Official name Republic of Chad, Fr République du Tchad
| Flag | Coat of arms |
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Motto: "Unité, Travail, Progrès" (French) "Unity, Work, Progress" |
|
| Anthem: La Tchadienne | |
|
Capital (largest city) |
N'Djamena 12°06′N 15°02′E |
|---|---|
| Official language | French, Arabic |
| Government | Republic |
| - President | Idriss Déby |
| - Prime Minister | Pascal Yoadimnadji |
| Independence | from France |
| - Water (%) | 1.9 |
| Population | |
| - 2005 estimate | 9,749,000 (82nd) |
| - 1993 census | 6,279,921 |
| - Density |
7.6/km² (212th) 19.7/sq mi |
| GDP (PPP) | 2005 estimate |
| - Total | $13.723 billion (128th) |
| - Per capita | $1,519 (155th) |
| HDI (2003) | 0.341 (low) (173rd) |
| Currency | CFA franc (XAF) |
| Time zone | WAT (UTC+1) |
| - Summer (DST) | not observed (UTC+1) |
| Internet TLD | .td |
| Calling code | +235 |
Chad (Arabic:تشاد , Tšad;
History
The area that is Chad today was once inhabited by politically disconnected groups and tribes.
In 1900, after the battle of Kousséri, Chad became a part of France's colonial system;
As a further complication, Libya,under Muammar al-Qaddafi, invaded Chad in 1980 to support the pro-Libyan Goukouni Oueddei against his former ally Hissène Habré and to promote an expansionist policy that sought to unify Libya and Chad politically.
There is a major risk that the Darfur conflict in Sudan will spead into Chad, with both governments accusing each other of supporting the other's rebels.
Politics
Politics of Chad takes place in a framework of a presidential republic, whereby the President of Chad is both head of state and head of government.
Administrative divisions
Since 2002, Chad has been divided into 18 regions, which are subdivided into 52 departments and further divided into 348 sub-prefectures.
Geography
At 495,722 mi² (1,284,000 km²), Chad is the world's 21st-largest country (after Peru).
Chad is a landlocked country in north central Africa, lying south of Libya.
Terrain
Chad's terrain is dominated by the low-lying Chad Basin (elevation about 250 m / 820 ft), which rises gradually to mountains and plateaus on the north, east, and south.
Economy
Chad's primarily agricultural economy is being boosted by major oilfield and pipeline developments that began in 2000.
A consortium, led by ExxonMobil, and with the participation of Chevron and Petronas, invested $3.7 billion to develop oil reserves estimated at 1 billion barrels (0.2 km³) in southern Chad, and Chad became an oil-producing country in 2003, with the completion of a pipeline (financed in part by the World Bank) linking its southern oilfields to terminals on the Atlantic coast via neighbouring Cameroon. However, in January 2006 the World Bank suspended its loan program to Chad, in reaction to the Chadian decision to "relax" laws governing the spending of oil money. In an attempt to address the problem, on July 14, 2006, representatives from the World Bank and the Government of Chad signed a memorandum of understanding under which the Government of Chad committed 70 percent of its budget spending to priority poverty reduction programs, and provided for long-term growth and opportunity by creating a stabilization fund.
Provided stability is maintained, the outlook for Chad's economy is now better than it has ever been, although government corruption and continued lack of pay to government-employed fonctionnaires still pose significant obstacles to the country's development.
On August 26, 2006, Chad ordered Chevron and Petronas, which combined handle over 60 percent of Chad's oil, out of the country, claiming that they refused to pay their taxes, in the amount of 250 billion CFA Francs (450 million U.S. dollars). A new Chadian national oil company was set to become a partner in the ExxonMobil-Chevron-Petronas consortium, with ExxonMobil's share at 40 percent, Petronas at 35 percent, Chevron at 25 percent and Chad at 12.5 percent (as well as taxes).
On September 12, Chevron has agreed to pay an additional tax in order to maintain its presence in Chad's oil industry. Through their long religious and commercial relationships with Sudan and Egypt, many of the peoples in Chad's eastern and central regions have become more or less Arabized, speaking Chadian Arabic (see below) (although typically not literary Arabic) and engaging in many other Arab cultural practices as well. Although the only official languages in Chad are Arabic and French, there are also more than 100 tribal languages spoken and a dialect of Arabic known as Chadian Arabic is the closest thing the country has to a national trade language.
The largest ethnic group in Chad, the Christian/animist Sara peoples living in the south, only makes up 20% of the population.
