Sub-Saharan Africa · Low income
Central African Republic: the economy in numbers
Per person: $556, or $1,314 at purchasing power parity. Population: 5.51 million (2025).
GDP in 2025, current US dollars: #177 of 204 economies. IMF forecast for 2026: +2.7%.
GDP
Adjusted for US inflation, in 2025 dollars: $1.22 billion in 1960, $3.07 billion in 2025.
GDP per capita
In 2025 dollars: $718 per person in 1960, $556 in 2025.
Real GDP growth
Average over 2016–2025: 2.5% a year. Years of falling GDP since 1961: 15 of 65.
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)
Inflation
Consumer prices rose 2.47 times from 2000 to 2025. Highest annual inflation: 24.6% in 1994.
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)
Government debt, % of GDP
Highest since 1997: 67.6% of GDP in 2005. IMF forecast for 2031: 48.2%.
Population
1960: 1.7 million · 2025: 5.51 million.
Unemployment rate
1991: 5.7% · 2025: 6.3%.
Life expectancy at birth
1960: 39.6 years · 2024: 57.7 years.
Exports of goods and services
1960: 23.3% · 2025: 19.3%.
Data by year
Show the year-by-year table
| Year | GDP | GDP per capita | Per capita, PPP | Real growth | Inflation | Gov. debt, % GDP | Population | Unemployment | Life expectancy | Exports, % GDP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2031 | 3.5%f | 3.0%f | 48.2%f | |||||||
| 2030 | 3.5%f | 3.0%f | 47.1%f | |||||||
| 2029 | 3.5%f | 3.0%f | 46.1%f | |||||||
| 2028 | 3.5%f | 3.0%f | 45.3%f | |||||||
| 2027 | 3.3%f | 3.0%f | 44.5%f | |||||||
| 2026 | 2.7%f | 3.5%f | 43.5%f | |||||||
| 2025 | $3.07B | $556 | $1,314 | 4.5% | 1.0% | 42.6% | 5.51M | 6.3% | 19.3% | |
| 2024 | $2.75B | $516 | $1,265 | 1.5% | 1.5% | 41.6% | 5.33M | 6.3% | 57.7 | 15.0% |
| 2023 | $2.56B | $496 | $1,258 | 0.7% | 3.0% | 39.0% | 5.15M | 6.2% | 57.4 | 14.4% |
| 2022 | $2.38B | $467 | $1,218 | 0.5% | 5.6% | 34.2% | 5.1M | 6.3% | 18.8 | 12.3% |
| 2021 | $2.52B | $492 | $1,129 | 1.0% | 4.3% | 32.3% | 5.11M | 6.7% | 40.3 | 13.2% |
| 2020 | $2.33B | $463 | $1,066 | 0.9% | 1.7% | 29.6% | 5.03M | 6.5% | 50.6 | 15.2% |
| 2019 | $2.22B | $449 | $985 | 3.1% | 2.7% | 32.9% | 4.94M | 5.9% | 31.5 | 15.8% |
| 2018 | $2.22B | $455 | $906 | 3.8% | 1.6% | 35.3% | 4.88M | 5.8% | 52.3 | 15.9% |
| 2017 | $2.07B | $432 | $884 | 4.5% | 4.2% | 34.6% | 4.79M | 5.8% | 45.2 | 17.3% |
| 2016 | $1.83B | $387 | $826 | 4.8% | 4.9% | 35.5% | 4.71M | 5.8% | 51.0 | 14.8% |
| 2015 | $1.7B | $366 | $769 | 4.3% | 1.4% | 38.5% | 4.63M | 5.8% | 51.9 | 17.1% |
| 2014 | $1.89B | $410 | $699 | 0.1% | 14.9% | 39.9% | 4.62M | 5.6% | 40.3 | 16.7% |
| 2013 | $1.69B | $364 | $710 | −36.4% | 7.0% | 36.2% | 4.64M | 5.6% | 49.5 | 15.0% |
| 2012 | $2.51B | $544 | $1,062 | 5.1% | 5.5% | 23.2% | 4.61M | 5.6% | 51.3 | 11.6% |
| 2011 | $2.44B | $534 | $980 | 4.2% | 1.2% | 12.7% | 4.57M | 5.6% | 50.1 | 13.1% |
| 2010 | $2.14B | $477 | $936 | 4.6% | 1.5% | 13.6% | 4.49M | 5.7% | 46.9 | 11.6% |
| 2009 | $2.07B | $456 | $877 | 8.6% | 3.5% | 14.3% | 4.53M | 5.6% | 14.7 | 9.8% |
