Capital
Bangui
Region
Africa
Population
6,470,307
Area (km²)
622,984
The Central African Republic (CAR) is a landlocked nation in Central Africa with a population of about 6.5 million people spread across 622,984 km², making it one of the continent's most sparsely populated countries. Its capital, Bangui, serves as the economic and political hub, though the country faces ongoing challenges like political instability and humanitarian crises despite rich natural resources such as diamonds and timber. With GDP data unavailable, CAR remains one of the world's poorest nations, heavily reliant on agriculture and international aid.
CAR maintains a substantial forest area, covering over 35% of its total landmass. This is a positive environmental asset, but also represents a potential future challenge regarding balancing conservation with economic development pressures, given the country's low GDP.
The GDP growth rate is extremely sluggish at only 0.700%. In a country with high fertility and rapid population growth, this near-stagnant economic expansion means that real per capita income is likely falling or barely keeping pace, hindering recovery from conflict and poverty.
Only 17.6% of the population has access to electricity, indicating a massive infrastructure deficit. This lack of basic utility access severely hampers economic development, education, and quality of life, particularly in rural areas.
The infant mortality rate stands at 60.4 per 1,000 live births, which is critically high compared to global averages (typically below 30 in developing nations and single digits in developed ones). This metric is a strong indicator of poor maternal health, inadequate sanitation, and limited access to pediatric care.
GDP (Current US$)
$2.56B
Year: 2023
GDP Per Capita
$495.98
GDP Growth (%)
0.7%
Inflation (%)
2.98%
Unemployment (%)
5.88%
Debt to GDP (%)
N/A%
Source: World Bank • Last updated: 12/24/2025
Wikipedia
Comprehensive encyclopedia article
Grokipedia
AI-powered encyclopedia search
Google Search
Latest news and information
Google News
Latest news coverage for Central African Republic
CIA World Factbook
Official intelligence data
BBC News
Trusted news and analysis
UN Data
Official United Nations statistics
World Bank Data
Economic and development indicators