Central African Republic vs Somalia
Somalia and Central African Republic are almost exactly the same size.
Central African RepublicSomaliaCentral African Republic moved onto Somalia · Equal-area projection
0.98×
Central African Republic is 0.98× the area of Somalia. Put the other way, Somalia is 1.02× the size of Central African Republic.
 Central African Republic |  Somalia | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaAbout the same area | 622,984 km²#44 of 194 | 637,657 km²#43 of 194 |
| Coastline | Landlocked | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 6 | 2 |
| People | ||
| PopulationSomalia: 3.56× the population | 5,513,282#119 of 194 · 2025 | 19,654,739#67 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensitySomalia: 3.48× the density | 8.8 / km²#182 of 194 | 31 / km²#149 of 194 |
| Urban populationSomalia: 1.24× the urban share | 45%#140 of 192 · 2025 | 55%#123 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateAbout the same births per woman | 5.95 per woman#4 of 192 · 2024 | 6.01 per woman#2 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthCentral African Republic: 0.03 points higher | +3.37%#7 of 192 · 2025 | +3.34%#8 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateCentral African Republic: 1.09× the birth rate | 46.2 per 1,000#1 of 192 · 2024 | 42.3 per 1,000#3 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateSomalia: 1.03× the death rate | 9.4 per 1,000#48 of 192 · 2024 | 9.7 per 1,000#41 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Central African Republic: 2.1 points higher | 48.7%#1 of 192 · 2025 | 46.6%#2 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Somalia: 0.4 points higher | 2.2%#187 of 192 · 2025 | 2.6%#180 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationSomalia: 3.3 per 1,000 higher | −2.7 per 1,000#156 of 192 · 2025 | +0.6 per 1,000#55 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadCentral African Republic: 2.69× the refugees for its size | 122.29 per 1,000#5 of 190 · 2025 | 45.39 per 1,000#8 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancySomalia: 1.3 years longer | 57.7 years#189 of 192 · 2024 | 59.0 years#187 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalitySomalia: 1.11× the infant mortality | 58.8 per 1,000 births#8 of 191 · 2024 | 65.4 per 1,000 births#4 of 191 · 2024 |
| Doctors | 0.07 per 1,000#174 of 178 · 2023 | — |
| Human Development IndexCentral African Republic: 0.010 higher | 0.414#188 of 190 · 2023 | 0.404#189 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaSomalia: 1.14× the income per person | $560#182 of 185 · 2025 | $640#179 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPSomalia: 4.24× the economy | $3.07B2025 | $13B2025 |
| Income group | Low income | Low income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)Somalia: 1.25× the output per person | $1,314#183 of 184 · 2025 | $1,643#182 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthCentral African Republic: 1.5 points higher | +4.5%#55 of 187 · 2025 | +3.0%#102 of 187 · 2025 |
| Inflation | +1.0%#141 of 176 · 2025 | — |
| UnemploymentSomalia: 3.0× the unemployment | 6.3%#68 of 178 · 2025 | 18.9%#8 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme poverty | 71.6%#7 of 149 · 2021 | — |
| Income inequality (Gini) | 43.0#24 of 149 · 2021 | — |
| Jobs in agricultureCentral African Republic: 36.1 points higher | 66.1% of jobs#7 of 178 · 2025 | 30.0% of jobs#60 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industrySomalia: 4.4 points higher | 13.4% of jobs#146 of 178 · 2025 | 17.8% of jobs#108 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesSomalia: 31.7 points higher | 20.5% of jobs#175 of 178 · 2025 | 52.2% of jobs#109 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentSomalia: 5.0 points higher | 1.4% of GDP#112 of 184 · 2025 | 6.4% of GDP#29 of 184 · 2025 |
| ExportsSomalia: 9.9 points higher | 19.3% of GDP#135 of 168 · 2025 | 29.2% of GDP#106 of 168 · 2025 |
| Military spendingCentral African Republic: 1.51× the military spending | 2.3% of GDP#46 of 155 · 2025 | 1.5% of GDP#85 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersSomalia: 2.02× the share online | 14%#181 of 184 · 2024 | 28%#169 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsSomalia: 1.38× the mobile subscriptions | 39 per 100#187 of 191 · 2022 | 54 per 100#179 of 191 · 2023 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaCentral African Republic: 4.58× the forest share | 36% of land#81 of 192 · 2023 | 8% of land#159 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personCentral African Republic: 1.2× the CO₂ per person | 0.06 t a year#180 of 185 · 2024 | 0.05 t a year#182 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energySomalia: 4.5 points higher | 90.9%#5 of 190 · 2022 | 95.4%#2 of 190 · 2022 |
| Access to electricitySomalia: 36.2 points higher | 18.2%#189 of 192 · 2024 | 54.4%#171 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Central African Republic: 1.8× the air pollution | 33.3 µg/m³#37 of 191 · 2023 | 18.5 µg/m³#95 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landCentral African Republic: 14.8 points higher | 14.8% of land#119 of 191 · 2025 | 0.0% of land#188 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landCentral African Republic: 1.1 points higher | 2.9% of land#150 of 190 · 2024 | 1.8% of land#165 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressSomalia: 81.7× the water stress | 0.3%#168 of 176 · 2022 | 24.5%#61 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationCentral African Republic: 4.76× the rain and snow | 1,343 mm#67 of 180 · 2022 | 282 mm#155 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityCentral African Republic: 0.48 higher | −1.69#176 of 193 · 2025 | −2.17#190 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionCentral African Republic: 0.37 higher | −1.32#176 of 193 · 2025 | −1.69#192 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rate | 20.1 per 100,000#16 of 146 · 2016 | — |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Presidential republic | Parliamentary republicfederal parliamentary republic |
| Capital | Bangui | Mogadishu |
| Currency | Central African CFA franc (XAF) | Somali shilling (SOS) |
| Official languages | French, Sango | Arabic, Somali |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC+1 | UTC+3 |
| Calling code | +236 | +252 |
| Region | Middle Africa, Africa | Eastern Africa, Africa |
Area: Wikidata. Population, income, health, economy, environment and governance: World Bank. Human Development Index: UNDP. Government: CIA World Factbook. Ranks among the 194 independent states. All sources
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Central African Republic sits at about 7° N and is stretched to 1.01× its true area; Somalia at 5° N is stretched to 1.01×. Here the two are distorted about the same amount, so Mercator gets this pair roughly right. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Central African Republic bigger than Somalia?
- No. Central African Republic and Somalia are almost exactly the same size. Central African Republic covers 622,984 km² and Somalia covers 637,657 km².
- How many times does Central African Republic fit into Somalia?
- About 1.0 times: Somalia has 1.02× the area of Central African Republic.
- Why do Central African Republic and Somalia look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Central African Republic is drawn about 1.01× its true area there and Somalia about 1.01×. For this pair the distortion is similar, so Mercator gets the comparison roughly right. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Central African Republic or Somalia?
- Somalia: 19,654,739 people against 5,513,282. Density: Central African Republic 8.8 per km², Somalia 31 per km².
- Which is richer, Central African Republic or Somalia?
- By gross national income per person, Somalia: $640 against $560 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 1.14× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Central African Republic or Somalia?
- In Somalia: life expectancy at birth is 59.0 years, against 57.7 — 1.3 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Central African Republic and Somalia have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Central African Republic: presidential republic; Somalia: parliamentary republic.