Central African Republic
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The Central African Republic is a land-locked country in central Africa. It borders Chad in the north, Sudan on the east, the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the south, and Cameroon on the west. The CAR is situated north of the equator, separating the Congo River basin from Lake Chad and the White Nile river basin. Formerly the French colony of Ubangi-Shari, the nation was first ruled by French plantation interests, and, for three decades after it gained its independence in 1960, by military governments. While a civilian government was installed in 1993, the country's political instability remains.
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| National motto: Unit鬠Dignit鬠Travail (French: Unity, Dignity, Work) | |||||
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| Languages | French (official), Sangho, and various tribal languages | ||||
| Capital | Bangui | ||||
| President | [[Fran篩s Boziz靝 | ||||
| Prime Minister | [[Elie Dot靝 | ||||
| Area - Total - % water | Ranked 42nd 622,984 km² 0% | ||||
| Population | Ranked 124th
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| Independence - Date | From France August 13, 1960 | ||||
| Currency | CFA franc (XAF) | ||||
| Time zone | UTC+1 | ||||
| National anthem | La Renaissance | ||||
| Internet TLD | .cf | ||||
| Calling Code | 236 | ||||
| Contents |
History
Main article: History of the Central African Republic
Originally a colony of France, the Central African Republic became independent in 1960. The new nation quickly descended into dictatorship under the rule of its first president, David Dacko. In 1966 Dacko was overthrown by his cousin Jean-B餥l Bokassa who established a highly eccentric military dictatorship. In 1976 Bokassa proclaimed himself emperor and was crowned in a lavish and expensive ceremony (the shoes he wore set a world record for their costliness) based on that of his hero Napoleon Bonaparte that was ridiculed by much of the world. His human rights violations (which are said to have included cannibalism and the feeding of school children to crocodiles, amongst others) and movements against French interests prompted France to support a coup against him in 1979, restoring Dacko to power. A second coup occurred in 1981, and democracy began in 1993. In 2003 however, there was yet another coup, bringing [[Fran篩s Boziz靝 to power.
Politics
Template:Politics of Central African Republic The country is currently under the rule of Fran篩s Boziz鮠A new constitution was approved by voters in a referendum held on December 5 2004. Full multiparty presidential and parliamentary elections were held in March 2005, [1] (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IRIN/87ba6e292f78b0bc6dbbaeb9c2ef6bd9.htm) with a second round in May.
Prefectures
Main article: Prefectures of the Central African Republic
Geography
Main article: Geography of the Central African Republic
Economy
Main article: Economy of the Central African Republic
Demographics
Main article: Demographics of the Central African Republic
Culture
Main article: Culture of the Central African Republic
See also:
- Public holidays in the Central African Republic
- Music of the Central African Republic
- List of writers from the Central African Republic
Central_african_republic_sm04.png
Map of the Central African Republic
Miscellaneous topics
- Communications in the Central African Republic
- Transportation in the Central African Republic
- Military of the Central African Republic
- Foreign relations of the Central African Republic
External links
Government
- Republique Centrafricaine (http://www.kodro.net/) official government site (in French)
News
- allAfrica - Central African Republic (http://allafrica.com/centralafricanrepublic/) news headline links
Overviews
- BBC News - Country Profile: Central African Republic (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/country_profiles/1067518.stm)
- CIA World Factbook - Central African Republic (http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ct.html)
Directories
- LookSmart - Central African Republic (http://search.looksmart.com/p/browse/us1/us317836/us317916/us559898/us559899/us10065674/us559909/) directory category
- Open Directory Project - Central African Republic (http://dmoz.org/Regional/Africa/Central_African_Republic) directory category
- Stanford University - Africa South of the Sahara: Central African Republic (http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/ssrg/africa/centralafr.html) directory category
- The Index on Africa - Central African Republic (http://www.kodro.net/) directory category
- University of Pennsylvania - African Studies Center: Central African Republic (http://www.sas.upenn.edu/African_Studies/Country_Specific/CAR.html) directory category
- Yahoo! - Central African Republic (http://dir.yahoo.com/Regional/Countries/Central_African_Republic/) directory category
Tourism
| Countries in Africa | ||
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Algeria | Angola | Benin | Botswana | Burkina Faso | Burundi | Cameroon | Cape Verde | Central African Republic | Chad | Comoros | Democratic Republic of the Congo | Republic of the Congo | Cte d'Ivoire | Djibouti | Egypt | Equatorial Guinea | Eritrea | Ethiopia | Gabon | The Gambia | Ghana | Guinea | Guinea-Bissau | Kenya | Lesotho | Liberia | Libya | Madagascar | Malawi | Mali | Mauritania | Mauritius | Morocco | Mozambique | Namibia | Niger | Nigeria | Rwanda | So Tom and Prncipe | Senegal | Seychelles | Sierra Leone | Somalia | Somaliland | South Africa | Sudan | Swaziland | Tanzania | Togo | Tunisia | Uganda | Zambia | Zimbabwe | Western Sahara | ||
| Dependencies: Canary Islands | Ceuta and Melilla | Madeira Islands | Mayotte | Runion | Saint Helena and dependencies | ||