Demographics of the Central African Republic

Last updated
Demographics of Central African Republic
Central African Republic single age population pyramid 2020.png
Population pyramid of the Central African Republic in 2020
Population5,454,533 (2022 est.)
Growth rate1.78% (2022 est.)
Birth rate32.79 births/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Death rate11.76 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Life expectancy55.52 years
  male54.19 years
  female56.88 years
Fertility rate4.04 children born/woman (2022 est.)
Infant mortality rate82.97 deaths/1,000 live births
Net migration rate-3.22 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Age structure
0–14 years39.49%
65 and over3.35%
Sex ratio
Total0.99 male(s)/female (2022 est.)
At birth1.03 male(s)/female
Under 151.05 male(s)/female
65 and over0.64 male(s)/female
Nationality
NationalityCentral African
Language
OfficialFrench

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.

Contents

Demographics of Central African Republic, Data of Our World in Data, year 2022. Central African Republic-demography.png
Demographics of Central African Republic, Data of Our World in Data, year 2022.

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 2022 revision of the World Population Prospects [1] [2] the total population was 5,457,154 in 2021, 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. [3]

Population by age group
YearTotal0–14 (%)15–64 (%)65+ (%)
19501 327 00036.258.75.1
19551 399 00037.058.34.7
19601 504 00038.257.54.3
19651 649 00039.656.24.2
19701 829 00040.655.34.1
19752 017 00041.754.24.1
19802 274 00042.253.64.1
19852 627 00042.453.64.0
19902 935 00043.252.84.0
19953 328 00042.553.54.0
20003 702 00042.054.03.9
20054 018 00041.654.54.0
20104 401 00040.455.64.0
20154 410 00040.855.84.0

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. [3]

Population
(thousands)
Live births
(thousands)
Deaths
(thousands)
Natural change
(thousands)
CBR [lower-roman 1] CDR [lower-roman 1] NC [lower-roman 1] TFR [lower-roman 1] IMR [lower-roman 1] Life expectancy
(years)
19501 437  63  42  2043.629.514.05.74190.735.39
1951  1 457  63  43  2143.529.414.15.75189.735.59
1952  1 478  64  43  2143.529.014.55.76187.536.00
1953  1 500  65  43  2243.428.614.85.76185.436.40
1954  1 522  66  43  2343.328.215.25.77183.336.80
1955  1 546  67  43  2443.327.715.65.78181.337.19
1956  1 570  68  43  2543.227.315.95.78179.337.58
1957  1 596  69  43  2643.226.816.45.79177.337.97
1958  1 623  70  43  2743.026.416.75.80175.338.35
1959  1 650  71  43  2843.025.917.05.81173.338.74
1960  1 680  72  43  2942.925.417.55.81170.539.24
1961  1 710  73  43  3142.924.918.05.83167.839.74
1962  1 743  75  43  3243.024.418.65.85164.940.26
1963  1 776  76  42  3443.023.919.15.87162.040.78
1964  1 812  78  42  3643.323.419.95.91158.941.35
1965  1 849  80  42  3843.422.920.65.94155.841.93
1966  1 889  83  42  4043.822.421.45.98152.642.53
1967  1 931  85  42  4344.021.922.16.02149.443.16
1968  1 975  87  42  4544.321.422.96.06146.243.80
1969  2 022  89  42  4744.120.923.26.04143.244.44
1970  2 067  90  42  4843.720.323.46.00140.345.07
1971  2 111  92  42  5043.519.823.75.99137.645.69
1972  2 154  93  42  5143.119.223.85.96135.146.29
1973  2 196  9441  5342.618.723.95.93132.846.85
1974  2 239  95  41  5442.318.324.05.91130.647.40
1975  2 284  96  41  5541.917.824.15.89128.547.91
1976  2 318  98  41  5742.017.524.55.93126.648.40
1977  2 342  100  41  6042.417.225.25.97124.848.84
1978  2 366  103  41  6243.017.026.06.02123.049.24
1979  2 390  105  41  6543.616.826.86.07121.449.60
1980  2 415  107  41  6744.116.727.46.11120.049.89
1981  2 441  110  41  6944.616.528.16.14118.850.16
1982  2 468  112  41  7144.916.428.56.14117.850.30
1983  2 495  114  41  7345.216.328.96.12117.050.42
1984  2 524  116  41  7545.516.329.36.11116.350.48
1985  2 553  118  42  7745.916.229.76.11115.750.52
1986  2 584  120  42  7846.216.130.06.09115.150.49
1987  2 616  123  42  8046.516.130.46.10114.750.41
1988  2 657  124  43  8146.516.130.46.08114.550.24
1989  2 724  127  44  8346.516.130.56.06114.749.99
1990  2 809  130  45  8546.316.130.26.05115.049.64
1991  2 898  133  47  8646.016.129.86.03115.249.25
1992  2 992  136  48  8745.416.229.25.98115.148.79
1993  3 089  139  50  8844.916.328.75.94114.748.35
1994  3 188  142  52  9044.516.428.15.93114.347.85
1995  3 277  146  54  9244.516.627.95.97113.847.35
1996  3 364  149  56  9244.316.827.55.99113.446.83
1997  3 458  151  59  9343.817.026.85.96112.846.32
1998  3 555  155  61  9443.517.126.45.93112.246.03
1999  3 655  159  63  9643.417.226.25.93111.445.75
2000  3 759  162  65  9743.317.325.95.92111.045.41
2001  3 845  165  67  9942.817.225.65.85110.145.39
2002  3 931  167  67  10042.617.225.55.84109.145.41
2003  4 027  173  68  10442.816.925.95.85108.145.76
2004  4 115  175  69  10742.516.725.95.83107.246.04
2005  4 209  180  69  11142.616.426.35.85106.246.43
2006  4 294  185  69  11542.816.126.75.87104.846.85
2007  4 376  188  69  11942.815.727.15.89103.447.43
2008  4 467  192  69  12442.915.327.65.91101.748.02
2009  4 565  197  68  12943.014.928.15.9299.548.65
2010  4 660  202  68  13443.214.528.75.9497.349.26
2011  4 732  206  67  13943.214.129.15.9694.749.95
2012  4 773  208  66  14243.013.629.46.0192.150.69
2013  4 802  206  65  14142.413.429.06.0289.950.90
2014  4 799  205  66  13941.913.528.46.0289.150.57
2015  4 819  199  59  14041.012.228.96.0484.752.79
2016  4 904  203  58  14541.211.729.56.0481.653.46
2017  4 997  209  58  15141.611.530.16.0579.353.72
2018  5 095  214  58  15741.811.230.66.0477.454.37
2019  5 209  219  57  16241.910.931.06.0174.655.03
2020  5 343  226  59  16742.211.031.15.9972.454.60
2021  5 457  235  63  17242.711.431.35.9871.453.90
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 CBR = crude birth rate (per 1000); CDR = crude death rate (per 1000); NC = natural change (per 1000); TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman); IMR = infant mortality rate per 1000 births

