Vakaga is one of the 20

prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin word, "''praefectura"'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain inter ...

s of the

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to Central African Republic–Chad border, the north, Sudan to Central African Republic–Sudan border, the northeast, South Sudan to Central ...

. Its capital is Birao. It covers an area of 46,500 km and has a population of 52,255 (2003 census). In 2024, official estimates suggest the population reached 89,189 inhabitants. The extremely low population density, 1.1 people/km, is a result of the capture of the majority of the region's inhabitants by slave-traders from the

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

in the second half of the nineteenth century. Vakaga is known for its

oil reserves An oil is any chemical polarity, nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobe, hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilicity, lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable ...

Notable people

Michel Djotodia Michel Am-Nondokro Djotodia (born c. 1949) is a Central African politician who was President of the Central African Republic from 2013 to 2014. He was the first Muslim to hold that office in the predominantly Christian country. Djotodia was a ...

, 5th President of the Central African Republic

References

{{CentralAfricanRepublic-geo-stub Vakaga Prefectures of the Central African Republic