Editing Economy of the Central African Republic

{{Short description|none}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2023}}
{{Infobox economy
| country = the Central African Republic
| image = OBangui Hotel.jpg
| image_size = 310px
| caption = OBangui Hotel in [[Bangui]]
| currency = {{unbulleted list|[[Central African CFA franc]] (XAF)}}
| fixed exchange = 
| year = Calendar year
| organs = [[African Union|AU]], [[African Continental Free Trade Agreement|AfCFTA]] (signed), [[World Trade Organization|WTO]], [[Economic Community of Central African States|ECCAS]]
| group = {{plainlist|
*[[Least developed countries|Least Developed]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2019/01/weodata/weoselco.aspx?g=2200&sg=All+countries+%2f+Emerging+market+and+developing+economies |title=World Economic Outlook Database, April 2019 |publisher=[[International Monetary Fund]] |website=IMF.org |access-date=29 September 2019}}</ref>
*[[Least Developed Countries|Low-income economy]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://datahelpdesk.worldbank.org/knowledgebase/articles/906519-world-bank-country-and-lending-groups |title=World Bank Country and Lending Groups |publisher=[[World Bank]] |website=datahelpdesk.worldbank.org |access-date=29 September 2019}}</ref>}}
| gdp = {{plainlist|
*{{increase}} $3.031 billion (nominal, 2025 est.)<ref name="IMFWEOCF">{{cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2019/02/weodata/weorept.aspx?pr.x=71&pr.y=11&sy=2016&ey=2021&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=626&s=NGDP_RPCH%2CNGDPD%2CPPPGDP%2CNGDPDPC%2CPPPPC%2CPCPIPCH&grp=0&a= |title=World Economic Outlook Database, October 2019 |publisher=[[International Monetary Fund]] |website=IMF.org |access-date=6 December 2019}}</ref>
*{{increase}} $7.242 billion ([[Purchasing power parity|PPP]], 2025 est.)<ref name="IMFWEOCF"/>}}
| gdp rank = {{plainlist|
*[[List of countries by GDP (nominal)|163rd (nominal, 2019)]]
*[[List of countries by GDP (PPP)|165th (PPP, 2019)]]}}
| growth = {{plainlist|
*4.5%&nbsp;(2017) 3.8%&nbsp;(2018e)
*4.5%&nbsp;(2019e) 5.0%&nbsp;(2020e)<ref name="IMFWEOCF"/>}}
| per capita = {{plainlist|
*{{increase}} $548 (nominal, 2025 est.)<ref name="IMFWEOCF"/>
*{{increase}} $1,310 ([[Purchasing power parity|PPP]], 2025 est.)<ref name="IMFWEOCF"/>}}
| per capita rank = {{plainlist|
*[[List of countries by GDP (nominal) per capita|181st (nominal, 2019)]]
*[[List of countries by GDP (PPP) per capita|184th (PPP, 2019)]]}}
| sectors = {{plainlist|
*[[Primary sector of the economy|agriculture]]: 43.2%
*[[Secondary sector of the economy|industry]]: 16%
*[[Tertiary sector of the economy|services]]: 40.8%
*(2017 est.)<ref name="CIAWFCT"/>}}
| components = 
| inflation = 2.6% (2020 est.)<ref name="IMFWEOCF"/>
| poverty = {{plainlist|
*62.0% (2008)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.NAHC?locations=CF |title=Poverty headcount ratio at national poverty lines (% of population) – Central African Republic |publisher=World Bank |website=data.worldbank.org |access-date=27 December 2019}}</ref>
*66.3% on less than $1.90/day (2008)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.DDAY?locations=CF |title=Poverty headcount ratio at $1.90 a day (2011 PPP) (% of population) – Central African Republic |publisher=World Bank |website=data.worldbank.org |access-date=27 December 2019}}</ref>}}
| gini = 56.2 {{color|red|high}} (2008)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.GINI?locations=CF |title=GINI index (World Bank estimate) – Central African Republic |publisher=World Bank |website=data.worldbank.org |access-date=27 December 2019}}</ref>
| hdi = {{plainlist|
*{{increase}} 0.381 {{color|red|low}} (2018)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hdr.undp.org/en/indicators/137506 |title=Human Development Index (HDI) |publisher=[[Human Development Report|HDRO (Human Development Report Office)]] [[United Nations Development Programme]] |website=hdr.undp.org |access-date=11 December 2019}}</ref> ([[List of countries by Human Development Index|188th]])