Source: UN DESA, World Population Prospects, 2022 [4]

Fertility and Births

Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR): [5]

YearCBR (Total)TFR (Total)CBR (Urban)TFR (Urban)CBR (Rural)TFR (Rural)
1994-9538,05,07 (4,7)37,94,86 (4,3)37,95,23 (5,0)

Life expectancy

PeriodLife expectancy in
Years [6]
1950–195533.44
1955–1960Increase2.svg 35.50
1960–1965Increase2.svg 37.57
1965–1970Increase2.svg 40.16
1970–1975Increase2.svg 43.90
1975–1980Increase2.svg 47.62
1980–1985Increase2.svg 49.56
1985–1990Decrease2.svg 49.49
1990–1995Decrease2.svg 47.65
1995–2000Decrease2.svg 44.96
2000–2005Decrease2.svg 43.68
2005–2010Increase2.svg 45.99
2010–2015Increase2.svg 49.40

Other demographic statistics

Population, fertility rate and net reproduction rate, United Nations estimates Central African Republic Population 1950-2021 UN World Population Prospects 2022.svg
Population, fertility rate and net reproduction rate, United Nations estimates

Demographic statistics according to the World Population Review in 2022. [7]

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook. [8]

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

Population pyramid of Central African Republic in 2020 Central African Republic single age population pyramid 2020.png
Population pyramid of Central African Republic in 2020
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

Total fertility rate

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 groupPercentagePopulation
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

Religion in the Central African Republic 2020
Roman Catholic
60.5%
Protestant
28.4%
Islam
8.5%
Traditional religions
1%
other
2%
Christian 89%, Muslim 9%, folk religionist 1%, unaffiliated 1% (2020 est.)
Indigenous beliefs 35%, Protestant 25%, Roman Catholic 25%, Islam 15% [9]

note: animistic beliefs and practices strongly influence the Christian majority

Languages

Sango (lingua franca and official language), French (official), tribal languages [9]

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

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References

  1. "World Population Prospects 2022". United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  2. "World Population Prospects 2022: Demographic indicators by region, subregion and country, annually for 1950-2100" (XSLX) ("Total Population, as of 1 July (thousands)"). United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  3. 1 2 Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, World Population Prospects: The 2010 Revision Archived May 6, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  4. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs Population Division (2022). "World Population Prospects 2022 Demographic indicators by region, subregion and country, annually for 1950-2100" (XLS (91MB)). United Nations Population Division . 27 (Online ed.). New York: United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. rows 3389:3460,cols M,X,AE,S,AH,S,AA,AV,AI. Archived from the original on 2022-08-09.
  5. "MEASURE DHS: Demographic and Health Surveys". microdata.worldbank.org.
  6. "World Population Prospects - Population Division - United Nations". esa.un.org. Retrieved 2018-08-26.
  7. "Central African Republic Population 2022", World Population Review
  8. PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain : "The World FactBook - Central African Republic", The World Factbook , July 12, 2018
  9. 1 2 "Africa: CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC". CIA The World Factbook. 14 November 2022.

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