Central African Republic - History, Politics, Administrative divisions, Geography, Economy, Demographics, Culture, Miscellaneous topics

Local name République Centrafricaine

Timezone GMT +1 Area 622 984 km²/240 535 sq mi population total (2002e) 3 643 000 Status Republic Date of independence 1960 Capital Bangui Languages French (official), Sangho Ethnic groups Baya (34%), Banda (28%), Sara (10%), over 80 other groups Religions Christian (50%), (Protestant 25%, Roman Catholic 25%), also Muslim and traditional beliefs Physical features Located in C Africa; plateau forming a watershed between Chad and Congo river basins; Massif des Bongos rises 1400 m/4593 ft in NW; granite ranges of Mont Karre, 1220 m/4003 ft in W. Climate Tropical; single rainy season in N (May–Sep); average annual rainfall 875-1000 mm/34–9 in; more equatorial climate in S; rainfall 1500–2000 mm/60–80 in. Currency 1 CFA Franc (XAF) = 100 centimes Economy Agriculture employs c.85% of working population; also sawmilling, brewing, diamond splitting, leather and tobacco processing. GDP (2002e) $4·296 bn, per capita $1200 Human Development Index (2002) 0·375 History Part of French Equatorial Africa (Ubangi Shari); autonomous republic within the French community, 1958; independence, 1960; coup deposed country's first President, David Dacko, 1965; Jean-Bédel Bokassa declared himself emperor for life, and country's name changed to the Central African Empire, 1976; Bokassa deposed and country reverted to a republic, 1979; military coup established Committee for National Recovery, 1981–5; Committee dissolved and National Assembly established, 1987; movement toward multi-party democracy, 1991; multiparty legislative and presidential elections, 1993, elected Ange-Félix Patasse; President Patasse overthrown in coup, 2003, by Gen. Bozize; governed by a president, prime minister, and 85-member National Assembly.

République Centrafricaine Ködörösêse tî Bêafrîka Central African Republic
Flag Emblem
Motto: Unité, Dignité, Travail  (French) "Unity, Dignity, Work"
Anthem: "La Renaissance" (French) "E Zingo" (Sango)
Capital (largest city)	Bangui 4°22′N 18°35′E
Official language	Sango, French
Government	Republic
- President	François Bozizé
- Prime Minister	Élie Doté
Independence	from France
- Date	August 13, 1960
Area
- Total	622,984 km² (43rd) 240,534 sq mi
- Water (%)	0
Population
- 2005 estimate	4,038,000 (123rd)
- 2003 census	3,032,926
- Density	6.5/km² (213th) 16.8/sq mi
GDP (PPP)	2005 estimate
- Total	$4.63 billion (153rd)
- Per capita	$1,128 (167th)
HDI  (2003)	0.355 (low) (171st)
Currency	CFA franc (XAF)
Time zone	WAT (UTC+1)
- Summer (DST)	not observed (UTC+1)
Internet TLD	.cf
Calling code	+221

See also: Central Africa and Central African Federation

The Central African Republic (French: République Centrafricaine IPA: /ʀepyblik sɑ̃tʀafʀikɛn/ or Centrafrique /sɑ̃tʀafʀik/) is a landlocked country in central Africa. The Central African Republic is one of the poorest countries in the world and among the ten poorest countries in Africa.

History

Pre-history

Between about 1000 BCE and 1000 CE, Adamawa-Eastern-speaking peoples spread eastward from Cameroon to Sudan and settled in most of the territory of the CAR.

Exposure to the outside world

Until the early 1800s, the peoples of the CAR lived beyond the expanding Islamic frontier in the Sudanic zone of Africa and thus had relatively little contact with Abrahamic religions or northern economies. 1860 and 1910, slave traders from Sudan, Chad, Cameroon, Dar al-Kuti in northern CAR and Nzakara and Zande states in southeastern CAR exported much of the population of eastern CAR, a region with very few inhabitants today.

French colonialism

European penetration of Central African territory began in the late nineteenth century during the so-called Scramble for Africa (c. Count Savorgnan de Brazza took the lead in establishing the French Congo with headquarters in the city named after him, Brazzaville, and sent expeditions up the Ubangi river in an effort to expand France's claims to territory in Central Africa. King Leopold II of Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom also competed to establish their claims to territory in the Central African region. De Brazza and the procolonial in France wished to expand the borders of the French Congo to link up with French territories in West Africa, North Africa and East Africa.

Once European negotiators agreed upon the borders of the French Congo, France had to decide how to pay for the costly occupation, administration, and development of the territory. The companies employed European and African agents who frequently used extremely brutal and atrocious methods to force Central Africans to work for them. At the same time, the French colonial administration began to force Central Africans to pay taxes and to provide the state with free labor. The companies and French administration often collaborated in their efforts to force Central Africans to work for their benefit, but they also often found themselves at odds. When news of terrible atrocities committed against Central Africans by concessionary company employees and colonial officials or troops reached France and caused an outcry, there were investigations and some feeble attempts at reform, but the situation on the ground in Ubangi-Shari remained essentially the same.

In the meantime, during the first decade of French colonial rule (c. 1900-1910), the rulers of African states in the Ubangi-Shari region increased their slave raiding activities and also their sale of local products to European companies and the colonial state. They took advantage of their treaties with the French to procure more weapons which were used to capture more slaves and so much of the eastern half of Ubangi-Shari was depopulated as a result of the export of Central Africans by local rulers during the first decade of colonial rule.

