Central African Republic
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Though the government has the tacit support of civil society groups and the main parties, a wide field of candidates contested the municipal, legislative, and presidential elections held in March and May of 2005 in which General BOZIZE was affirmed as president. The government still does not fully control the countryside, where pockets of lawlessness persist. Unrest in neighboring nations, Chad, Sudan, and the DRC, continues to affect stability in the Central African Republic as well. Subsistence agriculture, together with forestry, remains the backbone of the economy of the Central African Republic (CAR), with more than 70% of the population living in outlying areas. The agricultural sector generates more than half of GDP. Timber has accounted for about 16% of export earnings and the diamond industry, for 40%. Important constraints to economic development include the CAR's landlocked position, a poor transportation system, a largely unskilled work force, and a legacy of misdirected macroeconomic policies. Factional fighting between the government and its opponents remains a drag on economic revitalization. Distribution of income is extraordinarily unequal. Grants from France and the international community can only partially meet humanitarian needs. Source: The World Factbook, CIA. |
The
former French colony of Ubangi-Shari became the Central African Republic upon
independence in 1960. After three tumultuous decades of misrule - mostly by
military governments - civilian rule was established in 1993 and lasted for one
decade. President Ange-Felix PATASSE's civilian government was plagued by
unrest, and in March 2003 he was deposed in a military coup led by General
Francois BOZIZE, who established a transitional government.