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Updates: 

There is a new book out with a more comprehensive description of the historic territorial subdivisions of the Central African Republic than I can hope to cover here. It is R�pertoire de l'Administration territoriale de la R�publique Centrafricaine , by Juan Fandos-Rius and Jacques Serre (in French). M. Fandos-Rius also maintains a website  with much historical and geographical information about the C.A.R. I have used some of it to improve the change history.

Newsletter II-2, an update to the ISO 3166-2 standard, is dated 2010-06-30. It changes the status of Bangui from capital to commune, and the status of Nana-Gr�bizi and Sangha-Mba�r� from prefectures to economic prefectures.

FIPS Publication Change Notice No. 9, affecting FIPS PUB 10-4, was issued on 2004-10-01. It shows the changes to the prefecture names which are listed in the Change history section under ~1992.

Country overview: 

Short name	CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
ISO code	CF
FIPS code	CT
Languages	French (fr), Sango
Time zone	+1
Capital	Bangui

 

In 1900, the territory of Ubangi-Shari, part of French Kongo, corresponded most closely to the present-day Central African Republic. On 1910-01-15, the Kongo became French Equatorial Africa. In 1911, France ceded part of this area to German-owned Kamerun, but during World War I (1916), the land was restored to its previous status. For part of the colonial period, Chad was administered jointly with Ubangi-Shari. In one week in August, 1960, all of the territories of French Equatorial Africa gained complete independence. The Central African Republic's turn came on 1960-08-13, and it took its name then. During the reign of Jean-Bedel Bokassa (1976-12-04 to 1979-09-21), the country was called the Central African Empire.

Other names of country: 

1. Danish: Den Centralafrikanske Republik
2. Dutch: Centrafrikaanse Republiek, Centraal-Afrikaanse Republiek (formal)
3. English: Central African Empire (obsolete), Ubangi-Shari (obsolete)
4. Finnish: Keski-Afrikan tasavalta
5. French: R�publique f centrafricaine, Oubangui-Chari (obsolete)
6. German: Zentralafrikanische Republik f, Zentralafrika n
7. Icelandic: Mi�-Afr�kul��veldi�, Mi�-Afr�ka (informal)
8. Italian: Centrafrica m, Repubblica f Centrafricana
9. Norwegian: Den sentralafrikanske republikk (Bokm�l), Den sentralafrikanske republikken (Nynorsk)
10. Portuguese: Rep�blica f Centro-Africana
11. Russian: ЦАР (abbr), Центральноафриканская Республика
12. Spanish: Rep�blica f Centroafricana, Imperio Centroafricano (obsolete), Ubangui-Chari (obsolete)
13. Swedish: Centralafrikanska republiken
14. Turkish: Orta Afrika Cumhuriyeti

Origin of name: 

Descriptive

Primary subdivisions: 

Central African Republic is divided into fourteen pr�fectures, two pr�fectures �conomiques (economic prefectures), and one commune autonome (autonomous commune).

Division	HASC	ISO	FIPS	Lic	Population	Area(km.�)	Area(mi.�)	Capital
Bamingui-Bangoran	CF.BB	BB	CT01	BB	38,437	58,200	22,471	Nd�l�
Bangui	CF.BG	BGF	CT18		531,763	67	26	Bangui
Basse-Kotto	CF.BK	BK	CT02	BK	203,887	17,604	6,797	Mobaye
Haute-Kotto	CF.HK	HK	CT03	HK	69,514	86,650	33,456	Bria
Haut-Mbomou	CF.HM	HM	CT05	HM	38,184	55,530	21,440	Obo
K�mo	CF.KG	KG	CT06	KG	98,881	17,204	6,643	Sibut
Lobaye	CF.LB	LB	CT07	LB	214,137	19,235	7,427	Mba�ki
Mamb�r�-Kad��	CF.HS	HS	CT04	HS	289,688	30,203	11,661	Berb�rati
Mbomou	CF.MB	MB	CT08	MB	132,740	61,150	23,610	Bangassou
Nana-Gr�bizi	CF.KB	KB	CT15	KB	87,341	19,996	7,720	Kaga Bandoro
Nana-Mamb�r�	CF.NM	NM	CT09	NM	184,594	26,600	10,270	Bouar
Ombella-M'Poko	CF.MP	MP	CT17	MP	304,025	31,835	12,292	Bimbo
Ouaka	CF.UK	UK	CT11	UK	224,076	49,900	19,266	Bambari
Ouham	CF.AC	AC	CT12	AC	280,772	50,250	19,402	Bossangoa
Ouham-Pend�	CF.OP	OP	CT13	OP	325,567	32,100	12,394	Bozoum
Sangha-Mba�r�	CF.SE	SE	CT16	SE	89,871	19,412	7,495	Nola
Vakaga	CF.VK	VK	CT14	VK	37,595	46,500	17,954	Birao
17 divisions					3,151,072	622,436	240,324
Division: These divisions are pr�fectures, except for Bangui, which is a commune autonome (autonomous commune), and Nana-Gr�bizi and Sangha-Mba�r�, which are pr�fectures �conomiques (economic prefectures). HASC: Hierarchical administrative subdivision codes. ISO: Codes from ISO 3166-2. The code for Bangui is the same as the IATA airport code. FIPS: Codes from FIPS PUB 10-4. Lic: License plate prefix, according to source [2]. Population: 2003-12-08 census

Further subdivisions:

See the Sub-prefectures of the Central African Republic page.

