---
title: "Central African Republic — capital, area, population and curre"
description: "Central African Republic: capital Bangui, area 622,984 km², population 5,513,282 (2025), currency Central African CFA franc. Languages, time zones and calling code."
url: https://atoneplace.net/country/central-african-republic/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Central African Republic

**Central African Republic: Capital Bangui**

622,984 km² · 5,513,282 people (2025) · Central African CFA franc

Landlocked and close to the geographic centre of the African continent. The country straddles the divide between the Chad and Congo river basins, so rain falling a few kilometres apart ends up in either Lake Chad or the Atlantic.

## The facts

- **Capital:** Bangui
- **Area:** 622,984 km² — 240,535 sq mi
- **Population:** 5,513,282 (2025)
- **Density:** 8.8 people per km²
- **Currency:** Central African CFA franc (XAF, Fr)
- **Official languages:** French, Sango
- **Time zone:** UTC+01:00
- **Calling code:** +236
- **Drives on the:** right
- **ISO codes:** CF · CAF
- **Continent:** Africa

## How it compares

- **By area:** 46 of 200
- **By population:** 120 of 200

> Population is the only figure on this page that dates — it is a 2025 estimate and will drift. Area, capital, currency, languages, calling code and driving side change rarely or never.

## Countries of a similar size

| Country | Area (km²) | Population |
| --- | --- | --- |
| France | 643,801 | 68,720,337 |
| Somalia | 637,657 | 19,654,739 |
| Central African Republic ← | 622,984 | 5,513,282 |
| Ukraine | 603,550 | 38,980,376 |
| Madagascar | 587,041 | 32,740,678 |

## Common questions

### What is the capital of Central African Republic?

Bangui

### What currency does Central African Republic use?

The Central African CFA franc (XAF).

### How big is Central African Republic?

622,984 km², or 240,535 square miles — 46 of 200 by area.

### Which side of the road does Central African Republic drive on?

The right.

## Related pages

- [France](https://atoneplace.net/country/france/)
- [Somalia](https://atoneplace.net/country/somalia/)
- [Ukraine](https://atoneplace.net/country/ukraine/)
- [Madagascar](https://atoneplace.net/country/madagascar/)
- [Nigeria](https://atoneplace.net/country/nigeria/)
- [Ethiopia](https://atoneplace.net/country/ethiopia/)
- [Egypt](https://atoneplace.net/country/egypt/)
- [Democratic Republic of the Congo](https://atoneplace.net/country/democratic-republic-of-the-congo/)
- [Tanzania](https://atoneplace.net/country/tanzania/)
- [South Africa](https://atoneplace.net/country/south-africa/)
- [Kenya](https://atoneplace.net/country/kenya/)
- [Sudan](https://atoneplace.net/country/sudan/)

## Sources

- The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency (https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/) [Public domain (US Government)]
- World Bank Open Data — The World Bank (https://data.worldbank.org/) [CC BY 4.0]