*0.222 [[List of countries by inequality-adjusted HDI|IHDI]] (2018)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/table-3-inequality-adjusted-human-development-index-ihdi |title=Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index (IHDI) |publisher=[[Human Development Report|HDRO (Human Development Report Office)]] [[United Nations Development Programme]] |website=hdr.undp.org |access-date=11 December 2019}}</ref>}}
| edbr = {{decrease}} [[Ease of doing business index#Ranking|184th (below average, 2020)]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.doingbusiness.org/data/exploreeconomies/central-african-republic |title=Ease of Doing Business in Central African Republic |publisher=Doingbusiness.org |access-date=2017-01-25 }}</ref>
| labor = {{increase}} 1,919,063 (2019)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.TLF.TOTL.IN?locations=CF |title=Labor force, total – Central African Republic |publisher=World Bank |website=data.worldbank.org |access-date=27 December 2019}}</ref>
| occupations = 
| unemployment = {{increaseNegative}} 6.5% (2019)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.UEM.TOTL.ZS?locations=CF |title=Unemployment, total (% of total labor force) (modeled ILO estimate) – Central African Republic |publisher=World Bank & [[International Labour Organization|ILO]] |website=data.worldbank.org |access-date=27 December 2019}}</ref>{{refn|group=note|modeled [[International Labour Organization|ILO]] estimate}}
| industries = [[gold]] and [[diamond]] [[mining]], [[logging]], [[brewing]], [[textile]]s, [[footwear]], assembly of [[bicycle]]s and [[motorcycle]]s
| exports = {{increase}} $113.7 million (2017 est.)<ref name="CIAWFCT"/>
| export-goods = diamonds, [[Lumber|timber]], [[cotton]], [[coffee]], [[buttonquail]]
| export-partners = {{plainlist|
*{{flag|France}} 31.2%
*{{flag|Burundi}} 16.2%
*{{flag|China}} 12.5%
*{{flag|Cameroon}} 9.6%
*{{flag|Austria}} 7.8%
*(2017)<ref name="CIAWFCT"/>}}
| imports = {{increase}} $393.1 million (2017 est.)<ref name="CIAWFCT"/>
| import-goods = [[food]], textiles, [[petroleum products]], [[machinery]], electrical equipment, motor vehicles, [[chemicals]], [[pharmaceuticals]]
| import-partners = {{plainlist|
*{{flag|France}} 17.1%
*{{flag|United States}} 12.3%
*{{flag|India}} 11.5%
*{{flag|China}} 8.2%
*{{flag|South Africa}} 7.4%
*{{flag|Japan}} 5.8%
*{{flag|Italy}} 5.1%
*{{flag|Cameroon}} 4.9%
*{{flag|Netherlands}} 4.6%
*(2017)<ref name="CIAWFCT"/>}}
| current account = {{decrease}} −$163 million (2017 est.)<ref name="CIAWFCT"/>
| FDI = 
| gross external debt = {{increaseNegative}} $779.9 million (31 December 2017 est.)<ref name="CIAWFCT"/>
| debt = {{decreasePositive}} 52.9% of GDP (2017 est.)<ref name="CIAWFCT">{{Cite CIA World Factbook|country=Central African Republic|access-date=27 December 2019}}</ref>
| revenue = 282.9 million (2017 est.)<ref name="CIAWFCT"/>
| expenses = 300.1 million (2017 est.)<ref name="CIAWFCT"/>
| balance = −0.9% (of GDP) (2017 est.)<ref name="CIAWFCT"/>
| aid = 
| credit = 
| reserves = {{increase}} $304.3 million (31 December 2017 est.)<ref name="CIAWFCT"/>
| cianame = central-african-republic
| spelling = 
}}
The '''economy of the [[Central African Republic]]''' is $2.321 billion by [[gross domestic product]] as of 2019, even lower than much smaller countries such as [[Barbados]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unohrlls.org/en/ldc/related/62/ |title=UN-OHRLLS Least Developed Countries |publisher=UN Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100317010128/http://www.unohrlls.org/en/ldc/related/62/ |archive-date=17 March 2010 }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{citation-attribution|1={{Cite web|date=July 2001|title=Background Note: Central African Republic|url=http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/4007.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020404032942/http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/4007.htm|archive-date=4 April 2002|publisher=[[U.S. Department of State]]}} }}</ref> with an estimated annual [[per capita income]] of just $529 as measured nominally in 2024.

