West and Central Africa — Central African Republic Situation Monthly Dashboard 20 (May 2024)

The Central African Republic (CAR), which has experienced continuous volatility for the past two decades, has been riddled by a crisis which ignited in 2012 with a violent takeover of power and has developed into a complex protracted state of permanent insecurity and fragility which has spilled over into neighbouring countries. The crisis is characterized by power struggles amongst elites, the absence of state institutions and public investment, religious and ethnic tensions and disputes for the control of key resources. Moreover, the crisis in Sudan, which started in April 2023, is affecting the eastern part of the CAR witnessing arrivals of displaced populations.

As of May 2024, 4,029,176 individuals were affected, including 518,075 internally displaced persons (13% of the displaced population), 2,196,858 returnees former IDPs (54%), 528,521 returnees from abroad (13%) and 785,722 refugees (20%). In the CAR, the largest displaced population consists of former IDP returnees. Refugees from the CAR are primarily hosted by Cameroon (351,905 individuals, or 47% of the refugees), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) (211,457 individuals, or 28% of the refugees) and Chad (134,485 individuals, or 18% of the refugees). Nonetheless, 15,150 refugees from the Central African Republic are still living in Sudan (2% of the refugees). Since the beginning of the Sudan crisis, a total of 41,795 individuals have entered the CAR. Indeed, the country is home for refugees from neighbouring countries, hosting a total of 36,251 refugees coming from Sudan (25,490 individuals), the DRC (6,447 individuals), South Soudan (2,813 individuals) and Chad (1,501 individuals).