Demographics of the Central African Republic

Demographic features of the population of the Central African Republic include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

Demographics of Central African Republic
Population pyramid of the Central African Republic in 2020
Population5,454,533 (2022 est.)
Growth rate2.28% (2022 est.)
Birth rate32.79 births/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Death rate11.76 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Life expectancy55.52 years
 • male54.19 years
 • female56.88 years
Fertility rate5.98 children born/woman (2022 est.)
Infant mortality rate82.97 deaths/1,000 live births
Net migration rate-3.22 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Age structure
0–14 years39.49%
65 and over3.35%
Sex ratio
Total0.99 male(s)/female (2022 est.)
At birth1.03 male(s)/female
Under 151.05 male(s)/female
65 and over0.64 male(s)/female
Nationality
NationalityCentral African
Language
OfficialFrench
Demographics of Central African Republic, Data of Our World in Data, year 2022.

There are more than 80 ethnic groups in the Central African Republic (CAR), each with its own language. About 50% are Baya-Mandjia, 40% Banda (largely located in the northern and central parts of the country), and 7% are M'Baka (southwestern corner of the CAR). Sangho, the language of a small group along the Oubangui River, is the national language spoken by the majority of Central Africans. Only a small part of the population has more than an elemental knowledge of French, the official language.

More than 55% of the population of the CAR lives in rural areas. The chief agricultural areas are around the Bossangoa and Bambari. Bangui, Berberati, Bangassou, and Bossangoa are the most densely populated urban centers.

Population

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According to the 2022 revision of the World Population Prospects[1][2] the total population was 5,457,154 in 2021, compared to only 1 327 000 in 1950. The proportion of children below the age of 15 in 2010 was 40.4%, 55.6% were between 15 and 65 years of age, while 4% were 65 years or older.[3]

Population by age group
Year Total 0–14 (%) 15–64 (%) 65+ (%)
1950 1 327 000 36.2 58.7 5.1
1955 1 399 000 37.0 58.3 4.7
1960 1 504 000 38.2 57.5 4.3
1965 1 649 000 39.6 56.2 4.2
1970 1 829 000 40.6 55.3 4.1
1975 2 017 000 41.7 54.2 4.1
1980 2 274 000 42.2 53.6 4.1
1985 2 627 000 42.4 53.6 4.0
1990 2 935 000 43.2 52.8 4.0
1995 3 328 000 42.5 53.5 4.0
2000 3 702 000 42.0 54.0 3.9
2005 4 018 000 41.6 54.5 4.0
2010 4 401 000 40.4 55.6 4.0
2015 4 410 000 40.8 55.8 4.0

Vital statistics

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Registration of vital events is not complete in the Central African Republic. The Population Department of the United Nations prepared the following estimates. [3]

