ECONDEX

Economic and development data for every country, explained with the numbers checked.

Central African Republic

Sub-Saharan Africa. Low income. Capital: Bangui. Population 5,513,282 (2025).

Key trends

GDP per person (PPP) (constant international $)
1,009 1,287 1,566 1995 2025 1,123
GDP growth (%)
−35.5 −13.9 7.7 1995 2025 4.5
Inflation, consumer prices (% annual)
−1.6 8.6 18.8 1995 2025 1.0
Life expectancy at birth (years)
15.5 36.2 56.8 1995 2024 57.7

Indicators

Each country reports for different years, so check the year beside every figure. Rank 1 is the highest value among countries with recent data.

Economy

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
GDP per person (PPP)constant international $ 1,123 2025 −14 +79 198 of 199
GDP growth% 4.5% 2025 +3.6 pp +0.2 pp 63 of 209
GDP per person growth% 1.0% 2025 +1.8 pp −3.2 pp 143 of 209
GNI per person (Atlas method)current US$ 560 2025 +70 +170 198 of 201
Trade% of GDP 52.9% 2025 +3.4 pp −0.2 pp 138 of 183
Foreign direct investment, net inflows% of GDP 1.4% 2025 +1.8 pp +1.3 pp 122 of 195

Prices and jobs

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Inflation, consumer prices% annual 1.0% 2025 −0.7 pp −0.4 pp 144 of 180
Unemployment (modelled ILO estimate)% of labour force 6.3% 2025 −0.3 pp +0.5 pp 72 of 186

People and health

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Populationpeople 5,513,282 2025 +486,654 +883,962 119 of 217
Population growth% annual 3.4% 2025 +1.7 pp +3.2 pp 7 of 217
Urban population% of total 44.6% 2025 +2.2 pp +4.6 pp 163 of 217
Life expectancy at birthyears 57.7 2024 +26.1 +17.4 215 of 217
Infant mortalityper 1,000 live births 58.8 2024 −70.1 −42.9 8 of 196
Health spending% of GDP 10.7% 2023 −0.3 pp +5.9 pp 22 of 193

Education

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Adult literacy rate% of people aged 15+ 42.4% 2019 * – – –
Government spending on education% of GDP 1.8% 2023 +0.3 pp −0.8 pp 159 of 171

Access and infrastructure

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Internet users% of population 13.8% 2024 +6.3 pp +11.1 pp 182 of 185
Access to electricity% of population 18.2% 2024 +3.9 pp +6.2 pp 212 of 215

Inequality and poverty

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Gini index (inequality)index, 0 to 100 43.0 2021 * – – –
Poverty headcount ratio% of population, at the World Bank international poverty line 71.6% 2021 * – – –

Environment and energy

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Renewable energy% of final energy consumption 90.9% 2022 −0.7 pp −2.2 pp 5 of 212

* Latest figure is too old to be included in rankings or peer medians.

Advanced metrics

Indicator Own history Versus peers (latest) Growth and catch-up
10-yr meanZ-score Income group medianRegion medianVolatility (σ) 10-yr CAGR% of high-income median10 yrs earlier
GDP per person (PPP) 1,114 +0.3 1,964 3,781 32 +0.7% 2% 2%
GDP growth 2.5% +1.1 5.0% 4.6% 1.8 – – –
GDP per person growth 1.1% 0.0 2.4% 2.5% 2.0 – – –
GNI per person (Atlas method) 474 +1.7 830 1,355 52 +3.7% 2% 1%
Trade 48.9% +0.9 50.2% 59.9% 4.2 – – –
Foreign direct investment, net inflows 0.4% +1.3 2.8% 2.0% 0.8 – – –
Inflation, consumer prices 3.1% −1.3 5.9% 3.5% 1.6 – – –
Unemployment (modelled ILO estimate) 6.1% +0.4 4.4% 5.4% 0.3 – – –
Population 4,967,973 +2.5 24,074,580 14,957,094 217,314 +1.8% 188% 176%
Population growth 1.4% +1.9 2.6% 2.3% 1.0 – – –
Urban population 42.1% +1.8 34.5% 44.9% 1.4 – – –
Life expectancy at birth 43.9 +1.2 63.8 64.3 11.7 – – –
Infant mortality 98.1 −0.9 43.0 37.2 42.8 – – –
Health spending 7.3% +1.4 4.9% 4.4% 2.4 – – –
Government spending on education 2.0% −0.5 2.8% 3.3% 0.3 – – –
Internet users 6.6% +1.5 20.5% 36.8% 4.7 – – –
Access to electricity 14.6% +2.2 43.7% 57.8% 1.6 – – –
Renewable energy 92.4% −1.0 76.9% 70.6% 1.5 – – –

Compare Central African Republic with other countries