The Protestants came to southern Chad in the 1920s.
American
Baptists were the first, but missionaries of other
denominations
and nationalities soon followed. Many of the American
missions were
northern offshoots of missionary networks founded farther
south in
the Ubangi-Chari colony (now Central African Republic) of
French Equatorial Africa
(Afrique Equatoriale Française--AEF; ses Glossary). The organizational
ties between the missions in
southern
Chad and Ubangi-Chari were strengthened by France's
decision in
1925 to transfer Logone Occidental, Tandjilé, Logone
Oriental, and
Moyen-Chari prefectures to Ubangi-Chari, where they
remained until
another administrative shuffle restored them to Chad in
1932.
These early Protestant establishments looked to their
own
churches for material resources and to their own countries
for
diplomatic support. Such independence allowed them to
maintain a
distance from the French colonial administration. In
addition, the
missionaries arrived with their wives and children, and
they often
spent their entire lives in the region. This family-based
expansion
of the missionary networks was not peculiar to Chad in the
1920s.
Some of the missionaries who arrived at that time had
grown up with
missionary parents in missions founded earlier in the
French
colonies to the south. Some missionary children from this
era later
founded missions of their own. Many remained after
independence,
leaving only in the early and or mid-1970s when
Tombalbaye's
authenticité movement forced their departure
(see Fall of the Tombalbaye Government
, ch. 1).
The puritanical message preached by many Protestant
missionaries undermined the appeal of the faith. Rather
than
allowing a local Christian tradition to develop, the
missionaries
preached a fundamentalist doctrine native to parts of the
United
States. They inveighed against dancing, alcohol, and local
customs,
which they considered "superstitions." New converts found
it almost
impossible to observe Protestant teachings and remain
within their
communities. In the early years, Chadian Protestants often
left
their villages and settled around the missions. But
abandoning
village and family was a sacrifice that most people were
reluctant
to make.
Although language and doctrine probably discouraged
conversion,
the educational and medical projects of the Protestant
missions
probably attracted people. The missionaries set up
schools,
clinics, and hospitals long before the colonial
administration did.
In fact, the mission schools produced the first
Western-educated
Chadians in the 1940s and 1950s. In general, the
Protestant
missionary effort in southern Chad has enjoyed some
success. In
1980, after a half-century of evangelization, Protestants
in
southern Chad numbered about 80,000.
From bases in the south, Protestants founded missions
in other
parts of Chad. For the most part, they avoided settling
among
Muslims, who were not responsive to their message. In the
colonial
capital of Fort-Lamy (present-day's N'Djamena), the
missions
attracted followers among resident southerners. The
missionaries
also proselytized among the non-Muslim populations of
Guéra,
Ouaddaï, and Biltine prefectures. Although Christianity
appealed to
some in the capital (there were estimated to be 18,000
Christians
in N'Djamena in 1980), efforts in other parts of the Sahel
were
relatively unsuccessful.
In the late 1980s, the future of the Protestant
missions in
Chad remained unclear. As noted, many Protestant
missionaries were
forced to leave the country during the cultural revolution
in the
early and mid-1970s. Outside the south, other missions
have been
caught in the cross fire of warring factions. Rebel forces
have
pillaged mission stations, and the government has accused
the
missionaries of complicity with the opposition.
|
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
|
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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
|
|
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)
|
