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Chad Index

The establishment of Protestant mission schools in southern Chad in the 1920s, followed by Roman Catholic and colonial state establishments in later decades, marked the beginning of Western education in Chad. From the outset, the colonial administration required that all instruction be in French, with the exception of religion classes, which could be taught in local languages. As early as 1925, the state imposed a standard curriculum on all institutions wishing official recognition and government subsidies. The state thus extended its influence to education, even though the majority of Chadian students attended private mission schools before World War II.

Education in Chad has focused on primary instruction. Until 1942 students who desired a secular secondary education had to go to schools in Brazzaville, the capital of the AEF. This restriction obviously limited the number of secondary-school students. Between World War I and World War II, only a dozen Chadians studied in Brazzaville. Once in Brazzaville, students received technical instruction rather than a liberal arts education, entering three-year programs designed to produce medical aides, clerks, or low-level technicians. State secondary schools were opened in Chad in 1942, but recognized certificate programs did not begin until the mid-1950s.

At independence in 1960, the government established a goal of universal primary education, and school attendance was made compulsory until age twelve. Nevertheless, the development of standard curricula was hampered by the limited number of schools, the existence of two- and three-year establishments alongside the standard five- and seven-year collèges and lycées, and the Muslim preference for Quranic education. Even so, by the mid-1960s 17 percent of students between the ages of six and eight were in school. This number represented a substantial increase over the 8 percent attending school in the mid-1950s and the 1.4 percent immediately after World War II. Although the academic year in Chad parallels the French schedule, running from October to June, it is not particularly appropriate for a country where the hottest part of the April and May.

Quranic schools throughout the Saharan and sahelian zones teach students to read Arabic and recite Quranic verse. Although traditional Islamic education at the secondary level has existed since the nineteenth century, students seeking advanced learning generally have studied in northern Cameroon, Nigeria, Sudan, or the Middle East. In Chad, modern Islamic secondary schools have included the Ecole Mohamed Illech, founded in 1918 and modeled after Egyptian educational institutions. Other schools included the Lycée Franco-Arabe, founded by the colonial administration in Abéché in 1952. The lycée offered a blend of Arabic, Quranic, and secular French education. Numerous observers believed that although the creation of a French-Islamic program of study was commendable, the administration's major objective was to counter foreign Islamic influence rather than to offer a viable alternative curriculum.

Despite the government's efforts, overall educational levels remained low at the end of the first decade of independence. In 1971 about 88 percent of men and 99 percent of women older than age fifteen could not read, write, or speak French, at the time the only official national language; literacy in Arabic stood at 7.8 percent. In 1982 the overall literacy rate stood at about 15 percent.

Major problems have hindered the development of Chadian education since independence. Financing has been very limited. Public expenditures for education amounted to only 14 percent of the national budget in 1963. Expenditures increased over the next several years but declined at the end of the decade. In 1969 funding for education dropped to 11 percent of the budget; the next year it declined still further to 9 percent. In the late 1980s, the government allotted only about 7 percent of its budget to education, a figure lower than that for all but a few African countries.

Limited facilities and personnel also have made it difficult for the education system to provide adequate instruction. Overcrowding is a major problem; some classes have up 100 students, many of whom are repeaters. In the years just after independence, many primary-school teachers had only marginal qualifications. On the secondary level, the situation was even worse; at the end of the 1960s, for example, the Lycée Ahmad Mangué in Sarh (formerly Fort-Archambault) had only a handful of Chadians among its several dozen faculty members. During these years, Chad lacked sufficient facilities for technical and vocational education to train needed intermediate-level technicians, and there was no university.

In the 1970s and 1980s, Chad made considerable progress in dealing with problems of facilities and personnel. To improve instruction, review sessions and refresher programs have been instituted for primary-school teachers. On the secondary level, increasing numbers of Chadians have taken their places in the ranks of the faculty. Furthermore, during the 1971-72 school year, the Université du Tchad opened its doors.

Another problem at independence was that the French curricula of Chadian schools limited their effectiveness. Primary instruction was in French, although most students did not speak that language when they entered school, and teaching methods and materials were often poorly suited to the rural settings of most schools. In addition, the academic program inherited from the French did not prepare students for employment options in Chad. Beginning in the late 1960s, the government attempted to address these problems. A number of model schools discarded the French-style of a formal, classical education in favor of a new approach that taught children to reinterpret and modify their social and economic environment. Rather than teaching French as it was taught in French schools to French children, the model schools taught it more appropriately as a foreign language. These new schools also introduced basic skills courses in the fourth year of primary school. Students who would probably not go on to secondary school were given the chance to attend agricultural training centers.

Unfortunately, all of the preceeding problems were complicated by a fourth difficulty: the Chadian Civil War. Little has been written specifically about how this conflict has disrupted education, but several effects can reasonably be surmised. Lack of security in vast parts of the country undoubtedly has made it difficult to send teachers to their posts and to maintain them there, which has been particularly Problenatic because as government employees, teachers often have been identified with government policies. In addition, the mobility occasioned by the war has played havoc with attempts to get children to attend classes regularly. The diversion of resources to the conflict has also prevented the government from maintaining the expenditure levels found at independence, much less augmenting available funds. Finally, the violence has taken its toll among teachers, students, and facilities. One of the more dramatic instances of this was the destruction and looting of primary schools, lycées, and even the national archives attached to the Université du Tchad during the battles of N'Djamena in 1979 and 1980.

To its credit, the government has made major efforts to overcome these problems. In 1983 the Ministry of Planning and Reconstruction reported that the opening of the 1982-83 school year was the most successful since the upheavals of 1979. In 1984 the Université du Tchad, the Ecole Nationale d'Administration, and the Ecole Nationale des Travaux Publics reopened their doors as well.

In the late 1980s, the Ministry of Education had administrative responsibility for all formal schooling. Because of years of civil strife, however, local communities had assumed many of the ministry's functions, including the construction and maintenance of schools, and payment of teachers' salaries.

Data as of December 1988

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)