation needed]
Bananas arrived in the region during the first millennium BCE[26] and added an important source of carbohydrates to the diet; they were also used in the production ofalcoholic beverages. Production ofcopper,salt,dried fish, andtextiles dominated the economic trade in the Central African region.[27]
In the 16th and 17th centuries,slave traders began to raid the region as part of the expansion of the Saharan and Nile River slave routes. Their captives were enslaved and shipped to the Mediterranean coast, Europe, Arabia, the Western Hemisphere, or to the slave ports and factories along the West and North Africa or South along the Ubangui and Congo rivers.[28][29] During the 18th century Bandia-NzakaraAzande peoples established theBangassou Kingdom along theUbangi River.[29] In the mid 19th century, theBobangi people became major slave traders and sold their captives to the Americas using the Ubangi river to reach the coast.[30] In 1875, theSudanese sultanRabih az-Zubayr governed Upper-Oubangui, which included present-day Central African Republic.[31]
The European invasion of Central African territory began in the late 19th century during theScramble for Africa.[32] Europeans, primarily the French,Germans, andBelgians, arrived in the area in 1885. France seized and colonizedUbangi-Shari territory in 1894. In 1911 at theTreaty of Fez, France ceded a nearly 300,000 km2 portion of the Sangha and Lobaye basins to theGerman Empire which ceded a smaller area (in present-dayChad) to France. AfterWorld War I France again annexed the territory. Modeled onKing Leopold'sCongo Free State, concessions were doled out to private companies that endeavored to strip the region's assets as quickly and cheaply as possible before depositing a percentage of their profits into the French treasury. The concessionary companiesforced local people to harvest rubber, coffee, and other commodities without pay and held their families hostage until they met their quotas.[33]
In 1920,French Equatorial Africa was established and Ubangi-Shari was administered fromBrazzaville.[34] During the 1920s and 1930s the French introduced a policy of mandatory cotton cultivation,[34] a network of roads were built, attempts were made to combatsleeping sickness, andProtestantmissions were established to spread Christianity.[35] New forms of forced labour were also introduced and a large number of Ubangians were sent to work on theCongo-Ocean Railway. Through the period of construction until 1934 there was a continual heavy cost in human lives, with total deaths among all workers along the railway estimated in excess of 17,000 of the construction workers, from a combination of both industrial accidents and diseases includingmalaria.[36] In 1928, a major insurrection, theKongo-Wara rebellion or 'war of the hoe handle', broke out in Western Ubangi-Shari and continued for several years. The extent of this insurrection, which was perhaps the largest anti-colonial rebellion in Africa during the interwar years, was carefully hidden from the French public because it provided evidence of strong opposition to French colonial rule and forced labour.[37]French colonization in Oubangui-Chari is considered to be the most brutal of the French colonial Empire.[38]
In September 1940, during theSecond World War,pro-Gaullist French officers took control of Ubangi-Shari andGeneral Leclerc established his headquarters for theFree French Forces inBangui.[39] In 1946Barthélemy Boganda was elected with 9,000 votes to theFrench National Assembly, becoming the first representative of the Central African Republic in the French government. Boganda maintained a political stance against racism and the colonial regime but gradually became disheartened with the French political system and returned to the Central African Republic to establish theMovement for the Social Evolution of Black Africa (Mouvement pour l'évolution sociale de l'Afrique noire, MESAN) in 1950.[31]
In theUbangi-Shari Territorial Assembly election in 1957, MESAN captured 347,000 out of the total 356,000 votes[40] and won every legislative seat,[41] which led to Boganda being elected president of the Grand Council ofFrench Equatorial Africa and vice-president of the Ubangi-Shari Government Council.[42] Within a year, he declared the establishment of the Central African Republic and served as the country's first prime minister. MESAN continued to exist, but its role was limited.[43] The Central African Republic was granted autonomy within the French Community on 1 December 1958, a status which meant it was still counted as part of the French Empire in Africa.[44]
After Boganda's death in aplane crash on 29 March 1959, his cousin,David Dacko, took control of MESAN. Dacko became the country's first president when the Central African Republic formally receivedindependence from France at midnight on 13 August 1960, a date celebrated by the country'sIndependence Day holiday.[45] Dacko threw out his political rivals, includingAbel Goumba, former Prime Minister and leader ofMouvement d'évolution démocratique de l'Afrique centrale (MEDAC), whom he forced into exile in France. With all opposition parties suppressed by November 1962, Dacko declared MESAN as the official party of the state.[46]