The prefectures are subdivided into sous-pr�fectures (sub-prefectures). There were 36 sub-prefectures in 1965, 51 in 1984, and 71 in 2000. (A report updated to March 2004 says there were 66 sub-prefectures; I have yet to investigate this assertion.) At a still lower level, there are about 175 communes.

Territorial extent: 

The UN LOCODE page  for Central African Republic lists locations in the country, some of them with their latitudes and longitudes, some with their ISO 3166-2 codes for their subdivisions. This information can be put together to approximate the territorial extent of subdivisions.

Origins of names: 

1. The prefectures are named for the major rivers of the area: Ubangui, Nana, Mamb�r�, Kade�, Lobaye, M'Poko, Ombella, Sangha, K�mo, Ouaka, Kotto, and M'Bomou all flow into the Congo; Pend�, Ouham, Gribingui, Bamingui, Bangoran, and Vakaga all flow into the Chari, and thus to Lake Chad. Basse (Lower) means downstream, and Haut or Haute (Upper) means upstream.
2. Bangui: in the Bobangui language, it means "the rapids." Bangui is located at the first great rapid of the Ubangi River.

Change history: 

1. 1946-10-16: Ubangi-Shari organized as a territory, divided into regions of Haute-Sangha (capital Berb�rati), K�mo-Gribingui (Fort-Sibut), Lobaye (M'Ba�ki), M'Bomou (Bangassou), Ombella-M'Poko (Bangui), Ouaka-Kotto (Bambari), Ouham (Bossangoa), and Ouham-Pend� (Bozoum), and autonomous districts of Birao (Birao) and N'D�l� (N'D�l�).
2. 1957: Name of Obo district changed to Zand� and its status changed to autonomous district.
3. 1960-12-12: Name of Zand� autonomous district changed to Obo-Z�mio.
4. 1961-01-23: Status of regions changed to prefectures. At this time, the Central African Republic was divided into the prefectures of Basse-Kotto (capital Mobaye), Bouar-Baboua (Bouar), Haute-Kotto (Bria), Haute-Sangha (Berb�rati), K�mo-Gribingui (Fort-Sibut), Lobaye (M'Ba�ki), M'Bomou (Bangassou), Obo-Z�mio (Obo), Ombella-M'Poko (Bangui), Ouaka (Bambari), Ouham (Bossangoa), and Ouham-Pend� (Bozoum), and the autonomous sub-prefectures of Birao (Birao) and N'D�l� (N'D�l�).
5. 1961-12-22: The names of two prefecture capitals were changed from Fort-Crampel to Crampel and from Fort-Sibut to Sibut by Law No. 61/285.
6. 1964-01-03: Bangui split from Ombella-M'Poko and became an autonomous city, a status on par with a prefecture, by Law No 63.445.
7. 1964-11-20: Capital of Ombella-M'Poko moved from Bangui to Bimbo. Status of Birao and N'D�l� changed from sous-pr�fectures autonomes (autonomous sub-prefectures) to prefectures. Name of N'D�l� changed to Bamingui-Bangoran. Name of Obo-Zemio changed to Haut-Mbomou. Name of Bouar-Baboua changed to Nana-Mamb�r�. Name of Birao prefecture changed to Vakaga.
8. 1967-05-12: Capital of Ombella-M'Poko moved from Bimbo to Boali by Decree No. 67/172.
9. 1972-09-29: "Code Officiel G�ographique" created by decree no. 72/322. This was a four-level hierarchical code for the administrative subdivisions of the Central African Republic. The first digit represented a "province �conomique". According to the decree, "the Central African Republic may be divided into six economic provinces". My interpretation is that these provinces were not part of the administrative structure, but just convenient groupings. The first two digits represented a prefecture; the first three, a sub-prefecture; and a five-digit code represented a commune. The decree speaks of "assimilating Bangui to a prefecture", meaning that it is really a commune but is administratively on a par with the prefectures. The table below shows the prefectures with their official geographic codes as of this date.

