The current population of the Central African Republic is 5,701,055 people, as of 2026 based on the adjusted UN estimation. The latest officially reported number was 5,330,690 in 2024.
Population facts:
- Since 2006, population has increased from 4.38M people to 5.7M (30.2% growth in 20 years).
- The Central African Republic accounts for 0.07% of the world's population.
- The Central African Republic is ranked 117/197 by population and was ranked 118th in 2006.
- For the last 20 years, the Central African Republic has had an average growth rate of 1.51% per year.
- The Central African Republic is projected to reach 18.8M people in 2100.
The Central African Republic population clock
CAR
|
World
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Current population |
5701055
|
8280917972
|
| Population rank | 117/197 | N/A |
| Percent of world population | 0.07% | N/A |
| One net population change |
2.95 minutes
|
0.41 seconds
|
| One birth every |
2.2 minutes
|
0.24 seconds
|
| One death every |
10.8 minutes
|
0.52 seconds
|
| Daily growth/decline | +488 | +213,016 |
| Annual growth/decline | +178,269 | +77,751,015 |
| Annual growth/decline rate | +3.46% | +0.96% |
| Population growth rate rank | 9/197 | N/A |
| One migration net change every |
34.2 minutes
|
N/A |
| Annual migration change | -15,357 | N/A |
The Central African Republic population history and growth rate by year chart
| Year | Population | Growth rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 1,702,346 | - |
| 1961 | 1,734,580 | 1.89% |
| 1962 | 1,768,115 | 1.93% |
| 1963 | 1,803,063 | 1.98% |
| 1964 | 1,839,583 | 2.03% |
| 1965 | 1,877,854 | 2.08% |
| 1966 | 1,918,082 | 2.14% |
| 1967 | 1,960,444 | 2.21% |
| 1968 | 2,005,100 | 2.28% |
| 1969 | 2,051,515 | 2.31% |
| 1970 | 2,097,505 | 2.24% |
| 1971 | 2,141,450 | 2.1% |
| 1972 | 2,183,769 | 1.98% |
| 1973 | 2,226,008 | 1.93% |
| 1974 | 2,269,338 | 1.95% |
| 1975 | 2,313,916 | 1.96% |
| 1976 | 2,348,566 | 1.5% |
| 1977 | 2,372,930 | 1.04% |
| 1978 | 2,397,961 | 1.05% |
| 1979 | 2,423,794 | 1.08% |
| 1980 | 2,450,535 | 1.1% |
| 1981 | 2,478,402 | 1.14% |
| 1982 | 2,507,375 | 1.17% |
| 1983 | 2,537,399 | 1.2% |
| 1984 | 2,568,610 | 1.23% |
| 1985 | 2,600,932 | 1.26% |
| 1986 | 2,634,258 | 1.28% |
| 1987 | 2,669,155 | 1.32% |
| 1988 | 2,713,965 | 1.68% |
| 1989 | 2,783,970 | 2.58% |
| 1990 | 2,871,910 | 3.16% |
| 1991 | 2,963,191 | 3.18% |
| 1992 | 3,058,831 | 3.23% |
| 1993 | 3,157,839 | 3.24% |
| 1994 | 3,257,954 | 3.17% |
| 1995 | 3,348,052 | 2.77% |
| 1996 | 3,435,965 | 2.63% |
| 1997 | 3,531,700 | 2.79% |
| 1998 | 3,628,827 | 2.75% |
| 1999 | 3,729,450 | 2.77% |
| 2000 | 3,833,416 | 2.79% |
| 2001 | 3,919,487 | 2.25% |
| 2002 | 4,006,077 | 2.21% |
| 2003 | 4,103,086 | 2.42% |
| 2004 | 4,192,826 | 2.19% |
| 2005 | 4,288,810 | 2.29% |
| 2006 | 4,377,579 | 2.07% |
| 2007 | 4,462,770 | 1.95% |
| 2008 | 4,558,984 | 2.16% |
| 2009 | 4,529,047 | -0.66% |
| 2010 | 4,492,995 | -0.8% |
| 2011 | 4,565,021 | 1.6% |
| 2012 | 4,610,848 | 1% |
| 2013 | 4,642,419 | 0.68% |
| 2014 | 4,623,182 | -0.41% |
| 2015 | 4,629,320 | 0.13% |
| 2016 | 4,713,663 | 1.82% |
| 2017 | 4,793,511 | 1.69% |
| 2018 | 4,878,657 | 1.78% |
| 2019 | 4,944,703 | 1.35% |
| 2020 | 5,026,628 | 1.66% |
| 2021 | 5,112,100 | 1.7% |
| 2022 | 5,098,039 | -0.28% |
| 2023 | 5,152,421 | 1.07% |
| 2024 | 5,330,690 | 3.46% |
| 2025 | 5,513,285 | 3.43% |
| 2026 | 5,698,988 | 3.37% |
| 2027 | 5,888,126 | 3.32% |
| 2028 | 6,082,465 | 3.3% |
| 2029 | 6,279,729 | 3.24% |
| 2030 | 6,478,251 | 3.16% |
| 2031 | 6,680,052 | 3.12% |
| 2032 | 6,884,143 | 3.06% |
| 2033 | 7,089,444 | 2.98% |
| 2034 | 7,296,249 | 2.92% |
| 2035 | 7,502,585 | 2.83% |
| 2036 | 7,707,565 | 2.73% |
| 2037 | 7,911,635 | 2.65% |
| 2038 | 8,115,865 | 2.58% |
| 2039 | 8,321,550 | 2.53% |
| 2040 | 8,526,454 | 2.46% |
| 2041 | 8,729,074 | 2.38% |
| 2042 | 8,931,165 | 2.32% |
| 2043 | 9,134,993 | 2.28% |
| 2044 | 9,341,761 | 2.26% |
| 2045 | 9,550,893 | 2.24% |
| 2046 | 9,761,447 | 2.2% |
| 2047 | 9,972,759 | 2.16% |
| 2048 | 10,186,021 | 2.14% |
| 2049 | 10,400,624 | 2.11% |
| 2050 | 10,616,749 | 2.08% |
The Central African Republic has a population of 5.7M as of 2026, compared to 4.71M in 2016, 4.38M in 2006, and 3.44M in 1996.
Over the past 10 years, the population has had a trend to increase by an average of 2.09% per year. The Central African Republic is ranked 75th out of 197 countries by a 10-year average growth rate.
The UN's World Population Prospects forecasts that with changing growth rate trends in 20 years (in 2046) the Central African Republic will have 9,761,447 people (71.2% growth) with a rank change from 117th to 98th.
By the year 2100, the Central African Republic's population is projected to grow by 229.4% to 18.8M people.
Compare countries by 7 more topics
Central African Republic population statistics
|
CAR
|
World
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy | 58.2 years | 73.8 years |
| Average age | 19.8 years | 33.8 years |
| Median age | 15.4 years | 31.6 years |
| Male:Female ratio | 48:52 | 50.3:49.7 |
| Fertility rate | 6.01 births per woman | 2.2 births per woman |
| Population density | 22.2 ppl/mi² | 141.6 ppl/mi² |
Population map with other countries
Population
Growth rate visualization in other countries
Growth rate
Relevant pages:
CAR topic pages:
Population comparisons
