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Guide
Introduction
| |
| Background: |
Chad, part of France's
African holdings until 1960, endured three decades of ethnic warfare as
well as invasions by Libya before a semblance of peace was finally
restored in 1990. The government eventually suppressed or came to terms
with most political-military groups, settled a territorial dispute with
Libya on terms favorable to Chad, drafted a democratic constitution, and
held multiparty presidential and National Assembly elections in 1996 and
1997 respectively. In 1998 a new rebellion broke out in northern Chad,
which continued to escalate throughout 2000. Despite movement toward
democratic reform, power remains in the hands of a northern ethnic
oligarchy. |
| Location: |
Central Africa, south of
Libya |
| Geographic
coordinates: |
15 00 N, 19 00 E |
| Area: |
total: 1.284
million sq km
land: 1,259,200 sq km
water: 24,800 sq km |
| Area
- comparative: |
slightly more than three
times the size of California |
| Land
boundaries: |
total: 5,968 km
border countries: Cameroon 1,094 km, Central African
Republic 1,197 km, Libya 1,055 km, Niger 1,175 km, Nigeria 87 km, Sudan
1,360 km |
| Coastline: |
0 km (landlocked) |
| Maritime
claims: |
none (landlocked) |
| Climate: |
tropical in south, desert in
north |
| Terrain: |
broad, arid plains in center,
desert in north, mountains in northwest, lowlands in south |
| Elevation
extremes: |
lowest point:
Djourab Depression 160 m
highest point: Emi Koussi 3,415 m |
| Natural
resources: |
petroleum (unexploited but
exploration under way), uranium, natron, kaolin, fish (Lake Chad) |
| Land
use: |
arable land: 3%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 36%
forests and woodland: 26%
other: 35% (1993 est.) |
| Irrigated
land: |
140 sq km (1993 est.) |
| Natural
hazards: |
hot, dry, dusty harmattan
winds occur in north; periodic droughts; locust plagues |
| Environment
- current issues: |
inadequate supplies of
potable water; improper waste disposal in rural areas contributes to
soil and water pollution; desertification |
| Environment
- international agreements: |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species,
Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping |
| Geography
- note: |
landlocked; Lake Chad is the
most significant water body in the Sahel |
| Population: |
8,707,078 (July 2001 est.) |
| Age
structure: |
0-14 years:
47.73% (male 2,091,724; female 2,064,514)
15-64 years: 49.46% (male 2,035,099; female 2,271,389)
65 years and over: 2.81% (male 101,579; female 142,773)
(2001 est.) |
| Population
growth rate: |
3.29% (2001 est.) |
| Birth
rate: |
48.28 births/1,000 population
(2001 est.) |
| Death
rate: |
15.4 deaths/1,000 population
(2001 est.) |
| Net
migration rate: |
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population
(2001 est.) |
| Sex
ratio: |
at birth: 1.04
male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.9 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female
total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
| Infant
mortality rate: |
95.06 deaths/1,000 live
births (2001 est.) |
| Life
expectancy at birth: |
total population:
50.88 years
male: 48.86 years
female: 52.98 years (2001 est.) |
| Total
fertility rate: |
6.56 children born/woman
(2001 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- adult prevalence rate: |
2.69% (1999 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- people living with HIV/AIDS: |
92,000 (1999 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- deaths: |
10,000 (1999 est.) |
| Nationality: |
noun: Chadian(s)
adjective: Chadian |
| Ethnic
groups: |
Muslims, commonly referred to
as "northerners" or "gorane" (Arabs, Toubou,
Hadjerai, Fulbe, Kotoko, Kanembou, Baguirmi, Boulala, Zaghawa, and Maba);
non-Muslims, commonly referred to as "southerners" (Sara,
Ngambaye, Mbaye, Goulaye, Moundang, Moussei, Massa) including
nonindigenous 150,000 (of whom 1,000 are French)
note: ethnicity and regional background more commonly used
to identify Chadians than religious affiliation |
| Religions: |
Muslim 50%, Christian 25%,
indigenous beliefs (mostly animism) 25% |
| Languages: |
French (official), Arabic
(official), Sara and Sango (in south), more than 100 different languages
and dialects |
| Literacy: |
definition: age
15 and over can read and write French or Arabic
total population: 48.1%
male: 62.1%
female: 34.7% (1995 est.) |
| Country
name: |
conventional long form:
Republic of Chad
conventional short form: Chad
local long form: Republique du Tchad
local short form: Tchad |
| Government
type: |
republic |
| Administrative
divisions: |
14 prefectures (prefectures,
singular - prefecture); Batha, Biltine, Borkou-Ennedi-Tibesti,
Chari-Baguirmi, Guera, Kanem, Lac, Logone Occidental, Logone Oriental,
Mayo-Kebbi, Moyen-Chari, Ouaddai, Salamat, Tandjile |
| Independence: |
11 August 1960 (from France) |
| National
holiday: |
Independence Day, 11 August
(1960) |
| Constitution: |
passed by referendum 31 March
1995 |
| Legal
system: |
based on French civil law
system and Chadian customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction |
| Suffrage: |
18 years of age; universal |
| Executive
branch: |
chief of state:
President Lt. Gen. Idriss DEBY (since 4 December 1990)
head of government: Prime Minister Nagoum YAMASSOUM (since
13 December 1999)
cabinet: Council of State, members appointed by the
president on the recommendation of the prime minister
elections: president elected by popular vote to serve
five-year term; if no candidate receives at least 50% of the total vote,
the two candidates receiving the most votes must stand for a second
round of voting; last held 20 May 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); prime
minister appointed by the president
election results: Lt. Gen. Idriss DEBY elected president;
percent of vote - Lt. Gen. Idriss DEBY 63%, Ngarlegy YORONGAR 16%, Saleh
KEBZABO 7%
note: government coalition - MPS, UNDR, and URD |
| Legislative
branch: |
unicameral National Assembly
(125 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms);
replaces the Higher Transitional Council or the Conseil Superieur de
Transition
elections: National Assembly - last held in two rounds on 5
January and 23 February 1997 (next to be held in late 2001); in the
first round of voting some candidates won clear victories by receiving
50% or more of the vote; where that did not happen, the two highest
scoring candidates stood for a second round of voting
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by
party - MPS 65, URD 29, UNDR 15, RDP 3, others 13 |
| Judicial
branch: |
Supreme Court; Court of
Appeal; Criminal Courts; Magistrate Courts |
| Political
parties and leaders: |
National Union for
Development and Renewal or UNDR [Saleh KEBZABO]; Patriotic Salvation
Movement or MPS [Mahamat Saleh AHMAT, chairman] (originally in
opposition but now the party in power and the party of the president);
Rally for Democracy and Progress or RDP [Lal Mahamat CHOUA]; Union for
Renewal and Democracy or URD [Gen. Wadal Abdelkader KAMOUGUE] |
| Political
pressure groups and leaders: |
NA |
| International
organization participation: |
ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, CEEAC,
CEMAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC,
IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
| Diplomatic
representation in the US: |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Hassaballah Abdelhadi Ahmat SOUBIANE
chancery: 2002 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20009
telephone: [1] (202) 462-4009
FAX: [1] (202) 265-1937 |
| Diplomatic
representation from the US: |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Christopher E. GOLDTHWAIT
embassy: Avenue Felix Eboue, N'Djamena
mailing address: B. P. 413, N'Djamena
telephone: [235] (51) 70-09, (51) 90-52, (51) 92-33
FAX: [235] (51) 56-54 |
| Flag
description: |
three equal vertical bands of
blue (hoist side), yellow, and red; similar to the flag of Romania; also
similar to the flags of Andorra and Moldova, both of which have a
national coat of arms centered in the yellow band; design was based on
the flag of France |
| Economy
- overview: |
Landlocked Chad's economic
development suffers from its geographic remoteness, drought, lack of
infrastructure, and political turmoil. About 85% of the population
depends on agriculture, including the herding of livestock. Of Africa's
Francophone countries, Chad benefited least from the 50% devaluation of
their currencies in January 1994. Financial aid from the World Bank, the
African Development Fund, and other sources is directed largely at the
improvement of agriculture, especially livestock production. The World
Bank's decision to back the Doba oil field development and the
Chad-Cameroon pipeline will add Chad to the group of already booming
West African oil exporters. However, the rank and file may not benefit
