| 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 |
|
