|
|
|
World > Africa > Central African Republic
 |
Central African Republic |
Introduction:
|
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 established a transitional government. Though the government has the tacit support of civil society groups and the main parties, a wide field of candidates contested the municipal, legislative, and presidential elections held in March and May of 2005 in which General BOZIZE was affirmed as president. The government still does not fully control the countryside, where pockets of lawlessness persist.
|
| Official name: |
Central African Republic |
| Capital: |
name: Bangui
geographic coordinates: 4 22 N, 18 35 E
time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Government type: |
republic |
| Population: |
4,369,038
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 2007 est.) |
| Languages: |
French (official), Sangho (lingua franca and national language), tribal languages |
| Official Currency: |
XAF |
| Currency code: |
XAF |
| Area: |
total: 622,984 sq km
land: 622,984 sq km
water: 0 sq km |
| Climate: |
tropical; hot, dry winters; mild to hot, wet summers |
|
Map of Central African Republic
|
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
|
|
-
-
-
-
-
|
|
|
|
|
