]! ^! The former French colony of Ubangi-Shari became the Central African Republic upon independence in 1960. After three tumultuous decades of misrule - mostly by military governments - civilian rule was established in 1993 and lasted for one decade. President Ange-Felix PATASSE's civilian government was plagued by unrest, and in March 2003 he was deposed in a military coup led by General Francois BOZIZE, who has since established a transitional government. Though the government has the tacit support of civil society groups and the main parties, a wide field of affiliated and independent candidates will contest the municipal, legislative, and presidential elections scheduled for February 2005. The government still does not fully control the countryside, where pockets of lawlessness persist. 
]" ^" Central Africa, north of Democratic Republic of the Congo ^# 7 00 N, 21 00 E ^$ Africa ^% `! 622,984 sq km `" 622,984 sq km `# 0 sq km ^& slightly smaller than Texas ^' `! 5,203 km `U 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 ^( 0 km (landlocked) ^) none (landlocked) ^* tropical; hot, dry winters; mild to hot, wet summers ^+ vast, flat to rolling, monotonous plateau; scattered hills in northeast and southwest ^, `% Oubangui River 335 m `& Mont Ngaoui 1,420 m ^- diamonds, uranium, timber, gold, oil, hydropower ^. `' 3.1% `( 0.14% `) 96.76% (2001) ^/ NA sq km ^0 hot, dry, dusty harmattan winds affect northern areas; floods are common ^1 tap water is not potable; poaching has diminished the country's reputation as one of the last great wildlife refuges; desertification; deforestation _J `K Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 94 `L Law of the Sea ^2 landlocked; almost the precise center of Africa 
]# ^3 3,799,897 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 2005 est.) ^4 `* 42.5% (male 813,596/female 802,728) `+ 54% (male 1,010,696/female 1,041,903) `, 3.4% (male 54,345/female 76,629) (2005 est.) ^5 `! 18.12 years `- 17.75 years `. 18.5 years (2005 est.) ^6 1.49% (2005 est.) ^7 35.17 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^8 20.27 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^9 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^: `/ 1.03 male(s)/female `0 1.01 male(s)/female `+ 0.97 male(s)/female `, 0.71 male(s)/female `1 0.98 male(s)/female (2005 est.) ^; `! 91 deaths/1,000 live births `- 97.84 deaths/1,000 live births `. 83.96 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) ^< `1 43.39 years `- 43.27 years `. 43.52 years (2005 est.) ^= 4.5 children born/woman (2005 est.) ^> 13.5% (2003 est.) ^? 260,000 (2003 est.) ^@ 23,000 (2003 est.) __ degree of risk: very high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne disease: malaria respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis (2004) ^A `2 Central African(s) `3 Central African ^B Baya 33%, Banda 27%, Mandjia 13%, Sara 10%, Mboum 7%, M'Baka 4%, Yakoma 4%, other 2% ^C indigenous beliefs 35%, Protestant 25%, Roman Catholic 25%, Muslim 15% note: animistic beliefs and practices strongly influence the Christian majority ^D French (official), Sangho (lingua franca and national language), tribal languages ^E `M age 15 and over can read and write `1 51% `- 63.3% `. 39.9% (2003 est.) 
]$ ^F `4 Central African Republic `5 none `V Republique Centrafricaine `W none `X Ubangi-Shari, Central African Empire `Y CAR ^H republic ^I Bangui ^J 14 prefectures (prefectures, singular - prefecture), 2 economic prefectures* (prefectures economiques, singular - prefecture economique), and 1 commune**; Bamingui-Bangoran, Bangui**, Basse-Kotto, Haute-Kotto, Haut-Mbomou, Kemo, Lobaye, Mambere-Kadei, Mbomou, Nana-Grebizi*, Nana-Mambere, Ombella-Mpoko, Ouaka, Ouham, Ouham-Pende, Sangha-Mbaere*, Vakaga ^K 13 August 1960 (from France) ^L Republic Day, 1 December (1958) ^M passed by referendum 5 December 2004 ^N based on French law ^O 21 years of age; universal ^P `6 President Francois BOZIZE (since 15 March 2003 coup) `7 Prime Minister Elie DOTE (since 13 June 2005) note - Celestin GAOMBALET resigned 11 June 2005 `8 Council of Ministers `9 president elected to five year term with a two-term limit; next presidential elections scheduled for 10 April 2005; prime minister appointed by the political party with a parliamentary majority ^Q unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (109 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms `9 last held 22-23 November and 13 December 1998 (next to be held 13 March 2005) `: percent of vote by party - MLPC 43%, RDC 18%, MDD 9%, FPP 6%, PSD 5%, ADP 4%, PUN 3%, FODEM 2%, PLD 2%, UPR 1%, FC 1%, independents 6%; seats by party - MLPC 47, RDC 20, MDD 8, FPP 7, PSD 6, ADP 5, PUN 3, FODEM 2, PLD 2, UPR 1, FC 1, independents 7 ^R Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; Constitutional Court (3 judges appointed by the president, 3 by the president