World Factbook
Central African Republic
République centrafricaine
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Area
land
622,984 sq km
water
0 sq km
total
622,984 sq km
Climate
tropical; hot, dry winters; mild to hot, wet summers
Terrain
vast, flat to rolling plateau; scattered hills in northeast and southwest
Land use
other
18.4% (2023 est.)
forest
72.5% (2023 est.)
agricultural land
9.1% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: arable land
arable land: 2.9% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent crops
permanent crops: 1.4% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent pasture
permanent pasture: 4.8% (2023 est.)
Location
Central Africa, north of Democratic Republic of the Congo
Coastline
0 km (landlocked)
Elevation
lowest point
Oubangui River 335 m
highest point
Mont Ngaoui 1,410 m
mean elevation
635 m
Irrigated land
10 sq km (2012)
Major aquifers
Congo Basin, Lake Chad Basin
Map references
Africa
Land boundaries
total
5,920 km
border countries
Cameroon 901 km; Chad 1556 km; Democratic Republic of the Congo 1,747 km, Republic of the Congo 487 km; South Sudan 1055 km; Sudan 174 km
Maritime claims
none (landlocked)
Natural hazards
hot, dry, dusty harmattan winds affect northern areas; floods are common
Geography - note
landlocked; almost the precise center of Africa
Natural resources
diamonds, uranium, timber, gold, oil, hydropower
Area - comparative
slightly smaller than Texas; about four times the size of Georgia
Geographic coordinates
7 00 N, 21 00 E
Population distribution
majority of residents live in the western and central areas of the country, especially in and around the capital of Bangui, as shown in this population distribution map
Major watersheds (area sq km)
Atlantic Ocean drainage
Congo (3,730,881 sq km), (Mediterranean Sea) Nile (3,254,853 sq km)
Internal (endorheic basin) drainage
Lake Chad (2,497,738 sq km)
Major rivers (by length in km)
Oubangui (Ubangi) river [s] (shared with Democratic Republic of Congo and Republic of Congo [m]) - 2,270 km note: [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth