CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC                                                        
GEOGRAPHY                                                                       
Total area: 622,980 km2; land area: 622,980 km2                                 
                                                                                
Comparative area: slightly smaller than Texas                                   
                                                                                
Land boundaries: 5,203 km total; Cameroon 797 km, Chad 1,197 km,                
Congo 467 km, Sudan 1,165 km, Zaire 1,577 km                                    
                                                                                
Coastline: none--landlocked                                                     
                                                                                
Maritime claims: none--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                         
                                                                                
Land use: arable land 3%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and                    
pastures 5%; forest and woodland 64%; other 28%                                 
                                                                                
Environment: hot, dry, dusty harmattan winds affect northern areas;             
poaching has diminished reputation as one of last great wildlife refuges;       
desertification                                                                 
                                                                                
Note: landlocked; almost the precise center of Africa                           
                                                                                
PEOPLE                                                                          
Population: 2,952,382 (July 1991), growth rate 2.6% (1991)                      
                                                                                
Birth rate: 44 births/1,000 population (1991)                                   
                                                                                
Death rate: 18 deaths/1,000 population (1991)                                   
                                                                                
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)                          
                                                                                
Infant mortality rate: 138 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)                      
                                                                                
Life expectancy at birth: 45 years male, 49 years female (1991)                 
                                                                                
Total fertility rate: 5.6 children born/woman (1991)                            
                                                                                
Nationality: noun--Central African(s); adjective--Central African               
                                                                                
Ethnic divisions: about 80 ethnic groups, the majority of which                 
have related ethnic and linguistic characteristics; Baya 34%, Banda 27%,        
Sara 10%, Mandjia 21%, Mboum 4%, M'Baka 4%; 6,500 Europeans, of whom            
3,600 are French                                                                
                                                                                
Religion: indigenous beliefs 24%, Protestant 25%, Roman Catholic                
25%, Muslim 15%, other 11%; animistic beliefs and practices strongly            
influence the Christian majority                                                
                                                                                
Language: French (official); Sangho (lingua franca and national                 
language); Arabic, Hunsa, Swahili                                               
                                                                                
Literacy: 27% (male 33%, female 15%) age 15 and over can                        
read and write (1990 est.)                                                      
                                                                                
Labor force: 775,413 (1986 est.); agriculture 85%, commerce and                 
services 9%, industry 3%, government 3%; about 64,000 salaried workers;         
55% of population of working age (1985)                                         
                                                                                
Organized labor: 1% of labor force                                              
                                                                                
GOVERNMENT                                                                      
Long-form name: Central African Republic (no short-form name);                  
abbreviated CAR                                                                 
                                                                                
Type: republic, one-party presidential regime since 1986                        
                                                                                
Capital: Bangui                                                                 
                                                                                
Administrative divisions: 14 prefectures (prefectures,                          
singular--prefecture) and 2 economic prefectures* (prefectures                  
economiques, singular--prefecture economique); Bamingui-Bangoran,               
Basse-Kotto, Gribingui*, Haute-Kotto, Haute-Sangha, Haut-Mbomou,                
Kemo-Gribingui, Lobaye, Mbomou, Nana-Mambere, Ombella-Mpoko, Ouaka,             
Ouham, Ouham-Pende, Sangha*, Vakaga; note--there may be a new                   
autonomous commune of Bangui                                                    
                                                                                
Independence: 13 August 1960 (from France; formerly Central African             
Empire)                                                                         
                                                                                
Constitution: 21 November 1986                                                  
                                                                                
Legal system: based on French law                                               
                                                                                
National holiday: National Day (proclamation of the republic),                  
1 December (1958)                                                               
                                                                                
Executive branch: president, Council of Ministers (cabinet)                     
                                                                                
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (Assemblee                     
Nationale) advised by the Economic and Regional Council (Conseil                
Economique et Regional); when they sit together this is known                   
as the Congress (Congres)                                                       
                                                                                
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)                                   
                                                                                
Leaders:                                                                        
                                                                                
Chief of State and Head of Government--President                                
Andre-Dieudonne KOLINGBA (since 1 September 1981)                               
                                                                                
Political parties and leaders: only party--Centrafrican Democrtic               
Rally Party (RDC), Andre-Dieudonne KOLINGBA                                     
                                                                                
Suffrage: universal at age 21                                                   
                                                                                
Elections:                                                                      
                                                                                
President--last held 21 November 1986 (next to be held November                 
1993);                                                                          
results--President KOLINGBA was reelected without opposition;                   
                                                                                
National Assembly--last held 31 July 1987 (next to be                           
held July 1992);                                                                
results--RDC is the only party;                                                 
seats--(52 total) RDC 52                                                        
                                                                                
