The Central African Republic (CAR) has been unstable since its independence from France in 1960 and is one of the least-developed countries in the world.
It has endured several coups and a notorious period under a self-declared emperor, Jean-Bedel Bokassa, who headed a brutal regime.
The Bokassa era ended in 1979, when he was overthrown in a coup led by David Dacko and backed by French commandos based in the country.
AT-A-GLANCE
After just two years in office Mr Dacko was toppled by Andre Kolingba, who eventually allowed multi-party presidential elections and was duly rejected in the first round.
Mr Kolingba's successor, Ange-Felix Patasse, had to contend with serious unrest which culminated in riots and looting in 1997 by unpaid soldiers.
When in that year the French pulled out, there were fears of a power vacuum, so Paris financed a group of French-speaking African countries to create a peacekeeping force. That force was then transformed into the UN Mission to the Central African Republic, or Minurca.
In 1999 Mr Patasse beat nine other candidates to become president again, but there were allegations of electoral fraud. He was overthrown in a coup in 2003 and went into exile in Togo.
Illegal weapons proliferate across the CAR, the legacy of years of unrest. Armed groups are active in the volatile north. The unrest has displaced tens of thousands of Central Africans; many of them have crossed the border into Chad.
Some progress towards ending the conflict was made in 2008, when peace talks led to an agreement committing two of the main rebel groups to disarm. The process culminated with the creation of a national unity government incorporating two rebel leaders in early 2009.
The CAR possesses considerable agricultural, water and mineral resources. But corruption is rife, according to the IMF, and affects the timber and diamond industries.
The country is endowed with virgin rainforests and has some of the highest densities of lowland gorillas and forest elephants in Africa.
President: Francois Bozize
Former coup leader Francois Bozize took more than 64% of the vote in the second round of presidential elections in May 2005, ending two years of military rule. His rival was Martin Ziguele, a former prime minister.
The newly-elected president called for national unity. He had pledged in his campaign to bring security to the coup-prone country.
In 2003 Mr Bozize ousted the unpopular Ange-Felix Patasse - who was out of the country at the time - and declared himself president. He promised to return the CAR to democratic rule and ran as an independent in the 2005 poll.
Mr Bozize is no stranger to politics, or to coups. He stood for president in the republic's first democratic elections in 1993, but lost to Mr Patasse.
He led an unsuccessful coup in 1983 against military ruler Andre Kolingba and was suspected of being involved in a coup attempt against President Patasse in 2001, which was thwarted with the help of Libyan troops.
Private newspapers criticise government policies and alleged corruption, but have a limited impact because of their cost and the high level of illiteracy.
In the capital, UN-sponsored Radio Ndeke Luka ("bird of luck") provides balanced output, and rebroadcasts international news programmes.
Other radio and TV stations are run by the state-run Radiodiffusion-Television Centrafricaine and provide little coverage of the political opposition.
A media law passed in 2004 abolished prison terms for press offences.
BBC World Service (90.2 FM) and Radio France Internationale are available via local relays in Bangui.
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