African Banking’s Transitional Moment
Patrick Akinwuntan, group executive director of Ecobank Transnational, explains the bank’s plans to use mobile technology to vastly expand its customer base in the 33 African countries in which it operates
The Central African Republic
Country Report 2017 - Includes The Central African Republic real Gross Domestic Product growth rate, with latest forecasts and historical data, GDP per capita, and GDP composition by sector.
Browse additional economic indicators and data sets, selected by Global Finance editors, to learn more about The Central African Republic economic outlook, debt to GDP ratio, trade performance and population trends. Rankings of country's best banks and safest banks are also available.
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International Reserves
USD 0.36 billion (2018)
International Monetary Fund (IMF), data retrieved October 2019
Gross Domestic Product - GDP
USD 2.2 billion (2018, estimate)
GDP (Purchasing Power Parity)
Intl$ 3.6 billion (2018, estimate)
Real GDP growth
| 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012* | 2013* |
| 4.6% | 2.1% | 1.7% | 3% | 3.3% | 4.1% | -36.7% |
| 2014* | 2015* | 2016* | 2017* | 2018* | ||
| 1% | 4.8% | 4.5% | 4.3% | 4.3% |
*Estimate
GDP (PPP) - share of world total
| 1980 | 1990 | 2000 | 2010 | 2019* |
| 0.01% | 0.01% | 0.01% | 0.00% | 0.003% |
*Estimate
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GDP - composition by sector
- agriculture: 33.9%
- industry: 17.8%
- services: 28.2%
(2017 estimate)
Inflation
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018* | 2019* |
| 4.5% | 4.6% | 4.5% | 1.6% | 3% |
*Estimate
Unemployment rate
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
| N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
*Estimate
Public debt (General government gross debt as a % of GDP)
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018* | 2019* |
| 59.8% | 53.9% | 50.3% | 49.9% | 44.5% |
*Estimate
Public deficit (General government net lending/borrowing as a % of GDP)
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018* | 2019* |
| -0.6% | 1.1% | -1.1% | 0.4% | 2.6% |
*Estimate
Government bond ratings
Standard & Poor's: N/A
Moody's: N/A
Standard & Poor's / Moody's
Source
Market value of publicly traded shares
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
Source
Current account balance by percentage of GDP
-8.0 % (2018 estimate)
Exports as percent of GDP (Exports of goods and services)
15.2% (2017)
Shares in world total merchandising export
0.001% (2018)
Shares in world total commercial services export
0.001% (2016)
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Import commodities
Food, textiles, petroleum products, machinery, electrical equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, pharmaceuticals
Exports - major partners
France 31.2%, Burundi 16.2%, China 12.5%, Cameroon 9.6%, Austria 7.8% (2017)
Imports - major partners
France 17.1%, US 12.3%, India 11.5%, China 8.2%, South Africa 7.4%, Japan 5.8%, Italy 5.1%, Cameroon 4.9%, Netherlands 4.6% (2017)
FDI inflows
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
| USD 7.3 million | USD 6.9 million | USD 18.0 million |
FDI outflows
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
Value of cross-border M&A, by country of purchaser
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
| N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2014
N/A
Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2015
N/A
Best countries for doing business
Economies are ranked on their ease of doing business. A high ease of doing business ranking means the regulatory environment is more conducive to the starting and operation of a local firm.
Overall ranking:
184 out of 190 countries
Subcategories:
Starting a Business: 180 out of 190 countries
Dealing with Construction Permits: 184 out of 190 countries
Getting Electricity: 185 out of 190 countries
Registering Property: 170 out of 190 countries
Getting Credit: 144 out of 190 countries
Protecting Minority Investors: 162 out of 190 countries
Paying Taxes: 187 out of 190 countries
Trading across Borders: 164 out of 190 countries
Enforcing Contracts: 183 out of 190 countries
Resolving Insolvency: 155 out of 190 countries
Source
Index of Economic Freedom
Ranking: 161 / Score: 49.1 (Repressed)(100=totally free 0=totally repressed)
Source
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Currency
Cooperation Financiere en Afrique Centrale francs (XAF)
Languages
French (official), Sangho (lingua franca and national language), tribal languages
Religions
indigenous beliefs 35%, Protestant 25%, Roman Catholic 25%, Muslim 15%
Total population
| 1990 | 2000 | 2010* | 2015* | 2020* |
| 2.91 million | 3.64 million | 4.35 million | 4.79 million | 5.28 million |
*Estimate
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Urban population as % of total population
| 1960 | 1980 | 2000 | 2018 |
| 20.1% | 33.9% |
37.6% |
41.4% |
Literacy
Total population: 36.8%
Male: 50.7%
Female: 24.4%
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write (2015 est.)
Freedom House rating
Not Free
Political Rights: 7
Civil Liberties: 7 (2019)
(1 represents the most free, 7 the least free rating)
Source
Total telephone subscribers as % of population
Fixed: 0%
Mobile: 27.7%
(2018)
(fixed-telephone subscribers and mobile-cellular subscribers)