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Chad
Index
Figure 2. Empires of the Chad Region
Source: Based on information from Andrers J. Bjørkelo, State
and Society in Three Sudanic Kingdoms, Bergen, Norway, 1976,
5.
The Kanem Empire originated in the ninth century A.D.
to the
northeast of Lake Chad
(see
fig. 2). It was formed from a
confederation of nomadic peoples who spoke languages of
the Teda-
Daza (Toubou) group
(see Languages and Ethnic Groups
, ch.
2). One
theory, based on early Arabic sources, suggests that the
dominance
of the Zaghawa people bound the confederation together.
But local
oral traditions omit the Zaghawa and refer instead to a
legendary
Arab, Sayf ibn Dhi Yazan--believed by some to have been a
Yemeni--
who assumed leadership of the Magoumi clan and began the
Sayfawa
dynastic lineage. Historians agree that the leaders of the
new
state were ancestors of the Kanembu people. The leaders
adopted the
title mai, or king, and their subjects regarded
them as
divine.
One factor that influenced the formation of states in
Chad was
the penetration of Islam during the tenth century. Arabs
migrating
from the north and east brought the new religion. Toward
the end of
the eleventh century, the Sayfawa king, Mai Humai,
converted to
Islam. (Some historians believe that it was Humai rather
than Sayf
ibn Dhi Yazan who established the Sayfawa lineage as the
ruling
dynasty of Kanem.) Islam offered the Sayfawa rulers the
advantages
of new ideas from Arabia and the Mediterranean world, as
well as
literacy in administration. But many people resisted the
new
religion in favor of traditional beliefs and practices.
When Humai
converted, for example, it is believed that the Zaghawa
broke from
the empire and moved east. This pattern of conflict and
compromise
with Islam occurs repeatedly in Chadian history.
Prior to the twelfth century, the nomadic Sayfawa
confederation
expanded southward into Kanem (the word for "south" in the
Teda
language). By the thirteenth century, Kanem's rule
expanded. At the
same time, the Kanembu people became more sedentary and
established
a capital at Njimi, northeast of Lake Chad. Even though
the Kanembu
were becoming more sedentary, Kanem's rulers continued to
travel
frequently throughout the kingdom to remind the herders
and farmers
of the government's power and to allow them to demonstrate
their
allegiance by paying tribute.
Kanem's expansion peaked during the long and energetic
reign of
Mai Dunama Dabbalemi (ca. 1221-59). Dabbalemi initiated
diplomatic
exchanges with sultans in North Africa and apparently
arranged for
the establishment of a special hostel in Cairo to
facilitate
pilgrimages to Mecca. During Dabbalemi's reign, the Fezzan
region
(in present-day Libya) fell under Kanem's authority, and
the
empire's influence extended westward to Kano, eastward to
Wadai,
and southward to the Adamawa grasslands (in present-day
Cameroon).
Portraying these boundaries on maps can be misleading,
however,
because the degree of control extended in ever-weakening
gradations
from the core of the empire around Njimi to remote
peripheries,
from which allegiance and tribute were usually only
symbolic.
Moreover, cartographic lines are static and misrepresent
the
mobility inherent in nomadism and migration, which were
common. The
loyalty of peoples and their leaders was more important in
governance than the physical control of territory.
Dabbalemi devised a system to reward military
commanders with
authority over the people they conquered. This system,
however,
tempted military officers to pass their positions to their
sons,
thus transforming the office from one based on achievement
and
loyalty to the mai into one based on hereditary
nobility.
Dabbalemi was able to suppress this tendency, but after
his death,
dissension among his sons weakened the Sayfawa Dynasty.
Dynastic
feuds degenerated into civil war, and Kanem's outlying
peoples soon
ceased paying tribute.
By the end of the fourteenth century, internal
struggles and
external attacks had torn Kanem apart. Between 1376 and
1400, six
mais reigned, but Bulala invaders (from the area
around Lake
Fitri to the east) killed five of them. This proliferation
of
mais resulted in numerous claimants to the throne
and led to
a series of internecine wars. Finally, around 1396 the
Bulala
forced Mai Umar Idrismi to abandon Njimi and move the
Kanembu
people to Borno on the western edge of Lake Chad. Over
time, the
intermarriage of the Kanembu and Borno peoples created a
new people
and language, the Kanuri.
