Best Bitcoin Card for Central African Republic
The Central African Republic is a landlocked country in northern Equatorial Africa and, with an area of 622,884 km², is almost two and a half times the size of Germany. The country borders Chad in the north, Sudan in the east, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Congo in the south and Cameroon in the west.
The north of the Central African Republic is part of the Chad Basin, the southern part of the country, a tropical lowland strip, belongs to the Congo Basin. These two basin landscapes are separated by the Asand Threshold (also known as the North Equatorial Threshold), a hilly area about 500 to 1,000 m high. The Asand threshold crosses the Central African Republic in an east-west direction and occupies the largest part of the country. Numerous rivers spring here, the longest being the Ubangi, a tributary of the Congo, which flows through the national territory over a length of around 1,300 km. The Asand threshold forms the watershed between the Chad and Congo basins.
The highest point of the country, the Kayagangiri (1 420 m), lies in the northwest of the country in the border area with Cameroon (foothills of the Adamapua highlands). The capital Bangui lies in the south on the banks of the Ubangi River, which also forms the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Political System
- Since the coup d’état in March 2013 there has been a government of national unity. The interim head of state since January 2014 has been Catherine Samba-Panza. Prime Minister since August 2014 is Faustin-Mahamat Kamoun.
- A National Transitional Council has served as parliament since 2013.
- The legal system is based on French law.
- The country is divided into 16 prefectures and the capital with special status.
Economy
The landlocked country is one of the poorest African countries and highly dependent on foreign financial aid. The income distribution is extremely unequal and many people live in extreme poverty. Since the beginning of the democratization process in the first half of the 1990s, the country has recorded stable growth rates, but has repeatedly experienced stagnation and, in some cases, depression as a result of conflicts that have flared up again and again.
Agriculture and forestry are the backbone of the Central African Republic’s economy. Slightly more than half of the gross domestic product (GDP) is generated here, around 70 % of the working population is employed in this sector. Coffee, cotton and tobacco are the main export crops. Manioc, yams, millet, maize and bananas are cultivated to meet the country’s own needs. Tropical timber is exported on a large scale.
Industry is moderately developed and accounts for 14% of GDP. Wood and food processing companies dominate, textiles, shoes, bicycles and motorcycles are also produced. The Central African Republic has deposits of gold, diamonds, uranium, copper and zinc. Especially the diamond deposits are exploited.
The main export trading partners (diamonds, wood, coffee, cotton, tobacco) are Belgium, France and Spain. Goods are mainly imported from France, the Netherlands and Spain (including food, textiles, petroleum products, machinery, electrical appliances, vehicles, chemicals and pharmaceuticals).
The infrastructure in the Central African Republic is only moderately developed. There are about 24,000 km of roads, of which about 640 km are paved. Approximately 2,800 km of the waterways are navigable, with the Ubangi, in particular, playing an important role here, as it provides a link to the ports of the neighbouring Republic of Congo. There is no railway network. There is an international airport near the capital Bangui. The currency is the CFA franc.