Central African Republic: In 2025, gold trade drives exports to 313 million USD

The Central African Republic, a landlocked country whose economy largely relies on extractive resources (diamonds, gold, timber), has seen its mining sector sustainably weakened by security instability and the partial suspension of the Kimberley Process on diamonds for over a decade. In this context, gold is gradually emerging as an alternative resource for the country's export revenues. According to Financial Afrik, Central African exports reached 313 million US dollars in 2025, driven by the gold trade. As the detailed content of this information is reserved for subscribers, specifics on methodology, the breakdown between formal and artisanal production, and comparisons with previous fiscal years are not accessible at this stage. If confirmed, this figure would mark a notable development for Central African external finances, upon which the State's capacity to finance public spending and the stability of its euro-pegged currency partly depend. Several questions remain open: what share of this production passes through official, traceable channels, and to what extent has the global rise in gold prices observed in recent years inflated export values without an equivalent increase in extracted volumes. These elements warrant further verification.