| 2008 | $1.99B | $437 | $798 | 2.1% | 9.3% | 24.4% | 4.56M | 5.5% | 49.9 | 11.0% |
| 2007 | $1.7B | $381 | $783 | 4.6% | 1.0% | 31.1% | 4.46M | 5.6% | 49.3 | 14.1% |
| 2006 | $1.46B | $334 | $743 | 4.8% | 6.7% | 30.6% | 4.38M | 5.6% | 48.7 | 14.3% |
| 2005 | $1.34B | $312 | $702 | 0.9% | 2.9% | 67.6% | 4.29M | 5.7% | 48.2 | 13.4% |
| 2004 | $1.27B | $303 | $690 | 6.0% | −2.1% | 64.3% | 4.19M | 5.7% | 47.7 | 14.0% |
| 2003 | $1.14B | $278 | $648 | −5.4% | 4.1% | 63.1% | 4.1M | 5.8% | 47.3 | 18.2% |
| 2002 | $996M | $249 | $688 | 3.6% | 2.3% | 61.2% | 4.01M | 5.8% | 46.8 | 16.0% |
| 2001 | $933M | $238 | $668 | 4.5% | 3.8% | 62.2% | 3.92M | 5.8% | 46.7 | 17.2% |
| 2000 | $917M | $239 | $640 | −2.5% | 3.2% | 58.6% | 3.83M | 5.7% | 46.6 | 20.4% |
| 1999 | $999M | $268 | $660 | 3.6% | −1.4% | 40.2% | 3.73M | 5.8% | 46.9 | 19.2% |
| 1998 | $967M | $267 | $645 | 4.7% | −1.9% | 41.7% | 3.63M | 5.8% | 47.1 | 22.7% |
| 1997 | $938M | $266 | $626 | 5.3% | 1.6% | 45.9% | 3.53M | 5.8% | 47.3 | 26.9% |
| 1996 | $1.01B | $293 | $601 | −4.0% | 3.7% | 3.44M | 5.8% | 47.7 | 21.5% | |
| 1995 | $1.12B | $333 | $631 | 7.2% | 19.2% | 3.35M | 5.9% | 48.1 | 22.2% | |
| 1994 | $851M | $261 | $592 | 4.9% | 24.6% | 3.26M | 5.9% | 48.5 | 23.4% | |
| 1993 | $1.28B | $405 | $570 | 0.3% | −2.9% | 3.16M | 5.9% | 48.9 | 17.1% | |
| 1992 | $1.41B | $462 | $573 | −6.4% | −1.0% | 3.06M | 5.8% | 49.2 | 16.9% | |
| 1991 | $1.38B | $465 | $618 | −0.6% | −2.8% | 2.96M | 5.7% | 49.6 | 17.6% | |
| 1990 | $1.44B | $502 | $620 | −2.1% | −0.0% | 2.87M | 49.9 | 17.1% | ||
| 1989 | $1.23B | $443 | 2.0% | 0.7% | 2.78M | 50.1 | 20.3% | |||
| 1988 | $1.26B | $466 | 1.7% | −4.0% | 2.71M | 50.2 | 17.7% | |||
| 1987 | $1.2B | $450 | −4.9% | −7.0% | 2.67M | 50.4 | 17.8% | |||
| 1986 | $1.12B | $426 | 3.6% | 2.2% | 2.63M | 50.4 | 18.2% | |||
| 1985 | $865M | $333 | 3.9% | 10.4% | 2.6M | 50.5 | 22.0% | |||
| 1984 | $638M | $248 | 9.5% | 2.5% | 2.57M | 50.4 | 23.4% | |||
| 1983 | $659M | $260 | −8.1% | 14.6% | 2.54M | 50.3 | 24.1% | |||
| 1982 | $748M | $298 | 7.7% | 13.3% | 2.51M | 50.2 | 22.2% | |||
| 1981 | $695M | $280 | −1.5% | −0.0% | 2.48M | 50.0 | 24.4% | |||
| 1980 | $797M | $325 | −4.5% | 13.3% | 2.45M | 49.8 | 25.2% | |||
| 1979 | $701M | $289 | −2.5% | 2.42M | 49.5 | 22.4% | ||||
| 1978 | $611M | $255 | 1.2% | 2.4M | 49.2 | 23.4% | ||||
| 1977 | $507M | $214 | 3.8% | 2.37M | 48.8 | 25.2% | ||||
| 1976 | $451M | $192 | 5.4% | 2.35M | 48.4 | 22.2% | ||||
| 1975 | $379M | $164 | 0.4% | 2.31M | 47.9 | 21.1% | ||||
| 1974 | $281M | $124 | 6.3% | 2.27M | 47.4 | 27.7% | ||||
| 1973 | $271M | $122 | 1.9% | 2.23M | 46.9 | 28.6% | ||||
| 1972 | $230M | $105 | −0.0% | 2.18M | 46.3 | 24.9% | ||||
| 1971 | $201M | $94 | 1.1% | 2.14M | 45.8 | 29.8% | ||||
| 1970 | $189M | $90 | 2.3% | 2.1M | 45.2 | 31.9% | ||||
| 1969 | $188M | $92 | 7.1% | 2.05M | 44.6 | 27.3% | ||||
| 1968 | $192M | $96 | 1.4% | 2.01M | 44.0 | 34.3% | ||||
| 1967 | $164M | $84 | 4.7% | 1.96M | 43.4 | 26.3% | ||||
| 1966 | $158M | $82 | 0.6% | 1.92M | 42.8 | 28.4% | ||||
