conventional long form: Central African Republic
conventional short form: none
local long form: Republique Centrale Africaine
local short form: none
former: Ubangi-Shari, Central African Empire
abbreviation: CAR
etymology: self-descriptive name specifying the country's location on the continent; "Africa" is derived from the Roman designation of the area corresponding to present-day Tunisia "Africa terra," which meant "Land of the Afri" (the tribe resident in that area), but which eventually came to mean the entire continent
presidential republic
name: Bangui
geographic coordinates: 4 22 N, 18 35 E
time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
etymology: established as a French settlement in 1889 and named after its location on the northern bank of the Ubangi River; the Ubangi itself was named from the native word for the "rapids" located beside the outpost, which marked the end of navigable water north from Brazzaville
14 prefectures (prefectures, singular - prefecture), 2 economic prefectures* (prefectures economiques, singular - prefecture economique), and 1 commune**; Bamingui-Bangoran, Bangui**, Basse-Kotto, Haute-Kotto, Haut-Mbomou, Kemo, Lobaye, Mambere-Kadei, Mbomou, Nana-Grebizi*, Nana-Mambere, Ombella-Mpoko, Ouaka, Ouham, Ouham-Pende, Sangha-Mbaere*, Vakaga
13 August 1960 (from France)
Republic Day, 1 December (1958)
history: several previous; latest constitution passed by a national referendum on 30 July 2023 and validated by the Constitutional Court on 21 August 2023; note - the new constitution was proposed by President Faustin-Archange Touadéra, extended the presidential term from 5 to 7 years, removed term limits, and will allow President Touadéra to run again in 2025; opposition parties denounced the changes, claiming they were created to facilitate a "life precedency" for Touadéra
amendments: proposals require support of the government, two thirds of the National Council of Transition, and assent by the "Mediator of the Central African" crisis; passage requires at least three-fourths majority vote by the National Council membership; non-amendable constitutional provisions include those on the secular and republican form of government, fundamental rights and freedoms, amendment procedures, or changes to the authorities of various high-level executive, parliamentary, and judicial officials
civil law system based on the French model
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
citizenship by birth: no
citizenship by descent only: least one parent must be a citizen of the Central African Republic
dual citizenship recognized: yes
residency requirement for naturalization: 35 years
18 years of age; universal
chief of state: President Faustin-Archange TOUADERA (since 30 March 2016)
head of government: Prime Minister Felix MOLOUA (since 7 February 2022); note - Prime Minister Henri-Marie DONDRA resigned on 2 February 2022
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
elections/appointments: president directly elected for 5-year term; election last held 27 December 2020 (next to be held in December 2025); constitutional referendum in July 2023 removed term limits and institutes 7-year terms; note - presidential and partial legislative elections were held on 27 December 2020; voting was disrupted in some areas, delaying the first round of legislative elections until 14 March 2021; constituencies that did vote on 27 December 2020 held runoff elections for their legislators
election results:
2020: Faustin-Archange TOUADERA reelected president in first round; percent of vote - Faustin-Archange TOUADERA (independent) 53.9%, Anicet Georges DOLOGUELE (URCA) 21%, other 25.1%
2015: Faustin-Archange TOUADERA elected president in the second round; percent of vote in first round - Anicet-Georges DOLOGUELE (URCA) 23.7%, Faustin-Archange TOUADERA (independent) 19.1%, Desire KOLINGBA (RDC) 12%, Martin ZIGUELE (MLPC) 11.4%, other 33.8%; percent of vote in second round - Faustin-Archange TOUADERA 62.7%, Anicet-Georges DOLOGUELE 37.3%
description: unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (140 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by absolute majority vote with a second round if needed; members serve 5-year terms)
elections: last held in December 2020 through July 2021 (next to be held 31 December 2025); note - on 27 December 2020, the day of first round elections, voting in many electoral areas was disrupted by armed groups; on 13 February 2021, President TOUADERA announced that new first round elections would be held on 27 February 2021 for those areas controlled by armed groups and the second round on 14 March 2021; ultimately, two additional rounds were held on 23 May and 25 July 2021 in areas that continued to suffer from election security problems
