Central African Republic Demographics Profile 2003

Population

3,683,538
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2003 est.)

Age structure

0-14 years: 43.1% (male 799,241; female 788,370)
15-64 years: 53.5% (male 969,581; female 1,000,740)
65 years and over: 3.4% (male 53,322; female 72,284) (2003 est.)

Median age

total: 17.9 years
male: 17.6 years
female: 18.3 years (2002)

Population growth rate

1.62% (2003 est.)

Birth rate

35.93 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)

Death rate

19.73 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)

Net migration rate

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2003 est.)

Infant mortality rate

total: 93.3 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 100.35 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 86.04 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 41.71 years
male: 40.18 years
female: 43.29 years (2003 est.)

Total fertility rate

4.68 children born/woman (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

12.9% (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS

250,000 (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths

22,000 (2001 est.)

Nationality

noun: Central African(s)
adjective: Central African

Ethnic groups

Baya 33%, Banda 27%, Mandjia 13%, Sara 10%, Mboum 7%, M'Baka 4%, Yakoma 4%, other 2%

Religions

indigenous beliefs 35%, Protestant 25%, Roman Catholic 25%, Muslim 15%
note: animistic beliefs and practices strongly influence the Christian majority

Languages

French (official), Sangho (lingua franca and national language), tribal languages

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 51%
male: 63.3%
female: 39.9% (2003 est.)