Capital Bangui
Largest city Bangui
Official language(s) French
Population
4,038,000
Currency Franc
Calling code +236


This is an totally land-locked nation in the interior of the African continent. Much of the country lies in of flat, or rolling plateau savanna, generally about 1,640 feet (500 m) higher up sea level. In the northeast are the Fertit Hills, & there are scattered hills in southwest role of the country. To the northwest is the Yade Massif, a granite plateau by using an altitude of 3,750 feet.

Much of the southern edge is defined by tributaries of the Congo River, using the Mbomou River in the east coming together by having the Uele River to form the Ubangi River. In the west, the Sangha River flows through part of the country. The eastern edge lies by the edge of the Nile river water parting.

Estimates of the amount of the country covered created by forest ranges up to 75%, by owning the densest parts in the south. The forest is extremely various, and includes commercially crucial species of Ayous, Sapelli & Sipo. The todays deforestation rate is 0.4% per annum, and lumber poaching is commonplace.

The clime of the C.A.R. is typically tropical. The northern regions are subject to harmattan winds, which one are hot, dry, & carry dust. The northern regions have been subject to desertification, and the northeast is desert. The remainder of the country is prone to flooding from close rivers.

From the 16th to 19th century, the people of this region were ravaged by slave bargainers. The Banda, Baya, Ngbandi, and Azande make up the biggest ethnic groups.

The French inhabited the area in 1894. As the settlement of Ubangi-Shari, what is at present the Central African Republic was united by having Chad in 1905. In 1910 it was got together by using Gabon & the Middle Congo to get French Equatorial Africa. After World War II a rebellion in 1946 forced the French to concede self-government. In 1958 the territory voted to become an autonomous republic within the French Community, and on Aug. 13, 1960, President David Dacko proclaimed the republic's independency Since France. Dacko went the country politically into Beijing's orbit, however he was overrule in a coup on Dec. 31, 1965, narrated by Col. Jean-Bedel Bokassa, regular army chief of staff.

On Dec. 4, 1976, the Central African Republic became the Central African Empire. Marshal Jean-Bedel Bokassa, who had reined the republic since he took power in 1965, was declared Emperor Bokassa I. Brutality and excess characterized his regimen. He was overthrown in a coup on Sept. 20, 1979. Former president David Dacko returned to power & changed the country's name back to the Central African Republic. An army coup on Sept. 1, 1981, forced out President Dacko again.

In 1991, President Andre Kolingba, under pressure level, declared a move towards parliamentary democracy. In elections held in Aug. 1993, Prime Minister Ange-Felix Patasse defeated Kolingba. a share of Patasse's popularity remained on his pledge to give the back salaries of the military and civil servants.

A 1994 economic upturn was too small to effectively improve the catastrophic financial condition of the nation. Patasse was not able to give the salaries due to authorities workers, and the military revolted in 1996. At Patasse's quest, French troops suppressed the uprising. In 1998 the unified Nations sent an all-African peacekeeping force to the country.

In elections made in Sept. 1999, amid widespread charges of massive fraud, Patasse easily defeated Kolingba. Patasse survived a coup attempt in May 2001, however 2 years down the road, in March 2003, he was overthrown by Gen. Francois Bozize. After two years of military rule, presidential elections were made, and Bozize won in what external monitors called a free & fair election.