Central African Republic (2001) | West Bank (2001) | |
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 | - |
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:
44.61% (male 478,232; female 454,439) 15-64 years: 51.8% (male 552,661; female 530,230) 65 years and over: 3.59% (male 32,629; female 42,522) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cotton, coffee, tobacco, manioc (tapioca), yams, millet, corn, bananas; timber | olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products |
Airports | 52 (2000 est.) | 3 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total:
3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
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.) |
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Area | total:
622,984 sq km land: 622,984 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
5,860 sq km land: 5,640 sq km water: 220 sq km note: includes West Bank, Latrun Salient, and the northwest quarter of the Dead Sea, but excludes Mt. Scopus; East Jerusalem and Jerusalem No Man's Land are also included only as a means of depicting the entire area occupied by Israel in 1967 |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Texas | slightly smaller than Delaware |
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. | The Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements (the DOP), signed in Washington on 13 September 1993, provided for a transitional period not exceeding five years of Palestinian interim self-government in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Under the DOP, Israel agreed to transfer certain powers and responsibilities to the Palestinian Authority, which includes the Palestinian Legislative Council elected in January 1996, as part of interim self-governing arrangements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. A transfer of powers and responsibilities for the Gaza Strip and Jericho took place pursuant to the Israel-PLO 4 May 1994 Cairo Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area and in additional areas of the West Bank pursuant to the Israel-PLO 28 September 1995 Interim Agreement, the Israel-PLO 15 January 1997 Protocol Concerning Redeployment in Hebron, the Israel-PLO 23 October 1998 Wye River Memorandum, and the 4 September 1999 Sharm el-Sheikh Agreement. The DOP provides that Israel will retain responsibility during the transitional period for external security and for internal security and public order of settlements and Israeli citizens. Permanent status is to be determined through direct negotiations, which resumed in September 1999 after a three-year hiatus. An intifadah broke out in September 2000; the resulting widespread violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israel's military response, and instability in the Palestinian Authority are undermining progress toward a permanent settlement. |
Birth rate | 37.05 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 35.83 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$638 million expenditures: $1.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $888 million (1994 est.) |
revenues:
$1.6 billion expenditures: $1.73 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA note: includes Gaza Strip (1999 est.) |
Capital | Bangui | - |
Climate | tropical; hot, dry winters; mild to hot, wet summers | temperate, temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | passed by referendum 29 December 1994; adopted 7 January 1995 | - |
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:
none conventional short form: West Bank |
Currency | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States | new Israeli shekel (ILS); Jordanian dinar (JOD) |
Death rate | 18.53 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 4.37 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $790 million (1999 est.) | $108 million (includes Gaza Strip) (1997 est.) |
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 |
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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 |
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Disputes - international | none | West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation |
Economic aid - recipient | $172.2 million (1995); note - traditional budget subsidies from France | $121 million disbursed (includes Gaza Strip) (2000) |
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. | Economic output in the West Bank is governed by the Paris Economic Protocol of April 1994 between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Real per capita GDP for the West Bank and Gaza Strip (WBGS) declined by 36.1% between 1992 and 1996 owing to the combined effect of falling aggregate incomes and rapid population growth. The downturn in economic activity was largely the result of Israeli closure policies - the imposition of border closures in response to security incidents in Israel - which disrupted established labor and commodity market relationships between Israel and the WBGS. The most serious social effect of this downturn was rising unemployment; unemployment in the WBGS during the 1980s was generally under 5%; by 1995 it had risen to over 20%. Since 1997 Israel's use of comprehensive closures has decreased and, in 1998, Israel implemented new policies to reduce the impact of closures and other security procedures on the movement of Palestinian goods and labor. These changes fueled an almost three-year long economic recovery in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; real GDP grew by 5% in 1998 and 6% in 1999. Recovery was upended in the last quarter of 2000 with the outbreak of Palestinian violence, which triggered tight Israeli closures of Palestinian self-rule areas and a severe disruption of trade and labor movements. |
Electricity - consumption | 94.9 million kWh (1999) | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | NA kWh |
Electricity - production | 102 million kWh (1999) | NA kWh; note - most electricity imported from Israel; East Jerusalem Electric Company buys and distributes electricity to Palestinians in East Jerusalem and its concession in the West Bank; the Israel Electric Company directly supplies electricity to most Jewish residents and military facilities; at the same time, some Palestinian municipalities, such as Nablus and Janin, generate their own electricity from small power plants |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
20.59% hydro: 79.41% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel:
NA% hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Oubangui River 335 m highest point: Mont Ngaoui 1,420 m |
lowest point:
Dead Sea -408 m highest point: Tall Asur 1,022 m |
Environment - current issues | tap water is not potable; poaching has diminished its reputation as one of the last great wildlife refuges; desertification; deforestation | adequacy of fresh water supply; sewage treatment |
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 |
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Ethnic groups | Baya 34%, Banda 27%, Sara 10%, Mandjia 21%, Mboum 4%, M'Baka 4%, Europeans 6,500 (including 1,500 French) | Palestinian Arab and other 83%, Jewish 17% |