During the second decade of French colonial rule (c. In 1911, the Sangha and Lobaye basins were ceded to Germany as part of an agreement which gave France a free-hand in Morocco and so western Ubangi-Shari came under German rule until World War I, during which France reconquered this territory by using Central African troops.

The third decade of French colonial rule (1920-1930) was a period of transition during which a network of roads was built, cash crops were promoted, mobile health services were formed to combat sleeping sickness, and Protestant missions established stations in different parts of the country. In 1925 the French writer André Gide published Voyage au Congo in which he described the alarming consequences of conscription for the Congo-Ocean railroad and exposed the continuing atrocities committed against Central Africans in western Ubangi-Shari by employees of the Forestry Company of Sangha-Ubangi, for example.

During the fourth decade of colonial rule (c.

The fifth decade of colonial rule (c.

Independence

On 1 December 1958 the colony of Ubangi-Shari became an autonomous territory within the French Community and took the name Central African Republic. On 13 August 1960 the Central African Republic gained its independence and two of Boganda's closest aides, Abel Goumba and David Dacko, became involved in a power struggle.

On 31 December 1965 Dacko was overthrown by Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa, who suspended the constitution and dissolved the National Assembly. President Bokassa declared himself President for life in 1972, and named himself Emperor Bokassa I of the Central African Empire on 4 December 1976.

Kolingba suspended the constitution and ruled with a military junta until 1985.

By 1990, after the fall of the Berlin Wall, a pro-democracy movement became very active. 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.

When elections were finally held in 1993, again with the help of the international community, Ange-Félix Patassé came in first in the first round and Kolingba came in fourth after Abel Goumba and David Dacko. Furthermore, Patassé's party, the Mouvement pour la Libération du Peuple Centrafricain (MLPC) or Movement for the Liberation of the Central African People gained a simple but not an absolute majority of seats in parliament, which meant Patassé needed coalition partners.

Patassé relieved former President Kolingba of his military rank of general in March of 1994 and then charged several former ministers with various crimes.

A new constitution was approved on 28 December 1994 and promulgated on 14 January 1995, but this constitution, like those before it, did not have much impact on the practice of politics.

In 1998 parliamentary elections resulted in Kolingba' RDC winning 20 out of 109 seats, which constituted a comeback, but in 1999, notwithstanding widespread public anger in urban centers with his corrupt rule, Patassé won free elections to become president for a second term.

In the aftermath of this failed coup, militias loyal to Patassé sought revenge against rebels in many neighborhoods of the capital, Bangui, that resulted the destruction of many homes as well as the torture and murder of many opponents.

François Bozizé suspended the constitution and named a new cabinet which included most opposition parties.

Politics

The country is currently under the rule of François Bozizé.

In February 2006, there were reports of widespread violence in the northern part of the CAR.

Administrative divisions

Main articles: Prefectures of the Central African Republic, Sub-prefectures of the Central African Republic

The Central African Republic is divided into 14 administrative prefectures (préfectures), along with 2 economic prefectures (préfectures economique) and one autonomous commune.

The prefectures include: Bamingui-Bangoran, Basse-Kotto, Haute-Kotto, Haut-Mbomou, Kémo, Lobaye, Mambéré-Kadéï, Mbomou, Nana-Mambéré, Ombella-M'Poko, Ouaka, Ouham, Ouham-Pendé, and Vakaga;

Sub-prefectures: see Sub-prefectures of the Central African Republic.

Geography

The Central African Republic is an entirely land-locked nation within the interior of the African continent.

At 240,519 mi² (622,984 km²), the Central African Republic is the world's 43rd-largest country (after Somalia).

Much of the southern border is formed by tributaries of the Congo River, with the Mbomou River in the east merging with the Uele River to form the Ubangi River.

Estimates of the amount of the country covered by forest ranges up to 75%, with the densest parts in the south.

The climate of the C.A.R.

Economy

The economy of the CAR is dominated by the cultivation and sale of foodcrops such as cassava, peanuts, maize, sorghum, millet, sesame and plantains. The importance of foodcrops over exported cash crops is indicated by the fact that the total production of cassava, the staple food of most Central Africans, ranges between 200,000 and 300,000 tons a year, while the production of cotton, the principal exported cash crop, ranges from 25,000 to 45,000 tons a year. Foodcrops are not exported in large quantities but they still constitute the principal cash crops of the country because Central Africans derive far more income from the periodic sale of surplus foodcrops than from exported cash crops such as cotton or coffee. The informal economy of the CAR is more important than the formal economy for most Central Africans.

Diamonds constitute the most important export of the CAR, frequently accounting for 40-55% of export revenues, but an estimated 30-50% of the diamonds produced each year leave the country clandestinely.

The CAR is heavily dependent upon multilateral foreign aid and the presence of numerous NGO's which provide numerous services which the government fails to provide. (Mehler 2005:150) The very presence of numerous foreign personnel and organizations in the country, including peacekeepers and even refugee camps, provides an important source of revenue for many Central Africans.

The country is self-sufficient in food crops, but much of the population lives at a subsistence level.

Export trade is hindered by poor economic development, and the location of this country far from the coast.

The natural wilderness regions of this country had good potential as ecotourist destinations.

Demographics

The population has tripled since independence. 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 2006 est.) )

The nation is divided into over 80 ethnic groups, each having its own language.

Culture

See also:

List of writers from the Central African Republic Music of the Central African Republic Public holidays in the Central African Republic

Miscellaneous topics

Communications in the Central African Republic Foreign relations of the Central African Republic Military of the Central African Republic Transport in the Central African Republic List of people on stamps of Central African Republic Fédération des Eclaireurs Scouts Centrafricains Central African Republic national football team