1995 Edition

Area

total area: 1.284 million sq km land area: 1,259,200 sq km comparative area: slightly more than three times the size of California

Climate

tropical in south, desert in north

Coastline

0 km (landlocked)

Environment

current issues: inadequate supplies of potable water; improper waste disposal in rural areas contributes to soil and water pollution; desertification natural hazards: hot, dry, dusty harmattan winds occur in north; periodic droughts; locust plagues international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping

International disputes

the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled in February 1994 that the 100,000 sq km Aozou Strip between Chad and Libya belongs to Chad; Libya has withdrawn some of its forces in response to the ICJ ruling, but still maintains an airfield in the disputed area; demarcation of international boundaries in Lake Chad, the lack of which has led to border incidents in the past, is completed and awaiting ratification by Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria

Irrigated land

100 sq km (1989 est.)

Land boundaries

total 5,968 km, 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

Land use

arable land: 2% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 36% forest and woodland: 11% other: 51%

Location

Central Africa, south of Libya

Map references

Africa

Maritime claims

none; landlocked

Natural resources

petroleum (unexploited but exploration under way), uranium, natron, kaolin, fish (Lake Chad)

Note

landlocked; Lake Chad is the most significant water body in the Sahel

Terrain

broad, arid plains in center, desert in north, mountains in northwest, lowlands in south

Age structure

0-14 years: 44% (female 1,198,619; male 1,267,470) 15-64 years: 54% (female 1,563,678; male 1,456,481) 65 years and over: 2% (female 71,971; male 28,286) (July 1995 est.)

Birth rate

42.05 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death rate

20.26 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Ethnic divisions

north and center: Muslims (Arabs, Toubou, Hadjerai, Fulbe, Kotoko, Kanembou, Baguirmi, Boulala, Zaghawa, and Maba) south: non-Muslims (Sara, Ngambaye, Mbaye, Goulaye, Moundang, Moussei, Massa) nonindigenous 150,000, of whom 1,000 are French

Infant mortality rate

129.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Labor force

NA by occupation: agriculture 85% (engaged in unpaid subsistence farming, herding, and fishing)

Languages

French (official), Arabic (official), Sara (in south), Sango (in south), more than 100 different languages and dialects are spoken

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 41.19 years male: 40.04 years female: 42.38 years (1995 est.)

Literacy

age 15 and over has the ability to read and write in French and Arabic (1990 est.) total population: 30% male: 42% female: 18%

Nationality

noun: Chadian(s) adjective: Chadian

Net migration rate

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Population

5,586,505 (July 1995 est.)

Population growth rate

2.18% (1995 est.)

Religions

Muslim 50%, Christian 25%, indigenous beliefs, animism 25%

Total fertility rate

5.33 children born/woman (1995 est.)

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

Capital

N'Djamena

Constitution

22 December 1989 (suspended 3 December 1990); Provisional National Charter 1 March 1991 is in effect (note - the constitutional commission, which was drafting a new constitution to submit to transitional parliament for ratification in April 1994, failed to do so but expects to submit a new draft to the parliament before the end of April 1995)

Digraph

CD

Diplomatic representation in US

chief of mission: Ambassador Mahamat Saleh AHMAT chancery: 2002 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 462-4009

Executive branch

chief of state: President Lt. Gen. Idriss DEBY, since 4 December 1990 (after seizing power on 3 December 1990 - transitional government's mandate expires April 1996) head of government: Prime Minister Djimasta KOIBLA (since 9 April 1995) cabinet: Council of State; appointed by the president on recommendation of the prime minister

FAX

[1] (202) 265-1937

[235] (51) 33 72

Flag

three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, and red; similar to the flag of Romania; also similar to the flag of Andorra, which has a national coat of arms featuring a quartered shield centered in the yellow band; design was based on the flag of France

Independence

11 August 1960 (from France)

Judicial branch

Court of Appeal

Legal system

based on French civil law system and Chadian customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Legislative branch

unicameral

Member of

ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, CEEAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-77, GATT, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, UDEAC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Names

conventional long form: Republic of Chad conventional short form: Chad local long form: Republique du Tchad local short form: Tchad

National Consultative Council (Conceil National Consultatif)

elections, formerly scheduled for April 1995, were postponed by mutual agreement of the parties concerned until some time prior to April 1996; elections last held 8 July 1990; the National Consultative Council was disbanded 3 December 1990 and replaced by the Provisional Council of the Republic having 30 members appointed by President DEBY on 8 March 1991; this, in turn, was replaced by a 57-member Higher Transitional Council (Conseil Superieur de Transition) elected by a specially convened Sovereign National Conference on 6 April 1993