Sparsely populated and [[Landlocked country|landlocked]], the Central African Republic is overwhelmingly agrarian.<ref name=":0" /> The vast bulk of the population engages in [[subsistence agriculture|subsistence farming]] and 55% of the country's [[Gross domestic product|GDP]] derives from agriculture.<ref name=":0" /> 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.<ref name=":1">{{citation-attribution|1={{Cite web|title=Central African Republic|url=http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ct.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001120111200/http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ct.html|archive-date=20 November 2000|website=[[The World Factbook]]|publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]]}} }}</ref>

Principal food crops include [[cassava]], peanuts, [[sorghum]], [[millet]], [[maize]], [[sesame]], and [[Plantain (cooking)|plantains]]. Principal [[cash crop]]s for export include cotton, coffee, and tobacco.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Central African Republic – Economy {{!}} Britannica|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Central-African-Republic/Economy|access-date=2021-11-12|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|language=en}}</ref> [[Lumber|Timber]] has accounted for about 16% of export earnings and the diamond industry for nearly 54%.<ref name=":1" /> Central African Republic is a [[Least developed countries|least developed country]] according to [[United Nations]].

== Infrastructure ==
[[File:Ubangi river near Bangui.jpg|thumb|240px|Though periodically unusable, the [[Oubangui River]] is nonetheless an important transportation route.]]{{See also|List of power stations in the Central African Republic}}
Much of the country's limited electrical supply is provided by [[hydroelectric plant]]s located in [[Boali]].<ref name=":0" /> Fuel supplies must be barged in via the Oubangui River or trucked overland through [[Cameroon]], resulting in frequent shortages of gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel.<ref name=":0" /> The C.A.R.'s transportation and communication network is limited.<ref name=":0" /> The country has only 429 kilometers of paved road, limited international, and no domestic air service, and does not possess a railroad.<ref name=":0" />

River traffic on the Oubangui River is impossible from April to July, and conflict in the region has sometimes prevented shipments from moving between [[Kinshasa]] and [[Bangui]].<ref name=":0" /> The telephone system functions, albeit imperfectly.<ref name=":0" /> Four radio stations operate in the C.A.R., as well as one television station.<ref name=":0" /> Numerous newspapers and pamphlets are published on a regular basis, and one company provides Internet access.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/4007.htm|title=Central African Republic (06/08)|last=Department of State. The Office of Electronic Information|first=Bureau of Public Affairs|website=2001-2009.state.gov|language=en|access-date=2019-02-19}}</ref>

== Forestry ==
[[File:Central African Republic - Log transport.jpg|thumb|250px|The country has rich but largely unexploited natural resources; meanwhile, forestry remains an important contributor to the C. A. R. economy.]]

