This Sunday, the Central African Republic (CAR) heads to the polls for a significant round of presidential, legislative, regional, and local elections. This vote marks a critical moment for a nation seeking to cement a period of relative calm after enduring years of devastating instability and conflict. Despite sitting on vast mineral riches, CAR remains one of the world's poorest countries and has made headlines by adopting bitcoin as legal tender. Here is a deeper look at five essential aspects of this central African nation.
A Nation Seeking Stability After Prolonged Conflict
Since gaining independence from France in 1960, the Central African Republic's history has been marred by coups, authoritarian rule, and civil war. The situation deteriorated sharply in the early 2010s when conflict erupted between the government and rebel factions based in the northern regions.
The fighting, particularly intense since 2013, has resulted in thousands of deaths and displaced nearly a quarter of the population. International forces, including French troops under a UN mandate from 2014, helped secure major cities. More recently, support came from the Russian mercenary group Wagner and Rwanda.
A 2019 peace agreement signed in Khartoum offered a path toward stability, creating a more hopeful environment for the December 28 elections. However, violence persists in the east near the border with Sudan and South Sudan, and in the northwest. The country was sheltering over 31,000 Sudanese refugees as of February. Additionally, the southeast sees regular ethnic clashes between Fulani herders and local farmers.
Economic Paralysis and Widespread Poverty
Decades of conflict have crippled CAR's economy, preventing it from benefiting from the substantial mineral wealth beneath its soil. The persistent instability, combined with crumbling infrastructure—characterized by terrible roads and unreliable water and power—makes the country deeply unattractive to foreign investors.
Other major hurdles include exorbitant fuel costs, a severe shortage of skilled labour, and an unreliable internet network. Despite possessing 15 million hectares of arable land, agricultural development is stalled, leaving the nation unable to feed itself adequately.
The World Food Programme reports that 31 percent of the population faces severe food insecurity, with over 68 percent living below the poverty line. On the UN Development Index, CAR ranks 191st out of 193 countries, ahead of only South Sudan and Somalia.
Exploited Mineral Riches and Foreign Interests
CAR's underground wealth—including timber, gold, lithium, and uranium—is exploited by numerous foreign companies from China, France, Rwanda, Russia, and the United States. Seeking a larger share of this revenue, the government reformed its mining permit process and code of practice. This allowed it to resume diamond exports in 2024.
France's Orano holds the sole permit for uranium mining. Meanwhile, Russia's Wagner group, which first deployed to CAR in 2017, secured two major gold mining concessions in the north and significant forestry rights, embedding itself deeply in the country's resource sector.
The Persistent Russian Footprint
CAR has become the last major bastion for the Wagner paramilitary group following its withdrawal from Mali. President Faustin-Archange Touadera invited them in 2017 to assist his army against rebels and to train his troops. Informed estimates place between 1,500 and 2,000 Wagner fighters in the country.
Following the death of Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin in 2023, Moscow has increased pressure on Bangui to transition from Wagner to the Africa Corps, Russia's new preferred private security vehicle on the continent.
The Bold Bitcoin Experiment
In a controversial move in 2022, the Central African Republic became only the second nation globally to adopt bitcoin as legal tender. Authorities pitched it as a tool for modernizing the economy and financing infrastructure development outside traditional systems.
However, central banks and financial experts have raised serious concerns. They warn of the difficulties in tracing transactions, the high risks of fraud and money laundering, and the potential for international criminal networks to gain control over the country's resources through the cryptocurrency.
As citizens prepare to vote, these five factors—the fragile peace, deep poverty, contested resources, foreign military presence, and financial gambles—define the immense challenges and cautious hopes facing the Central African Republic.