But even in Borno, the Sayfawa Dynasty's troubles
persisted.
During the first three-quarters of the fifteenth century,
for
example, fifteen mais occupied the throne. Then,
around 1472
Mai Ali Dunamami defeated his rivals and began the
consolidation of
Borno. He built a fortified capital at Ngazargamu, to the
west of
Lake Chad (in present-day Niger), the first permanent home
a
Sayfawa mai had enjoyed in a century. So successful
was the
Sayfawa rejuvenation that by the early sixteenth century
the Bulala
were defeated and Njimi retaken. The empire's leaders,
however,
remained at Ngazargamu because its lands were more
productive
agriculturally and better suited to the raising of cattle.
Kanem-Borno peaked during the reign of the outstanding
statesman Mai Idris Aluma (ca. 1571-1603). Aluma (also
spelled
Alooma) is remembered for his military skills,
administrative
reforms, and Islamic piety. His main adversaries were the
Hausa to
the west, the Tuareg and Toubou to the north, and the
Bulala to the
east. One epic poem extols his victories in 330 wars and
more than
1,000 battles. His innovations included the employment of
fixed
military camps (with walls); permanent sieges and
"scorched earth"
tactics, where soliders burned everything in their path;
armored
horses and riders; and the use of Berber camelry, Kotoko
boatmen,
and iron-helmeted musketeers trained by Turkish military
advisers.
His active diplomacy featured relations with Tripoli,
Egypt, and
the Ottoman Empire, which sent a 200-member ambassadorial
party
across the desert to Aluma's court at Ngazargamu. Aluma
also signed
what was probably the first written treaty or cease-fire
in Chadian
history. (Like many cease-fires negotiated in the 1970s
and 1980s,
it was promptly broken.)
Aluma introduced a number of legal and administrative
reforms
based on his religious beliefs and Islamic law (sharia).
He
sponsored the construction of numerous mosques and made a
pilgrimage to Mecca, where he arranged for the
establishment of a
hostel to be used by pilgrims from his empire. As with
other
dynamic politicians, Aluma's reformist goals led him to
seek loyal
and competent advisers and allies, and he frequently
relied on
slaves who had been educated in noble homes. Aluma
regularly sought
advice from a council composed of heads of the most
important
clans. He required major political figures to live at the
court,
and he reinforced political alliances through appropriate
marriages
(Aluma himself was the son of a Kanuri father and a Bulala
mother).
Kanem-Borno under Aluma was strong and wealthy.
Government
revenue came from tribute (or booty, if the recalcitrant
people had
to be conquered), sales of slaves, and duties on and
participation
in trans-Saharan trade. Unlike West Africa, the Chadian
region did
not have gold. Still, it was central to one of the most
convenient
trans-Saharan routes. Between Lake Chad and Fezzan lay a
sequence
of well-spaced wells and oases, and from Fezzan there were
easy
connections to North Africa and the Mediterranean Sea.
Many
products were sent north, including natron (sodium
carbonate),
cotton, kola nuts, ivory, ostrich feathers, perfume, wax,
and
hides, but the most important of all were slaves. Imports
included
salt, horses, silks, glass, muskets, and copper.
Aluma took a keen interest in trade and other economic
matters.
He is credited with having the roads cleared, designing
better
boats for Lake Chad, introducing standard units of measure
for
grain, and moving farmers into new lands. In addition, he
improved
the ease and security of transit through the empire with
the goal
of making it so safe that "a lone woman clad in gold might
walk
with none to fear but God."
The administrative reforms and military brilliance of
Aluma
sustained the empire until the mid-1600s, when its power
began to
fade. By the late 1700s, Borno rule extended only
westward, into
the land of the Hausa. Around that time, Fulani people,
invading
from the west, were able to make major inroads into Borno.
By the
early nineteenth century, Kanem-Borno was clearly an
empire in
decline, and in 1808 Fulani warriors conquered Ngazargamu.
Usman
dan Fodio led the Fulani thrust and proclaimed a jihad
(holy war)
on the irreligious Muslims of the area. His campaign
eventually
affected Kanem-Borno and inspired a trend toward Islamic
orthodoxy.
But Muhammad al Kanem contested the Fulani advance. Kanem
was a
Muslim scholar and non-Sayfawa warlord who had put
together an
alliance of Shuwa Arabs, Kanembu, and other seminomadic
peoples. He
eventually built a capital at Kukawa (in present-day
Nigeria).
