Demographics of the Central African Republic explained

Place:	Central African Republic
Size Of Population:	5,454,533 (2022 est.)
Official:	French
Nation:	Central African
Age 0–14 Years:	39.49%
Age 65 Years:	3.35%
Growth:	2.28% (2022 est.)
Birth:	32.79 births/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Death:	11.76 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Net Migration:	-3.22 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Sr At Birth:	1.03 male(s)/female
Sr Under 15:	1.05 male(s)/female
Sr 65 Years Over:	0.64 male(s)/female
Total Mf Ratio:	0.99 male(s)/female (2022 est.)
Infant Mortality:	82.97 deaths/1,000 live births
Life:	55.52 years
Life Male:	54.19 years
Life Female:	56.88 years
Fertility:	5.98 children born/woman (2022 est.)

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. 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 total population was in, 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.^[1]

+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

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

	Population (thousands)	Live births (thousands)	Deaths (thousands)	Natural change (thousands)	CBR	CDR	NC	TFR	IMR	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

Source: UN DESA, World Population Prospects, 2022^[2]

Fertility and Births

Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR):^[3]

Life expectancy

Period	Life expectancy in Years^[4]
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

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:

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

See main article: Religion in the Central African Republic.

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

Indigenous beliefs 35%, Protestant 25%, Roman Catholic 25%, Islam 15%^[5]

note: animistic beliefs and practices strongly influence the Christian majority

Languages

See main article: Languages of the Central African Republic.

Sango (lingua franca and official language), French (official), tribal languages^[5]

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

Attribution:

Notes and References

1. http://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/index.htm Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, World Population Prospects: The 2010 Revision
2. 3389:3460. M,X,AE,S,AH,S,AA,AV,AI.
3. Web site: MEASURE DHS: Demographic and Health Surveys. microdata.worldbank.org.
4. Web site: World Population Prospects - Population Division - United Nations. esa.un.org. 2018-08-26.
5. Web site: Africa: CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC. 14 November 2022. CIA The World Factbook.