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.
More than 100 different languages and dialects are spoken in the country. Although many of these languages are imperfectly recorded, they may be divided into the following 12 groupings: (1) the Sara-Bongo-Bagirmi group, representing languages spoken by about one million people in southern and central Chad, (2) the Mundang-Tuburi-Mbum languages, which are spoken by several hundred thousand people in southwestern Chad, (3) the Chado-Hamitic group, which is related to the Hausa spoken in Nigeria, (4) the Kanembu-Zaghawa languages, spoken in the north, mostly by nomads, (5) the Maba group, spoken in the vicinity of Abéché and throughout the Ouaddaï region of eastern Chad, (6) the Tama languages, spoken in the Abéché, Adré, Goz Béïda, and Am Dam regions, (7) Daju, spoken in the area of Goz Béïda and Am Dam, (8) some languages of the Central African groups, particularly Sango (also the lingua franca of the Central African Republic), which are spoken in the south, (9) the Bua group, spoken in southern and central Chad, (10) the Somrai group, spoken in western and central Chad, and (11) Mimi and (12) Fur, both spoken in the extreme east.
The estimated population of Chad in 2001 was 8,707,078. The overall population density is 7 persons per sq km (18 per sq mi). Some 77 percent of the people live in rural areas, and most of the population is concentrated in the south. The population may be divided into two main groups: a Muslim population in the northern and eastern portions of the country and the non-Muslims of black African origin in the southern regions. The Muslim population includes both nomadic Arabs and sedentary non-Arab peoples. The largest group among the non-Muslims is the Sara tribe. Chad culture draws most heavily on the ethnic heritage of its black peoples, but Islamic and French influences are much in evidence.
Cave paintings indicate that Chad was a fertile and populous country in ancient times. By the 9th century ad, the kingdom of Kanem (see Kanem-Bornu Empire) was established in what is now western Chad, with its capital at Njimi, near Mao. Its rulers adopted Islam in the 11th century. Kanem was subjected to neighboring Bornu in the 16th century, and in the succeeding period the chief powers were the sultanates of Baguirmi and Wadai in the south. The export of slaves to North Africa was an important sector of the economy of these states.
The region of the eastern Sahara and Sudan from Fezzan, Bilma, and Chad in the west to the Nile valley in the east was well peopled in Neolithic times, as discovered sites attest. Probably typical of the earliest populations were the Negroid cave dwellers described by Herodotus as inhabiting the country south of Fezzan. The ethnographic history of the region is that of gradual modification of this basic stock by the continual infiltration of nomadic and increasingly Arabicized white African elements, entering from the north via Fezzan and Tibesti and, especially after the 14th century, from the Nile valley via Darfur. According to legend, the country around Lake Chad was originally occupied by the Negroid Sao. This vanished people is probably represented today by the Kotoko, in whose country, along the banks of the Logone and Chari, was unearthed in the 1950s a medieval culture notable for work in terra-cotta and bronze.
Tombalbaye’s successor, General Félix Malloum, was not able to end the civil strife. By 1979 the war had engulfed the south, Malloum was overthrown, and a northerner, Goukouni Oueddei, emerged as president. In 1980 Libya intervened to support Oueddei against rebels under former defense minister Hissène Habré, who was backed by Sudan and Egypt. After the Libyan forces withdrew late in 1981 at Oueddei’s request, Habré renewed his offensive, and his troops captured N’Djamena in June 1982. In 1983 the ousted Oueddei formed a rival government in the north. In the continued civil strife, Oueddei had the backing of Libyan troops, while France sent troops and supplies to keep Habré in power.
With its rich variety of peoples and languages, Chad possesses a valuable cultural heritage. The government has in the past encouraged cultural activities and institutions. There is a national museum of prehistoric and traditional artifacts. The Chad Cultural Centre seeks to awaken a conscious interest in national traditions. The lives of the people have been so dislocated by war and famine since the 1960s, however, that Chad is more impoverished than ever, and the main efforts of the government and people are now directed toward survival.
The largest group among the non-Muslims is the Sara tribe. Chad culture draws most heavily on the ethnic heritage of its black peoples, but Islamic and French influences are much in evidence.
With its rich variety of peoples and languages, Chad possesses a valuable cultural heritage. The government has in the past encouraged cultural activities and institutions. There is a national museum of prehistoric and traditional artifacts. The Chad Cultural Centre seeks to awaken a conscious interest in national traditions. The lives of the people have been so dislocated by war and famine since the 1960s, however, that Chad is more impoverished than ever, and the main efforts of the government and people are now directed toward survival.
In its physical structure Chad consists of a large basin bounded on the north, east, and south by mountains. Lake Chad, which represents all that remains of a much larger lake that covered much of the region in earlier geologic periods, is situated in the centre of the western frontier; it is 922 feet (281 metres) above sea level. The lowest altitude of the basin is the Djourab Depression, which is 573 feet above sea level.
Although only 3 percent of Chad’s land is cultivated, the agricultural resources are of primary importance. Indigenous crops, as well as those recently introduced, yield important food products. Extensive fish resources in Lake Chad and the Chari River are also of vital importance. Natron (sodium carbonate) is the only mineral extracted in significant quantities. Deposits of petroleum near Lake Chad and uranium in the north have been discovered but remain unexploited. Other untapped mineral resources include tungsten, tin, bauxite, gold, iron ore, and titanium.
The economy of Chad is based largely on subsistence agriculture; some 83 percent of the labor force is engaged in farming, animal husbandry, forestry, and fishing. In 1992 national budget figures showed revenues of $120 million and expenditures of $363 million.
The currency is the CFA franc, consisting of 100 centimes (615.70 CFA francs equal U.S.$1; 1999 average). An exchange rate of 50 CFA francs equal to 1 French franc was in force until 1994, when the CFA franc was devalued by 50 percent. In 1999 imports were $270 million, and exports were $277 million.
Chad's principal mineral resource is natron (a complex sodium carbonate), which is dug up in the Lake Chad and Borkou areas and is used as salt and in the preparation of soap and medicines. Annual production is a few thousand tons. There are indications of deposits of gold in the Ouaddaï area, uranium in the Ennedi Plateau area, uranium and wolframite in the Aozou Strip in the far north, and bauxite near Laï. Oil has been found north of Lake Chad.
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.
Primitive system
domestic: fair system of radiotelephone communication stations
international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat
The official languages of Chad are French and Arabic, but numerous African languages are spoken. Chadic languages, especially Hausa, are spoken in the Lake Chad area. Muslims make up about 50 percent of the population. About 33 percent of the people are Christians. Most of the remaining population adheres to traditional religions.
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 instability plagued Chad throughout the 1970s and 1980s. In 1989 a new constitution providing for an elected president and parliament came into effect. This constitution was suspended, and parliament dissolved, after an insurgent group, the Patriotic Salvation Movement, took power in December 1990. Chad was then ruled by an interim government consisting of a 33-member state council headed by a president. After internal pressure for elections mounted, a democratic constitution was approved by public referendum in March 1996. Under this constitution, the head of state is the president, who is popularly elected to a five-year term and restricted to two terms.
International organization Member
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 (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO.
In 2001 Chad had a literacy rate of 68 percent. School attendance in the 1996 school year was 680,909 primary and 99,789 secondary students. During this period there were 2,660 primary schools. In the mid-1990s about 3,000 people attended institutions of higher education, including the country’s one university, the University of Chad (founded in 1971).
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.)
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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