Sayfawa mais remained titular monarchs until 1846.
In that
year, the last mai, in league with Wadai tribesmen,
precipitated a civil war. It was at that point that
Kanem's son,
Umar, became king, thus ending one of the longest dynastic
reigns
in regional history.
Although the dynasty ended, the kingdom of Kanem-Borno
survived. But Umar, who eschewed the title mai for
the
simpler designation shehu (from the Arabic
"shaykh"), could
not match his father's vitality and gradually allowed the
kingdom
to be ruled by advisers (wazirs). Borno began to
decline, as
a result of administrative disorganization, regional
particularism,
and attacks by the militant Wadai Empire to the east. The
decline
continued under Umar's sons, and in 1893 Rabih Fadlallah,
leading
an invading army from eastern Sudan, conquered Borno.
Data as of December 1988
- Chad-Southern Dominance, 1960-1978
- Chad-Islam in Chad
- Chad-Constitutional System STRUCTURE OF GOVERNMENT
- Chad-Central Saharan Languages
- Chad-HEALTH AND MEDICAL SERVICES
- Chad-Defense Expenditures
- Chad-Production Factors
- Chad-LANGUAGES AND ETHNIC GROUPS
- Chad-Equipment
- Chad-Judicial System
- Chad-INTRODUCTION
- Chad-President
- Chad-Direction of Trade
- Chad-Boua
- Chad-Chapter 1 - Historical Setting
- Chad-FOREIGN MILITARY COOPERATION
- Chad-Protestantism in Chad
- Chad-Regional Government
- Chad-Banking and Finance
- Chad-ECONOMY
- Chad-Manufacturing MANUFACTURING, MINING, AND UTILITIES
- Chad-NATIONAL SECURITY
- Chad-Government Finances
- Chad-The French Military Role in Chad
- Chad -COUNTRY PROFILE
- Chad-TOMBALBAYE ERA, 1960-75
- Chad-Secondary Education
- Chad-Arabs: Semisedentary Peoples of the Sahel
- Chad-Relations with Nigeria and Sudan
- Chad-ERA OF EMPIRES, A.D - 900-1900
- Chad-Internal Security Conditions
- Chad-Chapter 2 - The Society and Its Environment
- Chad-CHAD
- Chad-Repelling Libya's Occupying Force, 1985-87
- Chad-Classical African Religions
- Chad-Chapter 3 - The Economy
- Chad-ARRIVAL OF THE FRENCH AND COLONIAL ADMINISTRATION
- Chad-Relations with Other African States
- Chad-SOCIETY
- Chad-Roman Catholicism in Chad
- Chad-Primary Education
- Chad-PREHISTORY
- Chad-Exports
- Chad-Police Services
- Chad-Civil War and Multilateral Mediation, 1979-82
- Chad-Organization of the National Security Establishment
- Chad-National Debt THE NATIONAL DEBT AND FOREIGN ASSISTANCE
- Chad-Relations with France
- Chad-Congo-Kordofanian Languages
- Chad-Subsistence Farming
- Chad-The Air Force
- Chad-Chapter 4 - Government and Politics
- Chad-Nilo-Saharan Languages
- Chad-Land Transport
- Chad-TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNICATIONS
- Chad-GROWTH AND STRUCTURE OF THE ECONOMY
- Chad-United States Military Aid
- Chad-Balance of Payments BALANCE OF PAYMENTS AND FINANCE
- Chad-GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
- Chad-Council of Ministers
- Chad-Foreign Assistance
- Chad-Administrative Structure
- Chad-Wheat
- Chad-Air Transport
- Chad-ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
- Chad-Forestry
- Chad-Factionalism POLITICAL DYNAMICS
- Chad-Rice and Corn
- Chad-The Land
- Chad-Sahelian Region
- Chad-Communications
- Chad-Restructuring the System
- Chad-Training
- Chad-Vocational Education
- Chad-Chapter 5 - National Security
- Chad-Cotton
- Chad-The Chadian National Armed Forces
- Chad-Fall of the Tombalbaye Government
- Chad-Fulani
- Chad-Mass Media
- Chad-Mabang Languages
- Chad-RELIGION
- Chad
- Chad-INTERNAL SECURITY AND PUBLIC ORDER
- Chad-The FROLINAT Rebellion, 1965-79
- Chad-POPULATION
- Chad-Relations with Libya
- Chad
- Chad-National Union for Independence and Revolution
- Chad
- Chad-Relations with Arab States
