Portal:Central African Republic

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The Central African Republic Portal

Flag of the Central African Republic Coat of arms of the Central African Republic

The Central African Republic (CAR), formerly known as Ubangi-Shari, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the south, the Republic of the Congo to the southwest, and Cameroon to the west. Bangui is the country's capital and largest city, bordering the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Central African Republic covers a land area of about 620,000 square kilometres (240,000 sq mi). As of 2024, it has a population of 5,357,744, and is in the scene of a civil war, which has been ongoing since 2012. As a former French colony, French is the official language, with Sango, a Ngbandi based-creole language as the national and co-official language.

The Central African Republic mainly consists of Sudano-Guinean savannas, but the country also includes a Sahelo-Sudanian zone in the north and an equatorial forest zone in the south. Two-thirds of the country is within the Ubangi River basin (which flows into the Congo), while the remaining third lies in the basin of the Chari, which flows into Lake Chad.

What is today the Central African Republic has been inhabited since at least 8,000 BCE. The country's 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 under the regime of Jean-Bedel Bokassa.

By the 1990s, calls for democracy led to the first multi-party democratic elections in 1993. Ange-Félix Patassé became president, but was later removed by General François Bozizé in a 2003 coup. The Central African Republic Bush War began in 2004 and, despite a peace treaty in 2007 and another in 2011, civil war resumed in 2012. The civil war perpetuated the country's poor human rights record: it was characterized by widespread and increasing abuses by various participating armed groups, such as arbitrary imprisonment, torture, and restrictions on freedom of the press and freedom of movement. (Full article...)

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The town of Birao in northern CAR which was largely burnt down during the fighting in 2007

The Central African Republic Bush War was a civil war in the Central African Republic which lasted from 2004 to 2007 between Union of Democratic Forces for Unity (UFDR) rebels and government forces. The rebellion began after François Bozizé seized the nation's presidency in 2003. Actual fighting began in 2004. Around 10,000 people were displaced because of the civil unrest.

The rebellion consisted of multiple rebel groups, several of which were of very small size and founded only towards the end of the conflict. Apart from the UFDR, the conflict included the People's Army for the Restoration of Democracy (CAR) (APRD), Groupe d'action patriotique pour la liberation de Centrafrique (GAPLC), the Movement of Central African Liberators for Justice (MLCJ), the Front démocratique Centrafricain (FDC), and Union of Republican Forces (UFR). (Full article...)

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The following are images from various Central African Republic-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1A proportional representation of Central African Republic exports, 2019 (from Central African Republic)
Image 2Jean-Bédel Bokassa, self-crowned Emperor of Central Africa (from Central African Republic)
Image 3President Faustin-Archange Touadéra with Russian President Vladimir Putin, 23 May 2018 (from Central African Republic)
Image 4A French cuisine boulangerie in Bangui (from Cuisine of the Central African Republic)
Image 5A Central African woman (from Central African Republic)
Image 6Rebel in northern Central African Republic in 2007. (from History of the Central African Republic)
Image 7Current military situation in Central African Republic (from Central African Republic)
Image 8First Central African President David Dacko in 1962 (from History of the Central African Republic)
Image 9Fula women in Paoua (from Central African Republic)
Image 10A village in the Central African Republic (from Central African Republic)
Image 11Trucks in Bangui (from Central African Republic)
Image 12Location of the Central African Republic (from Cuisine of the Central African Republic)
Image 13A food aid convoy in the Central African Republic in 2007 (from Cuisine of the Central African Republic)
Image 14Aka hunter-gatherers living in the Dzanga-Sangha Special Reserve (from Central African Republic)
Image 15Worshippers at the Bangui Cathedral. Christianity is the main religion in the Central African Republic. (from Central African Republic)
Image 16Refugees of the fighting in the Central African Republic, January 2014 (from Central African Republic)
Image 17Bangui shopping district (from Central African Republic)
Image 18Dzanga-Sangha Reserve (from Central African Republic)
Image 19Palm wine (from Cuisine of the Central African Republic)
Image 20Séléka advances in C.A.R. (December 2012–March 2013) (from History of the Central African Republic)
Image 21Classroom in Sam Ouandja. (from Central African Republic)
Image 22Faustin Touadera succeeded interim head Catherine Samba-Panza to become president following the 2015–16 elections (from History of the Central African Republic)
Image 23Charles de Gaulle in Bangui, 1940 (from Central African Republic)
Image 24Rebel militia in the northern countryside, 2007 (from Central African Republic)
Image 25The Bouar Megaliths, pictured here on a 1967 Central African stamp, date back to the very late Neolithic Era (c. 3500–2700 BCE). (from Central African Republic)
Image 26Mothers and babies aged between 0 and 5 years are lining up in a Health Post at Begoua, a district of Bangui, waiting for the two drops of the oral polio vaccine. (from Central African Republic)
Image 27Falls of Boali on the Mbali River. (from Central African Republic)
Image 28GDP per capita (2022 USD) (from Central African Republic)
Image 29Fufu (pictured right) is a staple food of West and Central Africa. It is a thick paste made by boiling starchy root vegetables in water and pounding the mixture with a mortar and pestle. Peanut soup is pictured at left (from Cuisine of the Central African Republic)
Image 30Charles de Gaulle in Bangui, 1940 (from History of the Central African Republic)
Image 31Central African Republic President Faustin-Archange Touadéra with US President Joe Biden, 14 December 2022 (from Central African Republic)
Image 32A soldier with France's 11th Marine Artillery Regiment during military exercises in the Central African Republic in 1992 (from History of the Central African Republic)
Image 33The Sultan of Bangassou and his wives, 1906 (from Central African Republic)
Image 34Central African Republic map of Köppen climate classification (from Central African Republic)

