Geography Quiz Arcade

Central African Republic 🇨🇫

Central African Republic is a country in Africa with a population of 5,579,144. Its capital is Bangui. The official currency is XAF, and the main languages are French, Sango.

Quick facts

  • Capital: Bangui
  • Continent: Africa
  • Population: 5,579,144
  • Area: 622,984 km²
  • Density: 9.0 people per km²
  • Currency: XAF
  • Languages: French, Sango
  • ISO code: CF

Where Central African Republic sits

Central African Republic 🇨🇫 is one of 54 countries in Africa, with its capital at Bangui. It covers 622,984 square kilometres — 44th in the world — and is home to about 5,579,144 people, 116th globally.

The countries it shares a continent with include Nigeria, Ethiopia, Egypt, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania. If you are learning geography region by region — which works far better than alphabetically, because memory for places is spatial — those are the ones to learn alongside it.

How Central African Republic compares

Raw figures are hard to hold on their own, so it helps to anchor them. In population, Central African Republic sits closest to Finland and Slovakia. In land area, its nearest counterparts are Somalia and Ukraine.

At 9.0 people per square kilometre it is about 6.6 times below the world average of 59.4. It ranks higher by area than by population, so it is more spacious than its population alone suggests.

French is an official language in 30 countries here, among them Belgium, Benin, Burkina Faso and Burundi, and 25 others. The XAF is shared with 5 other countries, including Cameroon, Chad and Congo, and 2 others.

To see Central African Republic next to every other country, sort the country rankings by population, area or density; its currency and languages are listed alongside every other country's in world currencies and world languages.

How to remember Central African Republic

Bangui sits on the Ubangi River, and the capital's name is hidden inside the river's: u-BANGUI. The flag is the one with four stripes and a red band running down through all of them.

The flag of Central African Republic: blue, white, green, yellow and red, with a yellow star

🇨🇫 The flag is four horizontal stripes of blue, white, green and yellow, crossed by a vertical red band in the middle, with a yellow star in the top-left corner. Blue and white stand for France and green and yellow for Africa, and the red band runs through them all to show unity and respect between Europeans and Africans. The yellow star stands for independence and a hopeful future.

Region and neighbours

Central African Republic is a landlocked country close to the centre of the African continent. It shares land borders with 6 countries: Chad, Sudan, South Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Congo and Cameroon. Central African Republic is landlocked, with no coast on the open ocean.

Three facts about Central African Republic

  1. The country is named for its position: it is close to the geographic centre of Africa.
  2. The Ubangi River forms much of its southern border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
  3. Manovo-Gounda St. Floris National Park and the Sangha Trinational forest are both UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Sources: Wikipedia: Central African Republic, Wikipedia: Flag of the Central African Republic, Wikipedia: Bangui, CIA World Factbook.

Quiz yourself on Central African Republic

Quizzes that include Central African Republic

Three angles are worth covering for any country — where it is, what its flag looks like, and what its capital is. For Central African Republic those are:

Doing all three for one continent before moving on is far more efficient than learning flags globally, then capitals globally, then the map.

Read more about Central African Republic

Nearby countries

Frequently asked questions

What are the colours of the Central African Republic flag?

The flag of Central African Republic is four horizontal stripes of blue, white, green and yellow, crossed by a vertical red band in the middle, with a yellow star in the top-left corner. Blue and white stand for France and green and yellow for Africa, and the red band runs through them all to show unity and respect between Europeans and Africans. The yellow star stands for independence and a hopeful future.

Which countries border Central African Republic?

Central African Republic shares land borders with Chad, Sudan, South Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Congo and Cameroon.

How can I remember the capital of Central African Republic?

Bangui sits on the Ubangi River, and the capital's name is hidden inside the river's: u-BANGUI. The flag is the one with four stripes and a red band running down through all of them.