Prior to French colonization of central Africa around the 1880s, many tribes fled to the area in order to escape the slave trade. In 1910, the area known as Ubangi-Chari became incorporated into French Equatorial Africa and turned over to a number of concessionaires who ran their separate fiefdoms as commercial operations with little or no regard for the indigenous people. Numerous unsuccessful revolts were launched against the concessionaires until, immediately after World War II, the territory was granted its own assembly and representation in the French National Assembly. Internal self-government
followed in 1958 with the leading nationalist politician, Barthélemy Boganda, serving as Prime Minister. Boganda died the following year and it was left to his nephew, David Dacko, to steer the country to full independence in 1960. Following the common practice of the day, Dacko established a one-party state. However, in 1965, with the country facing bankruptcy and political chaos, Dacko was overthrown by army chief Jean-Bedel Bokassa.
The already impoverished country was further damaged by the disastrous and profligate rule of the self-styled ‘Emperor’ Bokassa. (His 1977 ‘coronation’ alone is estimated to have used up over a quarter of the country’s annual income. The country was renamed the ‘Central African Empire’.) And despite his well-documented abuses, Bokassa was consistently tolerated by the French who continued to wield huge influence over the country.
Bokassa was finally deposed in 1979 by Dacko and exiled to France (he returned unexpectedly in 1986 and, after trial, was sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment). The country now reverted to its original title but experienced little improvement in its fortunes. The two dominant figures in the country’s recent history have been André Kolingba, another former army commander who took over after ousting Dacko in a 1981 military coup, and Ange-Félix Patassé, who later emerged as Kolingba’s principal opponent. During the 1980s, Kolingba consolidated his rule as leader of the country’s sole legal political party,
Rassemblement Démocratique Centrafricain (RDC). In the early 1990s, as democracy swept through Francophone Africa, violent domestic protests and heavy French pressure forced Kolingba to concede the introduction of a multi-party system.
Patassé won the first election held under the new democratic constitution in 1993, defeating both Kolingba and Dacko. In December 1998, elections to the National Assembly returned the MLPC as the largest party but short of an absolute majority. In September the following year, Patassé and Kolingba once again competed for the Presidency, and again Patassé won a comfortable victory. The last few years have seen a series of attempted coups by Kolingba and his principal supporter, army chief Francois Bozizé: first in May 2001, then in October 2002, and finally in March 2003. On the third occasion, Patassé was out of the country and, despite the intervention of French troops, the coup was successful and Bozizé proclaimed himself President.
Following a transitional period which led to presidential and parliamentary elections in May 2005, François Bozizé was elected as President. He chose Elie Doté as Prime Minister.
Following the coup in March 2003, order has been restored in the capital but outside of Bangui, the situation remains unstable and potentially dangerous. Order has yet to be restored to much of the country and armed groups are present, particularly in the north. Street crime is common in downtown Bangui.
GovernmentThe government is a Republic comprised of a strong executive branch (President, Vice President, Prime Minister and Council of Ministers) and weak legislative and judicial branches. The National Assembly is made up of 109 members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms.
EconomyAgriculture, upon which most of the population depends, is concentrated on subsistence crops plus coffee, cotton and wood as cash crops for export. Livestock and tobacco are also exported. The main cash earner is timber, which has been heavily exploited with little government restriction.
The country’s mining industry is largely devoted to diamonds; a small quantity of gold is also produced. Other deposits, including uranium, copper, manganese and iron ore, are yet to be exploited.
The small manufacturing sector is devoted to the processing of primary products to produce food and drinks, wood products and textiles.
The overall economic development of the Central African Republic has been limited by an adverse climate, poor infrastructure and low world commodity prices. With a per capita annual income of just US$260, the Central African Republic is one of Africa’s poorest countries. The GDP growth rate was 3% in 2006.
The Central African Republic is a member of the Central African Economic and Monetary Union (CEMAC), the main regional trading organization. France provides extensive economic and financial aid and is the country’s main trading partner.
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