In 2014, the country exported 59.3 million US dollars of forest products such as [[Lumber|timber]]. This accounts for 40% of total export earnings in the C.A.R.<ref name="ETTF">{{cite web|title=Country profile Central African Republic|url=http://www.timbertradeportal.com/countries/central-african-republic/|access-date=28 October 2017|website=EUROPEAN TIMBER TRADE FEDERATION|language=en}}</ref>

Foreign companies are involved in illegal [[logging]] activities in the country. For example, in 2013, the [[France|French]] ''Industrie forestière de Batalimo'' (IFB), [[Lebanon|Lebanese]] ''Société d’exploitation forestière centrafricaine'' (SEFCA) and [[China|Chinese]] Vicwood Group reportedly made illegal tax payments totalling €3,7 million to the [[Minister of Finance and Budget (Central African Republic)|Ministry of Finance]] under the presidency of [[Michel Djotodia]], as well as monthly payments to [[Séléka]] fighters to safeguard their installations.<ref name="witness">{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=15 July 2015 |title=Blood Timber |url=https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/forests/bloodtimber |website=[[Global Witness]] |access-date=27 January 2025}}</ref>{{rp|12-15}} SEFCA also paid an additional "advance" of €380,876 directly to Djotodia's government.<ref name="witness"/>{{rp|15}} According to a report from the [[United Nations Security Council|UN Security Council]], "illegal artisanal exploitation surged in non-attributed forest areas" under the Djotodia government, while logging trucks were "systematically subjected to illegal tax levying".<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=1 July 2014 |title=Report of the Panel of Experts on the Central African Republic established pursuant to Security Council resolution 2127 |url=https://www.securitycouncilreport.org/atf/cf/%7B65BFCF9B-6D27-4E9C-8CD3-CF6E4FF96FF9%7D/s_2014_452.pdf |website=[[United Nations Security Council]] |access-date=27 January 2025}}</ref>{{rp|75}} In 2014, the same companies paid approximately €127,864 to [[Anti-balaka]] militias at road checkpoints.<ref name="witness"/>{{rp|17}}

These illegal timber exploits continued in more recent years. The [[CEMAC]] banned raw timber exports in January 2022, but the Central African Republic failed to honor this ban.<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=July 2024 |title=Central African Republic |url=https://forestpolicy.org/risk-tool/country/central-african-republic |website=Forest Policy |access-date=27 January 2025}}</ref> The ongoing timber trade has been linked since 2021 to a "tripartite agreement" between government officials, [[Wagner Group]] [[Mercenary|mercenaries]], and a Russian company from [[Saint Petersburg]] named ''Bois Rouge'', with Wagner having branched out into the timber industry and logging a forest in [[Lobaye]]. The Wagner mercenaries reportedly invaded and "emptied" entire villages to log timber at virtually no cost, creating a potential [[revenue]] of up to $890 million on international markets.<ref>{{cite web |last=Ojewale |first=Oluwole |date=25 July 2023 |title=CAR conflict drives illegal logging and timber trafficking |url=https://enactafrica.org/enact-observer/car-conflict-drives-illegal-logging-and-timber-trafficking |website=ENACT Africa |access-date=27 January 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=26 July 2022 |title=Come follow the redwood trees – tracking Wagner’s forestry business in CAR |url=https://alleyesonwagner.org/2022/07/26/come-follow-the-redwood-trees-tracking-wagners-forestry-business-in-car |website=All Eyes on Wagner |access-date=27 January 2025}}</ref>

== Natural resources ==
The country has rich natural resources in the form of diamonds, gold, uranium, and other minerals.<ref name=":0" /> Diamonds constitute one of the most important exports of the CAR, frequently accounting for 20-30% of export revenues, but an estimated 30-50% of the diamonds produced each year leave the country clandestinely.{{Citation needed|date=September 2021}} There may be petroleum deposits along the country's northern border with Chad.<ref name=":0" /> (Two billion barrels of oil are present in private estimates).{{Citation needed|date=September 2021}}