Communists: small number of Communist sympathizers                              
                                                                                
Member of: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, CCC, CEEAC, ECA, FAO, FZ,                    
G-77, GATT, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, ILO, IMF, INTELSAT, INTERPOL,         
IOC, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, UDEAC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO,                    
UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO                                                        
                                                                                
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Jean-Pierre SOHAHONG-KOMBET;              
Chancery at 1618 22nd Street NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202)           
483-7800 or 7801;                                                               
                                                                                
US--Ambassador Daniel H. SIMPSON; Embassy at Avenue du President                
David Dacko, Bangui (mailing address is B. P. 924, Bangui);                     
telephone 61-02-00 or 61-25-78, 61-43-33                                        
                                                                                
Flag: 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                                         
                                                                                
ECONOMY                                                                         
Overview: The Central African Republic (CAR) had a per capita                   
income of roughly $440 in 1990. Subsistence agriculture, including              
forestry, is the backbone of the economy, with over 70% of the population       
living in the countryside. In 1988 the agricultural sector generated            
about 40% of GDP. Agricultural products accounted for about 60% of export       
earnings and the diamond industry for 30%. Important constraints to             
economic development include the CAR's landlocked position, a poor              
transportation infrastructure, and a weak human resource base.                  
Multilateral and bilateral development assistance plays a major role in         
providing capital for new investment.                                           
                                                                                
GDP: $1.3 billion, per capita $440; real growth rate 2.0%                       
(1990 est.)                                                                     
                                                                                
Inflation rate (consumer prices): - 4.2% (1988 est.)                            
                                                                                
Unemployment rate: 30% in Bangui (1988 est.)                                    
                                                                                
Budget: revenues $132 million; current expenditures $305 million,               
including capital expenditures of $NA million (1989 est.)                       
                                                                                
Exports: $148 million (f.o.b., 1989 est.);                                      
                                                                                
commodities--diamonds, cotton, coffee, timber, tobacco;                         
                                                                                
partners--France, Belgium, Italy, Japan, US                                     
                                                                                
Imports: $239 million (c.i.f., 1989 est.);                                      
                                                                                
commodities--food, textiles, petroleum products, machinery,                     
electrical equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, pharmaceuticals,               
consumer goods, industrial products;                                            
                                                                                
partners--France, other EC, Japan, Algeria, Yugoslavia                          
                                                                                
External debt: $671 million (December 1989)                                     
                                                                                
Industrial production: 0.8% (1988); accounts for 12% of GDP                     
                                                                                
Electricity: 35,000 kW capacity; 84 million kWh produced,                       
30 kWh per capita (1989)                                                        
                                                                                
Industries: diamond mining, sawmills, breweries, textiles,                      
footwear, assembly of bicycles and motorcycles                                  
                                                                                
Agriculture: accounts for 40% of GDP; self-sufficient in food                   
production except for grain; commercial crops--cotton, coffee, tobacco,         
timber; food crops--manioc, yams, millet, corn, bananas                         
                                                                                
Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $49                    
million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments          
(1970-88), $1.4 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $6 million;              
Communist countries (1970-88), $38 million                                      
                                                                                
Currency: Communaute Financiere Africaine franc                                 
(plural--francs); 1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes                             
                                                                                
Exchange rates: Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF)                   
per US$1--256.54 (January 1991), 272.26 (1990), 319.01 (1989), 297.85           
(1988), 300.54 (1987), 346.30 (1986), 449.26 (1985)                             
Fiscal year: calendar year                                                      
                                                                                
COMMUNICATIONS                                                                  
Highways: 22,000 km total; 458 km bituminous, 10,542 km improved                
earth, 11,000 unimproved earth                                                  
                                                                                
Inland waterways: 800 km; traditional trade carried on by means of              
shallow-draft dugouts; Oubangui is the most important river                     
                                                                                
Civil air: 2 major transport aircraft                                           
                                                                                
Airports: 66 total, 49 usable; 4 with permanent-surface runways;                
none with runways over 3,659 m; 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 22 with           
runways 1,220-2,439 m                                                           
                                                                                
Telecommunications: fair system; network relies primarily on radio              
relay links, with low-capacity, low-powered radiocommunication also used;       
6,000 telephones; stations--1 AM, 1 FM, 1 TV; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT         
earth station                                                                   
                                                                                
DEFENSE FORCES                                                                  
Branches: Central African Armed Forces, Air Force, National                     
Gendarmerie, Police Force                                                       
                                                                                
Manpower availability: males 15-49, 659,802; 345,049 fit for                    
military service                                                                
                                                                                
Defense expenditures: $23 million, 1.8% of GDP (1989 est.)                      
                                                                                
