Central African Republic (2001) | Palau (2003) | |
Administrative divisions | 14 prefectures (prefectures, singular - prefecture), 2 economic prefectures* (prefectures economiques, singular - prefecture economique), and 1 commune**; Bamingui-Bangoran, Bangui**, Basse-Kotto, Gribingui*, Haute-Kotto, Haute-Sangha, Haut-Mbomou, Kemo-Gribingui, Lobaye, Mbomou, Nana-Mambere, Ombella-Mpoko, Ouaka, Ouham, Ouham-Pende, Sangha*, Vakaga | 16 states; Aimeliik, Airai, Angaur, Hatobohei, Kayangel, Koror, Melekeok, Ngaraard, Ngarchelong, Ngardmau, Ngatpang, Ngchesar, Ngeremlengui, Ngiwal, Peleliu, Sonsoral |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
43.23% (male 778,885; female 767,414) 15-64 years: 53% (male 929,717; female 965,947) 65 years and over: 3.77% (male 59,364; female 75,557) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 26.7% (male 2,714; female 2,552)
15-64 years: 68.7% (male 7,352; female 6,197) 65 years and over: 4.6% (male 429; female 473) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cotton, coffee, tobacco, manioc (tapioca), yams, millet, corn, bananas; timber | coconuts, copra, cassava (tapioca), sweet potatoes |
Airports | 52 (2000 est.) | 3 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
49 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 10 914 to 1,523 m: 23 under 914 m: 15 (2000 est.) |
total: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2002) |
Area | total:
622,984 sq km land: 622,984 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 458 sq km
land: 458 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Texas | slightly more than 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | The former French colony of Ubangi-Shari became the Central African Republic upon independence in 1960. After three tumultuous decades of misrule - mostly by military governments - a civilian government was installed in 1993. | After three decades as part of the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific under US administration, this westernmost cluster of the Caroline Islands opted for independence in 1978 rather than join the Federated States of Micronesia. A Compact of Free Association with the US was approved in 1986, but not ratified until 1993. It entered into force the following year, when the islands gained independence. |
Birth rate | 37.05 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 19.02 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$638 million expenditures: $1.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $888 million (1994 est.) |
revenues: $57.7 million
expenditures: $80.8 million, including capital expenditures of $17.1 million (FY 98/99 est.) |
Capital | Bangui | Koror; note - a new capital is being built about 20 km northeast of Koror |
Climate | tropical; hot, dry winters; mild to hot, wet summers | wet season May to November; hot and humid |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 1,519 km |
Constitution | passed by referendum 29 December 1994; adopted 7 January 1995 | 1 January 1981 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Central African Republic conventional short form: none local long form: Republique Centrafricaine local short form: none former: Ubangi-Shari, Central African Empire abbreviation: CAR |
conventional long form: Republic of Palau
conventional short form: Palau local long form: Beluu er a Belau local short form: Belau former: Palau District (Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands) |
Currency | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States | US dollar (USD) |
Death rate | 18.53 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 7 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $790 million (1999 est.) | $0 (FY 99/00) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Robert C. PERRY embassy: Avenue David Dacko, Bangui mailing address: B. P. 924, Bangui telephone: [236] 61 02 00 FAX: [236] 61 44 94 |
chief of mission: the Ambassador to the Philippines is accredited to Palau
embassy: address NA, Koror mailing address: P. O. Box 6028, Republic of Palau 96940 telephone: [680] 488-2920, 2990 FAX: [680] 488-2911 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Emmanuel TOUABOY chancery: 1618 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-7800 FAX: [1] (202) 332-9893 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Hersey KYOTA
chancery: 1800 K Street NW, Suite 714, Washington, DC 20006 telephone: [1] (202) 452-6814 FAX: [1] (202) 452-6281 consulate(s): Saipan (Northern Mariana Islands) |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $172.2 million (1995); note - traditional budget subsidies from France | $155.8 million ; note - the Compact of Free Association with the US, entered into after the end of the UN trusteeship on 1 October 1994, provides Palau with up to $700 million in US aid over 15 years in return for furnishing military facilities |
Economy - overview | Subsistence agriculture, together with forestry, remains the backbone of the economy of the Central African Republic (CAR), with more than 70% of the population living in outlying areas. The agricultural sector generates half of GDP. Timber has accounted for about 16% of export earnings and the diamond industry for nearly 54%. Important constraints to economic development include the CAR's landlocked position, a poor transportation system, a largely unskilled work force, and a legacy of misdirected macroeconomic policies. The 50% devaluation of the currencies of 14 Francophone African nations on 12 January 1994 had mixed effects on the CAR's economy. Diamond, timber, coffee, and cotton exports increased, leading an estimated rise of GDP of 7% in 1994 and nearly 5% in 1995. Military rebellions and social unrest in 1996 were accompanied by widespread destruction of property and a drop in GDP of 2%. The IMF approved an Extended Structure Adjustment Facility in 1998 and the World Bank extended further credits in 1999 and approved a $10 million loan in early 2001. The government has set targets of 3.5% GDP growth in 2001 and 2002. As of January 2001, many civil servants were owed as much as 30 months pay, leading them to go on strike and further damaging the economy. | The economy consists primarily of tourism, subsistence agriculture and fishing. The government is the major employer of the work force, relying heavily on financial assistance from the US. Business and tourist arrivals numbered 50,000 in FY00/01. The population enjoys a per capita income twice that of the Philippines and much of Micronesia. Long-run prospects for the key tourist sector have been greatly bolstered by the expansion of air travel in the Pacific, the rising prosperity of leading East Asian countries, and the willingness of foreigners to finance infrastructure development. |
