Central African Republic

Facts

Population:  3,576,884 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 2001 est.)
Age structure:  0-14 years:  43.23% (male 778,885; female 767,414) 15-64 years:  53% (male 929,717; female 965,947) 65 years and over:  3.77% (male 59,364; female 75,557) (2001 est.)
Population growth rate:  1.85% (2001 est.)
Birth rate:  37.05 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Death rate:  18.53 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Net migration rate:  0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Sex ratio:  at birth:  1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years:  1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years:  0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over:  0.79 male(s)/female total population:  0.98 male(s)/female (2001 est.)
Infant mortality rate:  105.25 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:  total population:  43.8 years male:  42.17 years female:  45.48 years (2001 est.)
Total fertility rate:  4.86 children born/woman (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:  13.84% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:  240,000 (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:  23,000 (1999 est.)
Nationality:  noun:  Central African(s) adjective:  Central African
Ethnic groups:  Baya 34%, Banda 27%, Sara 10%, Mandjia 21%, Mboum 4%, M'Baka 4%, Europeans 6,500 (including 1,500 French)
Religions:  indigenous beliefs 24%, Protestant 25%, Roman Catholic 25%, Muslim 15%, other 11% note:  animistic beliefs and practices strongly influence the Christian majority
Languages:  French (official), Sangho (lingua franca and national language), Arabic, Hunsa, Swahili
Literacy:  definition:  age 15 and over can read and write total population:  60% male:  68.5% female:  52.4% (1995 est.)
GDP:  purchasing power parity - $6.1 billion (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:  3.5% (2000 est.)
GDP - per capita:  purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2000 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:  agriculture:  53% industry:  20% services:  27% (1999 est.)
Population below poverty line:  NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share:  lowest 10%:  0.7% highest 10%:  47.7% (1993)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):  3% (2000 est.)
Labor force:  NA
Unemployment rate:  6% (1993)
Budget:  revenues:  $638 million expenditures:  $1.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $888 million (1994 est.)
Industries:  diamond mining, sawmills, breweries, textiles, footwear, assembly of bicycles and motorcycles
Industrial production growth rate:  NA%
Electricity - production:  102 million kWh (1999)
Electricity - production by source:  fossil fuel:  20.59% hydro:  79.41% nuclear:  0% other:  0% (1999)
Electricity - consumption:  94.9 million kWh (1999)
Electricity - exports:  0 kWh (1999)
Electricity - imports:  0 kWh (1999)
Agriculture - products:  cotton, coffee, tobacco, manioc (tapioca), yams, millet, corn, bananas; timber
Exports:  $166 million (f.o.b., 2000)
Exports - commodities:  diamonds, timber, cotton, coffee, tobacco
Exports - partners:  Benelux 64%, Cote d'Ivoire, Spain, China, Egypt, France (1999)
Imports:  $154 million (f.o.b., 2000)
Imports - commodities:  food, textiles, petroleum products, machinery, electrical equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, consumer goods, industrial products
Imports - partners:  France 35%, Cameroon 13%, Benelux, Cote d'Ivoire, Germany, Japan (1999)
Debt - external:  $790 million (1999 est.)
Economic aid - recipient:  $172.2 million (1995); note - traditional budget subsidies from France
Currency:  Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States
Currency code:  XAF
Exchange rates:  Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 699.21 (January 2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997), 511.55 (1996); note - from 1 January 1999, the XAF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XAF per euro
Fiscal year:  calendar year

Statistics: CIA World Factbook.