Bokassa and the Central African Empire (1965–1979)
In April 1979, young students protested against Bokassa's decree that all school pupils were required to buy uniforms from a company owned by one of his wives. The government violently suppressed the protests, killing 100 children and teenagers. Bokassa might have been personally involved in some of the killings.[47] In September 1979,France overthrew Bokassa and restored Dacko to power (subsequently restoring the official name of the country and the original government to the Central African Republic). Dacko, in turn, was again overthrown in acoup by GeneralAndré Kolingba on 1 September 1981.[48]
Kolingba suspended the constitution and ruled with amilitary junta until 1985. He introduced a new constitution in 1986 which was adopted by a nationwide referendum. Membership in his new party, theRassemblement Démocratique Centrafricain (RDC), was voluntary. In 1987 and 1988, semi-free elections to parliament were held, but Kolingba's two major political opponents,Abel Goumba andAnge-Félix Patassé, were not allowed to participate.[49]
By 1990, inspired by thefall of the Berlin Wall, a pro-democracy movement arose. Pressure from the United States, France, and from a group of locally represented countries and agencies called GIBAFOR (France, the US, Germany, Japan, the EU, theWorld Bank, and theUnited Nations) finally led Kolingba to agree, in principle, to hold free elections in October 1992 with help from the UN Office of Electoral Affairs. After using the excuse of alleged irregularities to suspend the results of the elections as a pretext for holding on to power, President Kolingba came under intense pressure from GIBAFOR to establish a "Conseil National Politique Provisoire de la République" (Provisional National Political Council, CNPPR) and to set up a "Mixed Electoral Commission", which included representatives from all political parties.[49]
When a second round of elections were finally held in 1993, again with the help of the international community coordinated by GIBAFOR, Ange-Félix Patassé won in the second round of voting with 53% of the vote while Goumba won 45.6%. Patassé's party, theMouvement pour la Libération du Peuple Centrafricain (MLPC) or Movement for the Liberation of the Central African People, gained aplurality (relative majority) but not anabsolute majority of seats in parliament, which meant Patassé's party required coalition partners.[49]
Patassé purged many of the Kolingba elements from the government and Kolingba supporters accused Patassé's government of conducting a "witch hunt" against the Yakoma. A new constitution was approved on 28 December 1994 but had little impact on the country's politics. In 1996–1997, reflecting steadily decreasing public confidence in the government's erratic behavior, threemutinies against Patassé's administration were accompanied by widespread destruction of property and heightened ethnic tension. During this time (1996), thePeace Corps evacuated all its volunteers to neighboring Cameroon. To date, the Peace Corps has not returned to the Central African Republic. TheBangui Agreements, signed in January 1997, provided for the deployment of an inter-African military mission, to the Central African Republic and re-entry of ex-mutineers into the government on 7 April 1997. The inter-African military mission was later replaced by a U.N.peacekeeping force (MINURCA). Since 1997, the country has hosted almost a dozen peacekeeping interventions, earning it the title of "world champion of peacekeeping".[33]
In 1998, parliamentary elections resulted in Kolingba's RDC winning 20 out of 109 seats. The next year, however, in spite of widespread public anger in urban centers over his corrupt rule, Patassé won a second term in the presidential election.[50]
On 28 May 2001, rebels stormed strategic buildings in Bangui in anunsuccessful coup attempt. The army chief of staff, Abel Abrou, and General François N'Djadder Bedaya were killed, but Patassé regained the upper hand by bringing in at least 300 troops of theCongolese rebel leaderJean-Pierre Bemba and Libyan soldiers.[51]
In the aftermath of thefailed coup, militias loyal to Patassé sought revenge against rebels in many neighborhoods ofBangui and incited unrest including the murder of many political opponents. Eventually, Patassé came to suspect that GeneralFrançois Bozizé was involved in another coup attempt against him, which led Bozizé to flee with loyal troops to Chad. In March 2003, Bozizé launched a surprise attack against Patassé, who was out of the country. Libyan troops and some 1,000 soldiers of Bemba's Congolese rebel organization failed to stop the rebels and Bozizé's forces succeeded in overthrowing Patassé.[52]
François Bozizé suspended the constitution and named a new cabinet, which included most opposition parties.Abel Goumba was named vice-president. Bozizé established a broad-based National Transition Council to draft a new constitution, and announced that he would step down and run for office once the new constitution was approved.[53]
