Editing Central African Republic (section)

== Etymology ==
The name of the Central African Republic is derived from the country's geographical location in the central region of Africa and its republican form of government. From 1976 to 1979, the country was known as the [[Central African Empire]].

During the colonial era, the country's name was [[Ubangi-Shari]] ({{langx|fr|Oubangui-Chari}}), a name derived from two major rivers and Central African [[waterway]]s – [[Ubangi River|Ubangi]] and [[Chari River|Chari]]. [[Barthélemy Boganda]], the country's first [[List of heads of government of the Central African Republic|prime minister]], favored the name "Central African Republic" over Ubangi-Shari, reportedly because he envisioned [[United States of Latin Africa|a larger union of countries]] in [[Central Africa]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Palmer |first=Brian |date=9 March 2012 |title=Why Does the Central African Republic Have Such a Boring Name? |url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2012/03/joseph-kony-video-why-does-central-african-republic-have-such-a-boring-name.html |website=Slate |access-date=2 May 2022 |archive-date=2 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220502212254/https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2012/03/joseph-kony-video-why-does-central-african-republic-have-such-a-boring-name.html |url-status=live }}</ref>