indigenous beliefs 24%, Protestant 25%, Roman Catholic 25%, Muslim 15%, other 11%; animistic beliefs and practices strongly influence the Christian majority
_#_Language: French (official); Sangho (lingua franca and national language); Arabic, Hunsa, Swahili
_#_Literacy: 27% (male 33%, female 15%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
_#_Labor force: 775,413 (1986 est.); agriculture 85%, commerce and services 9%, industry 3%, government 3%; about 64,000 salaried workers; 55% of population of working age (1985)
_#_Organized labor: 1% of labor force
_*Government #_Long-form name: Central African Republic (no short-form name); abbreviated CAR
_#_Type: republic, one-party presidential regime since 1986
_#_Capital: Bangui
_#_Administrative divisions: 14 prefectures (prefectures, singular—prefecture) and 2 economic prefectures* (prefectures economiques, singular—prefecture economique); Bamingui-Bangoran, Basse-Kotto, Gribingui*, Haute-Kotto, Haute-Sangha, Haut-Mbomou, Kemo-Gribingui, Lobaye, Mbomou, Nana-Mambere, Ombella-Mpoko, Ouaka, Ouham, Ouham-Pende, Sangha*, Vakaga; note—there may be a new autonomous commune of Bangui
_#_Independence: 13 August 1960 (from France; formerly Central African Empire)
_#_Constitution: 21 November 1986
_#_Legal system: based on French law
_#_National holiday: National Day (proclamation of the republic), 1 December (1958)
_#_Executive branch: president, Council of Ministers (cabinet)
_#_Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale) advised by the Economic and Regional Council (Conseil Economique et Regional); when they sit together this is known as the Congress (Congres)
_#_Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)
_#_Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government—President
Andre-Dieudonne KOLINGBA (since 1 September 1981)
_#_Political parties and leaders: only party—Centrafrican Democrtic Rally Party (RDC), Andre-Dieudonne KOLINGBA
_#_Suffrage: universal at age 21
_#_Elections:
President—last held 21 November 1986 (next to be held November 1993); results—President KOLINGBA was reelected without opposition;
National Assembly—last held 31 July 1987 (next to be held July 1992); results—RDC is the only party; seats—(52 total) RDC 52
_#_Communists: small number of Communist sympathizers
_#_Member of: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, CCC, CEEAC, ECA, FAO, FZ,
G-77, GATT, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, ILO, IMF, INTELSAT, INTERPOL,
IOC, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, UDEAC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO,
UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO
_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Jean-Pierre SOHAHONG-KOMBET; Chancery at 1618 22nd Street NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 483–7800 or 7801;
US—Ambassador Daniel H. SIMPSON; Embassy at Avenue du President David Dacko, Bangui (mailing address is B. P. 924, Bangui); telephone 61–02-00 or 61–25-78, 61–43-33
_#_Flag: four equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, green, and yellow with a vertical red band in center; there is a yellow five-pointed star on the hoist side of the blue band
_*Economy #_Overview: The Central African Republic (CAR) had a per capita income of roughly $440 in 1990. Subsistence agriculture, including forestry, is the backbone of the economy, with over 70% of the population living in the countryside. In 1988 the agricultural sector generated about 40% of GDP. Agricultural products accounted for about 60% of export earnings and the diamond industry for 30%. Important constraints to economic development include the CAR's landlocked position, a poor transportation infrastructure, and a weak human resource base. Multilateral and bilateral development assistance plays a major role in providing capital for new investment.
_#_GDP: $1.3 billion, per capita $440; real growth rate 2.0% (1990 est.)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): - 4.2% (1988 est.)
_#_Unemployment rate: 30% in Bangui (1988 est.)
_#_Budget: revenues $132 million; current expenditures $305 million, including capital expenditures of $NA million (1989 est.)
_#_Exports: $148 million (f.o.b., 1989 est.);
commodities—diamonds, cotton, coffee, timber, tobacco;
partners—France, Belgium, Italy, Japan, US
_#_Imports: $239 million (c.i.f., 1989 est.);
commodities—food, textiles, petroleum products, machinery, electrical equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, consumer goods, industrial products;
partners—France, other EC, Japan, Algeria, Yugoslavia
_#_External debt: $671 million (December 1989)
_#_Industrial production: 0.8% (1988); accounts for 12% of GDP
_#_Electricity: 35,000 kW capacity; 84 million kWh produced, 30 kWh per capita (1989)
_#_Industries: diamond mining, sawmills, breweries, textiles, footwear, assembly of bicycles and motorcycles
_#_Agriculture: accounts for 40% of GDP; self-sufficient in food production except for grain; commercial crops—cotton, coffee, tobacco, timber; food crops—manioc, yams, millet, corn, bananas
_#_Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70–89), $49 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970–88), $1.4 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979–89), $6 million; Communist countries (1970–88), $38 million
_#_Currency: Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (plural—francs); 1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes
_#_Exchange rates: Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF) per US$1—256.54 (January 1991), 272.26 (1990), 319.01 (1989), 297.85 (1988), 300.54 (1987), 346.30 (1986), 449.26 (1985)
_#_Fiscal year: calendar year
_*Communications #_Highways: 22,000 km total; 458 km bituminous, 10,542 km improved earth, 11,000 unimproved earth
_#_Inland waterways: 800 km; traditional trade carried on by means of shallow-draft dugouts; Oubangui is the most important river
_#_Civil air: 2 major transport aircraft
_#_Airports: 66 total, 49 usable; 4 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 2 with runways 2,440–3,659 m; 22 with runways 1,220–2,439 m
_#_Telecommunications:
