Central African Republic

The Central African Republic is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the south, the Republic of the Congo to the southwest, and Cameroon to the west.

It has a land mass of 623,000km², a population of 5.2 million and GDP of US$2.5bn and its currency is the Central African CFA franc.

Central African Republic is one the poorest and most fragile countries in the world despite its abundant natural resources with oil, gold and diamonds the most prolific. The country has unexploited deposits of chrome, cobalt, columbite-tantalite, copper, iron ore, manganese, nickel, uranium and zircon as well as gold and diamonds. More than 110,000 artisanal and small-scale miners are active in the country, mining mostly gold and diamonds.

Since gaining independence in 1960, CAR has experienced decades of violence and instability, including six coups. Despite repeated efforts to attain peace and disarmament, an insurgency led by Seleka forces—a coalition of armed, primarily Muslim groups—seized the capital of Bangui and ousted the government of François Bozizé in 2013. In response to brutality by Seleka forces, “anti-balaka” coalitions of Christian fighters formed to launch violent attacks on Seleka fighters and Muslim civilians, provoking a renewed conflict that has killed and displaced thousands. Meanwhile, the humanitarian crisis in CAR continues to worsen, with around 70 percent of the population living in extreme poverty and around 3.4 million people in need of assistance.

Inflation fell from 5.6% in 2023 to 4.1% in 2024 and is expected to decrease to 3.4% in 2025 thanks to recovery in agricultural production and fuel price subsidies since July 2023. Economic recovery is slow with growth of 0.7% in 2024 and a projected 1.6% in 2025-2026.

The Central African Republic continues to lag as one of the countries with the lowest human capital and development scores. Poverty remains high, with some 65.7% of the population estimated to be living in extreme poverty since 2023 which is below the international poverty line of $2.15 per person per day.




Sources: Who Owns Whom sector reports, CIA Factbook, African Development Bank, World Bank, Trading Economics, African Statistical Yearbook and IMF. ?>