Central African Republic - Repubblica Centrafricana

Central African Republic
Location
Coat of arms and flag
Capital	Bangui
Government	presidential republic
Currency	Central African CFA Franc (XAF)
Surface	622,984 km²
Inhabitants	4.422.000 (2009 estimate) 3.895.150 (2003 census)
Tongue	French (official), Sango, local languages
Religion	Christianity (80.3%) Islam (10.1%), Animism (9.6%) (2003)
Electricity	220V / 50Hz (European socket)
Prefix	236
TLD	.cf
Time zone	UTC 1

ATTENTION: The Central African Republic is going through one of the most serious crises at the international level. The security situation in the country, including the capital Bangui, is extremely deteriorated. They continue to register, especially outside Bangui, inter-religious clashes and clashes between militias of opposing Muslim and Christian factions. Assault, vandalism and banditry are commonplace throughout the country, including Bangui. We therefore advise against travel, for any reason whatsoever, to the Central African Republic. All the more so due to the situation of instability and insecurity, the country is exposed to the risk of infiltration by elements and is therefore not immune to terrorist phenomena. (August 2014)

Central African Republic is a state ofCentral Africa which borders to the north with the Chad, to the east with the Sudan and the Southern Sudan, to the south with the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of the Congo and to the west with the Cameroon. It is a landlocked state.

To know

Fula women a Paoua

Central Africa is one of the richest countries in the world in terms of biological diversity. It has a great variety of biotopes: from the shrubby savannah of the northeast to the primary rainforest of the south-southwest. Consequently, there are many plant and animal species that it hosts.

In the past it was a French colony with the name of Ubangi Shari; assumed its current name upon independence, in 1960.

The Central African Republic is one of the poorest countries on Earth.

Geographical notes

The territory of the Central African Republic consists of a plateau on which isolated mountain groups rise to the north-east and north-west. The plateau separates the catchment area of ​​Lake Chad to the north from that of the Congo River to the south.

The waterways are numerous and in the rainy periods they increase their flow to cause floods.

Rainfall increases from north to south, resulting in the transition from savannah to rainforest.

Background

The region occupied by the Central African Republic has been inhabited since ancient times: various findings testify to the existence of ancient civilizations prior to the birth of the Egyptian Empire.

The first Europeans to arrive in the territory in 1885 were the French and Belgians and in 1910 it became one of the four territories of the Federation of French Equatorial Africa. On 1 December 1958 the Central African Assembly declared the birth of the Central African Republic within the French Community, while on 13 August 1960, complete independence from France.

Spoken languages

French is known by the whole population, then the Sango language is spoken, known by 20% of the population, of which only 10% are native speakers, which was already used in ancient times in commercial negotiations between the different tribes.

Territories and tourist destinations

The Central African Republic is divided into 16 prefectures (two of which are economic) and the prefectures are divided into 71 sub-prefectures.

      Southwest Central African Republic - The inhabited center of the country which also includes the capital Bangui and the National Park Dzanga-Sangha, one of the country's national parks that continue to attract adventurous tourists.

      Northwest Central African Republic - It includes an important national park: the Bamingui-Bangoran.

      Southeast Central African Republic

      Northeast Central African Republic - The heart of the rebel movement, this is the most dangerous region of the country, a Sahel desert similar to its neighbor Darfur and offers the considerable Manovo-Gounda St. Floris National Park.

Urban centers

Ubangi River near Bangui

Other destinations

How to get

Entry requirements

Passport, visa and yellow fever vaccination. The visa must be requested at the consulate of Milan, also bring 2 passport photos, a return ticket and a hotel reservation.

By plane

The country's only international airport is the Bangui M'Poko (IATA: BGF). The country does not have a national airline, and the companies that operate flights are the following:

• Air France: from Paris
• Ethiopian Airlines: from Addis Ababa
• Kenya Airways: with the route Nairobi-Bangui-Douala
• Royal Air Maroc: with the route Casablanca-Douala-Bangui
• TAAG Angola Airlines: with routes Luanda-Brazzaville-Bangui e Luanda-Douala-Bangui

By bus

I have been in bus service since Cameroon and from Chad even if the long duration and the lack of safety of the journey make these routes less frequented. It is preferable to travel with a 4x4 vehicle.

How to get around

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What see

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What to do

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Currency and purchases

CEMAC - Map of participating countries CFA Franc - Map of participating countries

The national currency is the CFA franc (XAF). This same currency is used by all states belonging to theEconomic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (Communauté Économique et Monétaire de l'Afrique Centrale - CEMAC). The following states belong to the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon is Chad. Although the Central African CFA Franc (XAF) and the West African CFA Franc (XOF) have always had the same monetary value against other currencies, they are in principle two separate currencies because the competent monetary authorities could change their rate at any time. exchange. Therefore these currencies are "theoretically" accepted only in the countries where they officially circulate. The following states belong to the West African Economic and Monetary Union (Union économique et monétaire ouest-africaine - UEMOA): Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal is Togo

UEMOA - Acceding countries map 1 CFA Franc coin

Below are the links to know the current exchange rate with the main world currencies:

At the table

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Tourist infrastructure

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Events and parties

National holidays

Muslim holidays are celebrated only by the faithful of Islam locally and are not considered national holidays.

Safety

Before embarking on the journey consult:

• Safe travel - Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Farnesina) (Country safety information). 

The country is in full civil war and every area is considered dangerous, therefore any trip to the country is not recommended.

Health situation

In 2011, 4.6% of the population was infected with HIV and the most important diseases in the country are: hepatitis A, typhoid fever, malaria, meningococcal meningitis.

Respect the customs

Locals often eat with their hands, so if you join them by eating with your hands, be sure to do it with your right hand, as the left is usually used as a toilet.

How to keep in touch

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Other projects

• Wikipedia contains an entry concerning Central African Republic
• Commons contains images or other files on Central African Republic
• Wikiquote contains quotes from or on Central African Republic
• Wikinews contains current news on Central African Republic