In 2004, theCentral African Republic Bush War began as forces opposed to Bozizé took up arms against his government. In May 2005, Bozizé won the presidential election, which excluded Patassé, and in 2006 fighting continued between the government and the rebels.[54] In November 2006, Bozizé's government requested French military support to help them repel rebels who had taken control of towns in the country's northern regions.[55] Though the initial public details of the agreement pertained to logistics and intelligence, by December the French assistance included airstrikes byDassault Mirage 2000 fighters against rebel positions.[56][57]
The Syrte Agreement in February and the Birao Peace Agreement in April 2007 called for a cessation of hostilities, the billeting ofFDPC fighters and their integration with FACA, the liberation of political prisoners, the integration of FDPC into government, an amnesty for theUFDR, its recognition as a political party, and the integration of its fighters into the national army. Several groups continued to fight but other groups signed on to the agreement or similar agreements with the government (e.g., UFR on 15 December 2008). The only major group not to sign an agreement at the time was theCPJP, which continued its activities and signed a peace agreement with the government on 25 August 2012.[58]
In 2011, Bozizé was reelected in an election which was widely considered fraudulent.[12]
In November 2012,Séléka, a coalition of rebel groups, took over towns in the northern and central regions of the country. These groups eventually reached a peace deal with Bozizé's government in January 2013, involving a power-sharing government.[12] The deal later broke down, and the rebels seized the capital in March 2013 and Bozizé fled the country.[59][60]
Refugees of the fighting in the Central African Republic, January 2014
Michel Djotodia took over as president. Prime MinisterNicolas Tiangaye requested aUN peacekeeping force from theUN Security Council and on 31 May former President Bozizé was indicted for crimes against humanity and incitement to genocide.[61] By the end of the year, there were international warnings of a "genocide"[62][63] and fighting was largely reprisal attacks on civilians by Seleka's predominantly Muslim fighters and Christian militias called "anti-balaka".[64] By August 2013, there were reports of over 200,000internally displaced persons (IDPs).[65][66]
On 18 February 2014,United Nations Secretary-GeneralBan Ki-moon called on theUN Security Council to immediately deploy 3,000 troops to the country, bolstering the 6,000 African Union soldiers and 2,000 French troops already in the country, to combat civilians being murdered in large numbers. TheSéléka government was said to be divided,[67] and in September 2013, Djotodia officially disbanded Seleka, but many rebels refused to disarm, becoming known as ex-Seleka, and veered further out of government control.[64] It is argued that the focus of the initial disarmament efforts exclusively on the Seleka inadvertently handed the anti-Balaka the upper hand, leading to the forced displacement of Muslim civilians by anti-Balaka in Bangui and western Central African Republic.[33]
On 11 January 2014, Michael Djotodia and Nicolas Tiengaye resigned as part of a deal negotiated at a regional summit in neighboringChad.[68]Catherine Samba-Panza was elected interim president by the National Transitional Council,[69] becoming the first ever female Central African president. On 23 July 2014, following Congolese mediation efforts, Séléka and anti-balaka representatives signed a ceasefire agreement inBrazzaville.[70] By the end of 2014, the country was de facto partitioned with the anti-Balaka in the southwest and ex-Seleka in the northeast.[33] In March 2015,Samantha Power, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said 417 of the country's 436 mosques had been destroyed, and Muslim women were so scared of going out in public they were giving birth in their homes instead of going to the hospital.[71] On 14 December 2015, Séléka rebel leaders declared an independentRepublic of Logone.[72]
Current military situation in Central African Republic
Presidential elections were held in December 2015. As no candidate received more than 50% of the vote, a second round of elections was held on 14 February 2016 with run-offs on 31 March 2016.[73][74] In the second round of voting, former Prime MinisterFaustin-Archange Touadéra was declared the winner with 63% of the vote, defeatingUnion for Central African Renewal candidateAnicet-Georges Dologuélé, another former Prime Minister.[75] While the elections suffered from many potential voters being absent as they had taken refuge in other countries, the fears of widespread violence were ultimately unfounded, and theAfrican Union regarded the elections as successful.[76]
Touadéra was sworn in on 30 March 2016. No representatives of the Seleka rebel group or the "anti-balaka" militias were included in the subsequently formed government.[77]
Presidential elections were held on 27 December 2020.[78] Former presidentFrançois Bozizé announced his candidacy but was rejected by the Constitutional Court of the country, which held that Bozizé did not satisfy the "good morality" requirement for candidates because of an international warrant andUnited Nations sanctions against him for alleged assassinations, torture and other crimes.[79]
