Bangui, city, capital of the Central African Republic, in the southwestern part of the country. The city is situated on the western bank of the Ubangi River, the nation's main trade artery, across from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC, formerly Zaire). It is the republic's chief port and its leading administrative, economic, and educational center. Cotton, coffee, lumber, and diamonds are major items of commerce. Manufactures include processed peanuts, palm products, textiles, leather goods, forest products, and soap. The University of Bangui (1970) is here. Bangui developed around a military post established by the French in 1889-90. It was the administrative center for the French territory of Ubangi-Chari and continued as the national capital when the country achieved independence as the Central African Republic in 1960. The city was the scene of considerable unrest in the late 1970s, when Jean Bédel Bokassa headed, as Bokassa I, the short-lived Central African Empire. Population (1988) 451,690.
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