1987 Edition

Climate

tropical; hot, dry winters; mild to hot, humid, wet summers

Comparative area

slightly smaller than Texas

Environment

hot, dry, dusty harmattan winds affect northern areas; poaching has diminished reputation as one of last great wildlife refuges; desertification

Land boundaries

4,981 km total

Land use

3% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 5% meadows and pastures; 64% forest and woodland; 28% other

Special notes

landlocked; almost the precise center of Africa

Terrain

vast, flat to rolling, monotonous plateau; scattered hills in northeast and southwest

Total area

400 km

622,980 km?; land area: 622,980 km?

Ethnic divisions

about 80 ethnic groups, the majority of which have related ethnic and linguistic characteristics; 34% Baya, 27% Banda, 10% Sara, 21% Mandiia, 4% Mboum, 4% M’Baka; 6,500 Europeans, of whom 3,600 are French

Infant mortality rate

134/1,000 (1986)

Labor force

775,413 (1986 est.); 85% agriculture, 8.9% commerce and services, 2.9% industry, 3% government; about 64,000 salaried workers

Language

French (official); Sangho (lingua franca and national language); Arabic, Hunsa, Swahili

Life expectancy

44

Literacy

20%

Nationality

noun—Central African(s), adjective—Central African

Organized labor

1% of labor force

Population

2,669,293 (July 1987), average annual growth rate 2.44%

Religion

24% indigenous beliefs, 25% Protestant, 25% Roman Catholic, 15% Muslim; animistic beliefs and practices strongly influence the Christian majority

Administrative divisions

14 prefectures, 47 subprefectures

Branches

Chief of State; a national legislature; separate judiciary; assembly called on Gen. André Dieudonné Kolingba to form 44-member provisional council to oversee party activities until special convention elects ruling board

Capital

Bangui

Communists

no Communist party; small number of Communist sympathizers

Elections

none scheduled Political parties and leaders: political parties banned in September 1981; Centrafrican Democratic Rally Party created in February 1987 during National Convention is the only political party

Government leader

Gen. André-Dieudonné KOLINGBA is Chief of State, chairman of the Centrafrican Democratic Rally Party, and head of government since 1981

Legal system

based on French law; constitution (approved in a November 1986 referendum); judiciary, Supreme Court, court of appeals, criminal court, and numerous lower courts

Member of

AfDB, CFA (Franc Zone), Conference of East and Central African States, EAMA, ECA, FAO, G-77, GATT, IBRD, ICAO, iCO, IDA, IFAD, ILO, IMF, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, ITU, NAM, OAU, OCAM, UDEAC, UEAC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO

National holiday

Independence Day, 13 August; National Day, 1 December

Official name

Central African Republic

Suffrage

universal over age 21

Type

republic, under military rule since September 1981

Agriculture

commercial—cotton, coffee, peanuts, sesame, tobacco, timber; main food crops manioc, corn, millet, sorghum, peanuts, rice, potatoes; livestock

Budget

(1984) revenues $93.3 million; current expenditures $90.8 million; official foreign debt $223 million (1984)

Electric power

35,000 kW capacity; 61 million kWh produced, 22 kWh per capita (1986)

Exports

$145.2 million (f.0.b., 1984); diamonds, cotton, coffee, timber, tobacco

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

$764 million, $300 per capita, —8.7% real growth; 4% inflation rate (1984)

Imports

$139.6 million (f.0.b., 1984 est.); textiles, petroleum products, machinery, electrical equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, pharmaceuticals

Major industries

sawmills, breweries, diamond mining, textiles, soap, footwear

Major trade partners

exports—France, Belgium, Japan, US; imports—France and other EC countries, Japan, Algeria, Yugoslavia

Monetary conversion rate

331.24 Communauté Financiére Africaine (CFA) francs=US$1 (November 1986)

Natural resources

diamonds, uranium, timber, gold, oil

Airfields

68 total, 61 usable; 4 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 22 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Civil air

8 major transport aircraft

Highways

20,800 km total; 454 km bituminous, 7,656 km improved earth, 12,690 ' unimproved earth

Inland waterways

800 km; traditional trade carried on by means of shallow-draft dugonts

Railroads

none

Telecommunications

facilities are meager; network is composed of low-capacity, low-powered radiocommunication stations and radio-relay links; 6,000 telephones (0.2 per 100 popl.); 1 AM, 1 FM, and 1 TV stations; 1 Atlantic Ocean satellite ground station

Branches

Army, Air Force

Military budget

for fiscal year ending 31 December 1983; $12.2 million; about 14.5% of central government budget

Military manpower

males 15-49, 592,000, 309,000 fit for military service