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - MCU 63, MOUNI 9, URCA 7, MLPC 7, RDC 5, KNK 3, PATRIE 3, CDE 2, RDD 2, MDD 2, PGD 2, PAD 2, CANE 2, other 11, independent 20; composition as of January 2024 - men 124, women 16, percent of women 11.4%; note - several members of other parties and independent candidates joined the MCU following the opening session of the National Assembly; as of 21 September 2021, the MCU held 86 seats
highest court(s): Supreme Court or Cour Supreme (consists of NA judges); Constitutional Court (consists of 9 judges, at least 3 of whom are women)
judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court judges appointed by the president; Constitutional Court judge appointments - 2 by the president, 1 by the speaker of the National Assembly, 2 elected by their peers, 2 are advocates elected by their peers, and 2 are law professors elected by their peers; judges serve 7-year non-renewable terms
subordinate courts: high courts; magistrates' courts
Action Party for Development or PAD [Laurent GONDAB]
African Party for Radical Transformation and Integration of States or PATRIE [Crepin MBOLI-GOUMBA]
Alliance for Democracy and Progress or ADP
Be Africa ti e Kwe (also known as Central Africa for Us All or BTK) [Honoré DOUBA]
Central African Democratic Rally or RDC
Central African Party for Integrated Development or PCDI [Timoléon MABIKIKOUA]
Democratic Movement for the Renewal and Evolution of Central Africa or MDREC [Joseph BENDOUNGA]
Kodro Ti Mo Kozo Si Movement or MKMKS [Jean-Serges BOKASSA]
Movement for Democracy and Development or MDD [Louis PAPÉNIAH]
Movement for the Liberation of the Central African People or MLPC [Martin ZIGUÉLÉ]
National Convergence (also known as Kwa Na Kwa or KNK) [Christian GUÉNÉBEM-DEDIZOUM]
National Movement of Independents or MOUNI [Thierry KAMACH]
National Union for Democracy and Progress or UNDP [Michel AMINE]
National Union of Republican Democrats or UNADER [Laurent GOMINA-PAMPALI]
New Impetus for Central Africa or CANE [Sylvain PATASSE]
Party for Democracy and Solidarity - Kélémba or KPDS [Aurélien Simplice ZINGAS]
Party for Democratic Governance or PGD [Jean-Michel MANDABA]
Path of Hope or CDE [Karim MECKASSOUA]
Renaissance for Sustainable Development or RDD [Augustin AGOU]
Socialist Party or PS [Martin PANOU]
Transformation Through Action Initiative or ITA [Dominique YANDOCKA]
Union for Central African Renewal or URCA [Anicet-Georges DOLOGUÉLÉ]
Union for Renaissance and Development or URD [Auguste BOUKANGA]
United Hearts Movement or MCU [Faustin-Archange TOUADÉRA]
ACP, AfDB, AU, BDEAC, CEMAC, EITI (compliant country) (suspended), FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LCBC, MIGA, NAM, OIC (observer), OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
chief of mission: Ambassador Martial NDOUBOU (since 17 September 2018)
chancery: 2704 Ontario Road NW, Washington, DC 20009
telephone: [1] (202) 483-7800
FAX: [1] (202) 332-9893
email address and website:
centrafricwashington@yahoo.com
https://www.usrcaembassy.org/
chief of mission: Ambassador Patricia A. MAHONEY (since 8 April 2022)
embassy: Avenue David Dacko, Bangui
mailing address: 2060 Bangui Place, Washington DC 20521-2060
telephone: [236] 2161-0200
FAX: [236] 2161-4494
email address and website: https://cf.usembassy.gov/
four equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, green, and yellow with a vertical red band in center; a yellow five-pointed star to the hoist side of the blue band; banner combines the Pan-African and French flag colors; red symbolizes the blood spilled in the struggle for independence, blue represents the sky and freedom, white peace and dignity, green hope and faith, and yellow tolerance; the star represents aspiration towards a vibrant future
elephant; national colors: blue, white, green, yellow, red
name: "La Renaissance" (The Renaissance)
lyrics/music: Barthelemy BOGANDA/Herbert PEPPER
note: adopted 1960; Barthelemy BOGANDA wrote the anthem's lyrics and was the first prime minister of the autonomous French territory
total World Heritage Sites: 2 (natural)
selected World Heritage Site locales: Manovo-Gounda St. Floris National Park; Sangha Trinational Forest
NOTE: The information regarding Central African Republic on this page is re-published from the 2024 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Central African Republic 2024 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Central African Republic 2024 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.
This page was last modified 04 May 24, Copyright © 2024 ITA all rights reserved.