Electricity - consumption | 94.9 million kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - production | 102 million kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
20.59% hydro: 79.41% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
0% |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Oubangui River 335 m highest point: Mont Ngaoui 1,420 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Ngerchelchuus 242 m |
Environment - current issues | tap water is not potable; poaching has diminished its reputation as one of the last great wildlife refuges; desertification; deforestation | inadequate facilities for disposal of solid waste; threats to the marine ecosystem from sand and coral dredging, illegal fishing practices, and overfishing |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 94 signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Baya 34%, Banda 27%, Sara 10%, Mandjia 21%, Mboum 4%, M'Baka 4%, Europeans 6,500 (including 1,500 French) | Palauan (Micronesian with Malayan and Melanesian admixtures) 70%, Asian (mainly Filipinos, followed by Chinese, Taiwanese, and Vietnamese) 28%, white 2% (2000 est.) |
Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 699.21 (January 2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997), 511.55 (1996); note - from 1 January 1999, the XAF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XAF per euro | the US dollar is used |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Ange-Felix PATASSE (since 22 October 1993) head of government: Prime Minister Martin ZIGUELE (since 1 April 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 19 September 1999 (next to be held NA 2005); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Ange-Felix PATASSE reelected president; percent of vote - Ange-Felix PATASSE 51.63%, Andre KOLINGBA 19.38%, David DACKO 11.15% |
chief of state: President Tommy Esang REMENGESAU, Jr. (since 19 January 2001) and Vice President Sandra PIERANTOZZI (since 19 January 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Tommy Esang REMENGESAU, Jr. (since 19 January 2001) and Vice President Sandra PIERANTOZZI (since 19 January 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet elections: president and vice president elected on separate tickets by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2004) election results: Tommy Esang REMENGESAU, Jr. elected president; percent of vote - Tommy Esang REMENGESAU, Jr. 53%, Peter SUGIYAMA 46%; Sandra PIERANTOZZI elected vice president; percent of vote - Sandra PIERANTOZZI 52%, Alan SEID 45% |
Exports | $166 million (f.o.b., 2000) | $18 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | diamonds, timber, cotton, coffee, tobacco | shellfish, tuna, copra, garments |
Exports - partners | Benelux 64%, Cote d'Ivoire, Spain, China, Egypt, France (1999) | US, Japan, Singapore (2000) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 October - 30 September |
Flag description | four equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, green, and yellow with a vertical red band in center; there is a yellow five-pointed star on the hoist side of the blue band | light blue with a large yellow disk (representing the moon) shifted slightly to the hoist side |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $6.1 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $174 million
note: $174 million $174 million GDP estimate includes US subsidy (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
53% industry: 20% services: 27% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $9,000 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.5% (2000 est.) | 1% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 7 00 N, 21 00 E | 7 30 N, 134 30 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; almost the precise center of Africa | westernmost archipelago in the Caroline chain, consists of six island groups totaling more than 300 islands; includes World War II battleground of Beliliou (Peleliu) and world-famous rock islands |
Highways | total:
23,810 km paved: 429 km unpaved: 23,381 km (2000) |
total: 61 km
paved: 36 km unpaved: 25 km |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
0.7% highest 10%: 47.7% (1993) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $154 million (f.o.b., 2000) | $99 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | food, textiles, petroleum products, machinery, electrical equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, consumer goods, industrial products | machinery and equipment, fuels, metals; foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | France 35%, Cameroon 13%, Benelux, Cote d'Ivoire, Germany, Japan (1999) | US, Guam, Japan, Singapore, Korea (2000) |
Independence | 13 August 1960 (from France) | 1 October 1994 (from the US-administered UN Trusteeship) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | diamond mining, sawmills, breweries, textiles, footwear, assembly of bicycles and motorcycles | tourism, craft items (from shell, wood, pearls), construction, garment making |
Infant mortality rate | 105.25 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 15.76 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 17.55 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.86 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3% (2000 est.) | 3.4% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, CCC, CEEAC, CEMAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC (observer), OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ACP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IMF, IOC, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, WHO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 1 (2002) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; Constitutional Court (all judges appointed by the president); Court of Appeal; Criminal Courts | Supreme Court; National Court; Court of Common Pleas |
Labor force | NA | 9,845 (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture 20%, industry NA%, services NA% (1990) |
Land boundaries | total:
5,203 km border countries: Cameroon 797 km, Chad 1,197 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 1,577 km, Republic of the Congo 467 km, Sudan 1,165 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
3% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 5% forests and woodland: 75% other: 17% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 21.74%