As large parts of the country were at the time controlled by armed groups, the election could not be conducted in many areas of the country.[80][81] Some 800 of the country's polling stations, or 14% of the total, were closed due to violence.[82] ThreeBurundian peacekeepers were killed and an additional two were wounded during the run-up to the election.[83][84] President Faustin-Archange Touadéra was reelected.[85] Russian mercenaries from theWagner Group have supported President Faustin-Archange Touadéra in the fight against rebels. Russia's Wagner group has been accused of harassing and intimidating civilians.[86][87] In December 2022,Roger Cohen wrote inThe New York Times, "Wagner shock troops form a Praetorian Guard for Mr. Touadéra, who is also protected by Rwandan forces, in return for an untaxed license to exploit and export the Central African Republic's resources" and "one Western ambassador called the Central African Republic...a 'vassal state' of the Kremlin."[88]
Falls of Boali on the Mbali RiverA village in the Central African Republic
The Central African Republic is a landlocked nation within the interior of the African continent. It is bordered by Cameroon, Chad, Sudan, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Republic of the Congo. The country lies between latitudes2° and11°N, and longitudes14° and28°E.[89]
Around 36% of the country is covered by forest, with the densest parts generally located in the southern regions. The forests are highly diverse and include commercially important species ofAyous,Sapelli, andSipo.[92] The deforestation rate is about 0.4% per annum, andlumber poaching is commonplace.[93] The Central African Republic had a 2018Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 9.28/10, ranking it seventh globally out of 172 countries.[94]
In 2008, Central African Republic was the world's leastlight pollution affected country.[95]
The climate of the Central African Republic is generallytropical, with awet season that lasts from June to September in the northern regions of the country, and from May to October in the south. During the wet season, rainstorms are an almost daily occurrence, and early morningfog is commonplace. Maximum annual precipitation is approximately 1,800 millimetres (71 in) in the upper Ubangi region.[97]
The northern areas are hot and humid from February to May,[98] but can be subject to the hot, dry, and dustytrade wind known as theHarmattan. The southern regions have a more equatorial climate, but they are subject todesertification, while the extreme northeast regions of the country are asteppe.[99]
In the Central African Republicforest cover is around 36% of the total land area, equivalent to 22,303,000 hectares (ha) of forest in 2020, down from 23,203,000 hectares (ha) in 1990. In 2020, naturally regenerating forest covered 22,301,000 hectares (ha) and planted forest covered 2,000 hectares (ha). Of the naturally regenerating forest 9% was reported to beprimary forest (consisting of native tree species with no clearly visible indications of human activity). For the year 2015, 91% of the forest area was reported to be underpublic ownership and 9%private ownership.[101][102] In 2021, the rate ofdeforestation in the Central African Republic increased by 71%.[103]
This section needs to beupdated. The reason given is: Recent developments and Russian influence. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(December 2022)
Changes in government have occurred in recent years by three methods: violence, negotiations, and elections. A new constitution was approved by voters in a referendum held on 5 December 2004. The government was rated 'Partly Free' from 1991 to 2001 and from 2004 to 2013.[104]V-Dem Democracy Indices described Central African Republic asautocratizing in 2024.[105]
The president is elected by popular vote for a six-year term, and the prime minister is appointed by the president. The president also appoints and presides over theCouncil of Ministers, which initiates laws and oversees government operations. However, as of 2018 the official government is not in control of large parts of the country, which are governed by rebel groups.[106] Acting president since April 2016 isFaustin-Archange Touadéra who followed the interim government underCatherine Samba-Panza, interim prime ministerAndré Nzapayeké.[10]
TheNational Assembly (Assemblée Nationale) has 140 members, elected for a five-year term using the two-round (orrun-off) system.[12]
As in many other former French colonies, the Central African Republic's legal system is based onFrench law.[107] The Supreme Court, orCour Suprême, is made up of judges appointed by the president. There is also a Constitutional Court, and its judges are also appointed by the president.[12]
Freedom of speech is addressed in the country'sconstitution, but there have been incidents of government intimidation of the media.[108] A report by theInternational Research & Exchanges Board's media sustainability index noted that "the country minimally met objectives, with segments of the legal system and government opposed to a free media system".[108]
A clickable map of the fourteen prefectures of the Central African Republic.