Diamonds are the only of these mineral resources currently being developed; reported sales of largely uncut diamonds made up close to 60% of the CAR's export earnings as of 2001.<ref name=":0" /> Industry contributes less than 20% of the country's GDP, with artesian diamond mining, breweries, and sawmills making up the bulk of the sector.<ref name=":0" /> Services account for 25% of GDP, largely because of government bureaucracy and high transportation costs arising from the country's landlocked position.<ref name=":0" />

== Agriculture ==
{{Multiple image|direction=vertical|align=left|image1=Boutures de manioc.jpg|image2=Récolte du manioc.jpg|image3=Manioc transformation.JPG|width=250|caption1=Cassava plant trimmings to be planted.|caption2=A woman harvesting and transporting cassava in Boukoko.|caption3=Women processing fresh cassava for cooking.}}
74% (2013) of the population in the Central African Republic works in the agriculture industry, so Central African Republic's economy is dominated by the cultivation and sale of foodcrops such as [[yam (vegetable)|yams]], [[cassava]], [[peanut]]s, [[maize]], [[sorghum]], [[millet]], [[sesame]], and [[Plantain (cooking)|plantain]]s. The importance of foodcrops over exported [[cash crop]]s is illustrated by the fact that the total production of cassava, the staple food of most Central Africans, ranges between c. 200,000 and 300,000 tons a year, while the production of [[cotton]], the principal exported cash crop, ranges from c. 25,000 to 45,000 tons a year.

Foodcrops are not exported in large quantities but they still constitute the principal cash crops of the country because Central Africans derive far more income from the periodic sale of surplus foodcrops than from exported cash crops such as cotton or coffee. Many rural and urban women also transform some foodcrops into alcoholic drinks such as [[sorghum beer]] or hard liquor and derive considerable income from the sale of these drinks. Much of the income derived from the sale of foods and alcohol is not "on the books" and thus is not considered in calculating [[per capita income]], which is one reason why official figures for per capita income are not accurate in the case of the CAR.

The per capita income of the CAR is often listed as being around $400 a year, said to be one of the lowest in the world, but this figure is based mostly on reported sales of exports and largely ignores the more important but unregistered sale of foods, locally produced [[Alcoholic beverage|alcohol]], [[diamond]]s, [[ivory]], [[bushmeat]], and [[traditional medicine]]s, for example. The [[informal economy]] of the CAR is more important than the formal economy for most Central Africans.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Let's Be Real: The Informal Sector and the Gig Economy are the Future, and the Present, of Work in Africa |url=https://www.cgdev.org/publication/lets-be-real-informal-sector-and-gig-economy-are-future-and-present-work-africa |access-date=2022-09-07 |website=Center for Global Development {{!}} Ideas to Action |language=en}}</ref>

Central African Republic produced in 2019:

* 730 thousand tons of [[cassava]];
* 511 thousand tons of [[Yam (vegetable)|yam]] (7th largest producer in the world);
* 143 thousand tons of [[peanut]];
* 140 thousand tons of [[taro]];
* 138 thousand tons of [[banana]];
* 120 thousand tons of [[sugar cane]];
* 90 thousand tons of [[maize]];
* 87 thousand tons of [[Cooking banana|plantain]];
* 75 thousand tons of [[vegetable]];
* 36 thousand tons of [[Orange (fruit)|orange]];
* 30 thousand tons of [[sorghum]];
* 21 thousand tons of [[cotton]];
* 19 thousand tons of [[pumpkin]];
* 17 thousand tons of [[pineapple]];
* 12 thousand tons of [[mango]];
* 10 thousand tons of [[millet]];
* 10 thousand tons of [[coffee]];
* 8.5 thousand tons of [[avocado]];
* 6.7 thousand tons of [[sesame seed]];

In addition to smaller productions of other agricultural products.<ref>[http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QC/ Central African Republic production in 2019, by FAO]</ref>