- Chad-Sara: Sedentary Peoples of the Soudanian Zone
- Chad-AGRICULTURE
- Chad
- Chad-Tombalbaye's Governance: Policies and Methods
- Chad-Sara-Bongo-Baguirmi Languages
- Chad-Soudanian Region
- Chad-Rebellion in Eastern and Northern Chad
- Chad-THE ARMED FORCES
- Chad-Mining
- Chad-PREFACE
- Chad-SOCIAL STRUCTURE
- Chad-Saharan Region
- Chad
- Chad-Relations with the United States
- Chad-Fishing
- Chad-Kanem-Borno
- Chad-Afro-Asiatic Languages
- Chad-Toubou and Daza: Nomads of the Sahara
- Chad
- Chad-PHYSICAL SETTING
- Chad-Christianity
- Chad-Sorghum and Millet
- Chad-FOREIGN RELATIONS
- Chad-Pricing Mechanisms
- Chad
- Chad-DECOLONIZATION POLITICS
- Chad-Tubers
- Chad-Water Systems
- Chad-Political Style
- Chad-Peanuts
- Chad-TRADE AND COMMERCE
- Chad-Imports
- Chad-The Criminal Justice System
- Chad-Ouaddaïan Languages
- Chad-CIVIL CONFLICT AND LIBYAN INTERVENTION
- Chad-Origins and Early Development
- Chad-Banda-Ngbaka
- Chad-TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNICATIONS
- Chad-GEOGRAPHY
- Chad
- Chad-ROLE OF GOVERNMENT
- Chad-Preindependence Factions POLITICAL BACKGROUND
- Chad-Higher Education
- Chad-Malloum's Military Government, 1975-78 CIVIL WAR AND NORTHERN DOMINANCE, 1975-82
- Chad-Livestock
- Chad-Arabic
- Chad-Water and Electricity
- Chad
Background | | Chad, part of France's African holdings until 1960, endured three decades of civil warfare as well as invasions by Libya before a semblance of peace was finally restored in 1990. The government eventually drafted a democratic constitution, and held flawed presidential elections in 1996 and 2001. In 1998, a rebellion broke out in northern Chad, which has sporadically flared up despite several peace agreements between the government and the rebels. In 2005, new rebel groups emerged in western Sudan and made probing attacks into eastern Chad, despite signing peace agreements in December 2006 and October 2007. Power remains in the hands of an ethnic minority. In June 2005, President Idriss DEBY held a referendum successfully removing constitutional term limits and won another controversial election in 2006. Sporadic rebel campaigns continued throughout 2006 and 2007, and the capital experienced a significant rebel threat in early 2008.
|
Location | | Central Africa, south of Libya
|
Area(sq km) | | total: 1.284 million sq km land: 1,259,200 sq km water: 24,800 sq km
|
Geographic coordinates | | 15 00 N, 19 00 E
|
Land boundaries(km) | | 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(km) | | 0 km (landlocked)
|
Climate | | tropical in south, desert in north
|
Elevation extremes(m) | | lowest point: Djourab Depression 160 m highest point: Emi Koussi 3,415 m
|
Natural resources | | petroleum, uranium, natron, kaolin, fish (Lake Chad), gold, limestone, sand and gravel, salt
|
Land use(%) | | arable land: 2.8% permanent crops: 0.02% other: 97.18% (2005)
|
Irrigated land(sq km) | | 300 sq km (2003)
|
Total renewable water resources(cu km) | | 43 cu km (1987)
|
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural) | | total: 0.23 cu km/yr (17%/0%/83%) per capita: 24 cu m/yr (2000)
|
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
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Environment - international agreements | | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, 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 | | 10,329,208 (July 2009 est.)
|
Age structure(%) | | 0-14 years: 46.7% (male 2,445,841/female 2,381,319) 15-64 years: 50.4% (male 2,386,428/female 2,816,050) 65 years and over: 2.9% (male 126,351/female 173,219) (2009 est.)
|
Median age(years) | | total: 16.5 years male: 15.3 years female: 17.7 years (2009 est.)
