Population:
5,507,257
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, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 117
[see also: Population country ranks ]

Nationality:
noun: Central African(s)
adjective: Central African

Ethnic groups:
Baya 33%, Banda 27%, Mandjia 13%, Sara 10%, Mboum 7%, M'Baka 4%, Yakoma 4%, other 2%

Languages:
French (official), Sangho (lingua franca and national language), tribal languages

Religions:
indigenous beliefs 35%, Protestant 25%, Roman Catholic 25%, Muslim 15%
note: animistic beliefs and practices strongly influence the Christian majority

Demographic profile:
The Central African Republic’s (CAR) humanitarian crisis has worsened since a coup in March 2013. CAR’s high mortality rate and low life expectancy are attributed to elevated rates of preventable and treatable diseases (including malaria and malnutrition), an inadequate health care system, precarious food security, and armed conflict. Some of the worst mortality rates are in western CAR’s diamond mining region, which is impoverished because of government attempts to control the diamond trade and the fall in industrial diamond prices. To make matters worse, the government and international donors have reduced health funding in recent years. The CAR’s weak educational system and low literacy rate have also suffered as a result of the country’s ongoing conflict. Schools are closed, qualified teachers are scarce, infrastructure, funding, and supplies are lacking and subject to looting, and many students and teachers are displaced by violence. Rampant poverty, human rights violations, unemployment, poor infrastructure, and a lack of security and stability have led to forced displacement internally and externally. Since the political crisis that resulted in CAR’s March 2013 coup began in December 2012, approximately 370,000 people have fled to Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and other neighboring countries, while an estimated 385,000 are displaced internally. The UN has urged countries to refrain from repatriating CAR refugees amid the heightened lawlessness.

Age structure:
0-14 years: 40.27% (male 1,114,727/female 1,102,809)
[see also: Age structure 0-14 years country ranks ]
15-24 years: 19.98% (male 553,264/female 547,308)
[see also: Age structure 15-24 years country ranks ]
25-54 years: 32.24% (male 888,304/female 887,348)
[see also: Age structure 25-54 years country ranks ]
55-64 years: 4.04% (male 101,306/female 120,964)
[see also: Age structure 55-64 years country ranks ]
65 years and over: 3.47% (male 74,516/female 116,711) (2016 est.)
[see also: Age structure 65 years and over country ranks ]
population pyramid:
A population pyramid illustrates the age and sex structure of a country's population and may provide insights about political and social stability, as well as economic development. The population is distributed along the horizontal axis, with males shown on the left and females on the right. The male and female populations are broken down into 5-year age groups represented as horizontal bars along the vertical axis, with the youngest age groups at the bottom and the oldest at the top. The shape of the population pyramid gradually evolves over time based on fertility, mortality, and international migration trends.

For additional information, please see the entry for Population pyramid on the Definitions and Notes page under the References tab.

Dependency ratios:
total dependency ratio: 75.2%
[see also: Dependency ratios - total dependency ratio country ranks ]
youth dependency ratio: 68.4%
[see also: Dependency ratios - youth dependency ratio country ranks ]
elderly dependency ratio: 6.8%
[see also: Dependency ratios - elderly dependency ratio country ranks ]
potential support ratio: 14.8% (2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - potential support ratio country ranks ]

Median age:
total: 19.6 years
[see also: Median age - total country ranks ]
male: 19.3 years
[see also: Median age - male country ranks ]
female: 19.9 years (2016 est.)
[see also: Median age - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 195

Population growth rate:
2.12% (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 41
[see also: Population growth rate country ranks ]

Birth rate:
34.7 births/1,000 population (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 22
[see also: Birth rate country ranks ]

Death rate:
13.5 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 11
[see also: Death rate country ranks ]

Net migration rate:
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 79
[see also: Net migration rate country ranks ]

Urbanization:
urban population: 40% of total population (2015)
[see also: Urbanization - urban population country ranks ]
rate of urbanization: 2.59% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)
[see also: Urbanization - rate of urbanization country ranks ]

Major urban areas - population:
BANGUI (capital) 794,000 (2015)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - at birth country ranks ]
0-14 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 0-14 years country ranks ]
15-24 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 15-24 years country ranks ]
25-54 years: 1 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 25-54 years country ranks ]
55-64 years: 0.84 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 55-64 years country ranks ]
65 years and over: 0.64 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 65 years and over country ranks ]
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2016 est.)

Maternal mortality rate:
882 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 4
[see also: Maternal mortality rate country ranks ]

Infant mortality rate:
total: 88.4 deaths/1,000 live births
[see also: Infant mortality rate - total country ranks ]
male: 95.9 deaths/1,000 live births
[see also: Infant mortality rate - male country ranks ]
female: 80.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2016 est.)
[see also: Infant mortality rate - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 4

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 52.3 years
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - total country ranks ]
male: 51 years
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - male country ranks ]
female: 53.7 years (2016 est.)
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 219

Total fertility rate:
4.36 children born/woman (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 31
[see also: Total fertility rate country ranks ]

Contraceptive prevalence rate:
15.2% (2010/11)
[see also: Contraceptive prevalence rate country ranks ]

Health expenditures:
4.2% of GDP (2014)
country comparison to the world: 168
[see also: Health expenditures country ranks ]

Physicians density:
0.05 physicians/1,000 population (2009)
[see also: Physicians density country ranks ]

Hospital bed density:
1 beds/1,000 population (2011)
[see also: Hospital bed density country ranks ]

Drinking water source:
improved: urban: 89.6% of population rural: 54.4% of population total: 68.5% of population
[see also: Drinking water source - Improved - total country ranks ]
unimproved: urban: 10.4% of population rural: 45.6% of population total: 31.5% of population (2015 est.)
[see also: Drinking water source - Unimproved - total country ranks ]

Sanitation facility access:
improved: urban: 43.6% of population rural: 7.2% of population total: 21.8% of population
[see also: Sanitation facility access - Total Improved country ranks ]
unimproved: urban: 56.4% of population rural: 92.8% of population total: 78.2% of population (2015 est.)
[see also: Sanitation facility access - Total UnImproved country ranks ]

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
3.7% (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 15
[see also: HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
118,800 (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 34
[see also: HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS country ranks ]

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
7,800 (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 24
[see also: HIV/AIDS - deaths country ranks ]

Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: very high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: malaria and dengue fever
respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis
water contact disease: schistosomiasis
animal contact disease: rabies (2016)

Obesity - adult prevalence rate:
4.4% (2014)
country comparison to the world: 175
[see also: Obesity - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]

Children under the age of 5 years underweight:
23.5% (2011)
country comparison to the world: 26
[see also: Children under the age of 5 years underweight country ranks ]

Education expenditures:
1.2% of GDP (2011)
country comparison to the world: 171
[see also: Education expenditures - percent of GDP country ranks ]

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 36.8%
[see also: Literacy - total country ranks ]
male: 50.7%
[see also: Literacy - male country ranks ]
female: 24.4% (2015 est.)
[see also: Literacy - female country ranks ]

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 7 years
[see also: School life expectancy - total country ranks ]
male: 8 years
[see also: School life expectancy - male country ranks ]
female: 6 years (2012)
[see also: School life expectancy - female country ranks ]

Child labor - children ages 5-14:
total number: 532,518
[see also: Child labor - children ages 5-14 - total number country ranks ]
percentage: 47% (2006 est.)