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

The CAR covers a land area of about 620,000 square kilometres (240,000 sq mi) and has an estimated population of about 4.4 million as of 2008. The capital is Bangui.

France called the colony it carved out in this region Oubangui-Chari, as most of the territory was located in the Ubangi and Chari river basins.

From 1910 until 1960, the colony was part of French Equatorial Africa. It became a semi-autonomous territory of the French Community in 1958 and then an independent nation on 13 August 1960, taking its present name.

For over three decades after independence, the CAR was ruled by presidents or an emperor, who either were unelected or seized power.

Local discontent with this system was eventually reinforced by international pressure, following the end of the Cold War.

The first multi-party democratic elections in the CAR were held in 1993, with the aid of resources provided by the country's donors and help from the United Nations.

The elections brought Ange-Félix Patassé to power, but he lost popular support during his presidency and was overthrown in 2003 by General François Bozizé, who went on to win a democratic election in May 2005. 

Bozizé's inability to pay public sector workers led to strikes in 2007, which led him to appoint a new government on 22 January 2008, headed by Faustin-Archange Touadéra. 

In February 2010, Bozizé signed a presidential decree which set 25 April 2010 as the date for the next presidential election.

This was postponed, but elections were held in January and March 2011, which were won by Bozizé and his party.

Despite maintaining a veneer of stability, Bozizé's rule was plagued by heavy corruption, underdevelopment, nepotism, and authoritarianism, which led to an open rebellion against his government. 

The rebellion was led by an alliance of armed opposition factions known as the Séléka Coalition during the Central African Republic Bush War (2004-2007) and the 2012-2013 Central African Republic conflict.

This eventually led to his deposition on 24 March 2013. As a result of the coup d'etat and resulting chaos, governance in the CAR has dissolved and Prime Minister Nicolas Tiangaye has said the country is "anarchy, a non-state."

Both the president and prime minister resigned in January, 2014, to be replaced by an interim leader.

Most of the CAR consists of Sudano-Guinean savannas, but the country also includes a Sahelo-Sudanian zone in the north and an equatorial forest zone in the south.

Two-thirds of the country lie in the basins of the Ubangi River, which flows south into the Congo, while the remaining third lies in the basin of the Chari, which flows north into Lake Chad.

Despite its significant mineral deposits and other resources, such as uranium reserves in Bakouma, crude oil in Vakaga, gold, diamonds, lumber, and hydropower, as well as significant quantities of arable land, the Central African Republic is one of the poorest countries in the world and is among the ten poorest countries in Africa.

The Human Development Index for the Central African Republic is 0.343, which places the country as 179th out of those 187 countries with data.

Central African Republic - République centrafricaine

Motto: "Unité, Dignité, Travail" (French) - "Unity, Dignity, Work"

Anthem: E Zingo (Sango) / La Renaissance (French) - The Renaissance

Capital and largest city: Bangui (4°22′N 18°35′E)

Official languages: Sango and French

Ethnic groups:
• Baya
• Banda
• Mandjia
• Sara
• Fulani
• Mboum
• M'Baka
• Yakoma
• others

Demonym: Central African

Government: Provisional republic formerly Dominant party presidential republic
• President: 
• Prime Minister: 

Legislature: National Assembly (suspended)

Independence from France: 13 August 1960 

Area:
• Total: 622,984 km2 (45th) - 240,534 sq mi
• Water (%): 0

Population: 
2009 estimate 4,422,000 (124th) - 2003 census 3,895,150
Density: 7.1/km2 (223rd) - 18.4/sq mi

GDP (PPP): 2012 estimate
• Total: $3.891 billion
• Per capita: $800

Currency: Central African CFA franc (XAF)

Time zone: 
WAT (UTC+1) - Summer (DST) not observed (UTC+1)

Drives on the right

Calling code: +236

ISO 3166 code: CF

Internet TLD: .cf