== Finance and banking ==
The financial sector of the CAR, the smallest in the CEMAC, plays a limited role in supporting economic growth. Suffering from weak market infrastructure and legal and judicial frameworks, the financial system remains small, undeveloped, and dominated by commercial banks. Because of economic and security concerns, financial institutions, and particularly microfinance institutions (MFIs), have consolidated their business in the capital, Bangui, over the past few years.<ref name="MFW4A">[http://www.mfw4a.org/central-african-republic/car-financial-sector-profile.html MFW4A] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222203512/http://www.mfw4a.org/central-african-republic/car-financial-sector-profile.html |date=22 February 2014 }}</ref>

With less than 1% of the total population holding a bank account, access to financial services is extremely limited in the CAR. Microfinance accounts only for 1% of the total credit facilities, serving 0.5 percent of the population. Low levels of mobile penetration – which stand at 30%, a significantly lower percentage than in the rest of the continent – dampen the potential expansion of access to financial services through mobile technology.<ref name="MFW4A"/> In April 2022, the country announced that it will adopt the cryptocurrency [[bitcoin]] as legal tender.<ref>{{cite news |title=Central African Republic adopts bitcoin as an official currency |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/central-african-republic-adopts-bitcoin-an-official-currency-2022-04-27/ |access-date=29 April 2022 |work=Reuters|date=28 April 2022 |language=en}}</ref>

== Economic aid and development ==
[[File:Bricklayer.jpg|thumb|250px|A bricklayer in [[Paoua]], Central African Republic.]]

The CAR is heavily dependent upon multilateral foreign aid and the presence of numerous [[NGO]]'s which provide numerous services which the government fails to provide. As one [[UNDP]] official put it, the CAR is a country "sous serum," or a country hooked up to an [[Intravenous therapy|IV]] (Mehler 2005:150). The presence of numerous foreign personnel and organizations in the country, including peacekeepers and refugee camps, provides an important source of revenue for many Central Africans.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}

In the 40 years since independence, the CAR has made slow progress toward economic development.<ref name=":0" /> Economic mismanagement, poor [[infrastructure]], a limited [[tax base]], scarce private investment, and adverse external conditions have led to deficits in both its [[budget]] and external [[trade]].<ref name=":0" /> Its debt burden is considerable, and the country has seen a decline in per capita [[gross national product]] over the last 40 years.<ref name=":0" />

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 [[macroeconomics|macroeconomic]] policies.<ref name=":1" /> The 50% [[devaluation]] of the currencies of 14 Francophone African nations on 12 January 1994 had mixed effects on the CAR's economy.<ref name=":1" /> Diamond, timber, coffee, and cotton exports increased, leading an estimated rise of GDP of 7% in 1994 and nearly 5% in 1995.<ref name=":1" />

Military rebellions and social unrest in 1996 were accompanied by widespread destruction of property and a drop in GDP of 2%.<ref name=":1" /> Ongoing violence between the government and rebel military groups over pay issues, living conditions, and political representation has destroyed many businesses in the capital and reduced tax revenues for the government.<ref name=":1" />

The [[International Monetary Fund]] (IMF) approved an Extended Structure Adjustment Facility in 1998.<ref name=":1" /> The government has set targets of annual 5% growth and 25% inflation for 2000–2001.<ref name=":1" /> Structural adjustment programs with the [[World Bank]] and IMF and interest-free credits to support investments in the agriculture, livestock, and transportation sectors have had limited impact.<ref name=":0" /> The World Bank and IMF are now encouraging the government to concentrate exclusively on implementing much-needed economic reforms to jump-start the economy and defining its fundamental priorities with the aim of alleviating poverty.<ref name=":0" /> As a result, many of the state-owned business entities have been privatized and limited efforts have been made to standardize and simplify labor and investment codes and to address problems of corruption.<ref name=":0" /> The Central African Government is currently in the process of adopting new labor and investment codes.<ref name=":0" />