The CIA World Factbook estimates that Chad's population is 51% Muslim, 35% Christian, 7% adherents of traditional faiths;
See also: music of ChadList of writers from Chad, Day (language)
Miscellaneous topics
Communications in Chad Fédération du Scoutisme Tchadien Foreign relations of Chad Holidays in Chad Islam in Chad Languages of Chad Military of Chad Roman Catholicism in Chad Transport in ChadGovernment
(French) Official government siteNews
AllAfrica.com 'Chad news headline links News and links Chad Front Page from the United Nations' Integrated Regional Information Network (IRIN)Overviews
BBC News country profile—Chad Encyclopaedia Britannica's Chad country page CIA World Factbook—Chad US State Department—Chad includes background notes, country study, and major reports World Bank—Chad summary data, statistics and sources World Bank—Chad data profileDirectories
Columbia University Libraries—Chad directory category of the WWW-VL Open Directory Project—Chad directory category Stanford University—Africa South of the Sahara: Chad directory category Yahoo!—Chad directory categoryTourism
Chad travel guide from WikitravelOther
Ryan Spencer Reed - photojournalist's images of Sudan's displaced in Eastern Chad Chad Travel Blog - penetrating narrative of travel through Chad Chad : articles v • d • e Countries of Central AfricaBurundi • Central African Republic • Chad • Democratic Republic of the Congo • Rwanda
v • d • e Organization of the Islamic ConferenceAfghanistan • Albania • Algeria • Azerbaijan • Bahrain • Bangladesh • Benin • Burkina Faso • Brunei • Cameroon • Chad • Comoros • Côte d'Ivoire • Djibouti • Egypt • Gabon • Gambia • Guinea • Guinea-Bissau • Guyana • Indonesia • Iran • Iraq • Jordan • Kuwait • Kazakhstan • Kyrgyzstan • Lebanon • Libya • Maldives • Malaysia • Mali • Mauritania • Morocco • Mozambique • Niger • Nigeria • Oman • Pakistan • Palestine • Qatar • Saudi Arabia • Senegal • Sierra Leone • Somalia • Sudan • Surinam • Syria • Tajikistan • Turkey • Tunisia • Togo • Turkmenistan • Uganda • Uzbekistan • United Arab Emirates • Yemen
Observer countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina • Central African Republic • Russia • Thailand • Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
Observer Muslim organizations and communities: Moro National Liberation Front
Observer international organizations: Economic Cooperation Organization • Organization of African Unity • League of Arab States • Non-Aligned Movement • United Nations
v • d • e Member states of the African UnionAlgeria • Angola • Benin • Botswana • Burkina Faso • Burundi • Cameroon • Cape Verde • Central African Republic • Chad • Comoros • Democratic Republic of the Congo • Republic of the Congo • Côte d'Ivoire • Djibouti • Egypt • Eritrea • Ethiopia • Equatorial Guinea • Gabon • The Gambia • Ghana • Guinea • Guinea-Bissau • Kenya • Lesotho • Liberia • Libya • Madagascar • Malawi • Mali • Mauritania • Mauritius • Mozambique • Namibia • Niger • Nigeria • Rwanda • São Tomé and Príncipe • Senegal • Seychelles • Sierra Leone • Somalia • South Africa • Sudan • Swaziland • Tanzania • Togo • Tunisia • Uganda • Western Sahara (SADR) • Zambia • Zimbabwe
v • d • e Countries of AfricaSovereign states: Algeria • Angola • Benin • Botswana • Burkina Faso • Burundi • Cameroon • Cape Verde • Central African Republic • Chad • Democratic Republic of the Congo • Republic of the Congo • Comoros • Côte d'Ivoire • Djibouti • Egypt • Equatorial Guinea • Eritrea • Ethiopia • France • Gabon • The Gambia • Ghana • Guinea-Bissau • Guinea • Kenya • Lesotho • Liberia • Libya • Madagascar • Malawi • Mali • Mauritania • Mauritius • Morocco • Mozambique • Namibia • Niger • Nigeria • Portugal • Rwanda • Senegal • Seychelles • Sierra Leone • Somalia • South Africa • Spain • Sudan • Swaziland • São Tomé and Príncipe • Tanzania • Togo • Tunisia • Uganda • Yemen • Zambia • Zimbabwe
Dependencies: British Indian Ocean Territory (UK) • French Southern Territories (France) • Mayotte (France) • Réunion (France) • Saint Helena (UK)
Mostly in Europe.
v • d • e Francophonie Members: Belgium • Benin • Bulgaria • Burkina Faso • Burundi • Cambodia • Cameroon • Canada • New Brunswick • Quebec • Ontario • Cape Verde • Central African Republic • Chad • Comoros • Côte d'Ivoire • Cyprus • Democratic Republic of the Congo • Djibouti • Dominica • Egypt • Equatorial Guinea • France • French Guiana • Gabon • Ghana • Guadeloupe • Guinea • Guinea-Bissau • Haiti • Laos • Lebanon • Madagascar • Mali • Martinique • Mauritania • Mauritius • Morocco • Niger • Republic of the Congo • Romania • Rwanda • Saint Lucia • São Tomé and Príncipe • Senegal • Seychelles • Saint-Pierre and Miquelon • Switzerland • Togo • Tunisia • Ukraine • Vanuatu • VietnamObservers: Armenia • Austria • Croatia • Czech Republic • Georgia • Hungary • Lithuania • Mozambique • Poland • Serbia • Slovakia • Slovenia • Ukraine
v • d • e Chadic-speaking nationsCameroon • Central African Republic • Chad • Niger • Nigeria
v • d • e Niger-Congo-speaking nationsKordofanian: Sudan
Mande: The Gambia • Guinea • Guinea-Bissau • Mali • Mauritania • Senegal • Sierra Leone
Atlantic-Congo
Atlantic
Benin • Burkina Faso • Cameroon • Central African Republic • Chad • Côte d'Ivoire • The Gambia • Guinea • Guinea-Bissau • Liberia • Mali • Mauritania • Niger • Senegal • Sierra Leone • Sudan • Togo
Ijoid: Nigeria - Dogon: Mali
Volta-Congo
Senufo: Benin • Côte d'Ivoire • Mali
Gur: Benin • Burkina Faso • Côte d'Ivoire • Ghana • Mali • Nigeria • Togo
Adamawa-Ubangi: Cameroon • Central African Republic • Chad • Nigeria
Kru: Burkina Faso • Côte d'Ivoire • Liberia
Kwa: Benin • Côte d'Ivoire • Ghana • Nigeria • Togo
Benue-Congo
Bantu
Angola • Botswana • Burundi • Cameroon • Democratic Republic of the Congo • Republic of the Congo • Equatorial Guinea • Gabon • Kenya • Nigeria • Malawi • Mozambique • Namibia • Rwanda • Somalia • South Africa • Swaziland • Tanzania • Uganda • Zambia • Zimbabwe
Yoruba and Igbo: Nigeria
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