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People
Background
Central African Republic (CAR) is a landlocked country, slightly smaller than the state of Texas in the United States, with an estimated population of about four million.
Ethnicity
There are an estimated 68 ethnic groups that constitute this population including Baka, Banda, Sara, Mandjia, Mboum and M'Baka, most of which have sub-ethnic and kin groups.
Religion
Religion in the CAR is also relatively heterogeneous with nearly a quarter of the population practicing solely local beliefs, a quarter Roman Catholic, a quarter Protestant, 15 percent Muslim and 11 percent other (mostly Christian) religions. Most Christians practice some syncretism (a blend of local and Christian beliefs).
Language
French is the official language, and Sangho is the national language; Arabic, Hunsa and a dialect of Kiswahili are also spoken in certain enclaves.
Education
The literacy rate for the total population in the Central African Republic is 48.6 percent. This number obfuscates the gender disparity, though, as 64.8 percent of males can read and write, whereas only 33.5 percent of females are literate. Note that 1.3 percent of GDP is spent on educational expenditures in this country.
Status of Women
Further compounding economic hardship are social norms marginalizing women. In the CAR, women are treated inferior to men socially, political and economically. Most notably, single women, divorced women, and widowed women are not considered heads of household, even if they have children. As a result they fail to be eligible for social assistance and are exempt from most inheritance. Women lack access to education and salaried jobs. Polygamy is legal in the CAR, though it is starting to meet with resistance by women in urban areas.
Standard of Living
The Central African Republic is a very young country with an estimated 60 percent of the population under age 15. Living standards are low even compared to other sub-Saharan African countries. Two thirds of the population is still living below the international poverty rate of $1 per day. Another two thirds have no access to safe water, sanitation or health services of any kind. Only a little more than 51 percent of the population are literate, according to recent estimates.
Health and Welfare
In terms of health and welfare, the infant mortality rate is 82.36 deaths per 1,000 live births, also according to recent estimates. The average life expectancy at birth for the total population is 50.07 years of age (48.84 years for males and 51.35 years for females).
Years of civil conflict have also contributed to the spread of other severe communicable diseases. Overall, the risk of infectious diseases in this country is very high. Food or waterborne diseases include bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever. Respiratory diseases include meningococcal meningitis. Animal contact diseases include rabies. Contamination of water sources has led directly to the spread of dysentery, giardiasis and cholera; indirectly, it has led to the spread of malaria. Other
water contact diseases include schistosomiasis.
Note that 4.3 percent of GDP is spent on health expenditures in this country. HIV/AIDs
The general living conditions in conjunction with the rapidly growing problem of AIDS present serious challenges to the people of the CAR. The World Health Organization as well as United States government sources estimated that in recent years, just over 13 percent of the adult population was HIV positive, up from 10.7 percent in 1998. That number is expected to increase exponentially over the next five years. The World Bank has recently started trying to estimate the economic impact of AIDS in the CAR. Despite years of civil war, inept government management and corruption, it is likely that in the coming years the loss of workers to AIDS will prove to be the greatest economic threat the country has ever had to face.
Human Development
One notable indicator used to measure a country's quality of life is the Human Development Index (HDI), which is compiled annually since 1990 by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The HDI is a composite of several indicators, which measure a country's achievements in three main areas of human development: longevity, knowledge and education, as well as economic standard of living. In a ranking of 169 countries and territories, the HDI placed CAR in the low human development category, near the bottom of the entire ranking, at 159th place.
Note: Although the concept of human development is complicated and cannot be properly captured by values and indices, the HDI, which is calculated and updated annually, offers a wide-ranging assessment of human development in certain countries, not based solely upon traditional economic and financial indicators.
Written by Dr. Denise Youngblood Coleman, Editor in Chief, www.countrywatch.com; see Bibliography for list of research sources.
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