French République Centrafricaine formerly Ubangi-Shari
Republic, central Africa.
Area: 240,376 sq mi (622,374 sq km). Population (2002 est.): 3,643,000. Capital: Bangui . Almost all the inhabitants trace their origin to communities founded in the 18th19th centuries when various African peoples fled into the interior to escape slave traders. They now form heterogeneous ethnic groups, with the Banda, Baya (Gbaya), Ngbandi, and Zande comprising almost three-quarters of the inhabitants. Languages: French, Sango (both official), Zande. Religions: animism, Christianity. Currency: CFA franc. A landlocked country, it consists of a plateau with an average altitude of about 2,200 ft (670 m). The northern half is characterized by savanna and is drained by tributaries of the Chari River . The southern half is densely forested. The country has a developing free-enterprise economy of mixed state and private structure, with agriculture as the main component. It is a republic with one legislative body; its chief of state is the president and its head of government, the prime minister. Though seemingly inhabited for a long time, the area has yielded few archaeological remains. For several centuries before the arrival of Europeans, the territory was exploited by slave traders. The French explored and claimed central Africa and in 1889 established a post at Bangui. In 1898 they partitioned the colony among commercial concessionaires. United with Chad in 1906 to form the French colony of Ubangi-Shari-Chad, it later became part of French Equatorial Africa . It was separated from Chad in 1920 and became an overseas territory in 1946. It became an autonomous republic within the French Community in 1958 and achieved independence in 1960. In 1966 the military overthrew a civilian government and installed Jean-Bédel Bokassa , who in 1976 renamed the country the Central African Empire. He was overthrown in 1979, but the military again seized power in the 1980s. Elections in 1993 led to installation of a civilian government.