|
Population growth rate(%) | | 2.069% (2009 est.)
|
Birth rate(births/1,000 population) | | 40.86 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)
|
Death rate(deaths/1,000 population) | | 16.09 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.)
|
Net migration rate(migrant(s)/1,000 population) | | -4.08 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)
|
Urbanization(%) | | urban population: 27% of total population (2008) rate of urbanization: 4.7% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
|
Sex ratio(male(s)/female) | | at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.85 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female total population: 0.92 male(s)/female (2009 est.)
|
Infant mortality rate(deaths/1,000 live births) | | total: 98.69 deaths/1,000 live births male: 104.72 deaths/1,000 live births female: 92.42 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)
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Life expectancy at birth(years) | | total population: 47.7 years male: 46.67 years female: 48.77 years (2009 est.)
|
Total fertility rate(children born/woman) | | 5.31 children born/woman (2009 est.)
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Nationality | | noun: Chadian(s) adjective: Chadian
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Ethnic groups(%) | | Sara 27.7%, Arab 12.3%, Mayo-Kebbi 11.5%, Kanem-Bornou 9%, Ouaddai 8.7%, Hadjarai 6.7%, Tandjile 6.5%, Gorane 6.3%, Fitri-Batha 4.7%, other 6.4%, unknown 0.3% (1993 census)
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Religions(%) | | Muslim 53.1%, Catholic 20.1%, Protestant 14.2%, animist 7.3%, other 0.5%, unknown 1.7%, atheist 3.1% (1993 census)
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Languages(%) | | French (official), Arabic (official), Sara (in south), more than 120 different languages and dialects
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Country name | | conventional long form: Republic of Chad conventional short form: Chad local long form: Republique du Tchad/Jumhuriyat Tshad local short form: Tchad/Tshad
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Government type | | republic
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Capital | | name: N'Djamena geographic coordinates: 12 06 N, 15 02 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
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Administrative divisions | | 18 regions (regions, singular - region); Batha, Borkou-Ennedi-Tibesti, Chari-Baguirmi, Guera, Hadjer-Lamis, Kanem, Lac, Logone Occidental, Logone Oriental, Mandoul, Mayo-Kebbi Est, Mayo-Kebbi Ouest, Moyen-Chari, Ouaddai, Salamat, Tandjile, Ville de N'Djamena, Wadi Fira
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Constitution | | passed by referendum 31 March 1996; a June 2005 referendum removed constitutional term limits
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Legal system | | based on French civil law system and Chadian customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
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Suffrage | | 18 years of age; universal
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Executive branch | | chief of state: President Lt. Gen. Idriss DEBY Itno (since 4 December 1990) head of government: Prime Minister Youssof Saleh ABBAS (since 16 April 2008) 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 3 May 2006 (next to be held by May 2011); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Lt. Gen. Idriss DEBY Itno reelected president; percent of vote - Lt. Gen. Idriss DEBY 64.7%, Delwa Kassire KOUMAKOYE 15.1%, Albert Pahimi PADACKE 7.8%, Mahamat ABDOULAYE 7.1%, Brahim KOULAMALLAH 5.3%; note - a June 2005 national referendum altered the constitution removing presidential term limits and permitting Lt. Gen. Idriss DEBY Itno to run for reelection
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Legislative branch | | unicameral National Assembly (155 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms); note - the 1996 constitution called for a Senate that has never been formed elections: National Assembly - last held 21 April 2002 (next to be held by 2009); note - legislative elections, originally scheduled for 2006, were first delayed by National Assembly action and subsequently by an accord, signed in August 2007, between government and opposition parties election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - MPS 110, RDP 12, FAR 9, RNDP 5, UNDR 5, URD 3, other 11
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Judicial branch | | Supreme Court; Court of Appeal; Criminal Courts; Magistrate Courts
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Political pressure groups and leaders | | rebel groups
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International organization participation | | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, BDEAC, CEMAC, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
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Flag description | | three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, and red note: 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
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Economy - overview | | Chad's primarily agricultural economy will continue to be boosted by major foreign direct investment projects in the oil sector that began in 2000. At least 80% of Chad's population relies on subsistence farming and livestock raising for its livelihood. Chad's economy has long been handicapped by its landlocked position, high energy costs, and a history of instability. Chad relies on foreign assistance and foreign capital for most public and private sector investment projects. A consortium led by two US companies has been investing $3.7 billion to develop oil reserves - estimated at 1 billion barrels - in southern Chad. Chinese companies are also expanding exploration efforts and plan to build a refinery. The nation's total oil reserves are estimated at 1.5 billion barrels. Oil production came on stream in late 2003. Chad began to export oil in 2004. Cotton, cattle, and gum arabic provide the bulk of Chad's non-oil export earnings.
