%
other: 17% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Natural hazards: hot, dry, dusty harmattan winds affect northern
areas; floods are common

Environment--current issues: tap water is not potable; poaching
has diminished its reputation as one of the last great wildlife
refuges; desertification; deforestation

Environment--international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 94
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea

Geography--note: landlocked; almost the precise center of Africa

People

Population: 3,444,951 (July 1999 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 44% (male 757,422; female 749,289)
15-64 years: 53% (male 885,087; female 927,282)
65 years and over: 3% (male 56,309; female 69,562) (1999 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.04% (1999 est.)

Birth rate: 38.28 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Death rate: 16.46 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Net migration rate: -1.45 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female
total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (1999 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 103.42 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 47.19 years
male: 45.35 years
female: 49.09 years (1999 est.)

Total fertility rate: 5.03 children born/woman (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 3,600 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.)

Government

Country name:
conventional long form: Central African Republic
conventional short form: none
local long form: Republique Centrafricaine
local short form: none
former: Central African Empire
abbreviation: CAR

Data code: CT

Government type: republic

Capital: B