of the National Assembly, and 3 by fellow judges); Court of Appeal; Criminal Courts; Inferior Courts ^S Alliance for Democracy and Progress or ADP [Jacques MBOLIEDAS]; Central African Democratic Assembly or RDC [Andre KOLINGBA]; Civic Forum or FC [Gen. Timothee MALENDOMA]; Democratic Forum for Modernity or FODEM [Charles MASSI]; Liberal Democratic Party or PLD [Nestor KOMBO-NAGUEMON]; Movement for Democracy and Development or MDD [David DACKO]; Movement for the Liberation of the Central African People or MLPC [the party of deposed president, Ange-Felix PATASSE]; Patriotic Front for Progress or FPP [Abel GOUMBA]; People's Union for the Republic or UPR [Pierre Sammy MAKFOY]; National Unity Party or PUN [Jean-Paul NGOUPANDE]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Enoch LAKOUE] ^T NA ^U ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, BDEAC, CEMAC, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC (observer), OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO ^V `N Ambassador Emmanuel TOUABOY `O 1618 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 `P [1] (202) 483-7800 `Q [1] (202) 332-9893 ^W `N Charge d'Affaires James PANOS `Z Avenue David Dacko, Bangui `[ B. P. 924, Bangui `P [236] 61 02 00 `Q [236] 61 44 94 note: the embassy is currently operating with a minimal staff ^X 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 
]% ^Y Subsistence agriculture, together with forestry, remains the backbone of the economy of the Central African Republic (CAR), with more than 70% of the population living in outlying areas. The agricultural sector generates half of GDP. Timber has accounted for about 16% of export earnings and the diamond industry, for 54%. Important constraints to economic development include the CAR's landlocked position, a poor transportation system, a largely unskilled work force, and a legacy of misdirected macroeconomic policies. Factional fighting between the government and its opponents remains a drag on economic revitalization, with GDP growth at only 0.5% in 2004. Distribution of income is extraordinarily unequal. Grants from France and the international community can only partially meet humanitarian needs. ^Z $4.248 billion (2004 est.) ^[ 0.5% (2004 est.) ^\ purchasing power parity - $1,100 (2004 est.) ^] `; 55% `< 20% `= 25% (2001 est.) ^^ NA ^` 8% (23% for Bangui) (2001 est.) ^a NA (1993) _! `> 0.7% `? 47.7% (1993) _d 61.3 (1993) _" 3.6% (2001 est.) _# `@ NA `A NA, including capital expenditures of NA _$ cotton, coffee, tobacco, manioc (tapioca), yams, millet, corn, bananas; timber _% gold and diamond mining, logging, brewing, textiles, footwear, assembly of bicycles and motorcycles _& 3% (2002) _' 106 million kWh (2002) _( 98.58 million kWh (2002) _) 0 kWh (2002) _* 0 kWh (2002) _+ 0 bbl/day (2001 est.) _, 2,400 bbl/day (2001 est.) _- NA _. NA _/ $172 million f.o.b. (2002 est.) _0 diamonds, timber, cotton, coffee, tobacco _1 Belgium 39.2%, Italy 8.6%, Spain 7.9%, US 6.2%, France 6.1%, Indonesia 5.8%, China 4.9% (2004) _2 $136 million f.o.b. (2002 est.) _3 food, textiles, petroleum products, machinery, electrical equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, pharmaceuticals _4 France 17.6%, US 16.3%, Cameroon 9.3%, Belgium 5% (2004) _5 $881.4 million (2000 est.) _6 ODA $73 million; note - traditional budget subsidies from France (2000 est.) _7 Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States _8 Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000) _9 calendar year 
]& _: 9,000 (2002) _; 13,000 (2003) _< `B fair system `C network consists principally of microwave radio relay and low-capacity, low-powered radiotelephone communication `D country code - 236; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) _= AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 1 (2002) _> 1 (2001) _? .cf _@ 6 (2002) _A 5,000 (2002) 
]' _B `! 23,810 km `E 643 km `F 23,167 km (1999 est.) _b 2,800 km (primarily on the Oubangui and Sangha rivers) (2004) _C Bangui, Nola, Salo, Nzinga _D 50 (2004 est.) _E `! 3 `G 1 `^ 2 (2004 est.) _L `! 47 `G 1 `^ 10 `_ 23 `T 13 (2004 est.) 
]( _F Central African Armed Forces (FACA): Ground Forces, Air Force; General Directorate of Gendarmerie Inspection (DGIG), Republican Guard (2004) _M 18 years of age for voluntary and compulsory military service; conscript service obligation is two years (2005) _] males age 18-49: 758,103 (2005 est.) Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 330,255 (2005 est.) _N $15.5 million (2004) _O 1% (2004) 
]) _H about 30,000 refugees fleeing the 2002 civil conflict in the CAR still reside in southern Chad; periodic skirmishes over water and grazing rights among related pastoral populations along the border with southern Sudan persist _c `d 36,479 (Sudan) 1,864 (Chad) 6,484 (Democratic Republic of the Congo) IDPs: 200,000 (unrest following coup in 2003) (2004) 