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 1Fufu (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 2Faustin Touadera succeeded interim head Catherine Samba-Panza to become president following the 2015–16 elections (from History of the Central African Republic)
Image 3Aka hunter-gatherers living in the Dzanga-Sangha Special Reserve (from Central African Republic)
Image 4Fula women in Paoua (from Central African Republic)
Image 5President Faustin-Archange Touadéra with Russian President Vladimir Putin, 23 May 2018 (from Central African Republic)
Image 6The 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 7Falls of Boali on the Mbali River. (from Central African Republic)
Image 8Central African Republic map of Köppen climate classification (from Central African Republic)
Image 9Dzanga-Sangha Reserve (from Central African Republic)
Image 10Bangui shopping district (from Central African Republic)
Image 11Central African Republic President Faustin-Archange Touadéra with US President Joe Biden, 14 December 2022 (from Central African Republic)
Image 12Trucks in Bangui (from Central African Republic)
Image 13First Central African President David Dacko in 1962 (from History of the Central African Republic)
Image 14Séléka advances in C.A.R. (December 2012–March 2013) (from History of the Central African Republic)
Image 15Palm wine (from Cuisine of the Central African Republic)
Image 16Rebel militia in the northern countryside, 2007 (from Central African Republic)
Image 17A village in the Central African Republic (from Central African Republic)
Image 18The Sultan of Bangassou and his wives, 1906 (from Central African Republic)
Image 19GDP per capita (2022 USD) (from Central African Republic)
Image 20Jean-Bédel Bokassa, self-crowned Emperor of Central Africa (from Central African Republic)
Image 21Charles de Gaulle in Bangui, 1940 (from History of the Central African Republic)
Image 22Mothers 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 23Refugees of the fighting in the Central African Republic, January 2014 (from Central African Republic)
Image 24A Central African woman (from Central African Republic)
Image 25A French cuisine boulangerie in Bangui (from Cuisine of the Central African Republic)
Image 26Charles de Gaulle in Bangui, 1940 (from Central African Republic)
Image 27A food aid convoy in the Central African Republic in 2007 (from Cuisine of the Central African Republic)
Image 28A 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 29Classroom in Sam Ouandja. (from Central African Republic)
Image 30Location of the Central African Republic (from Cuisine of the Central African Republic)
Image 31Current military situation in Central African Republic (from Central African Republic)
Image 32A proportional representation of Central African Republic exports, 2019 (from Central African Republic)
Image 33Rebel in northern Central African Republic in 2007. (from History of the Central African Republic)
Image 34Worshippers at the Bangui Cathedral. Christianity is the main religion in the Central African Republic. (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..

The Saint-Sylvestre coup d'état was a coup d'état staged by Jean-Bédel Bokassa, commander-in-chief of the Central African Republic (CAR) army, and his officers against the government of President David Dacko on 31 December 1965 and 1 January 1966. Dacko, Bokassa's cousin, took over the country in 1960, and Bokassa, an officer in the French army, joined the CAR army in 1962. By 1965, the country was in turmoil—plagued by corruption and slow economic growth, while its borders were breached by rebels from neighboring countries. Dacko obtained financial aid from the People's Republic of China, but despite this support, the country's problems persisted. Bokassa made plans to take over the government; Dacko was made aware of this, and attempted to counter by forming the gendarmerie headed by Jean Izamo, who quickly became Dacko's closest adviser.

With the aid of Captain Alexandre Banza, Bokassa started the coup New Year's Eve night in 1965. First, Bokassa and his men captured Izamo, locking him in a cellar at Camp de Roux. Bokassa's men then occupied the capital, Bangui, and overpowered the gendarmerie and other resistance. After midnight, Dacko headed back to the capital, where he was promptly arrested, forced to resign from office and then imprisoned at Camp Kassaï. According to official reports, eight people were killed during the takeover. By the end of January 1966, Izamo was tortured to death, but Dacko's life was spared because of a request from the French government, which Bokassa was trying to satisfy. Bokassa justified the coup by claiming he had to save the country from falling under the influence of communism, and cut off diplomatic relations with China. In the early days of his government, Bokassa dissolved the National Assembly, abolished the Constitution and issued a number of decrees, banning begging, female circumcision, and polygamy, among other things. Bokassa initially struggled to obtain international recognition for the new government. However, after a successful meeting with the president of Chad, Bokassa obtained recognition of the regime from other African nations, and eventually from France, the former colonial power. (Full article...)

List of recognized articles
Barthélemy Boganda Central African Republic women's national football team Alexandre Banza Bangui Central African Republic at the 2008 Summer Olympics

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WikiProjects

WikiProject Central African Republic

WikiProject Africa

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Related portals

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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