The Central African Republic (CAR,
French
:
République Centrafricaine
pronounced
ʀepyblik sɑ̃tʀafʀikɛn
or Centrafrique
sɑ̃tʀafʀik
) is a
landlocked country
in
Central Africa
. It borders
Chad
in the north,
Sudan
in the east, the
Republic of the Congo
and the
Democratic Republic of the Congo
in the south, and
Cameroon
in the west.
Most of the CAR consists of Sudano-Guinean savannas but it also includes a
Sahelo-Sudanese
zone in the north and an equatorial forest zone in the south. Two thirds of the country lie in the basins of the
Ubangi River
, which flows south into the
Congo River
, while the remaining third lies in the basin of the
Chari River
, which flows north into
Lake Chad
.
Since most of the territory is located in the Ubangi and Shari river basins, the French called the colony it carved out in this region
Ubangi-Shari
, or
Oubangui-Chari
in French. This French colony of Ubangi-Shari became a semi-autonomous territory of the
French Community
in and then an independent nation on
August
. For over three decades after independence, the CAR was ruled by presidents who were not chosen in truly democratic elections or who took power by force. Local discontent with this system was eventually reinforced by international pressure, following the end of the
Cold War
.
The first fair democratic elections were held in with resources provided by the country's donors and help from the UN Office for Electoral Affairs. They brought
Ange-Félix Patassé
to power, but President Patassé lost popular support and was
overthrown
by French-backed General
François Bozizé
in . General Bozizé won a
democratic election
in May and remains in power today.
The Central African Republic is one of the poorest countries in the world and among the ten poorest countries in Africa.
In
The Ecologist
magazine estimated that Central African Republic is the world's leading country in
sustainable development
.
|