Central African Republic Environment - 2023

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Environment - current issues

water pollution; tap water is not potable; poaching and mismanagement have diminished the country's reputation as one of the last great wildlife refuges; desertification; deforestation; soil erosion

Environment - international agreements

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea

Climate

tropical; hot, dry winters; mild to hot, wet summers

Land use

agricultural land: 8.1% (2018 est.)

arable land: 2.9% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 0.1% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 5.1% (2018 est.)

forest: 36.2% (2018 est.)

other: 55.7% (2018 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 43.6% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization: 3.32% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

total population growth rate v. urban population growth rate, 2000-2030

Food insecurity

exceptional shortfall in aggregate food production/supplies: due to internal conflict and high food prices - according to the latest analysis, issued in November 2022, the number of people in Crisis and above is estimated at 2.7 million between September 2022 and March 2023; this is mainly attributed to the impact of civil insecurity and high food prices; persisting insecurity and population displacements continue to affect agricultural activities and limit farmers’ access to crop growing areas and agricultural inputs; elevated international prices of fuel and fertilizers, largely imported, have reportedly led to a lower use of agricultural inputs in 2022, especially among smallholder farmers, with a negative impact on yields (2023)

Revenue from forest resources

8.99% of GDP (2018 est.)

Revenue from coal

0% of GDP (2018 est.)

Air pollutants

particulate matter emissions: 49.5 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions: 0.3 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions: 22.44 megatons (2020 est.)

Waste and recycling

municipal solid waste generated annually: 1,105,983 tons (2014 est.)

Major rivers (by length in km)

Ubangi river [s] (shared with Democratic Republic of Congo and Republic of Congo [m]) - 2,270 km
note – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

Major watersheds (area sq km)

Atlantic Ocean drainage: Congo (3,730,881 sq km), (Mediterranean Sea) Nile (3,254,853 sq km)
Internal (endorheic basin) drainage: Lake Chad (2,497,738 sq km)

Major aquifers

Congo Basin, Lake Chad Basin

Total water withdrawal

municipal: 60 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

industrial: 10 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

agricultural: 400,000 cubic meters (2017 est.)

Total renewable water resources

141 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

NOTE: The information regarding Central African Republic on this page is re-published from the 2023 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Central African Republic 2023 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Central African Republic 2023 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.