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 | new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.0810 (December 2000), 4.0773 (2000), 4.1397 (1999), 3.8001 (1998), 3.4494 (1997), 3.1917 (1996); Jordanian dinars per US dollar - fixed rate of 0.7090 (from 1996) |
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% |
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Exports | $166 million (f.o.b., 2000) | $682 million (includes Gaza Strip) (f.o.b., 1998 est.) |
Exports - commodities | diamonds, timber, cotton, coffee, tobacco | olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone |
Exports - partners | Benelux 64%, Cote d'Ivoire, Spain, China, Egypt, France (1999) | Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year (since 1 January 1992) |
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 | - |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $6.1 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3.1 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
53% industry: 20% services: 27% (1999 est.) |
agriculture:
9% industry: 28% services: 63% note: includes Gaza Strip (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,500 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.5% (2000 est.) | -7.5% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 7 00 N, 21 00 E | 32 00 N, 35 15 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; almost the precise center of Africa | landlocked; highlands are main recharge area for Israel's coastal aquifers; there are 231 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the West Bank and 29 in East Jerusalem (August 1999 est.) |
Highways | total:
23,810 km paved: 429 km unpaved: 23,381 km (2000) |
total:
4,500 km paved: 2,700 km unpaved: 1,800 km (1997 est.) note: Israelis have developed many highways to service Jewish settlements |
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) | $2.5 billion (includes Gaza Strip) (c.i.f., 1998 est.) |
Imports - commodities | food, textiles, petroleum products, machinery, electrical equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, consumer goods, industrial products | food, consumer goods, construction materials |
Imports - partners | France 35%, Cameroon 13%, Benelux, Cote d'Ivoire, Germany, Japan (1999) | Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip |
Independence | 13 August 1960 (from France) | - |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | diamond mining, sawmills, breweries, textiles, footwear, assembly of bicycles and motorcycles | generally small family businesses that produce cement, textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs; the Israelis have established some small-scale, modern industries in the settlements and industrial centers |
Infant mortality rate | 105.25 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 21.78 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3% (2000 est.) | 3% (includes Gaza Strip) (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 | - |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 8 (1999) |
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 | - |
Labor force | NA | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | - | services 66%, industry 21%, agriculture 13% (1996) |
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 |
total:
404 km border countries: Israel 307 km, Jordan 97 km |
Land use | arable land:
3% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 5% forests and woodland: 75% other: 17% (1993 est.) |
arable land:
27% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 32% forests and woodland: 1% other: 40% |
Languages | French (official), Sangho (lingua franca and national language), Arabic, Hunsa, Swahili | Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood) |
Legal system | based on French law | - |
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 |
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Life expectancy at birth | total population:
43.8 years male: 42.17 years female: 45.48 years (2001 est.) |
total population:
72.28 years male: 70.58 years female: 74.07 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 60% male: 68.5% female: 52.4% (1995 est.) |
definition:
NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Central Africa, north of Democratic Republic of the Congo | Middle East, west of Jordan |
Map references | Africa | Middle East |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | none (landlocked) |
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.) |
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Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
430,922 (2001 est.) |
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National holiday | Republic Day, 1 December (1958) | - |
Nationality | noun:
Central African(s) adjective: Central African |
noun:
NA adjective: NA |
Natural hazards | hot, dry, dusty harmattan winds affect northern areas; floods are common | droughts |
Natural resources | diamonds, uranium, timber, gold, oil, hydropower | arable land |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 3.29 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 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] | - |
Political pressure groups and leaders | 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.) |
2,090,713 (July 2001 est.)
note: in addition, there are some 176,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank and about 173,000 in East Jerusalem (August 1999 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.85% (2001 est.) | 3.48% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bangui, Nola | none |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 3, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0
note: the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation broadcasts from an AM station in Ramallah on 675 kHz; numerous local, private stations are reported to be in operation (2000) |
Radios | 283,000 (1997) | NA; note - most Palestinian households have radios (1999) |
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 |
Muslim 75% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 17%, Christian and other 8% |
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: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 21 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: NA note: Israeli company BEZEK and the Palestinian company PALTEL are responsible for communication services in the West Bank |
Telephones - main lines in use | 10,000 (1997) | 95,729 (total for West Bank and Gaza Strip) (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 570 (1997) | NA |
Television broadcast stations | NA | NA |
Terrain | vast, flat to rolling, monotonous plateau; scattered hills in northeast and southwest | mostly rugged dissected upland, some vegetation in west, but barren in east |
Total fertility rate | 4.86 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 4.9 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 6% (1993) | 40% (includes Gaza Strip) (yearend 2000) |
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 |