The Central African Republic is divided into 20 administrativeprefectures (préfectures), two of which are economic prefectures (préfectures économiques); the prefectures are further divided into 84 sub-prefectures (sous-préfectures).[109]
The Central African Republic is heavily dependent on foreignaid, and numerousNGOs provide services that the government does not provide.[110] In 2019, over US$100 million in foreign aid was spent in the country, mostly on humanitarian assistance.[111]
In 2006, due to ongoing violence, over 50,000 people in the country's northwest were at risk of starvation,[112] but this was averted due to assistance from theUnited Nations.[113] On 8 January 2008, the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon declared that the Central African Republic was eligible to receive assistance from the Peacebuilding Fund.[114] Three priority areas were identified: first, the reform of the security sector; second, the promotion of good governance and the rule of law; and third, the revitalization of communities affected by conflicts. On 12 June 2008, the Central African Republic requested assistance from theUN Peacebuilding Commission,[115] which was set up in 2005 to help countries emerging from conflict avoid devolving back into war or chaos.[116]
In response to concerns of a potential genocide, a peacekeeping force – the International Support Mission to the Central African Republic (MISCA) – was authorized in December 2013. This African Union force of 6,000 personnel was accompanied by the French Operation Sangaris.[117]
In August 2025, Russia demanded that the Central African Republic pay itsAfrica Corps for armed protection rather than use the private mercenariesWagner Group.[119]
The State Department report also cites widespreadmob violence, the prevalence offemale genital mutilation, discrimination against women andpygmies,human trafficking,forced labor, andchild labor.[120] Freedom of movement is limited in the northern part of the country "because of actions by state security forces, armed bandits, and other non-state armed entities", and due to fighting between government and anti-government forces, many people have beeninternally displaced.[121]
Violence against children and women in relation to accusations ofwitchcraft has also been cited as a serious problem in the country.[122][123][124] Witchcraft is a criminal offense under the penal code.[122]
The currency of the Central African Republic is theCFA franc, which is accepted across the former countries ofFrench West Africa and trades at a fixed rate to the euro. Diamonds constitute the country's most important export, accounting for 40–55% of export revenues, but it is estimated that between 30% and 50% of those produced each year leave the country clandestinely.[127] On 27 April 2022,[128]Bitcoin (BTC) was adopted as an additional legal tender. Lawmakers unanimously adopted a bill that made Bitcoin legal tender alongside the CFA franc and legalized the use of cryptocurrencies. PresidentFaustin-Archange Touadéra signed the measure into law, said his chief of staff Obed Namsio. After anextraordinary meeting on 6 May 2022, COBAC published DECISION D-071-2022[129] in which it banned the use of crypto currency. It subsequently repealed its status as legal tender.[130]
Agriculture is dominated by the cultivation and sale of food crops such ascassava,peanuts,maize,sorghum,millet,sesame, andplantain. The annualgrowth rate of real GDP is slightly above 3%. The importance of food crops over exportedcash crops is indicated by the fact that the total production of cassava, the staple food of most Central Africans, ranges between 200,000 and 300,000tonnes a year, while the production ofcotton, the principal exported cash crop, ranges from 25,000 to 45,000 tonnes a year. Food crops are not exported in large quantities, but still constitute the principal cash crops of the country because Central Africans derive far more income from the periodic sale of surplus food crops than from exported cash crops such as cotton or coffee.[127] Much of the country is self-sufficient in food crops; however,livestock development is hindered by the presence of thetsetse fly.[131]
The Republic's primary import partner is France (17.1%). Other imports come from the United States (12.3%), India (11.5%), and China (8.2%). Its largest export partner is France (31.2%), followed byBurundi (16.2%), China (12.5%),Cameroon (9.6%), and Austria (7.8%).[12]
Two trans-African automobile routes pass through the Central African Republic: theTripoli-Cape Town Highway and theLagos-Mombasa Highway. Bangui is the transport hub of the Central African Republic. As of 1999, eight roads connected the city to other main towns in the country,Cameroon, Chad, andSouth Sudan; of these, only the toll roads are paved. During the rainy season from July to October, some roads are impassable.[133][134]
