Demographics of the Central African Republic

This article is about the demographic features of the population of the Central African Republic, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

Demographics of Central African Republic, Data of FAO, year 2005 ; Number of inhabitants in thousands.

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

According to the 2010 revision of the World Population Prospects the total population was 4 401 000 in 2010, compared to only 1 327 000 in 1950. The proportion of children below the age of 15 in 2010 was 40.4%, 55.6% was between 15 and 65 years of age, while 4% was 65 years or older .^[1]

	Total population (x 1000)	Population aged 0–14 (%)	Population aged 15–64 (%)	Population aged 65+ (%)
1950	1 327	36.2	58.7	5.1
1955	1 399	37.0	58.3	4.7
1960	1 504	38.2	57.5	4.3
1965	1 649	39.6	56.2	4.2
1970	1 829	40.6	55.3	4.1
1975	2 017	41.7	54.2	4.1
1980	2 274	42.2	53.6	4.1
1985	2 627	42.4	53.6	4.0
1990	2 935	43.2	52.8	4.0
1995	3 328	42.5	53.5	4.0
2000	3 702	42.0	54.0	3.9
2005	4 018	41.6	54.5	4.0
2010	4 401	40.4	55.6	4.0
2015	4 410	40.8	55.8	4.0

Vital statistics

Registration of vital events is in the Central African Republic not complete. The Population Departement of the United Nations prepared the following estimates. ^[1]

Period	Live births per year	Deaths per year	Natural change per year	CBR*	CDR*	NC*	TFR*	IMR*
1950-1955	57 000	42 000	15 000	41.7	31.0	10.7	5.52	204
1955-1960	63 000	42 000	21 000	43.3	29.0	14.3	5.75	189
1960-1965	69 000	42 000	27 000	43.8	26.9	16.9	5.90	176
1965-1970	76 000	42 000	33 000	43.5	24.3	19.2	5.95	160
1970-1975	82 000	40 000	42 000	42.7	21.0	21.7	5.95	138
1975-1980	91 000	39 000	51 000	42.2	18.2	24.0	5.95	119
1980-1985	104 000	41 000	63 000	42.4	16.8	25.5	5.95	110
1985-1990	116 000	47 000	70 000	41.9	16.8	25.1	5.90	109
1990-1995	126 000	55 000	71 000	40.2	17.5	22.7	5.65	113
1995-2000	140 000	67 000	73 000	39.8	19.2	20.6	5.54	116
2000-2005	148 000	75 000	72 000	38.3	19.5	18.7	5.30	114
2005-2010	150 000	74 000	76 000	35.6	17.6	18.0	4.85	105
2010-2015	149 000	74 000	75 000	36.8	17.9	19.0	5.12	110
* CBR = crude birth rate (per 1000); CDR = crude death rate (per 1000); NC = natural change (per 1000); IMR = infant mortality rate per 1000 births; TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman)

Fertility and Births

Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR):^[2]

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)

CIA World Factbook demographic statistics

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.

Population

4,920,157

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.)

Median age

Total: 21.4 years

Male: 19.6 years

Female: 20.2 years (2015 est.)

Population growth rate

2.146% (2015 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: 50.07 years

Male: 48.84 years

Female: 51.35 years (2015 est.)

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

Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

Vectorborne disease: malaria

Respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis

Water contact disease: schistosomiasis

Animal contact disease: rabies (2010)

Nationality

Noun: Central African(s)

Adjective: Central African

Ethnic groups

Gbaya 33%, Banda 27%, Mandjia 13%, Sara 10%, Mboum 7%, M'Baka 4%, Yakoma 4%, other 2%; About 15,000 Europeans (mostly French) live in the CAR.

Religions

Christianity 80.3%, Islam 10.1%, Indigenous beliefs 9.6% (2005 census)^[3]

Languages

French (official) see: French in Africa, Sangho (lingua franca and national language), tribal languages, Arabic

Literacy

Definition: age 15 and over can read and write

Total population: 51%

Male: 63.3%

Female: 39.9% (2010 est.)

References

1. Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, World Population Prospects: The 2010 Revision
2. http://microdata.worldbank.org/index.php/catalog/dhs#_r=&collection=&country=&dtype=&from=1890&page=3&ps=&sk=&sort_by=nation&sort_order=&to=2014&topic=&view=s&vk=
3. Ministère du Plan et de l'Economie

 This article incorporates public domain material from the CIA World Factbook document "2006 edition".