much from the oil development projects. |
| GDP: |
purchasing power parity -
$8.1 billion (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- real growth rate: |
4% (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- per capita: |
purchasing power parity -
$1,000 (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- composition by sector: |
agriculture: 40%
industry: 14%
services: 46% (1998) |
| Population
below poverty line: |
64% (1995 est.) |
| Household
income or consumption by percentage share: |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
| Inflation
rate (consumer prices): |
3% (2000 est.) |
| Labor
force - by occupation: |
agriculture 85% (subsistence
farming, herding, and fishing) |
| Budget: |
revenues: $198
million
expenditures: $218 million, including capital expenditures
of $146 million (1998 est.) |
| Industries: |
cotton textiles, meatpacking,
beer brewing, natron (sodium carbonate), soap, cigarettes, construction
materials |
| Industrial
production growth rate: |
5% (1995) |
| Electricity
- production: |
90 million kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- production by source: |
fossil fuel:
100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1999) |
| Electricity
- consumption: |
83.7 million kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- exports: |
0 kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- imports: |
0 kWh (1999) |
| Agriculture
- products: |
cotton, sorghum, millet,
peanuts, rice, potatoes, manioc (tapioca); cattle, sheep, goats, camels |
| Exports: |
$172 million (f.o.b., 2000
est.) |
| Exports
- commodities: |
cotton, cattle, textiles |
| Exports
- partners: |
Portugal 38%, Germany 12%,
Thailand, Costa Rica, South Africa, France (1999) |
| Imports: |
$223 million (f.o.b., 2000
est.) |
| Imports
- commodities: |
machinery and transportation
equipment, industrial goods, petroleum products, foodstuffs, textiles |
| Imports
- partners: |
France 40%, Cameroon 13%,
Nigeria 12%, India 5% (1999) |
| Debt
- external: |
$1 billion (1999 est.) |
| Economic
aid - recipient: |
$238.3 million (1995); note -
$125 million committed by Taiwan (August 1997); $30 million committed by
African Development Bank |
| Currency: |
Communaute Financiere
Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the
Central African States |
| Exchange
rates: |
Communaute Financiere
Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 699.21 (January 2001), 711.98
(2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997), 511.55 (1996); note
- from 1 January 1999, the XAF is pegged to the euro at a rate of
655.957 XAF per euro |
| Fiscal
year: |
calendar year |
| Telephones
- main lines in use: |
7,000 (1997) |
| Telephones
- mobile cellular: |
NA |
| Telephone
system: |
general assessment:
primitive system
domestic: fair system of radiotelephone communication
stations
international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat
(Atlantic Ocean) |
| Radio
broadcast stations: |
AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 5
(1998) |
| Radios: |
1.67 million (1997) |
| Television
broadcast stations: |
1 (1997) |
| Televisions: |
10,000 (1997) |
| Internet
country code: |
.td |
| Internet
Service Providers (ISPs): |
1 (2000) |
| Internet
users: |
1,000 (2000) |
| Highways: |
total: 33,400 km
paved: 267 km
unpaved: 33,133 km (1996) |
| Airports
- with paved runways: |
total: 7
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
| Airports
- with unpaved runways: |
total: 43
1,524 to 2,437 m: 12
914 to 1,523 m: 20
under 914 m: 11 (2000 est.) |
| Military
branches: |
Armed Forces (includes Ground
Force, Air Force, and Gendarmerie), Republican Guard, Rapid Intervention
Force, Police, Rural and Nomadic Guard (GNNT) |
| Military
manpower - military age: |
20 years of age |
| Military
manpower - availability: |
males age 15-49:
1,814,578 (2001 est.) |
| Military
manpower - fit for military service: |
males age 15-49:
949,997 (2001 est.) |
| Military
manpower - reaching military age annually: |
males: 82,003
(2001 est.) |
| Military
expenditures - dollar figure: |
$39 million (FY96) |
| Military
expenditures - percent of GDP: |
3.5% (FY96) |
| Disputes
- international: |
delimitation of international
boundaries in the vicinity of Lake Chad, the lack of which led to border
incidents in the past, has been completed and awaits ratification by
Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria |
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