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The Central African Republic Portal

Flag of the Central African Republic Coat of arms of the Central African Republic

The Central African Republic (CAR), formerly known as Ubangi-Shari, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the south, the Republic of the Congo to the southwest, and Cameroon to the west. Bangui is the country's capital and largest city, at the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Central African Republic covers a land area of about 620,000 square kilometres (240,000 sq mi). , it had an estimated population of around 5.5 million. , the Central African Republic is the scene of a civil war, which has been ongoing since 2012.

Most of the Central African Republic consists of Sudano-Guinean savannas, but the country also includes a Sahelo-Sudanian zone in the north and an equatorial forest zone in the south. Two-thirds of the country is within the Ubangi River basin (which flows into the Congo), while the remaining third lies in the basin of the Chari, which flows into Lake Chad.

What is today the Central African Republic has been inhabited since at least 8,000 BCE. The country's borders were established by France, which ruled the country as a colony starting in the late 19th century. After gaining independence from France in 1960, the Central African Republic was ruled by a series of autocratic leaders, including an abortive attempt at a monarchy under the regime of Jean-Bedel Bokassa.

By the 1990s, calls for democracy led to the first multi-party democratic elections in 1993. Ange-Félix Patassé became president, but was later removed by General François Bozizé in a 2003 coup. The Central African Republic Bush War began in 2004 and, despite a peace treaty in 2007 and another in 2011, civil war resumed in 2012. The civil war perpetuated the country's poor human rights record: it was characterized by widespread and increasing abuses by various participating armed groups, such as arbitrary imprisonment, torture, and restrictions on freedom of the press and freedom of movement. (Full article...)

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The Aka or Biaka (also Bayaka, Babenzele) are a nomadic Mbenga pygmy people. They live in south-western Central African Republic and in northern Republic of the Congo. They are related to the Baka people of Cameroon, Gabon, northern Congo, and southwestern Central African Republic.

Unlike the Mbuti pygmies of the eastern Congo (who speak only the language of the tribes with whom they are affiliated), the Aka speak their own language along with whichever of the approximately 15 Bantu peoples they are affiliated. (Full article...)

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The following are images from various Central African Republic-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Refugees of the fighting in the Central African Republic, January 2014 (from Central African Republic)
Image 2Séléka advances in C.A.R. (December 2012–March 2013) (from History of the Central African Republic)
Image 3Falls of Boali on the Mbali River. (from Central African Republic)
Image 4The Bouar Megaliths, pictured here on a 1967 Central African stamp, date back to the very late Neolithic Era (c. 3500–2700 BCE). (from Central African Republic)
Image 5President Faustin-Archange Touadéra with Russian President Vladimir Putin, 23 May 2018 (from Central African Republic)
Image 6Trucks in Bangui (from Central African Republic)
Image 7A French cuisine boulangerie in Bangui (from Cuisine of the Central African Republic)
Image 8The Sultan of Bangassou and his wives, 1906 (from Central African Republic)
Image 9Rebel in northern Central African Republic in 2007. (from History of the Central African Republic)
Image 10Worshippers at the Bangui Cathedral. Christianity is the main religion in the Central African Republic. (from Central African Republic)
Image 11A proportional representation of Central African Republic exports, 2019 (from Central African Republic)
Image 12A village in the Central African Republic (from Central African Republic)
Image 13Fula women in Paoua (from Central African Republic)
Image 14Fufu (pictured right) is a staple food of West and Central Africa. It is a thick paste made by boiling starchy root vegetables in water and pounding the mixture with a mortar and pestle. Peanut soup is pictured at left (from Cuisine of the Central African Republic)
Image 15Bangui shopping district (from Central African Republic)
Image 16The Aka Pygmies living in the Dzanga-Sangha Special Reserve (from Central African Republic)
Image 17Current military situation in Central African Republic (from Central African Republic)
Image 18Central African Republic President Faustin-Archange Touadéra with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, 11 April 2019 (from Central African Republic)
Image 19Faustin Touadera succeeded interim head Catherine Samba-Panza to become president following the 2015–16 elections (from History of the Central African Republic)
Image 20Charles de Gaulle in Bangui, 1940 (from Central African Republic)
Image 21First Central African President David Dacko in 1962 (from History of the Central African Republic)
Image 22Location of the Central African Republic (from Cuisine of the Central African Republic)
Image 23Palm wine (from Cuisine of the Central African Republic)
Image 24A food aid convoy in the Central African Republic in 2007 (from Cuisine of the Central African Republic)
Image 25GDP per capita (2022 US$) (from Central African Republic)
Image 26A soldier with France's 11th Marine Artillery Regiment during military exercises in the Central African Republic in 1992 (from History of the Central African Republic)
Image 27Rebel militia in the northern countryside, 2007 (from Central African Republic)
Image 28Charles de Gaulle in Bangui, 1940 (from History of the Central African Republic)
Image 29Classroom in Sam Ouandja. (from Central African Republic)
Image 30Mothers and babies aged between 0 and 5 years are lining up in a Health Post at Begoua, a district of Bangui, waiting for the two drops of the oral polio vaccine. (from Central African Republic)
Image 31Central African Republic map of Köppen climate classification (from Central African Republic)
Image 32A Central African woman (from Central African Republic)
Image 33Jean-Bédel Bokassa, self-crowned Emperor of Central Africa. (from Central African Republic)
Image 34Dzanga-Sangha Reserve (from Central African Republic)

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... that a former member of the French Senate ended up being exiled to the northern Central African Republic by the future emperor?

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Entries here consist of Featured articles and Good articles, which consist of high-quality content on English Wikipedia..

The Central African Republic women's national football team represents the Central African Republic (CAR) in international women's football. It is governed by the Central African Football Federation. It played its first international matches in 2018 in the Cup of Nations qualifiers. The country's youth national team has played in several matches and events, including an Under-19 World Cup qualifying competition in which the team lost in the semi-finals. As is the case across Africa, the women's game faces numerous challenges. Football was only formally organised in 2000, and there are only 400 players competing at the national level. (Full article...)

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Saint-Sylvestre coup d'état Barthélemy Boganda Alexandre Banza Bangui Central African Republic at the 2008 Summer Olympics

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WikiProject Central African Republic

WikiProject Africa

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Cities

Largest Central African Republic cities
Rank	City / town	Préfecture	Population (2003 census)
1	Bangui	—	622,771
2	Bimbo	Ombella-M'Poko	124,176
3	Berbérati	Mambéré-Kadéï	76,918
4	Carnot *	Mambéré-Kadéï	45,421
5	Bambari	Ouaka	41,356
6	Bouar	Nana-Mambéré	40,353
7	Bossangoa	Ouham	36,478
8	Bria	Haute-Kotto	35,204
9	Bangassou	Mbomou	31,553
10	Nola	Sangha-Mbaéré	29,181
11	Kaga-Bandoro	Nana-Grébizi	24,661
12	Sibut	Kémo	22,419
13	Mbaïki	Lobaye	22,166
14	Bozoum	Ouham-Pendé	20,655