Prefectures of the Central African Republic

Prefectures and the commune of the Central African Republic Préfectures et la commune de la République centrafricaine (French)
Category	Unitary state
Location	Central African Republic
Number	16 Preectures 1 Commune
Populations	(Prefectures only): 43,229 (Bamingui-Bangoran) – 430,506 (Ouham-Pendé)
Areas	(Prefectures only): 17,210 km2 (6,643 sq mi) (Kémo) – 86,700 km2 (33,460 sq mi) (Haute-Kotto)
Government	Prefecture government, National government
Subdivisions	Sub-Prefecture

The Central African Republic is administratively divided into 16 prefectures (French: préfectures, Sango: kodoro kômanda-kôta) and the capital city of Bangui, which is an autonomous commune (French: commune autonome, Sango: kôta-gbata).

Each prefecture is governed by a local assembly called General Council (Conseil Général), presided by a Prefect (Préfet). The prefectures are further subdivided into 71 sub-prefectures.

Prefectures are all named after major rivers passing through their areas:

• Ubangi, Nana, Mambéré, Kadeï, Lobaye, M'Poko, Ombella, Sangha, Kémo, Ouaka, Kotto, and Mbomou all flow into the Congo River.
• Pendé, Ouham, Gribingui, Bamingui, Bangoran, and Vakaga all flow into the Chari River, and then into Lake Chad.

(Basse ("Lower") means downstream, and Haut or Haute ("Upper") means upstream.)

No.	Prefecture	ISO code	Capital	Population (2003 census)	Area (km2)
N/A	Bangui (AC)	CF-BGF	Bangui	622,771	67
1.	Mbomou	CF-MB	Bangassou	164,008	61,150
2.	Basse-Kotto	CF-BK	Mobaye	249,150	17,604
3.	Kémo	CF-KG	Sibut	118,420	17,204
4.	Nana-Mambéré	CF-NM	Bouar	233,666	26,600
5.	Ouham	CF-AC	Bossangoa	369,220	50,250
6.	Sangha-Mbaéré	CF-SE	Nola	101,074	19,412
7.	Lobaye	CF-LB	Mbaïki	246,875	19,235
8.	Ombella-M'Poko	CF-MP	Bimbo	356,725	31,835
9.	Ouham-Pendé	CF-OP	Bozoum	430,506	32,100
10.	Haut-Mbomou	CF-HM	Obo	57,602	55,530
11.	Ouaka	CF-UK	Bambari	276,710	49,900
12.	Haute-Kotto	CF-HK	Bria	90,316	86,650
13.	Bamingui-Bangoran	CF-BB	Ndélé	43,229	58,200
14.	Vakaga	CF-VK	Birao	52,255	46,500
15.	Nana-Grébizi	CF-KB	Kaga Bandoro	117,816	19,996
16.	Mambéré-Kadéï	CF-HS	Berbérati	364,795	30,203

See also

• ISO 3166-2:CF

Sources

• Central African Republic