|
GDP (purchasing power parity) | | $15.82 billion (2008 est.) $15.85 billion (2007 est.) $15.82 billion (2006 est.) note: data are in 2008 US dollars
|
GDP (official exchange rate) | | $8.4 billion (2008 est.)
|
GDP - real growth rate(%) | | -0.2% (2008 est.) 0.2% (2007 est.) 0.2% (2006 est.)
|
GDP - per capita (PPP) | | $1,600 (2008 est.) $1,600 (2007 est.) $1,600 (2006 est.) note: data are in 2008 US dollars
|
GDP - composition by sector(%) | | agriculture: 20.5% industry: 48% services: 31.5% (2008 est.)
|
Labor force | | 4.293 million (2007)
|
Labor force - by occupation(%) | | agriculture: 80% (subsistence farming, herding, and fishing) industry and services: 20% (2006 est.)
|
Unemployment rate(%) | | NA%
|
Population below poverty line(%) | | 80% (2001 est.)
|
Household income or consumption by percentage share(%) | | lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
|
Investment (gross fixed)(% of GDP) | | 13.7% of GDP (2008 est.)
|
Budget | | revenues: $2.324 billion expenditures: $1.91 billion (2008 est.)
|
Inflation rate (consumer prices)(%) | | 10.3% (2008 est.) 4% (2007 est.)
|
Stock of money | | $NA (31 December 2008) $874.5 million (31 December 2007)
|
Stock of quasi money | | $NA (31 December 2008) $55.23 million (31 December 2007)
|
Stock of domestic credit | | $NA (31 December 2008) $82.81 million (31 December 2007)
|
Market value of publicly traded shares | | $NA
|
Economic aid - recipient | | ODA, $379.8 million (2005)
|
Agriculture - products | | cotton, sorghum, millet, peanuts, rice, potatoes, manioc (tapioca); cattle, sheep, goats, camels
|
Industries | | oil, cotton textiles, meatpacking, brewing, natron (sodium carbonate), soap, cigarettes, construction materials
|
Industrial production growth rate(%) | | 2% (2008 est.)
|
Current account balance | | -$1.019 billion (2008 est.) -$737.8 million (2007 est.)
|
Exports | | $4.342 billion (2008 est.) $3.674 billion (2007 est.)
|
Exports - commodities(%) | | oil, cattle, cotton, gum arabic
|
Exports - partners(%) | | US 92.8%, Japan 2.2%, France 1.5% (2008)
|
Imports | | $1.927 billion (2008 est.) $1.541 billion (2007 est.)
|
Imports - commodities(%) | | machinery and transportation equipment, industrial goods, foodstuffs, textiles
|
Imports - partners(%) | | France 17.5%, Cameroon 14.8%, China 9.8%, Ukraine 9.5%, US 7.7%, Germany 5.6%, Saudi Arabia 4.7%, Netherlands 4% (2008)
|
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold | | $1.347 billion (31 December 2008 est.) $964.4 million (31 December 2007 est.)
|
Debt - external | | $1.6 billion (2005 est.)
|
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home | | $4.5 billion (2006 est.)
