Independent since 1960, the Central African Republic formerly was a French dependency named Ubangi-Shari. Landlocked and remote, the territory fell victim to concessionaires--companies given exclusive rights to certain products--and was little developed. Independence brought new problems, including a 14-year reign of terror by Bokassa I, who named himself emperor and renamed the country the Central African Empire. Following Bokassa's ouster the country reverted to its former name. It remains one of Africa's least modernized countries, though its economic potential is great. 

The Central African Republic lies on a large rolling plateau that forms the drainage divide between the Ubangi-Bomu river system, part of its southern boundary, and the watershed of Lake Chad to the north. Its compact area covers 240,324 square miles (622,436 square kilometers). It lies in the transition zone between the forested Congo, or Zaire, Basin to the south and the basin of Chad made up of desert and steppe, or treeless plain. As a result there are several climate and plant zones. The southwest is covered by dense forests. The heart of the country is a savanna, or grassland, that is increasingly dry to the north. The northern corner of the country is dry steppe. 


Moderate rainfall occurs in two wet seasons; it is heavier in the southwest and south than in the north. Streams are numerous and permanent in the south and fewer and often dried up in the north. The Ubangi River is a navigable tributary of the Congo, or Zaire, River, and Bangui, the capital city, lies upriver where navigation first becomes possible. 


People - French and Sango, a Sudanic language, are the official languages, but many others are actually used there. Some Arabic languages are in use in the northeast, and Niger-Congo languages are spoken in the southwest. 

There are about 75 ethnic groups, of whom the Banda, occupying the eastern and central parts of the plateau, are the most numerous. The Baya, Ngbandi, Azande, and Sara are other major groups. About 40 percent of the people are Protestant, 28 percent Roman Catholic, and 8 percent Muslim, with the rest practicing traditional animist faiths. Christian religions are associated with colonial rule, and traditional religions have regained some ground. 


Education is not well developed. Only about 40 percent of the people can read and write. Health care is also a problem, with a low number of physicians and hospital beds per person. The birthrate is among Africa's highest. Infant deaths are also high, and life expectancy is 48 years for males and 53 years for females. 


Economy - On the forest margins of the moist south, coffee trees produce a good harvest. On the plateau cotton does well. Tobacco and palm products also are produced in limited quantities. In the cooler, grassy uplands livestock are raised. 

Diamonds and gold are the only minerals that the country produces, though deposits of uranium, iron ore, manganese, and copper also exist. The absence of a railroad is a major obstacle to the development of these raw materials. Gold and diamonds are exported by air. The republic's forests produce exportable timber. 

About 65 percent of the labor force farms, most individuals producing only enough for themselves and their families to eat. Mostly they grow cassava, yams, peanuts (groundnuts), corn (maize), bananas, plantains, and oranges. Industrial development is limited and concentrates on textile processing. 

To some extent the human problems of the Central African Republic stem from abuses of the colonial period. The concession companies created a climate of African mistrust for European actions and motives that was intensified by the French colonial policies that followed. Forced labor ended, but European settlers raised the most profitable crops and made it difficult for African farmers to compete. After independence traditional farmers were suspicious of change. From the 1970s to the early 1990s, however, there was progress. Bokassa's reign ended with French help, and France sent aid to the republic. 


History and Government - The region has been inhabited for thousands of years. In colonial times it was part of French Equatorial Africa, centered on the Congo city of Brazzaville. After independence was granted in 1960, President David Dacko created a one-party state. Under Dacko the country's economy declined, and in December 1965 the commander of the army, Jean-Bédel Bokassa, staged a successful coup to replace Dacko. In 1976 he declared himself emperor. 


Bokassa's excesses gained international attention, and in 1979, with French help, he was himself overthrown and eventually imprisoned. Dacko was restored to power, but he was in turn removed by a military coup in 1981. General André Kolingba became head of state of the new military government. In 1985 Kolingba dissolved the military committee that ruled the country and established a new government with a few civilians. The following year he was elected to a six-year term and had a new constitution approved by the voters. In 1987 the first legislative elections in 20 years were held, though the government continued to operate under the control of Kolingba. In a vote taken in 1993, former prime minister Ange-Félix Patassé defeated Kolingba. With the country near bankruptcy, students, soldiers, and civil servants held protests and strikes. 

Population (1992 estimate), 2,930,000.