During his first six years as president, Habré's style
of
governing was essentially to juxtapose spheres of
influence,
including the Council of Ministers, a few close advisers,
and
personal friends and relatives, all of whom sought to
influence
presidential decision making. Habré was at the center of
these
spheres, each of which coalesced around his agenda. His
political
strategy was based on a segmentary model that exploited
Chad's
traditionally fluid, factional political dynamics.
Habré understood factional dynamics on several levels,
first as
one of the Toubou herdsmen among whom he was born and
whose
livelihood had for centuries depended on manipulation of
the social
system to their advantage, and as a Western-educated
member of a
small elite, whose political longevity depended on his
ability to
broker alliances. Habré used this traditional and modern
background
in his efforts to craft a stable nation out of a divided
state torn
by factional strife.
That people were tired of war also contributed to
Habré's
political successes in his first six years as president. A
combination of resignation and opportunism brought former
opponents
into alliance with the president, who often was simply
more
tenacious than they were. To most of these former
opponents,
Habré's authoritarian regime was preferable to a return to
civil
war. Factional disputes were not always resolved;
sometimes they
were submerged and could be expected to recur.
Habré's military style was characterized as smart,
tough, and
decisive. Observers described him as a pragmatic military
leader,
undeterred by bureaucratic and political niceties and
undistracted
by sentiment, ideology, or foreign entanglements. Although
he had
a sizable following among civilians, as of 1988 he still
governed
largely as a military officer. He had not made the shift
in style
from supervising a military bureaucracy, in which orders
were given
and obeyed, to overseeing a civilian government that
required broad
consensus formation. Political communication was generally
one
directional, from the president down.
Habré established a reputation for ignoring seniority
in making
assignments, and, as a result, officers sometimes reported
to their
juniors when working on specific projects. One military
commander,
Hassane Djamouss, whose 1987 successes led to the rout of
Libyan
forces from much of the north, became a well-known example
of this
feature of Habré's style
(see Repelling Libya's Occupying Force, 1985-87
, ch. 5). Djamouss was a former minister of the
civil
service, trained as a livestock technician, but correctly
judged by
Habré to be a master strategist.
Habré also developed the reputation as a manager who
set
overall goals for his subordinates and left the mechanics
of
accomplishing those goals to lower-level managers. This
decentralized responsibility and decision-making authority
accorded
well with traditional values of individualism held by many
Chadian
ethnic groups, and it had worked well in many military
settings. A
by-product of this feature of Habré's style was that
officials with
delegated responsibility commonly bypassed bureaucratic
regulations
in order to accomplish their goal. Adhering to the chain
of command
was not the measure of success in Chad's government of the
1980s.
Habré made several cautious attempts to bring
peripheral ethnic
groups into the political process. Most high civilian and
military
appointments were from his own or a closely related ethnic
group,
but he appointed southerners and other non-Toubou
civilians to
several executive and administrative positions, despite
occasional
bureaucratic snarls that resulted from these attempts at
national
reconciliation.
Faced with internal threats to his regime, Habré's
reaction was
essentially repressive. Political opponents were often
imprisoned
or had their travel restricted. He broadened
intelligence-gathering
networks within the military (in 1986, for example, in
response to
growing opposition within the army) and expanded the power
of the
Presidential Guard
(see The Chadian National Armed Forces
, ch. 5).
At the same time, he believed in his own power to
"rehabilitate"
and co-opt former opponents and was sometimes successful
in gaining
a measure of their trust.
During its first nearly three decades of independence,
Chad had
a strong president and weak state institutions, but it
also enjoyed
some benefits of the weakness of the state. It had been
spared much
of the flamboyant political posturing that was evident in
a few
more peaceful and prosperous nations. Habré had not
squandered
public resources on grandiose monuments to himself, nor
had he
encouraged a sycophantic cult of personality. Public
office was not
yet synonymous with extraordinary wealth, and, as a
result, public
cynicism toward government in the 1980s was surprisingly
low.
|
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
|
|
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.)
|
|
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.)
|
|
Nationality | | noun: Chadian(s)
adjective: Chadian
|
|
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)
|
|
Religions(%) | | Muslim 53.1%, Catholic 20.1%, Protestant 14.2%, animist 7.3%, other 0.5%, unknown 1.7%, atheist 3.1% (1993 census)
|
|
Languages(%) | | French (official), Arabic (official), Sara (in south), more than 120 different languages and dialects
|
|
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
|
|
Government type | | republic
|
|
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)
|
|
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
|
|
Constitution | | passed by referendum 31 March 1996; a June 2005 referendum removed constitutional term limits
|
|
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 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
|
|
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
|
|
Judicial branch | | Supreme Court; Court of Appeal; Criminal Courts; Magistrate Courts
|
|
Political pressure groups and leaders | | rebel groups
|
|
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
|
|
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
|
|
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
|
|
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)
|
|
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)
|
|
Internet country code | | .td
|
|
Internet users | | 130,000 (2008)
|
|
Airports | | 54 (2009)
|
|
Pipelines(km) | | oil 250 km (2008)
|
|
Roadways(km) | | total: 33,400 km
paved: 267 km
unpaved: 33,133 km (2002)
|
|
Military branches | | Armed Forces: Chadian National Army (Armee Nationale du Tchad, ANT), Chadian Air Force (Force Aerienne Tchadienne, FAT), Gendarmerie (2008)
|
|
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)
|
|
Manpower available for military service | | males age 16-49: 1,906,545
females age 16-49: 2,258,758 (2008 est.)
|
|
Manpower fit for military service | | males age 16-49: 1,103,006
females age 16-49: 1,315,620 (2009 est.)
|
|
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually | | male: 121,080
female: 121,585 (2009 est.)
|
|
Military expenditures(% of GDP) | | 4.2% of GDP (2006)
|
|
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
|
|
Refugees and internally displaced persons | | refugees (country of origin): 234,000 (Sudan); 54,200 (Central African Republic)
IDPs: 178,918 (2007)
|
|
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)
|
|
Electricity - production(kWh) | | 100 million kWh (2007 est.)
|
|
Electricity - production by source(%) | | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001)
|
|
Electricity - consumption(kWh) | | 93 million kWh (2007 est.)
|
|
Electricity - exports(kWh) | | 0 kWh (2008 est.)
|
|
Electricity - imports(kWh) | | 0 kWh (2008 est.)
|
|
Oil - production(bbl/day) | | 127,000 bbl/day (2008 est.)
|
|
Oil - consumption(bbl/day) | | 1,000 bbl/day (2008 est.)
|
|
Oil - exports(bbl/day) | | 157,900 bbl/day (2007 est.)
|
|
Oil - imports(bbl/day) | | 1,571 bbl/day (2007 est.)
|
|
Oil - proved reserves(bbl) | | 1.5 billion bbl (1 January 2009 est.)
|
|
Natural gas - production(cu m) | | 0 cu m (2008 est.)
|
|
Natural gas - consumption(cu m) | | 0 cu m (2008 est.)
|
|
Natural gas - exports(cu m) | | 0 cu m (2008)
|
|
Natural gas - proved reserves(cu m) | | 0 cu m (1 January 2009 est.)
|
|
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate(%) | | 3.5% (2007 est.)
|
|
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS | | 200,000 (2007 est.)
|
|
HIV/AIDS - deaths | | 14,000 (2007 est.)
|
|
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)
|
|
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.)
|
|
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)(years) | | total: 6 years
male: 7 years
female: 4 years (2005)
|
|
Education expenditures(% of GDP) | | 1.9% of GDP (2005)
|
![[JPEG]](/images/frd/cs/chad/td04_03b.jpg)
