The Central African Republic is a landlocked nation within the interior of the African continent. It is bordered by Cameroon, Chad, Sudan, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo. Much of the country consists of flat, or rolling plateau savanna, about above sea level. In the northeast are the Fertit Hills, and there are scattered hills in the southwestern part of the country. To the northwest is the Karre Mountains (also known as Yade Massif), a granite plateau with an altitude of .

At , the Central African Republic is the world's 45th-largest country (after Somalia). It is comparable in size to Ukraine.

Much of the southern border is formed by tributaries of the Congo River, with the Mbomou River in the east merging with the Uele River to form the Ubangi River. In the west, the Sangha River flows through part of the country. The eastern border lies along the edge of the Congo-Nile watershed.

In the Central African Republic forest cover is around 36% of the total land area, equivalent to of forest in 2020, down from in 1990. In 2020, naturally regenerating forest covered and planted forest covered . Of the naturally regenerating forest 9% was reported to be primary forest (consisting of native tree species with no clearly visible indications of human activity). For the year 2015, 91% of the forest area was reported to be under public ownership and 9% private ownership. In 2021, the rate of deforestation in the Central African Republic increased by 71%. The forest is highly diverse and includes commercially important species of Ayous, Sapele and Sipo.

Climate

The climate of the Central African Republic is generally a tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw), although there are areas with a tropical monsoon climate (Köppen Am) and in the north there is also a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen BSh). There is a wet season and a dry season, and the temperature is hot throughout the year. The northern areas are subject to harmattan winds, which are hot, dry, and carry dust. The tip of the northern regions have been subject to desertification. The remainder of the country is prone to flooding from nearby rivers. About one third of the Central African Republic's population do not have access to clean water.

Forests Tree cover extent and loss Global Forest Watch publishes annual estimates of tree cover loss and 2000 tree cover extent derived from time-series analysis of Landsat satellite imagery in the Global Forest Change dataset. In this framework, tree cover refers to vegetation taller than 5 m (including natural forests and tree plantations), and tree cover loss is defined as the complete removal of tree cover canopy for a given year, regardless of cause.

For the Central African Republic, country statistics report cumulative tree cover loss of from 2001 to 2024 (about 2.3% of its 2000 tree cover area). For tree cover density greater than 30%, country statistics report a 2000 tree cover extent of . The charts and table below display this data. In simple terms, the annual loss number is the area where tree cover disappeared in that year, and the extent number shows what remains of the 2000 tree cover baseline after subtracting cumulative loss. Forest regrowth is not included in the dataset.

+ Annual tree cover extent and loss Year Tree cover extent (km2) Annual tree cover loss (km2) 2001 470,422.24 312.82 2002 470,078.06 344.18 2003 469,940.79 137.27 2004 469,794.91 145.88 2005 469,501.74 293.17 2006 468,922.91 578.83 2007 468,549.83 373.08 2008 468,231.23 318.60 2009 467,748.70 482.53 2010 467,263.16 485.54 2011 466,771.76 491.40 2012 466,198.61 573.15 2013 465,756.78 441.83 2014 465,178.26 578.52 2015 464,905.11 273.15 2016 464,393.58 511.53 2017 463,754.49 639.09 2018 463,345.36 409.13 2019 462,855.10 490.26 2020 462,303.73 551.37 2021 461,631.92 671.81 2022 461,121.63 510.29 2023 460,576.28 545.35 2024 459,968.76 607.52

Facts

Location: Central Africa, north of Democratic Republic of the Congo

Area comparative Slightly smaller than Somalia Slightly larger than Ukraine Australia comparative: slightly more than the size of New South Wales Canada comparative: slightly smaller than Manitoba United Kingdom comparative: slightly more than 2 times the size of the United Kingdom United States comparative: approximately smaller than Texas EU comparative: approximately larger than Spain

Land boundaries total:

border countries Cameroon Chad Democratic Republic of the Congo Republic of the Congo Sudan South Sudan

Coastline 0 km (landlocked)

Terrain vast, flat to rolling, monotonous plateau; scattered hills in northeast and southwest

Elevation extremes lowest point: Oubangui River highest point: Mont Ngaoui

Natural resources diamonds, uranium, timber, gold, petroleum, hydropower

Land use (2012 est.) arable land: 2.89% permanent crops: 0.13% other: 96.98%

Irrigated land (2003)

Total renewable water resources (2011)

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural) total: /yr (83%/17%/1%) per capita: /yr (2005)

Natural hazards hot, dry, dusty harmattan winds affect northern areas floods are common

Environment — current issues tap water is not potable poaching has diminished its reputation as one of the last great wildlife refuges desertification

Environment — international agreements party to: Biodiversity Climate Change Desertification Endangered Species Hazardous Wastes Nuclear Test Ban Ozone Layer Protection Tropical Timber 94 Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea

Geography — note landlocked; almost the precise center of Africa

Extreme points This is a list of the extreme points of the Central African Republic, the points that are farther north, south, east or west than any other location.

Northernmost point – unnamed location in the Aoukal river on the border with Chad, Vakaga Prefecture Easternmost point – unnamed location immediately East of the tripoint with South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo and south of the town of Ezo in South Sudan, Haut-Mbomou Prefecture Southernmost point – the tripoint with Cameroon and the Republic of Congo, Sangha-Mbaéré Prefecture Westernmost point – unnamed location on the border with Cameroon west of the town of Koundé in Central African Republic near Cameroon's Lokoti to Garoua Boulai road, Nana-Mambéré Prefecture

Notes

References

pt:República Centro-Africana#Geografia