Central African Republic is 1.13× the size of France

Central African Republic covers about 618,000 km² (239,000 mi²) and France about 548,000 km² (212,000 mi²). Below, both outlines are drawn at one scale and centred on each other.

618,000km²Central African Republic
548,000km²France

500 km

Central African Republic
France

Outlines show main territory. France also has about 88,900 km² of overseas territory. These are not drawn, and not counted in the comparison.

What fits

France is 89% of the size of Central African Republic.
Central African Republic is larger by 70,100 km² (27,100 mi²), which is 13% of the area of France.
Measured in Belgiums: Central African Republic is about 20.1, France about 17.9.

How they differ

Central African Republic is larger, but France has the larger population: 68.6 million against 5.2 million, 13.3× as many people.
Per square kilometre that is 108 in France against 8.3 in Central African Republic: France is 12.9× as densely populated.
Their centres are about 4,760 km apart.
On a standard web map France looks larger than Central African Republic: Central African Republic at 7°N is drawn about 1.0× too large and France at 47°N about 2.1×, so the map shows France as 1.85× the size of Central African Republic, when Central African Republic is 1.13× the size of France.
Together Central African Republic and France cover 1,166,000 km², close to the size of Niger (1,181,000 km², 1.3% bigger).
The gap between them, 70,100 km², is about the size of Georgia (69,600 km²).
At France's density, Central African Republic would have 66.6 million people (it has 5.2 million). At Central African Republic's density, France would have 5.3 million (it has 68.6 million).
France's centre is 39.9° of latitude, about 4,440 km, farther north than Central African Republic's.

Who wins on what

Measure	Winner	By
Larger area	Central African Republic	1.13×
More people	France	13.3×
More crowded	France	12.9×
Farther north	France	39.9° of latitude
Stretched more on a web map	France	2.1× against 1.0×

Both against the same yardsticks

Yardstick	Central African Republic	France
Belgium 30,700 km²	20.1×	17.9×
United Kingdom 244,000 km²	2.53×	2.25×
Germany 358,000 km²	1.73×	1.53×
Japan 374,000 km²	1.65×	1.47×
India 3,151,000 km²	0.20×	0.17×
Brazil 8,473,000 km²	0.07×	0.06×
United States 9,447,000 km²	0.07×	0.06×
Russia 16,980,000 km²	0.04×	0.03×

Each figure is the place's area divided by the yardstick's.

Side by side

	Central African Republic	France
Area, main territory	618,000 km²239,000 mi²	548,000 km²212,000 mi²
Area with overseas territory	618,000 km²	637,000 km²
Population	5.2 millionWikidata, 2023	68.6 millionWikidata, 2025
Density	8.3 per km²	108 per km²
Official area	623,000 km²Wikidata	644,000 km²Wikidata
Capital	Bangui	Paris
Latitude range	2°N to 11°N	41°N to 51°N
Continent	Africa	Europe

Population: Wikidata 2023 and Wikidata 2025, covering each whole country. Official figures: Wikidata (CC0).

Wikidata's official figure of 623,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 618,000 km², to within 2%.
Wikidata's official figure of 644,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 637,000 km², to within 2%.

Similar in size to Central African Republic

Similar in size to France

More comparisons

Sources and method

Outlines: Natural Earth, 1:10m Admin 0 - Countries, public domain
Boundary: De facto, as drawn by Natural Earth. Main territory: the largest landmass and every part within 1,000 km of it.
Area: Measured on the WGS84 ellipsoid from the full-detail outlines, shown rounded. Comparisons use main-territory area.
Drawing: Each outline is projected with an equal-area projection centred on its own centroid, so areas stay true and the two can be laid over each other.
Data built: 2026-11-11

Full method