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Chad

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: African Countries;
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             جمهورية تشاد
   République du Tchad
   Republic of Chad

   Flag of Chad Coat of arms of Chad
   Flag         Coat of arms
   Motto: "Unité, Travail, Progrès"  (French)
   "Unity, Work, Progress"
   Anthem: La Tchadienne
   Location of Chad
   Capital
   (and largest city) N'Djamena
                      12°06′N 15°02′E
   Official languages French, Arabic
   Government         Republic
    - President       Idriss Déby
    - Prime Minister  Pascal Yoadimnadji
      Independence    from France
    - Date            August 11, 1960
                       Area
    - Total           1,284,000 km² ( 21st)
                      495,753 sq mi
    - Water (%)       1.9
                    Population
    - 2005 estimate   9,749,000 ( 82nd)
    - 1993 census     6,279,921
    - Density         7.6/km² ( 212th)
                      19.7/sq mi
       GDP ( PPP)     2005 estimate
    - Total           $13.723 billion ( 128th)
    - Per capita      $1,519 ( 155th)
      HDI  (2004)     0.368 (low) ( 171st)
        Currency      CFA franc ( XAF)
       Time zone      WAT ( UTC+1)
    - Summer ( DST)   not observed ( UTC+1)
      Internet TLD    .td
      Calling code    +235

   Chad (Arabic:تشاد , Tšad; French: Tchad), officially the Republic of
   Chad, is a landlocked country in central Africa. It is listed by
   Foreign Policy as one of the world's top 10 failed states. It borders
   Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to
   the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the
   west. Due to its distance from the sea and its largely desert climate,
   the country is sometimes referred to as the "dead heart of Africa". In
   the north, it contains the Tibesti Mountains, the largest mountain
   chain in the Sahara desert. Chad was formerly part of the Federation of
   French Equatorial Africa.

History

   The area that is Chad today was once inhabited by politically
   disconnected groups and tribes. Humanoid skulls and cave paintings of
   great antiquity have been found there. Relatively weak local kingdoms
   which developed gradually in the region were later overtaken by the
   larger and more powerful Kanem-Bornu Empire. From the Middle Ages
   onwards, Chad was a crossroads for trans-Saharan trade and East-West
   migration.

   In 1900, after the battle of Kousséri, Chad became a part of France's
   colonial system; the French mostly exploiting the south, inhabited
   predominantly by animists, where they promoted cotton farming and
   introduced Christianity, while governing the Muslim north through
   indirect rule.

   After WWII a process of decolonization began, in which the
   southern-dominated Chadian Progressive Party prevailed. Its leader,
   François Tombalbaye, became the country's first president when
   independence was proclaimed on August 11, 1960.

   In 1965, Muslim dissatisfaction with Tombalbaye, who was perceived as
   discriminating against them in favour of southerners, erupted in civil
   war, beginning a conflict that was to continue without interruption
   until 1993. This, combined with a severe drought, undermined
   Tombalbaye's rule and led to the 1975 coup in which the President was
   killed and replaced by a military junta headed by the southerner Felix
   Malloum. After a failure to reach an accord with the insurgents, the
   rebels conquered the capital in 1979 and the state crumbled, leading to
   the most anarchic phase of the Chadian Civil War.

   As a further complication, Libya, under Muammar al-Qaddafi, invaded
   Chad in 1980 to support the pro-Libyan Goukouni Oueddei against his
   former ally Hissène Habré and to promote an expansionist policy that
   sought to unify Libya and Chad politically. France and the United
   States responded, in an attempt to contain Libya's regional ambitions,
   by aiding Habré, who, in 1982, conquered the capital, ousted Oueddei,
   and assumed overall control of the country.

   Despite this victory, Habré's government was weak, accused of brutality
   and corruption, and seemingly disliked by a majority of Chadians. He
   was deposed by another Libyan-supported rebel leader Idriss Déby on
   December 1, 1990. Threatened by constant insurgent activity and several
   failed coups, Déby attempted national reconciliation, and most rebel
   groups disbanded. A constitution was approved in 1995, and a year
   later, Déby won the first multi-party elections in Chad's history. He
   won a second term five years later.