Population
(thousands)
Live births
(thousands)
Deaths
(thousands)
Natural change
(thousands)
CBR[i] CDR[i] NC[i] TFR[i] IMR[i] Life expectancy
(years)
1950 1 437   63   42   20 43.6 29.5 14.0 5.74 190.7 35.39
1951   1 457   63   43   21 43.5 29.4 14.1 5.75 189.7 35.59
1952   1 478   64   43   21 43.5 29.0 14.5 5.76 187.5 36.00
1953   1 500   65   43   22 43.4 28.6 14.8 5.76 185.4 36.40
1954   1 522   66   43   23 43.3 28.2 15.2 5.77 183.3 36.80
1955   1 546   67   43   24 43.3 27.7 15.6 5.78 181.3 37.19
1956   1 570   68   43   25 43.2 27.3 15.9 5.78 179.3 37.58
1957   1 596   69   43   26 43.2 26.8 16.4 5.79 177.3 37.97
1958   1 623   70   43   27 43.0 26.4 16.7 5.80 175.3 38.35
1959   1 650   71   43   28 43.0 25.9 17.0 5.81 173.3 38.74
1960   1 680   72   43   29 42.9 25.4 17.5 5.81 170.5 39.24
1961   1 710   73   43   31 42.9 24.9 18.0 5.83 167.8 39.74
1962   1 743   75   43   32 43.0 24.4 18.6 5.85 164.9 40.26
1963   1 776   76   42   34 43.0 23.9 19.1 5.87 162.0 40.78
1964   1 812   78   42   36 43.3 23.4 19.9 5.91 158.9 41.35
1965   1 849   80   42   38 43.4 22.9 20.6 5.94 155.8 41.93
1966   1 889   83   42   40 43.8 22.4 21.4 5.98 152.6 42.53
1967   1 931   85   42   43 44.0 21.9 22.1 6.02 149.4 43.16
1968   1 975   87   42   45 44.3 21.4 22.9 6.06 146.2 43.80
1969   2 022   89   42   47 44.1 20.9 23.2 6.04 143.2 44.44
1970   2 067   90   42   48 43.7 20.3 23.4 6.00 140.3 45.07
1971   2 111   92   42   50 43.5 19.8 23.7 5.99 137.6 45.69
1972   2 154   93   42   51 43.1 19.2 23.8 5.96 135.1 46.29
1973   2 196   94 41   53 42.6 18.7 23.9 5.93 132.8 46.85
1974   2 239   95   41   54 42.3 18.3 24.0 5.91 130.6 47.40
1975   2 284   96   41   55 41.9 17.8 24.1 5.89 128.5 47.91
1976   2 318   98   41   57 42.0 17.5 24.5 5.93 126.6 48.40
1977   2 342   100   41   60 42.4 17.2 25.2 5.97 124.8 48.84
1978   2 366   103   41   62 43.0 17.0 26.0 6.02 123.0 49.24
1979   2 390   105   41   65 43.6 16.8 26.8 6.07 121.4 49.60
1980   2 415   107   41   67 44.1 16.7 27.4 6.11 120.0 49.89
1981   2 441   110   41   69 44.6 16.5 28.1 6.14 118.8 50.16
1982   2 468   112   41   71 44.9 16.4 28.5 6.14 117.8 50.30
1983   2 495   114   41   73 45.2 16.3 28.9 6.12 117.0 50.42
1984   2 524   116   41   75 45.5 16.3 29.3 6.11 116.3 50.48
1985   2 553   118   42   77 45.9 16.2 29.7 6.11 115.7 50.52
1986   2 584   120   42   78 46.2 16.1 30.0 6.09 115.1 50.49
1987   2 616   123   42   80 46.5 16.1 30.4 6.10 114.7 50.41
1988   2 657   124   43   81 46.5 16.1 30.4 6.08 114.5 50.24
1989   2 724   127   44   83 46.5 16.1 30.5 6.06 114.7 49.99
1990   2 809   130   45   85 46.3 16.1 30.2 6.05 115.0 49.64
1991   2 898   133   47   86 46.0 16.1 29.8 6.03 115.2 49.25
1992   2 992   136   48   87 45.4 16.2 29.2 5.98 115.1 48.79
1993   3 089   139   50   88 44.9 16.3 28.7 5.94 114.7 48.35
1994   3 188   142   52   90 44.5 16.4 28.1 5.93 114.3 47.85
1995   3 277   146   54   92 44.5 16.6 27.9 5.97 113.8 47.35
1996   3 364   149   56   92 44.3 16.8 27.5 5.99 113.4 46.83
1997   3 458   151   59   93 43.8 17.0 26.8 5.96 112.8 46.32
1998   3 555   155   61   94 43.5 17.1 26.4 5.93 112.2 46.03
1999   3 655   159   63   96 43.4 17.2 26.2 5.93 111.4 45.75
2000   3 759   162   65   97 43.3 17.3 25.9 5.92 111.0 45.41
2001   3 845   165   67   99 42.8 17.2 25.6 5.85 110.1 45.39
2002   3 931   167   67   100 42.6 17.2 25.5 5.84 109.1 45.41
2003   4 027   173   68   104 42.8 16.9 25.9 5.85 108.1 45.76
2004   4 115   175   69   107 42.5 16.7 25.9 5.83 107.2 46.04
2005   4 209   180   69   111 42.6 16.4 26.3 5.85 106.2 46.43
2006   4 294   185   69   115 42.8 16.1 26.7 5.87 104.8 46.85
2007   4 376   188   69   119 42.8 15.7 27.1 5.89 103.4 47.43
2008   4 467   192   69   124 42.9 15.3 27.6 5.91 101.7 48.02
2009   4 565   197   68   129 43.0 14.9 28.1 5.92 99.5 48.65
2010   4 660   202   68   134 43.2 14.5 28.7 5.94 97.3 49.26
2011   4 732   206   67   139 43.2 14.1 29.1 5.96 94.7 49.95
2012   4 773   208   66   142 43.0 13.6 29.4 6.01 92.1 50.69
2013   4 802   206   65   141 42.4 13.4 29.0 6.02 89.9 50.90
2014   4 799   205   66   139 41.9 13.5 28.4 6.02 89.1 50.57
2015   4 819   199   59   140 41.0 12.2 28.9 6.04 84.7 52.79
2016   4 904   203   58   145 41.2 11.7 29.5 6.04 81.6 53.46
2017   4 997   209   58   151 41.6 11.5 30.1 6.05 79.3 53.72
2018   5 095   214   58   157 41.8 11.2 30.6 6.04 77.4 54.37
2019   5 209   219   57   162 41.9 10.9 31.0 6.01 74.6 55.03
2020   5 343   226   59   167 42.2 11.0 31.1 5.99 72.4 54.60
2021   5 457   235   63   172 42.7 11.4 31.3 5.98 71.4 53.90
  1. ^ a b c d e CBR = crude birth rate (per 1000); CDR = crude death rate (per 1000); NC = natural change (per 1000); TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman); IMR = infant mortality rate per 1000 births