Prefecture	CG	Population	Area(km.�)	Capital
Bamingui-Bangoran	41	28,000	58,200	N'Dele
Bangui	11			Bangui
Basse-Kotto	61	183,000	17,600	Mobaye
Haute-Kotto	51	44,000	86,650	Bria
Haute-Sangha	31	235,000	44,360	Berb�rati
Haut-M'Bomou	62	54,000	55,530	Obo
K�mo-Gribingui	42	134,000	37,210	Sibut
Lobaye	21	150,000	24,500	M'Baiki
M'Bomou	63	127,000	60,900	Bangassou
Nana-Mamb�r�	32	199,000	26,600	Bouar
Ombella-M'Poko	22	397,000	32,447	Boali
Ouaka	52	191,000	49,780	Bambari
Ouham	43	263,000	50,250	Bassangoa
Ouham-Pend�	33	232,000	32,100	Bozoum
Vakaga	53	18,000	46,450	Birao
15 prefectures		2,256,000	622,577
CG: Code Officiel G�ographique. First digit represents province: 1 = Bangui, 2 = Sud, 3 = Ouest, 4 = Centre, 5 = Nord, 6 = Est Population: 1968 estimate. Source for population and area: Encyclop�dia Britannica, 1984 edition. Figures for Bangui included in Ombella-M'Poko.

1. 1974-08-06: K�mo-Gribingui prefecture split into K�mo and Gribingui-�conomique (the economic prefecture of Gribingui). Name of the capital of Gribingui-�conomique changed from Crampel to Kaga Bandoro.
2. ~1974: Sangha-�conomique (the economic prefecture of Sangha) formed by taking about 14,150 km.� of Haute-Sangha, plus 5,250 km.� of Lobaye.
3. ~1982: Capital of Ombella-M'Poko moved from Boali back to Bimbo.
4. ~1982: Name of Sangha[-�conomique] changed to Sangha-Mba�r�.
5. ~1992: Name of Gribingui[-�conomique] changed to Nana-Gr�bizi. Name of Haute-Sangha changed to Mamb�r�-Kad��. Name of K�mo-Gribingui changed to K�mo.

Other names of subdivisions: 

1. Bamingui-Bangoran: N'D�l�, Nd�l� (obsolete)
2. Haut-Mbomou: Haut-M'bomou (variant); Obo-Zemio (obsolete)
3. K�mo: K�mo-Gribingui, K�mo-Ibingui (obsolete)
4. Mamb�r�-Kad��: Haute-Sangha (obsolete); Mamb�r� Kad�i (variant)
5. Mbomou: M'Bomou (variant)
6. Nana-Gr�bizi: Gribingui, Gribingui-�conomique, Ibingui (obsolete); Nana Gribizi (variant)
7. Nana-Mamb�r�: Bouar-Baboua, Buar-Baboua (obsolete); Nana Namb�r� (variant)
8. Ombella-M'Poko: Ombella-Mpoko, Ombelle Mpoko (variant)
9. Sangha-Mba�r�: Sangha, Sangha-�conomique (obsolete); Sangha M'ba�r� (variant)
10. Vakaga: Birao (obsolete)

Population history:

Division	1960	1988-12-08	2003-12-08
Bamingui-Bangoran	19,000	27,446	38,437
Bangui		427,435	531,763
Basse-Kotto	113,000	179,676	203,887
Haute-Kotto	19,000	47,865	69,514
Haut-Mbomou	22,000	27,113	38,184
K�mo	134,000	74,844	98,881
Lobaye	72,000	156,329	214,137
Mamb�r�-Kad��	83,000	207,650	289,688
Mbomou	82,000	111,179	132,740
Nana-Gr�bizi		76,531	87,341
Nana-Mamb�r�	92,000	172,754	184,594
Ombella-M'Poko	130,000	170,584	304,025
Ouaka	128,000	192,811	224,076
Ouham	182,000	243,097	280,772
Ouham-Pend�	144,000	255,091	325,567
Sangha-Mba�r�		61,093	89,871
Vakaga	12,000	32,118	37,595
Total	1,232,000	2,463,616	3,151,072

 

1960 data are from an "enqu�te d�mographique" (demographic investigation).

Sources: 

1. [1] R�partition de la population par sexe, selon la pr�fecture en 1988 et en 2003 . Division des Statistiques, des �tudes �conomiques et Sociales of the Central African Republic (retrieved 2005-11-10).
2. [2] Where's that vehicle come from?  (retrieved 2003-11-12).
3. [3] Decree of 2004-10-01, defining electoral districts (http://www.banguinet.net/index.php?action=article&id_article=80422&voir_commentaire=oui, dead link, retrieved 2006-08-12).
4. [4] Africa Data Dissemination Service: map of administrative boundaries (http://edcw2ks21.cr.usgs.gov/ftp2/vector/admn/ctadmn3.gif, dead link, retrieved 2004-04-20).
5. [5] "Atlas de la R�publique Centrafricaine", Pierre Vennetier et al., Les �ditions Jeune Afrique, Paris, 1984.
6. [6] "Provinces and Provincial Capitals of the World, 2nd Ed.", Morris Fisher. Scarecrow Press, Metuchen, N.J., 1985.
7. [7] Fifth United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names. Vol. II. New York: United Nations, 1991.