CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC


Population: 3,512,751

Ethnic divisions:
Baya 34%, Banda 27%, Sara 10%, Mandjia 21%, Mboum 4%, M'Baka 4%, Europeans 6,500 (including 3,600 French)

Climate: Tropical hot, dry winters and mild to hot, wet summers

Religions: indigenous beliefs 24%, Protestant 25%, Roman Catholic 25%, Muslim 15%, other 11%

Official language: French

Languages: French , Sangho, Arabic, Hunsa, Swahili

Government type: Republic

Independence: August 13, 1960

Exports: diamonds, timber, cotton, coffee, tobacco

Imports: food, textiles, petroleum products, machinery, electrical equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, consumer goods, industrial products

Currency: 1 Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes

Total area:622,980 sq km

Land use:
arable land: 3%
permanent crops: 0%
meadows and pastures: 5%
forest and woodland: 64%
other: 28%