   The security situation worsened in 1998, when a new armed insurgency
   began in the north, led by President Déby's former defence chief,
   Youssouf Togoïmi, who posed a serious threat to Déby. Weakening of the
   regime brought coup attempts in 2004 and March 2006, and then, in
   April, the rebels attacked N'Djamena and were repulsed only after a
   pitched battle in the streets of the capital. The government also faces
   widespread opposition following the decision to amend the constitution,
   so that Déby could run for a third term. In response, all main
   opposition parties boycotted the May 2006 elections.

   There is a major risk that the Darfur conflict in Sudan will spread
   into Chad, with both governments accusing each other of supporting the
   other's rebels. On December 23, 2005, Chad announced that it was in a
   "state of war" with Sudan.; but a peace agreement has been signed at
   Dakar in July 2006, paving the way for the normalization of
   Chadian-Sudanese relations. In October 2006, rebel activity once again
   increased in eastern Chad, with rebels claiming to have seized the town
   of Am Timan in southeastern Chad on October 23, 2006. Amidst fears of
   another attack on the capital, the Chadian military has increased its
   presence in N'Djamena. Once again, the Chadian government has claimed
   that the rebels are supported by Sudan, a claim the Khartoum government
   denies.

   On November 25, 2006, rebels captured the eastern town of Abeche,
   capital of Ouaddaï Department and centre for humanitarian aid to the
   Darfur region in Sudan. On the same day, a separate rebel group Rally
   of Democratic Forces had captured Biltine. On November 26, 2006, the
   Chadian government claimed to have recaptured both towns, although
   rebels still claimed control of Biltine. Government buildings and
   humanitarian aid offices in Abeche were said to have been looted. The
   Chadian govenment denied a warning issued by the French Embassy in
   N'Djamena that a group of rebels were making its way through Batha
   prefecture in central Chad.

Politics

   The President of Chad, Idriss Déby.
   Enlarge
   The President of Chad, Idriss Déby.

   Politics of Chad takes place in a framework of a presidential republic,
   whereby the President of Chad is both head of state and head of
   government. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative
   power is vested in both the government and parliament. The political
   system operates under a constitution established in 1996, but a strong
   executive branch headed by president Idriss Déby has held power since
   1990.

Administrative divisions

   Since 2002, Chad has been divided into 18 regions, which are subdivided
   into 52 departments and further divided into 348 sub-prefectures.
   Implementation of the new plan has been slow on the ground, however.
   The regions approximately correspond with 14 prefectures which existed
   up to 1999.

   The regions include: Batha, Bourkou-Ennedi-Tibesti, Chari-Baguirmi,
   Guéra, Hadjer-Lamis (previously part of the Chari-Baguirmi Prefecture),
   Kanem, Lac, Logone Occidental, Logone Oriental, Mandoul (previously
   part of the Moyen-Chari Prefecture), Mayo-Kebbi Est (previously part of
   Mayo-Kebbi), Mayo-Kebbi Ouest (previously part of Mayo-Kebbi),
   Moyen-Chari, Ndjamena, Ouaddaï, Salamat, Tandjilé, and Wadi Fira
   (previously Biltine Prefecture).

Geography

   Satellite image of Chad, generated from raster graphics data supplied
   by The Map Library
   Enlarge
   Satellite image of Chad, generated from raster graphics data supplied
   by The Map Library

   At 495,722 mi² (1,284,000 km² ), Chad is the world's 21st-largest
   country (after Peru). It is comparable in size to Niger, and is nearly
   twice the size of the US state of Texas.

