Central African Republic
The Central African Republic (CAR) (French: [République centrafricaine] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), pronounced: [ʁepyblik sɑ̃tʁafʁikɛn], or Centrafrique [sɑ̃tʀafʀik]; Sango Ködörösêse tî Bêafrîka), formerly Ubangi-Shari, 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 620,000 square kilometres (240,000 sq mi), and has an estimated population of about 4.4 million as of 2008. Bangui is the capital city.
Central African Republic République centrafricaine Ködörösêse tî Bêafrîka | |
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| Motto: | |
| Anthem: | |
| Location of the Central African Republic | |
| Capital and largest city | Bangui 4°22′N 18°35′E / 4.367°N 18.583°E |
| Official languages | French Sango |
| Ethnic groups | 33% Baya 27% Banda 13% Mandjia 10% Sara 7% Mboum 4% M'Baka 4% Yakoma 2% other |
| Demonym(s) | Central African |
| Government | Republic |
| Faustin-Archange Touadéra[1] | |
| Félix Moloua | |
| Legislature | National Assembly (suspended) |
| Independence | |
• from France | 13 August 1960 |
| Area | |
• Total | 622,984 km2 (240,535 sq mi) (44th) |
• Water (%) | 0 |
| Population | |
• 2016 estimate | 4,594,621[2] (119th) |
• 2003 census | 3,895,139[3] |
• Density | 7.1/km2 (18.4/sq mi) (221st) |
| GDP (PPP) | 2019 estimate |
• Total | $4.262 billion[4] (162nd) |
• Per capita | $823[4] (184th) |
| GDP (nominal) | 2019 estimate |
• Total | $2.321 billion[4] (163th) |
• Per capita | $448[4] (181st) |
| Gini (2008) | 56.3[5] high · 28th |
| HDI (2019) |  0.397[6]low · 188th |
| Currency | Central African CFA franc (XAF) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (WAT) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (not observed) |
| Driving side | right[7] |
| Calling code | 236 |
| ISO 3166 code | CF |
| Internet TLD | .cf |
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Background
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 used is the CFA Franc - 1 US Dollar is worth 590.3 CFA Francs.[8]
The country was ruled by France until 1960 when it became independent.
The country has not been very stable since then, with multiple wars with itself, and corruption.
In April 2022, the country made bitcoin a legal tender, becoming the second country in the world to adopt the cryptocurrency.[9]
Geography
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 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.[10] The deforestation rate is 0.4% per year, and lumber poaching is commonplace.[11]
Prefectures
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 are:
The two economic prefectures are Nana-Grébizi and Sangha-Mbaéré. The commune is Bangui.
Cities
The largest cities in the Central African Republic are:
Central African RepublicPrefectures Media
- Central African Republic (centered orthographic projection).svg
Central African Republic (centered orthographic projection)
Map of Cental African Republic
The Bouar Megaliths, pictured here on a 1967 Central African stamp, date back to the very late Neolithic Era (c. 3500–2700 BCE).
The Sultan of Bangassou and his wives, 1906
- De Gaulle Bangui 1940.jpg
Charles de Gaulle in Bangui, 1940
- Bokassa with Ceausescu (cropped).jpg
Jean-Bédel Bokassa, self-crowned Emperor of Central Africa
- Rebel in northern CAR 01.jpg
Rebel militia in the northern countryside, 2007
- Refugees of the fighting in the Central African Republic observe Rwandan soldiers being dropped off at Bangui M'Poko International Airport in the Central African Republic Jan. 19, 2014 140119-F-RN211-760.jpg
Refugees of the fighting in the Central African Republic, January 2014
Current military situation in Central African Republic
- Republique Centrafricaine - Boali - Chutes de Boali.jpg
Falls of Boali on the Mbali River.
Related pages
References
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- ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
- ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
- ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
- ↑ Which side of the road do they drive on?Brian Lucas. August 2005. Retrieved 2009-01-28. Archived 2007-07-23 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
- ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
- ↑ Sold Down the River (English) March 2001 Archived 2010-04-13 at the Wayback Machine, Forests Monitor
- ↑ The Forests of the Congo Basin: State of the Forest 2006 Archived 2011-02-20 at the Wayback Machine. CARPE 13-July-07
Other websites
- Pygmy people Hunter-gatherer peoples from the Central African rain forest
Media related to Central African Republic at Wikimedia Commons
Central African Republic travel guide from Wikivoyage