Riverferries sail from theriver port at Bangui toBrazzaville andZongo. The river can be navigated most of the year between Bangui and Brazzaville. From Brazzaville, goods are transported by rail toPointe-Noire, Congo's Atlantic port.[135] The river port handles the overwhelming majority of the country's international trade and has a cargo handling capacity of 350,000 tons; it has 350 metres (1,150 ft) length ofwharfs and 24,000 square metres (260,000 sq ft) of warehousing space.[133]
The Central African Republic primarily useshydroelectricity as there are few other low cost resources for generating electricity.[137] Access to electricity is very limited with 15.6% of the total population having electrification, 34.6% in urban areas and 1.5% in rural areas.[138]
Presently, the Central African Republic has active television services, radio stations,internet service providers, andmobile phone carriers;Socatel is the leading provider for both internet and mobile phone access throughout the country. The primary governmental regulating bodies of telecommunications are the Ministère des Postes and Télécommunications et des Nouvelles Technologies. In addition, the Central African Republic receives international support on telecommunication related operations fromITU Telecommunication Development Sector (ITU-D) within theInternational Telecommunication Union to improve infrastructure.[139]
The population of the Central African Republic has almost quadrupled since independence. In 1960, the population was 1,232,000; as of a 2021 UN estimate, it is approximately 5,457,154.[140][141]
The Central African Republic's two official languages areFrench andSango (also spelledSangho),[146] acreole developed as an inter-ethniclingua franca based on the localNgbandi language. The Central African Republic is one of the few African countries to have granted official status to anAfrican language.
According to the 2003 national census, 80.3% of the population wasChristian (51.4%Protestant and 28.9%Roman Catholic), 10% wasMuslim and 4.5 percent other religious groups, with 5.5 percent having no religious beliefs.[147] More recent work from the Pew Research Center estimated that, as of 2010, Christians constituted 89.8% of the population (60.7% Protestant and 28.5% Catholic) while Muslims made up 8.9%.[148][149] The Catholic Church claims over 1.5 million adherents, approximately one-third of the population.[150] Indigenous belief (animism) is also practiced, and many indigenous beliefs areincorporated into Christian and Islamic practice.[151] A UN director described religious tensions between Muslims and Christians as being high.[152]
There are many missionary groups operating in the country, includingLutherans,Baptists,Catholics,Grace Brethren, andJehovah's Witnesses. While these missionaries are predominantly from the United States, France, Italy, and Spain, many are also fromNigeria, theDemocratic Republic of the Congo, and other African countries. Large numbers of missionaries left the country when fighting broke out between rebel and government forces in 2002–3, but many of them have now returned to continue their work.[153]
According to Overseas Development Institute research, during the crisis ongoing since 2012, religious leaders have mediated between communities and armed groups; they also provided refuge for people seeking shelter.[117]
Public education in the Central African Republic is free and is compulsory from ages 6 to 14.[154] However, approximately half of the adult population of the country isilliterate.[155] The two institutions of higher education in the Central African Republic are theUniversity of Bangui, a public university located in Bangui, which includes amedical school; andEuclid University, an international university.[156][157]
Mothers and babies aged between 0 and 5 years are lining up in a Health Post at Begoua, a district ofBangui, waiting for the two drops of the oralpolio vaccine.
The largest hospitals in the country are located in the Bangui district. As a member of theWorld Health Organization, the Central African Republic receives vaccination assistance, such as a 2014 intervention for the prevention of a measles epidemic.[158] In 2007, femalelife expectancy at birth was 48.2 years, and male life expectancy at birth was 45.1 years.[159]
Malaria is endemic in the Central African Republic and one of the leading causes of death.[163] According to 2009 estimates, the HIV/AIDSprevalence rate is about 4.7% of the adult population (ages 15–49).[164] This is in general agreement with the 2016United Nations estimate of approximately 4%.[142] Government expenditure on health was US$20 (PPP) per person in 2006[159] and 10.9% of total government expenditure in 2006.[159] There was only around 1 physician for every 20,000 people in 2009.[165]
In the 2024 Global Hunger Index, Central African Rep. ranks 119th out of the 127 countries with sufficient data to calculate 2024 GHI scores. With a score of 31.5[166]
The nation comprises over 80 ethnic groups, each having its own language. The largest ethnic groups are the Baggara Arabs, Baka, Banda, Bayaka, Fula, Gbaya, Kara, Kresh, Mbaka, Mandja, Ngbandi, Sara, Vidiri, Wodaabe, Yakoma, Yulu, and Zande, with others including Europeans of mostly French descent.
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