Source: UN DESA, World Population Prospects, 2022[4]

Fertility and Births

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Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR):[5]

Year CBR (Total) TFR (Total) CBR (Urban) TFR (Urban) CBR (Rural) TFR (Rural)
1994–95 38,0 5,07 (4,7) 37,9 4,86 (4,3) 37,9 5,23 (5,0)

Life expectancy

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Period Life expectancy in
Years[6]
1950–1955 33.44
1955–1960   35.50
1960–1965   37.57
1965–1970   40.16
1970–1975   43.90
1975–1980   47.62
1980–1985   49.56
1985–1990   49.49
1990–1995   47.65
1995–2000   44.96
2000–2005   43.68
2005–2010   45.99
2010–2015   49.40

Other demographic statistics

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Population, fertility rate and net reproduction rate, United Nations estimates

Demographic statistics according to the World Population Review in 2022.[7]

  • One birth every 3 minutes
  • One death every 9 minutes
  • One net migrant every 25 minutes
  • Net gain of one person every 6 minutes

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook.[8]

Population

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5,454,533 (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 119th
5,745,062 (July 2018 est.)
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 2015 est.)

Age structure

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Population pyramid of Central African Republic in 2020
0-14 years: 39.49% (male 1,188,682/female 1,176,958)
15-24 years: 19.89% (male 598,567/female 593,075)
25-54 years: 32.95% (male 988,077/female 986,019)
55-64 years: 4.32% (male 123,895/female 134,829)
65 years and over: 3.35% (male 78,017/female 122,736) (2020 est.)
0-14 years: 39.89% (male 1,151,724 /female 1,140,083)
15-24 years: 19.91% (male 574,969 /female 568,942)
25-54 years: 32.64% (male 938,365 /female 936,948)
55-64 years: 4.17% (male 112,310 /female 127,045)
65 years and over: 3.39% (male 75,401 /female 119,275) (2018 est.)

Median age

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total: 20 years. Country comparison to the world: 194th
male: 19.7 years
female: 20.3 years (2020 est.)
total: 19.8 years. Country comparison to the world: 197th
male: 19.5 years
female: 20.1 years (2018 est.)
Total: 21.4 years
Male: 19.6 years
Female: 20.2 years (2015 est.)

Population growth rate

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1.78% (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 52nd
2.11% (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 43rd
2.12% (2016 est.)

Birth rate

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32.79 births/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 23rd
34 births/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 24th

Death rate

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11.76 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 16th
12.9 deaths/1,000 population (2018 est.)