==Macroeconomic==
The following table shows the main economic indicators in 1980–2024.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Report for Selected Countries and Subjects |url=https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2024/October/weo-report?c=626,&s=NGDP_RPCH,NGDPD,PPPGDP,PPPPC,PCPIPCH,GGXWDG_NGDP,&sy=1980&ey=2029&ssm=0&scsm=1&scc=0&ssd=1&ssc=0&sic=0&sort=country&ds=.&br=1 |access-date=2025-01-25 |website=IMF |language=en}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; vertical-align:middle;"
|- style="font-weight:bold;"
! Year
! GDP
(in bil. US$ PPP)
! GDP per capita
(in US$ PPP)
!GDP
(in bil. US$ nominal)
! GDP growth<br />(real)
! Inflation<br />(in Percent)
! Government debt<br />(Percentage of GDP)
|-
|'''1980'''
|1.14
|514
|0.71
| rowspan="5" |
| rowspan="5" |
| rowspan="5" |
|-
|'''1985'''
|1.72
|680
|0.88
|-
|'''1990'''
|2.30
|800
|1.57
|-
|'''1995'''
|2.81
|839
|1.12
|-
|'''2000'''
|3.06
|797
|0.87
|-
|'''2005'''
|3.61
|841
|1.41
|2.9%
|2.9%
|103.0%
|-
|'''2006'''
|3.90
|890
|1.54
|4.8%
|6.9%
|46.8%
|-
|'''2007'''
|4.16
|933
|1.76
|4.0%
|0.9%
|47.9%
|-
|'''2008'''
|4.35
|955
|2.03
|2.6%
|9.3%
|35.8%
|-
|'''2009'''
|4.50
|995
|2.06
|2.8%
|3.6%
|20.3%
|-
|'''2010'''
|4.77
|1,062
|2.14
|4.6%
|1.5%
|19.9%
|-
|'''2011'''
|5.07
|1,111
|2.44
|4.2%
|1.2%
|19.7%
|-
|'''2012'''
|5.43
|1,177
|2.51
|5.1%
|5.9%
|31.5%
|-
|'''2013'''
|3.51
|756
|1.69
|−36.4%
|4.0%
|51.8%
|-
|'''2014'''
|3.58
|773
|1.90
|0.1%
|17.8%
|62.2%
|-
|'''2015'''
|3.77
|813
|1.70
|4.3%
|1.4%
|59.8%
|-
|'''2016'''
|3.98
|845
|1.83
|4.8%
|4.9%
|53.9%
|-
|'''2017'''
|4.24
|884
|2.07
|4.5%
|4.2%
|50.3%
|-
|'''2018'''
|4.53
|929
|2.28
|3.8%
|1.6%
|50.0%
|-
|'''2019'''
|5.00
|1,010
|2.28
|3.0%
|2.8%
|48.2%
|-
|'''2020'''
|5.49
|1,093
|2.39
|1.0%
|0.9%
|44.4%
|-
|'''2021'''
|5.92
|1,159
|2.59
|1.0%
|4.3%
|48.5%
|-
|'''2022'''
|6.38
|1,251
|2.46
|0.5%
|5.6%
|51.0%
|-
|'''2023'''
|6.65
|1,291
|2.63
|0.7%
|3.0%
|57.6%
|-
|'''2024'''
|6.91
|1,296
|2.82
|1.4%
|4.7%
|57.4%
|}

== Exchange rates ==
{{Exchange Rate|XAF}}

== See also ==
* [[Central African Republic]]
* [[Economy of Africa]]
* [[Mining industry of the Central African Republic]]
* [[United Nations Economic Commission for Africa]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Notes ==
{{reflist|group=note}}


{{Central African Republic topics}}
{{Africa in topic|Economy of}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Economy of the Central African Republic}}
[[Category:Economy of the Central African Republic| ]]
[[Category:World Trade Organization member economies|Central African Republic]]
[[Category:African Union member economies|Central African Republic]]