Demographic profile
Central African Republic is the 127th most populous of the 238 countries and territories tracked on this site, home to about 0.06% of everyone alive. Within Central Africa, it ranks 5 of 8.
Each day brings roughly 233 births and 109 deaths, adding about 45,290 people over a year. At the current natural-increase rate of 0.9% annually, the population would double in roughly 78 years if the rate held. Real trajectories bend as fertility, mortality and migration shift, which is why the chart below shows both history and projection.
Among its first-level divisions, the largest by our modelled allocation is Mbomou, holding an estimated 24.7% of the national population. The full breakdown of all 16 states and regions is in the table below — regional figures outside Sudan are modelled estimates built on real region names, and are flagged as such.
Literacy stands near 85.0% and adult smoking prevalence around 17.0%, with life expectancy at about 44.0 years. Baselines come from UN World Population Prospects, the World Bank, WHO surveys, WorldPop and HDX; the counters project them forward in real time — the method, and every caveat, is documented on our data sources page.
Quick answers
What is the population of Central African Republic in 2026? Approximately 5,018,272 people (live projection; the counter above updates every second).
How fast is Central African Republic growing? About 0.9% per year — roughly 233 births and 109 deaths every day.
What share of the world lives in Central African Republic? Around 0.06% — ranked 127 worldwide by population.