|
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad | | $NA
|
Exchange rates | | Cooperation Financiere en Afrique Centrale francs (XAF) per US dollar - 447.81 (2008 est.), 480.1 (2007), 522.59 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004) note: since 1 January 1999, the Central African CFA franc (XAF) has been pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 CFA francs per euro; Central African CFA franc (XAF) coins and banknotes are not accepted in countries using West African CFA francs (XOF), and vice versa, even though the two currencies trade at par
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Currency (code) | | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States
|
Telephones - main lines in use | | 13,000 (2008)
|
Telephones - mobile cellular | | 1.809 million (2008)
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Telephone system | | general assessment: primitive system with high costs and low telephone density; fixed-line connections for only about 1 per 1000 persons coupled with mobile-cellular subscribership base of less than 20 per 100 persons domestic: fair system of radiotelephone communication stations international: country code - 235; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2008)
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Internet country code | | .td
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Internet users | | 130,000 (2008)
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Airports | | 54 (2009)
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Pipelines(km) | | oil 250 km (2008)
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Roadways(km) | | total: 33,400 km paved: 267 km unpaved: 33,133 km (2002)
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Military branches | | Armed Forces: Chadian National Army (Armee Nationale du Tchad, ANT), Chadian Air Force (Force Aerienne Tchadienne, FAT), Gendarmerie (2008)
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Military service age and obligation(years of age) | | 20 years of age for conscripts, with 3-year service obligation; 18 years of age for volunteers; no minimum age restriction for volunteers with consent from a guardian; women are subject to 1 year of compulsory military or civic service at age of 21 (2004)
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Manpower available for military service | | males age 16-49: 1,906,545 females age 16-49: 2,258,758 (2008 est.)
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Manpower fit for military service | | males age 16-49: 1,103,006 females age 16-49: 1,315,620 (2009 est.)
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Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually | | male: 121,080 female: 121,585 (2009 est.)
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Military expenditures(% of GDP) | | 4.2% of GDP (2006)
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Disputes - international | | since 2003, Janjawid armed militia and the Sudanese military have driven hundreds of thousands of Darfur residents into Chad; Chad remains an important mediator in the Sudanese civil conflict, reducing tensions with Sudan arising from cross-border banditry; Chadian Aozou rebels reside in southern Libya; only Nigeria and Cameroon have heeded the Lake Chad Commission's admonition to ratify the delimitation treaty, which also includes the Chad-Niger and Niger-Nigeria boundaries
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Refugees and internally displaced persons | | refugees (country of origin): 234,000 (Sudan); 54,200 (Central African Republic) IDPs: 178,918 (2007)
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Trafficking in persons | | current situation: Chad is a source, transit, and destination country for children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation; the majority of children are trafficked within Chad for involuntary domestic servitude, forced cattle herding, forced begging, forced labor in petty commerce or the fishing industry, or for commercial sexual exploitation; to a lesser extent, Chadian children are also trafficked to Cameroon, the Central African Republic, and Nigeria for cattle herding; children may also be trafficked from Cameroon and the Central African Republic to Chad's oil producing regions for sexual exploitation tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - Chad is on the Tier 2 Watch List for its failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat human trafficking in 2007; Chad was destabilized during 2007 by civil conflict leading to a declared state of emergency in February 2008, and a steady influx of refugees fleeing Sudan and the Central African Republic; the government demonstrated insufficient overall efforts to combat trafficking; Chad has not ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol (2008)
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Electricity - production(kWh) | | 100 million kWh (2007 est.)
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Electricity - production by source(%) | | fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)
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Electricity - consumption(kWh) | | 93 million kWh (2007 est.)
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Electricity - exports(kWh) | | 0 kWh (2008 est.)
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Electricity - imports(kWh) | | 0 kWh (2008 est.)
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Oil - production(bbl/day) | | 127,000 bbl/day (2008 est.)
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Oil - consumption(bbl/day) | | 1,000 bbl/day (2008 est.)
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Oil - exports(bbl/day) | | 157,900 bbl/day (2007 est.)
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Oil - imports(bbl/day) | | 1,571 bbl/day (2007 est.)
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Oil - proved reserves(bbl) | | 1.5 billion bbl (1 January 2009 est.)
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Natural gas - production(cu m) | | 0 cu m (2008 est.)
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Natural gas - consumption(cu m) | | 0 cu m (2008 est.)
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Natural gas - exports(cu m) | | 0 cu m (2008)
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Natural gas - proved reserves(cu m) | | 0 cu m (1 January 2009 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate(%) | | 3.5% (2007 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS | | 200,000 (2007 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - deaths | | 14,000 (2007 est.)
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Major infectious diseases | | degree of risk: very high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne disease: malaria water contact disease: schistosomiasis respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis animal contact disease: rabies (2009)
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Literacy(%) | | definition: age 15 and over can read and write French or Arabic total population: 25.7% male: 40.8% female: 12.8% (2000 est.)
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School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)(years) | | total: 6 years male: 7 years female: 4 years (2005)
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Education expenditures(% of GDP) | | 1.9% of GDP (2005)
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