Bangui

Bangui functions as the sole concentrated node in one of Earth's most fragmented states—a capital city where President Touadéra maintains power through Russian Wagner mercenaries and, as of February 2024, Africa's first Russian military base capable of housing 10,000 soldiers. The arrangement exemplifies extractive symbiosis: Wagner provides security and controls mining regions in exchange for privileged access to gold, diamonds, and timber. This dependency deepened as Russia demanded CAR transition from Wagner to the state-run Africa Corps and begin cash payments (billions of CFA francs) rather than mineral concessions—terms the government has resisted, preferring the original barter relationship. A 2023 constitutional referendum removed presidential term limits, further concentrating power. Of 6.1 million people, 2.8 million need humanitarian assistance; 750,000 are refugees abroad and 451,000 internally displaced. Economic growth reached just 2.3% in 2024, driven by forestry resilience and exports of gold, timber, and diamonds—resources flowing out through the chaos. The November 2024 lifting of the Kimberley Process diamond embargo across all regions theoretically expands legal export capacity, but insecurity in mining regions limits realization. Bangui's 2025 budget aims to reduce government spending from 20% to 16.5% of GDP, reflecting fiscal constraints in a capital that governs primarily through security partnerships rather than institutional capacity.