amonds, timber, cotton, coffee, tobacco

Exports - partners:
Belgium 39.2%, Italy 8.6%, Spain 7.9%, US 6.2%, France 6.1%,
Indonesia 5.8%, China 4.9% (2004)

Imports:
$136 million f.o.b. (2002 est.)

Imports - commodities:
food, textiles, petroleum products, machinery, electrical
equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, pharmaceuticals

Imports - partners:
France 17.6%, US 16.3%, Cameroon 9.3%, Belgium 5% (2004)

Debt - external:
$881.4 million (2000 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
ODA $73 million; note - traditional budget subsidies from France
(2000 est.)

Currency (code):
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 - 528.29
(2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Central African Republic

Telephones - main lines in use:
9,000 (2002)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
13,000 (2003)

Telephone system:
general assessment: fair system
domestic: network consists principally of microwave radio relay and
low-capacity, low-powered radiotelephone communication
international: country code - 236; satellite earth station - 1
Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 1 (2002)

Radios:
283,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
1 (2001)

Televisions:
18,000 (1997)

Internet country code:
.cf

Internet hosts:
6 (2002)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
1 (2002)

Internet users:
5,000 (2002)

Transportation Central African Republic

Highways:
total: 23,810 km
paved: 643 km
unpaved: 23,167 km (1999 est.)

Waterways:
2,800 km (primarily on the Oubangui and Sangha rivers) (2004)

Ports and harbors:
Bangui, Nola, Salo, Nzinga

Airports:
50 (2004 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2004 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 47
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 10
914 to 1,523 m: 23
under 914 m: 13 (2004 est.)

Military Central African Republic

Military branches:
Central African Armed Forces (FACA): Ground Forces, Air Force;
General Directorate of Gendarmerie Inspection (DGIG), Republican
Guard (2004)

Military service age and obligation: