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.

CIA World Factbook demographic statistics

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

Population

4,950,027

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 2011 est.)

Age structure

0-14 years: 41.9% (male 907,629/female 897,153)

15-64 years: 53.9% (male 1,146,346/female 1,173,268)

65 years and over: 4.2% (male 71,312/female 107,648) (2006 est.)

Median age

Total: 19.2 years

Male: 18.8 years

Female: 19.6 years (2011 est.)

Population growth rate

2.146% (2011 est.)

Birth rate

36.46 births/1,000 population (2011 est.)

Death rate

15.01 deaths/1,000 population (2011 est.)

Net migration rate

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2011 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 (2011 est.)

Infant mortality rate

Total: 99.38 deaths/1,000 live births

Male:107.34 deaths/1,000 live births

Female: 91.17 deaths/1,000 live births (2011 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

Total population: 50.07 years

Male: 48.84 years

Female: 51.35 years (2011 est.)

Total fertility rate

4.63 children born/woman (2011 est.)

4.41 children born/woman (2006 est.)

HIV/AIDS

Adult prevalence rate: 4.7% (2009 est.)

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

Deaths: 11,000 (2009 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 (2009)

Nationality

Noun: Central African(s)

Adjective: Central African

Ethnic groups

Baya 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% (2003 census)

Languages

Main article: Languages of the Central African Republic

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% (2003 est.)

References

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