Factbook
Histoire de République centrafricaine — Chronologie
Dates clés de l'histoire de République centrafricaine, d'après le Factbook Magna et l'Encyclopédie universelle.
1903The territory was established as a French colony named Ubangui-Shari in 1903, and France modeled its administration of the colony after the Belgian Congo, subcontracting control of the territory to private companies that collected rubber and ivory.
1960Independence: 13 August 1960 (from France).
1960The colony of Ubangi-Shari gained independence from France as the Central African Republic in 1960, but the death of independence leader Barthelemy BOGANDA six months prior led to an immediate struggle for power.
1966CAR’s political history has since been marred by a series of coups, the first of which brought Jean-Bedel BOKASSA to power in 1966.
1976In an effort to prolong his mandate, BOKASSA named himself emperor in 1976 and changed the country’s name to the Central African Empire.
1979BOKASSA fell out of favor with the international community and was overthrown in a French-backed coup in 1979.
1979His regime’s economic mismanagement culminated in widespread student protests in 1979 that were violently suppressed by security forces.
2013CAR’s fifth coup in 2013 unseated President Francois BOZIZE after the Seleka, a mainly Muslim rebel coalition, seized the capital and forced BOZIZE to flee the country.
2016Elections in 2016 installed independent candidate Faustin-Archange TOUADERA as president; he was reelected in 2020.
2016TOUADERA's United Hearts Movement has governed the country since 2016, and a new constitution approved by referendum on 30 July 2023 effectively ended term limits, creating the potential for TOUADERA to extend his rule.
2019A peace agreement signed in 2019 between the government and the main armed factions has had little effect, and armed groups remain in control of large swaths of the country's territory.
2020Languages: French (official), Sangho (lingua franca and national language), tribal languages Religions: Roman Catholic 34.6%, Protestant 15.7%, other Christian 22.9%, Muslim 13.8%, ethnic religionist 12%, Baha'i 0.2%, agnostic/atheist 0.7% (2020 est.) Urban population: 43.6% of total population (2023).
2023Generation mix — fossil fuels: 0.8% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); hydroelectricity: 99.2% of total installed capacity (2023 est.) Energy use: 954,000 Btu/person (2023 est.).
2023Industries: gold and diamond mining, logging, brewing, sugar refining Agriculture: cassava, groundnuts, yams, coffee, maize, sesame seeds, taro, sugarcane, beef, milk (2023) Electricity access: 15.7% (2022 est.).
2023Major urban areas: 958,000 BANGUI (capital) (2023) enormous natural resources; extreme poverty; weak public institutions and infrastructure; political and gender-based violence have led to displacement of roughly 25% of population; Bangui-Douala corridor blockade reduced activity and tax collection; strong agricultural performance offset COVID-19 downturn Inflation: 3% (2023 est.).
2024Military spending: 2.5% of GDP (2024 est.).
