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_#_Member of: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, CCC, CEEAC, ECA, FAO, FZ,
G-77, GATT, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, ILO, IMF, INTELSAT, INTERPOL,
IOC, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, UDEAC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO,
UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO

_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Jean-Pierre SOHAHONG-KOMBET;
Chancery at 1618 22nd Street NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202)
483-7800 or 7801;

US--Ambassador Daniel H. SIMPSON; Embassy at Avenue du President
David Dacko, Bangui (mailing address is B. P. 924, Bangui);
telephone 61-02-00 or 61-25-78, 61-43-33

_#_Flag: four equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, green, and
yellow with a vertical red band in center; there is a yellow five-pointed
star on the hoist side of the blue band

_*_Economy
_#_Overview: The Central African Republic (CAR) had a per capita
income of roughly $440 in 1990. Subsistence agriculture, including
forestry, is the backbone of the economy, with over 70% of the population
living in the countryside. In 1988 the agricultural sector generated
about 40% of GDP. Agricultural products accounted for about 60% of export
earnings and the diamond industry for 30%. Important constraints to
economic development include the CAR's landlocked position, a poor
transportation infrastructure, and a weak human resource base.
Multilateral and bilateral development assistance plays a major role in
providing capital for new investment.

_#_GDP: $1.3 billion, per capita $440; real growth rate 2.0%
(1990 est.)

_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): - 4.2% (1988 est.)

_#_Unemployment rate: 30% in Bangui (1988 est.)

_#_Budget: revenues $132 million; current expenditures $305 million,
including capital expenditures of $NA million (1989 est.)

_#_Exports: $148 million (f.o.b., 1989 est.);

commodities--diamonds, cotton, coffee, timber, tobacco;

partners--France, Belgium, Italy, Japan, US

_#_Imports: $239 million (c.i.f., 1989 est.);

commodities--food, textiles, petroleum products, machinery,
electrical equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, pharmaceuticals,
consumer goods, industrial products;

partners--France, other EC, Japan, Algeria, Yugoslavia

_#_External debt: $671 million (December 1989)

_#_Industrial production: 0.8% (1988); accounts for 12% of GDP

_#_Electricity: 35,000 kW capacity; 84 million kWh produced,
30 kWh per capita (1989)

_#_Industries: diamond mining, sawmills, breweries, textiles,
footwear, assembl