| 1965 | $151M | $80 | 0.9% | 1.88M | 42.2 | 27.1% | ||||
| 1964 | $142M | $77 | 2.1% | 1.84M | 41.6 | 28.4% | ||||
| 1963 | $129M | $72 | −0.7% | 1.8M | 41.1 | 25.2% | ||||
| 1962 | $124M | $70 | −3.7% | 1.77M | 40.6 | 24.6% | ||||
| 1961 | $123M | $71 | 5.0% | 1.73M | 40.1 | 26.5% | ||||
| 1960 | $112M | $66 | 1.7M | 39.6 | 23.3% |
e: IMF estimate; f: IMF forecast. Inflation: IMF data for 1980, World Bank for the other years.
Nearby economies in Sub-Saharan Africa
Nearest by distance between capitals, with GDP per capita.
Angola · Benin · Botswana · Burkina Faso · Burundi · Cabo Verde · Cameroon · Central African Republic · Chad · Comoros · Côte d’Ivoire · DR Congo · Equatorial Guinea · Eritrea · Eswatini · Ethiopia · Gabon · Gambia · Ghana · Guinea · Guinea-Bissau · Kenya · Lesotho · Liberia · Madagascar · Malawi · Mali · Mauritania · Mauritius · Mozambique · Namibia · Niger · Nigeria · Republic of the Congo · Rwanda · Senegal · Seychelles · Sierra Leone · Somalia · South Africa · South Sudan · Sudan · São Tomé and Príncipe · Tanzania · Togo · Uganda · Zambia · Zimbabwe
Rankings
GDP by country · GDP per capita · Real GDP growth · Inflation by country · Government debt to GDP · Stock market to GDP · Population by country · Unemployment by country
Data and methods
- GDP: gross domestic product in current US dollars, converted from the local currency at market exchange rates (World Bank); not adjusted for inflation.
- Purchasing power parity (PPP): GDP per person in international dollars, which buy the same basket of goods and services in every country. It compares living standards across countries in the same year; it is not adjusted for inflation over time.
- In 2025 dollars: the charts can remove US inflation (US consumer price index, annual average) so that dollar amounts from different years compare in today's money. Exchange rate swings still show.
- Growth and inflation: World Bank data (calendar years). Years the World Bank does not cover yet, and the estimates and forecasts, come from the IMF World Economic Outlook (October 2026): its forecasts start in 2026, and the years after a country's last actual year are IMF estimates.
- Government debt: gross debt of the general government (central, state and local government and social security funds) as a percentage of GDP, IMF. The World Bank's central government debt is narrower and covers fewer countries.
- Stock market capitalization: the end-of-year value of domestic companies listed on the country's exchanges (World Federation of Exchanges via the World Bank; before 2016, Standard & Poor's), as a percentage of GDP: the “Buffett indicator”. Investment funds are excluded, and so are companies listed only abroad; companies from elsewhere that list on an exchange count for its country (Hong Kong lists many mainland Chinese companies).
- Unemployment: ILO modeled estimates (share of the labor force); comparable across countries, but they may differ from national figures.
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)