What is today the Central African Republic has been inhabited for millennia; however, the country's current borders were established by France, which ruled the country as a colony starting in the late 19th century. After gaining independence from France in 1960, the Central African Republic was ruled by a series of autocratic leaders, including an abortive attempt at a monarchy [7]; by the 1990s, calls for democracy led to the first multi-party democratic elections in 1993.
Languages: French (official), Sangho(lingua franca and national language), tribal languages
Ethnic Groups: Baya 33%, Banda 27%, Mandjia 13%,Sara 10%, Mboum 7%, M'Baka 4%, Yakoma 4%,other 2%
Belief Systems: Christians 80%, Islam 15%, other 5%
Demographics:
Population: 4.76 million people (World Rank: 120th) (2014 estimate)
Population Density: 19.8 people/mi^2 (People per Square Mile) (World Rank: 225th) (2014 estimate)
Population Growth: 1.99 %/yr (World Rank: 60th) (2013 estimate)
Life Expectancy: 50.2 years (World Rank: 225th) (2013 estimate)
Median Age: 19.3 years (World Rank: 157th) (2010 estimate)
Sites for More Information:
Map of Central African Republic
Worldatlas.com
Country Profile for Central African Republic
United Nations
Central African Republic
Wikipedia.org
Culture and Tourism:
Central African Republic Travel Warning
Cautions when traveling to Central African Republic
Things to do and see in Central African Republic
Central African Republic Language Resources:
Learn French
Online resource for learning French
Learn Sango
Online Resource for learning Sango