permanent crops: 0% other: 78.26% (1998 est.) |
Languages | French (official), Sangho (lingua franca and national language), Arabic, Hunsa, Swahili | English and Palauan official in all states except Sonsoral (Sonsoralese and English are official), Tobi (Tobi and English are official), and Angaur (Angaur, Japanese, and English are official) |
Legal system | based on French law | based on Trust Territory laws, acts of the legislature, municipal, common, and customary laws |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (109 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms; note - there were 85 seats in the National Assembly before the 1998 election)
elections: last held 22-23 November and 13 December 1998 (next to be held NA 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - MLPC 43%, RDC 18%, MDD 9%, FPP 6%, PSD 5%, ADP 4%, PUN 3%, FODEM 2%, PLD 2%, UPR 1%, FC 1%, independents 6%; seats by party - MLPC 47, RDC 20, MDD 8, FPP 7, PSD 6, ADP 5, PUN 3, FODEM 2, PLD 2, UPR 1, FC 1, independents 7 note: the National Assembly is advised by the Economic and Regional Council or Conseil Economique et Regional; when they sit together they are called the Congress or Congres |
bicameral Parliament or Olbiil Era Kelulau (OEK) consists of the Senate (9 seats; members elected by popular vote on a population basis to serve four-year terms) and the House of Delegates (16 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2004); House of Delegates - last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2004) election results: Senate - percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 9; House of Delegates - percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 16 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
43.8 years male: 42.17 years female: 45.48 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 69.5 years
male: 66.37 years female: 72.82 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 60% male: 68.5% female: 52.4% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 92% male: 93% female: 90% (1980 est.) |
Location | Central Africa, north of Democratic Republic of the Congo | Oceania, group of islands in the North Pacific Ocean, southeast of the Philippines |
Map references | Africa | Oceania |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | exclusive fishing zone: 12 NM
extended fishing zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 3 NM |
Merchant marine | - | none (2002 est.) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the US; under a Compact of Free Association between Palau and the US, the US military is granted access to the islands for 50 years |
Military branches | Central African Armed Forces (includes Army, Air Force, Presidential Guard, National Gendarmerie, Police Force) | NA |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $29 million (FY96) | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.2% (FY96) | NA% |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
824,139 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
430,922 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Republic Day, 1 December (1958) | Constitution Day, 9 July (1979) |
Nationality | noun:
Central African(s) adjective: Central African |
noun: Palauan(s)
adjective: Palauan |
Natural hazards | hot, dry, dusty harmattan winds affect northern areas; floods are common | typhoons (June to December) |
Natural resources | diamonds, uranium, timber, gold, oil, hydropower | forests, minerals (especially gold), marine products, deep-seabed minerals |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 3.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Alliance for Democracy and Progress or ADP [Francois PEHOUA]; Central African Democratic Assembly or RDC [Andre KOLINGBA]; Civic Forum or FC [Gen. Timothee MALENDOMA]; Democratic Forum or FODEM [Charles MASSI]; Liberal Democratic Party or PLD [Nestor KOMBO-NAGUEMON]; Movement for Democracy and Development or MDD [David DACKO]; Movement for the Liberation of the Central African People or MLPC [the party of the president, Ange-Felix PATASSE]; Patriotic Front for Progress or FPP [Abel GOUMBA]; People's Union for the Republic or UPR [leader NA]; National Unity Party or PUN [Jean-Paul NGOUPANDE]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Enoch LAKOUE] | none |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 3,576,884
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2001 est.) |
19,717 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.85% (2001 est.) | 1.54% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bangui, Nola | Koror |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 3, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 1, FM 4, shortwave 1 (2002) |
Radios | 283,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | 0 km |
Religions | indigenous beliefs 24%, Protestant 25%, Roman Catholic 25%, Muslim 15%, other 11%
note: animistic beliefs and practices strongly influence the Christian majority |
Christian (Roman Catholics 49%, Seventh-Day Adventists, Jehovah's Witnesses, the Assembly of God, the Liebenzell Mission, and Latter-Day Saints), Modekngei religion (one-third of the population observes this religion, which is indigenous to Palau) |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.19 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.91 male(s)/female total population: 1.14 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 21 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
fair system domestic: network consists principally of microwave radio relay and low-capacity, low-powered radiotelephone communication international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 10,000 (1997) | 6,700 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 570 (1997) | 1,000 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | NA | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | vast, flat to rolling, monotonous plateau; scattered hills in northeast and southwest | varying geologically from the high, mountainous main island of Babelthuap to low, coral islands usually fringed by large barrier reefs |
Total fertility rate | 4.86 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.47 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 6% (1993) | 2.3% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | 900 km
note: traditional trade carried on by means of shallow-draft dugouts; Oubangui is the most important river, navigable all year to craft drawing 0.6 m or less; 282 km navigable to craft drawing as much as 1.8 m |
none |