National holiday

Independence Day 11 August (1960)

Other political or pressure groups

NA

Political parties and leaders

Patriotic Salvation Movement (MPS), former dissident group, Idriss DEBY, chairman note: President DEBY, who promised political pluralism, a new constitution, and free elections by April 1994, subsequently twice postponed these initiatives, first until April 1995 and again until sometime before April 1996; there are numerous dissident groups and at least 45 opposition political parties

Suffrage

universal at age NA

Type

republic

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission: Ambassador Laurence E. POPE II embassy: Avenue Felix Eboue, N'Djamena mailing address: B. P. 413, N'Djamena telephone: [235] (51) 62 18, (51) 40 09, (51) 47 59

Agriculture

accounts for about 45% of GDP; largely subsistence farming; cotton most important cash crop; food crops include sorghum, millet, peanuts, rice, potatoes, manioc; livestock - cattle, sheep, goats, camels; self-sufficient in food in years of adequate rainfall

Budget

revenues: $120 million expenditures: $363 million, including capital expenditures of $104 million (1992 est.)

Currency

1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes

Economic aid

recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $198 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $1.5 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $28 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $80 million

Electricity

capacity: 40,000 kW production: 80 million kWh consumption per capita: 13 kWh (1993)

Exchange rates

Communaute Financiere Africaine Francs (CFAF) per US$1 - 529.43 (January 1995), 555.20 (1994), 283.16 (1993), 264.69 (1992), 282.11 (1991), 272.26 (1990) note: beginning 12 January 1994 the CFA franc was devalued to CFAF 100 per French franc from CFAF 50 at which it had been fixed since 1948

Exports

$190 million (f.o.b., 1992) commodities: cotton 48%, cattle 35%, textiles 5%, fish partners: France, Nigeria, Cameroon

External debt

$492 million (December 1990 est.)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Imports

$261 million (f.o.b., 1992) commodities: machinery and transportation equipment 39%, industrial goods 20%, petroleum products 13%, foodstuffs 9%; note - excludes military equipment partners: US, France, Nigeria, Cameroon

Industrial production

growth rate 2.7% (1992 est.); accounts for nearly 15% of GDP

Industries

cotton textile mills, slaughterhouses, brewery, natron (sodium carbonate), soap, cigarettes

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

-4.1% (1992)

National product

GDP - purchasing power parity - $2.8 billion (1993 est.)

National product per capita

$530 (1993 est.)

National product real growth rate

3.5% (1993 est.)

Overview

Climate, geographic remoteness, poor resource endowment, and lack of infrastructure make Chad one of the most underdeveloped countries in the world. Its economy is hobbled by political turmoil, conflict with Libya, drought, and food shortages. Consequently the economy has shown little progress in recent years in overcoming a severe setback brought on by civil war in the late 1980s. More than 80% of the work force is involved in subsistence farming and fishing. Cotton is the major cash crop, accounting for at least half of exports. Chad is highly dependent on foreign aid, especially food credits, given chronic shortages in several regions. Of all the Francophone countries in Africa, Chad has benefited the least from the 50% devaluation of their currencies on 12 January 1994. Despite an increase in external financial aid and favorable price increases for cotton - the primary source of foreign exchange - the corrupt and enfeebled government bureaucracy continues to dampen economic enterprise by neglecting payments to domestic suppliers and public sector salaries. Oil production in the Lake Chad area remains a distant prospect and the subsistence-driven economy probably will continue to limp along in the near term.

Unemployment rate

NA%

Radio

broadcast stations: AM 6, FM 1, shortwave 0 radios: NA

Telephone system

NA telephones; primitive system local: NA intercity: fair system of radio communication stations for intercity links international: 1 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) earth station

Television

broadcast stations: NA; note - limited TV service; many facilties are inoperative televisions: NA

Airports

total: 66 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 23 with unpaved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 17 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 21

Highways

total: 31,322 km paved: bituminous 263 km unpaved: gravel, crushed stone 7,069 km; earth 23,990 km

Inland waterways

2,000 km navigable

Ports

none

Railroads

0 km

Branches

Armed Forces (includes Ground Force, Air Force, and Gendarmerie), Republican Guard, Police

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $74 million, 11.1% of GDP (1994) ________________________________________________________________________ CHILE

Manpower availability

males age 15-49 1,307,210; males fit for military service 679,640; males reach military age (20) annually 54,945 (1995 est.)