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Demographics of Central African Republic
Population pyramid of the Central African Republic in 2020
Population	5,454,533 (2022 est.)
Growth rate	2.28% (2022 est.)
Birth rate	32.79 births/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Death rate	11.76 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Life expectancy	55.52 years
• male	54.19 years
• female	56.88 years
Fertility rate	5.98 children born/woman (2022 est.)
Infant mortality rate	82.97 deaths/1,000 live births
Net migration rate	-3.22 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Age structure
0–14 years	39.49%
65 and over	3.35%
Sex ratio
Total	0.99 male(s)/female (2022 est.)
At birth	1.03 male(s)/female
Under 15	1.05 male(s)/female
65 and over	0.64 male(s)/female
Nationality
Nationality	Central African
Language
Official	French

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.

There are more than 80 ethnic groups in the Central African Republic (CAR), each with its own language. The largest ethnic groups are Gbaya (Baya) 28.8%, Banda 22.9%, Mandjia 9.9%, Sara 7.9%, M'Baka-Bantu 7.9%, Arab-Fulani (Peuhl) 6%, Mbum 6%, Ngbanki 5.5%, Zande-Nzakara 3%, other Central African Republic ethnic groups 2%, non-Central African Republic ethnic groups .1%, as of 2003. 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

According to the 2022 revision of the World Population Prospects 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.

Vital statistics

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

Source: UN DESA, World Population Prospects, 2022

Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.

Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.

Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.

Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.

Fertility and Births

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

Life expectancy

Period	Life expectancy in Years
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

Demographic statistics according to the World Population Review in 2022.

• 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.

Population

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

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

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

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

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

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

-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

Total fertility rate

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

urban population: 43.1% of total population (2022)

rate of urbanization: 3.32% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Sex ratio

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

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.)

Dependency ratios

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

17.8% (2019)

15.2% (2010/11)

School life expectancy

total: 7 years (2012)

male: 8 years (2012)

female: 6 years (2012)

HIV/AIDS

Adult prevalence rate: 4.7% (2009 est.)

People living with HIV/AIDS: 130,000 (2009 est.)

Deaths: 11,000 (2010 est.)

Major infectious diseases

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

Noun: Central African(s)

Adjective: Central African

Ethnic groups

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

Religion

Christian 89%, Muslim 9%, folk religionist 1%, unaffiliated 1% (2020 est.)

Indigenous beliefs 35%, Protestant 25%, Roman Catholic 25%, Islam 15%

note: animistic beliefs and practices strongly influence the Christian majority

Languages

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

Literacy

Definition: age 15 and over can read and write

Total population: 51%

Male: 63.3%

Female: 39.9% (2010 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 41.4% of total population (2018)

rate of urbanization: 2.52% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)

See also

• Demographics of Africa
• List of ethnic groups of Africa

References

1. https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/central-african-republic/#people-and-society
2. "World Population Prospects 2022". United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
3. "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.
4. ^ 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
5. 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.
6. "MEASURE DHS: Demographic and Health Surveys". microdata.worldbank.org.
7. "World Population Prospects - Population Division - United Nations". esa.un.org. Retrieved 2018-08-26.
8. "Central African Republic Population 2022", World Population Review
9. 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
10. ^ "Africa: CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC". CIA The World Factbook. 14 November 2022.

Attribution:

•  This article incorporates public domain material from The World Factbook (2024 ed.). CIA. (Archived 2006 edition.)

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