Net migration rate

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-3.22 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 183rd
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2017 est.) Country comparison to the world: 78th
3.99 children born/woman (2023 est.) Country comparison to the world: 26th
4.04 children born/woman (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 27th
4.25 children born/woman (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 29th

Urbanization

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urban population: 43.1% of total population (2022)
rate of urbanization: 3.32% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Sex ratio

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At birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
Under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2015 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

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total population: 55.52 years. Country comparison to the world: 226th
male: 54.19 years
female: 56.88 years (2022 est.)
male: 51.9 years (2018 est.)
female: 54.7 years (2018 est.)
total dependency ratio: 90 (2015 est.)
youth dependency ratio: 83.1 (2015 est.)
elderly dependency ratio: 7 (2015 est.)
potential support ratio: 14.4 (2015 est)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

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17.8% (2019)
15.2% (2010/11)

School life expectancy

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total: 7 years (2012)
male: 8 years (2012)
female: 6 years (2012)

HIV/AIDS

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Adult prevalence rate: 4.7% (2009 est.)
People living with HIV/AIDS: 130,000 (2009 est.)
Deaths: 11,000 (2010 est.)

Major infectious diseases

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degree of risk: very high (2020)
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: malaria and dengue fever
water contact diseases: schistosomiasis
animal contact diseases: rabies
respiratory diseases: meningococcal meningitis

note: on 21 March 2022, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Travel Alert for polio in Africa; the Central African Republic is currently considered a high risk to travelers for polio; the CDC recommends that before any international travel, anyone unvaccinated, incompletely vaccinated, or with an unknown polio vaccination status should complete the routine polio vaccine series; before travel to any high-risk destination, CDC recommends that adults who previously completed the full, routine polio vaccine series receive a single, lifetime booster dose of polio vaccine

Nationality

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Noun: Central African(s)
Adjective: Central African

Ethnic groups

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An approximate distribution of the ethnic groups is shown in the chart below:

Ethnic groups in Central African Republic
Ethnic group Percentage Population
Baggara Arabs 2.4% 107,000
Baka 0.5% 20,000
Banda 27% 1,190,700
Bayaka ? ?
Fula ? ?
Gbaya 33% 1,300,000
Kara 2.3% 100,000
Kresh ? ?
Mbaka 4% 176,400
Mandja 13% 573,300
Ngbandi ? ?
Sara 10% 441,000
Vidiri ? ?
Wodaabe 2.3% 100,000
Yakoma 4% 176,400
Yulu ? ?
Zande 1.4% 62,000
Others ? ?

Religion

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Religion in the Central African Republic 2020
Roman Catholic
60.5%
Protestant
28.4%
Islam
8.5%
Traditional religions
1%
other
2%
Christian 89%, Muslim 9%, folk religionist 1%, unaffiliated 1% (2020 est.)
Indigenous beliefs 35%, Protestant 25%, Roman Catholic 25%, Islam 15%[9]

note: animistic beliefs and practices strongly influence the Christian majority

Languages

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Sango (lingua franca and official language), French (official), tribal languages[9]

Literacy

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Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 51%
Male: 63.3%
Female: 39.9% (2010 est.)

Urbanization

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urban population: 41.4% of total population (2018)
rate of urbanization: 2.52% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "World Population Prospects 2022". United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  2. ^ "World Population Prospects 2022: Demographic indicators by region, subregion and country, annually for 1950-2100" (XSLX) ("Total Population, as of 1 July (thousands)"). United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  3. ^ a b Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, World Population Prospects: The 2010 Revision Archived May 6, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs Population Division (2022). "World Population Prospects 2022 Demographic indicators by region, subregion and country, annually for 1950-2100" (XLS (91MB)). United Nations Population Division. 27 (Online ed.). New York: United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. rows 3389:3460, cols M,X,AE,S,AH,S,AA,AV,AI. Archived from the original on 2022-08-09.
  5. ^ "MEASURE DHS: Demographic and Health Surveys". microdata.worldbank.org.
  6. ^ "World Population Prospects - Population Division - United Nations". esa.un.org. Retrieved 2018-08-26.
  7. ^ "Central African Republic Population 2022", World Population Review
  8. ^   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: "The World FactBook - Central African Republic", The World Factbook, July 12, 2018
  9. ^ a b "Africa: CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC". CIA The World Factbook. 14 November 2022.

Attribution: