If there is a place in the world where life is truly difficult and dangerous, then this is the Central African Republic, or simply the Central African Republic. This poor country has been torn apart for decades due to the confrontation of people hungry for power, while the vast majority of the local population teeters on the brink of survival. One can only hope that over time the situation here will change for the better.
Baguettes, i.e. bread, are extremely popular here. This is the legacy of the French who once colonized these lands. Dozens of years have passed since then, the French have long gone, but the French baguettes have remained. Weapons like a Kalashnikov assault rifle or grenades in the Central African Republic can be bought in almost any market. It is being sold completely openly. The entire Central African Republic has one single international airport. And it is regularly closed due to riots or threats of terrorist attacks. Almost none of the locals have mobile phones. In the Central African Republic, in order to call somewhere, they often use a paid call service – there are many stalls (guarded, of course) in which you will be allowed to call for a fee. In the CARs, only one hotel was awarded 5 stars according to international classification.
Almost all roads in the CARs are devoid of asphalt. Why, even rare asphalt areas are usually covered with sand, because no one is going to clean them. In traditional Central African huts, a fire is made for cooking directly on the clay floor, and there is no chimney in the building, and the smoke goes out simply through the cracks in the walls. It is in the Central African Republic (including) that the pygmies live, the lowest stunted nation in the world. The official currency of the CAR is African franc, which is accepted as a means of payment in six countries of the continent. There are no streets outside the capital and several other cities in the Central African Republic. All buildings stand where they wanted to build, without any system. A bank or credit card in the Central African Republic is a useless piece of plastic. They will hardly accept it here for payment.
About 20% of the CAR population profess Islam, the rest are mostly Christians. Between Muslim and Christian communities, bloody conflicts often erupt here. In the CARs, diamonds and other valuable minerals are mined. At the same time, the republic remains one of the poorest countries in the world, where most of the population lives far below the poverty line. More than 50% of the population of the Central African Republic are descendants of Sudanese and Nigerians who once migrated to these lands. The average life expectancy in the CARs does not exceed 50 years. This is one of the lowest rates in the world. For three years, this country, ruled by the dictator Bokassa, was called the Central African Empire, since Bokassa appropriated the imperial title to itself. The city of Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic, was founded by the French colonialists as a fortress.
The population density in the Central African Republic is very low – about 6 people per square kilometer. Two languages, French and Sango, have state status here, but local residents practically do not speak French. But here it is full of local tribal dialects. The CAR is bordered by six other countries, and in all of them the political situation is unstable. The bonfire of eternal military conflicts constantly warms itself up.
