Central African Republic Overview People
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Central African Republic Demographics

What is the population of Central African Republic?

Population 5,990,855
Population - note 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, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected
Population Growth Rate 2.14%
Urban Population 39.1%
Population in Major Urban Areas BANGUI (capital) 740,000
Nationality Noun Central African(s)
Nationality Adjective Central African
Ethnic Groups Baya 33%, Banda 27%, Mandjia 13%, Sara 10%, Mboum 7%, M'Baka 4%, Yakoma 4%, other 2%
Languages Spoken French (official), Sangho (lingua franca and national language), tribal languages

Central African Republic Health Information

What are the health conditions in Central African Republic?

Animal Contact Disease (s) Rabies
Contraceptive Prevalence Rate - female 15-49 19%
Death Rate - deaths/1,000 population 14.42
Drinking Water Source - percent of rural population improved 54.4%
Drinking Water Source - percent of total population unimproved 31.8%
Drinking Water Source - percent of urban population improved 89.6%
Food or Waterborne Disease (s) Bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever
Health Expenditures - percent of GDP 3.8%
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate 4.7%
HIV/Aids Deaths 11,000
Hospital Bed Density - beds/1,000 population 1
Infant Mortality Rate - female deaths/1,000 live births 87.02
Infant Mortality Rate - male deaths/1,000 live births 102.83
Infant Mortality Rate - total deaths/1,000 live births 95.04
Major Infectious Diseases - degree of risk very high
Maternal Mortality Rate - deaths/100,000 live births 890
Obesity - adult prevalence rate 3.5%
People Living with HIV/AIDS 130,000
Physicians Density - physicians/1,000 population .05
Respiratory disease (s) Meningococcal meningitis
Sanitation Facility Access - percent of total population unimproved 78.5%
Sanitation Facility Access - percent of urban population improved 43.6%
Sanitation Facility Access - percent of rural population improved 7.2%
Total Fertility Rate - children born/woman 4.52
Underweight - percent of children under five years 28%
Vectorborne Disease (s) Malaria and dengue fever
Water contact disease (s) Schistosomiasis

Central African Republic Life Expectancy

How long do people live in Central African Republic?

Life Expectancy at Birth 50 Years
Life Expectancy at Birth - female 52 Years
Life Expectancy at Birth - male 49 Years
Median Age 19 Years
Median Age - female 19 Years
Median Age - male 19 Years

Central African Republic Infant Mortality - per 1,000 live births

Central African Republic median age, birth rate and death rates

Birth Rate - births/1,000 population 36
Death Rate - deaths/1,000 population 14.42
Median Age 19 Years
Median Age - female 19 Years
Median Age - male 19 Years
Population Growth Rate 2.14%
Sex Ratio 0-14 Years - male/female 1.01
Sex Ratio 15-24 Years - male/female 1.01
Sex Ratio 25-54 Years - male/female 1
Sex Ratio 55-64 Years - male/female .98
Sex Ratio at Birth - male/female 1.03
Sex Ratio of Total Population - male/female .98
Sex Ratio Over 64 Years - male/female .66

Central African Republic Medical Information

What are the health conditions in Central African Republic?

Medical Facilities and Health Information

Medical facilities are extremely limited in the CAR, and the quality of care is unreliable. Sanitation levels are low. Many medicines are not available; you should carry properly labeled prescription drugs and other medications with you that will suffice for your entire visit.

Routine immunizations and protection from vaccine-preventable diseases such as yellow fever, rabies, polio, meningitis, typhoid, and hepatitis A and B are recommended. Malaria (predominantly P. falciparum) exists throughout the year and chemoprophylaxis is strongly recommended. Information on vaccinations and other health precautions, such as safe food and water precautions and insect bite protection, may be obtained from the CDC website. For information about outbreaks of infectious diseases abroad, consult the World Health Organization (WHO) website. The WHO website also contains additional health information for travelers, including detailed country-specific health information.

Tuberculosis is an increasingly serious health concern in the CAR. For further information, please consult the CDC's information on TB.

Insect-borne illnesses are of concern as is Schistosomiasis, an illness related to contact with fresh water. Insect precautions and avoiding freshwater are recommended.

Central African Republic Education

What is school like in Central African Republic?

Education Expenditures - percent of GDP 1.2%
Literacy - female 39.9%
Literacy - male 63.3%
Literacy - total population 48.6%
Literacy Definition Age 15 and over can read and write
School Life Expectancy - female 6 Years
School Life Expectancy - male 9 Years
Total School Life Expectancy - (primary to tertiary) 7 Years

Central African Republic Literacy

Can people in Central African Republic read?

Literacy - female 39.9%
Literacy - male 63.3%
Literacy - total population 48.6%
Literacy Definition Age 15 and over can read and write
Predominant Language French (official), Sangho (lingua franca and national language), tribal languages

Central African Republic Crime

Is Central African Republic a safe place to visit?

Crime Information

Crime remains a concern in the capital and has increased since the March 2013 overthrow of the government. You should exercise caution while traveling around the city and its immediate environs. Petty theft remains a problem in large market areas, particularly in the crowded markets near KM 5 on the outskirts of the city. Armed gangs may operate in outlying residential areas. During periods of civil unrest and conflict, citizens engage in violent, sometimes deadly, demonstrations which include widespread looting, burning of buildings, and blocking of roads. In the interior of the country, there are frequent reports of armed robbery and kidnapping by highway bandits (called “coupeurs de routes” or “zaraguinas”), especially during the December to May dry season. When a crime does occur in Bangui, the victim may have to pay to send a vehicle to pick up police officers due to the shortage of police vehicles and fuel.

Central African Republic Penalties for Crime

Criminal Penalties

While you are traveling in the CAR, you are subject to its laws even if you are a U.S. citizen. Foreign laws and legal systems can be vastly different than our own. Penalties for breaking the law can be more severe than in the United States for similar offenses. Persons violating Central African laws, even unknowingly, may be expelled, arrested, or imprisoned. Penalties for possession, use, or trafficking of illegal drugs in the CAR are severe, and convicted offenders can expect long jail sentences and heavy fines. Engaging in sexual conduct with children or using or disseminating child pornography in a foreign country is a crime prosecutable in the United States. If you break local laws in the CAR your U.S. passport won’t help you avoid arrest or prosecution. It’s very important to know what’s legal and what’s not where you are going.

Based on the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, bilateral agreements with certain countries, and customary international law, if you are arrested in the CAR, you have the option to request that the police, prison officials, or other authorities alert the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate of your arrest, and to have communications from you forwarded to the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate. In some cases, U.S. citizens and other foreign nationals have been detained indefinitely without due process.

Central African Republic Population Comparison

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