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| Country | Central African Republic | | | Flag |  | | | Capital | name: Bangui geographic coordinates: 4 22 N, 18 35 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) | | | Population | 4,369,038 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 2007 est.) | | | GMT | +1 | | | Location | Central Africa, north of Democratic Republic of the Congo
see map | | | Area | total: 622,984 sq km land: 622,984 sq km water: 0 sq km | | | Ethnic groups | Baya 33%, Banda 27%, Mandjia 13%, Sara 10%, Mboum 7%, M'Baka 4%, Yakoma 4%, other 2% | | | Religions | indigenous beliefs 35%, Protestant 25%, Roman Catholic 25%, Muslim 15% note: animistic beliefs and practices strongly influence the Christian majority | | | Languages | French (official), Sangho (lingua franca and national language), tribal languages | | | Government type | republic | | | National holiday | Republic Day, 1 December (1958) | | | Constitution | ratified by popular referendum 5 December 2004; effective 27 December 2004 | | | Legal system | based on French law | | | Background | The former French colony of Ubangi-Shari became the Central African Republic upon independence in 1960. After three tumultuous decades of misrule - mostly by military governments - civilian rule was established in 1993 and lasted for one decade. President Ange-Felix PATASSE's civilian government was plagued by unrest, and in March 2003 he was deposed in a military coup led by General Francois BOZIZE, who established a transitional government. Though the government has the tacit support of civil society groups and the main parties, a wide field of candidates contested the municipal, legislative, and presidential elections held in March and May of 2005 in which General BOZIZE was affirmed as president. The government still does not fully control the countryside, where pockets of lawlessness persist. | | Internet country code | .cf | |
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