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... that a former member of the French Senate ended up being exiled to the northern Central African Republic by the future emperor?

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Entries here consist of Featured articles and Good articles, which consist of high-quality content on English Wikipedia..

Boganda in 1958

Barthélemy Boganda (c. 1910 – 29 March 1959) was a Central African politician and independence activist. Boganda was active prior to his country's independence, during the period when the area, part of French Equatorial Africa, was administered by France under the name of Oubangui-Chari. He served as the first Premier of the Central African Republic as an autonomous territory.

Boganda was born into a family of farmers, and was adopted and educated by Roman Catholic missionaries after the death of his parents. In 1938, he was ordained as a Roman Catholic priest. During World War II, Boganda served in a number of missions and afterwards was persuaded by the Bishop of Bangui to enter politics. In 1946, he became the first Oubanguian elected to the National Assembly of France, where he spoke out against racism and the abuses of the colonial regime. He then returned to Oubangui-Chari to form a political organisation, culminating in the 1949 foundation of the Movement for the Social Evolution of Black Africa (MESAN), which became popular among villagers and the peasantry. Boganda was laicized from the priesthood after developing a relationship with and eventually marrying Michelle Jourdain, a parliamentary secretary. Nonetheless, he continued to advocate for equal treatment and fundamental rights for blacks in the territory well into the 1950s. As France conceded measures of representation to its colonies, MESAN won local elections and he gained influence in Oubangui-Chari's government, though his reputation suffered when he backed an unsuccessful economic scheme. (Full article...)

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Saint-Sylvestre coup d'état Central African Republic women's national football team Alexandre Banza Bangui Central African Republic at the 2008 Summer Olympics

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WikiProject Central African Republic

WikiProject Africa

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Cities

Largest Central African Republic cities
Rank	City / town	Préfecture	Population (2003 census)
1	Bangui	—	622,771
2	Bimbo	Ombella-M'Poko	124,176
3	Berbérati	Mambéré-Kadéï	76,918
4	Carnot *	Mambéré-Kadéï	45,421
5	Bambari	Ouaka	41,356
6	Bouar	Nana-Mambéré	40,353
7	Bossangoa	Ouham	36,478
8	Bria	Haute-Kotto	35,204
9	Bangassou	Mbomou	31,553
10	Nola	Sangha-Mbaéré	29,181
11	Kaga-Bandoro	Nana-Grébizi	24,661
12	Sibut	Kémo	22,419
13	Mbaïki	Lobaye	22,166
14	Bozoum	Ouham-Pendé	20,655