   Chad is a landlocked country in north central Africa, lying south of
   Libya. The country shares 5,968 kilometers (3,708  mi) of border with
   Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Libya, Niger, Nigeria, and
   Sudan. Chad has four climatic zones: it has broad, arid plains in the
   centre, desert in the north, dry mountains in the northwest, and
   tropical lowlands in the south. Only 3% of Chad is arable land and none
   of it has permanent crops. Environmental hazards in Chad include hot,
   dry, dusty harmattan winds in the north, periodic droughts, and locust
   plagues. Lake Chad, which is in Chad and Cameroon, was once the
   second-largest lake in Africa but has shrunk dramatically during the
   last few decades and is now down to less than 10% of its former size.
   The people of Chad are known as Chadian.
   Map of Chad
   Enlarge
   Map of Chad

Terrain

   Chad's terrain is dominated by the low-lying Chad Basin (elevation
   about 250 m / 820 ft), which rises gradually to mountains and plateaus
   on the north, east, and south. In the east heights of more than 900
   metres (3,000  ft) are attained in the Ennedi and Ouaddaï plateaus. The
   greatest elevations are reached in the Tibesti massif in the north,
   with a maximum height of 3,415 metres (11,204 ft) at Emi Koussi. The
   northern half of the republic lies in the Sahara. The only important
   rivers, the Logone and Chari (Shari), are located in the southwest and
   flow into Lake Chad. The lake doubles in size during the rainy season.

Economy

   Chad's primarily agricultural economy is being boosted by major
   oilfield and pipeline developments that began in 2000. Over 80% of
   Chad's population continues to rely on subsistence farming and stock
   raising for its livelihood. Cotton, and, in a far lesser measure,
   cattle and gum arabic, have, until recently, provided the bulk of
   Chad's export earnings, but Chad began to export oil in 2003 from three
   oilfields near Doba. It has been estimated that income from oil
   increased Chad's per capita GDP by 40% in 2004, and may double it in
   2005.

   Chad's economy has long been handicapped by its landlocked position,
   poor internal communications, high energy costs, scarce water resources
   and a history of instability. Until now, Chad has relied on foreign
   assistance and foreign capital for most public and private sector
   investment projects but oil income will transform government finances.

   A consortium, led by ExxonMobil, and with the participation of Chevron
   and Petronas, invested $3.7 billion to develop oil reserves estimated
   at 1 billion barrels (0.2 km³) in southern Chad, and Chad became an
   oil-producing country in 2003, with the completion of a pipeline
   (financed in part by the World Bank) linking its southern oilfields to
   terminals on the Atlantic coast via neighbouring Cameroon. Chad hopes
   to avoid the waste and corruption experienced in some other African
   oil-producing countries; as a condition of its assistance, the World
   Bank has insisted on a new law which requires that 80% of oil revenues
   will be spent on development projects. However, in January 2006 the
   World Bank suspended its loan program to Chad, in reaction to the
   Chadian decision to "relax" laws governing the spending of oil money.
   Chad's response is that the World Bank is using Chad as a test subject
   for different management styles. This suspension of loans further
   exacerbated Chad's financial problems, which have seen multiple strikes
   by government workers, teachers and doctors, leading to
   drastically-shortened school years and a shortage of health care in
   recent years. In an attempt to address the problem, on July 14, 2006,
   representatives from the World Bank and the Government of Chad signed a
   memorandum of understanding under which the Government of Chad
   committed 70 percent of its budget spending to priority poverty
   reduction programs, and provided for long-term growth and opportunity
   by creating a stabilization fund. The government pledged to enhance
   transparency and accountability with a new pledge of support for the
   role of the Collège, Chad's independent oil revenue oversight
   authority.

   Provided stability is maintained, the outlook for Chad's economy is now
   better than it has ever been, although government corruption and
   continued lack of pay to government-employed fonctionnaires still pose
   significant obstacles to the country's development. It is known that
   further reserves of oil exist within the country, in addition to the
   oilfields that are already being exploited.

   On August 26, 2006, Chad ordered Chevron and Petronas, which combined
   handle over 60 percent of Chad's oil, out of the country, claiming that
   they refused to pay their taxes, in the amount of 250 billion CFA
   Francs (450 million U.S. dollars). Chadian president, Idriss Déby, said
   that "Chad with Exxon will manage its oil while waiting to find a
   solution with the two other partners." A new Chadian national oil
   company was set to become a partner in the ExxonMobil-Chevron-Petronas
   consortium, with ExxonMobil's share at 40 percent, Petronas at 35
   percent, Chevron at 25 percent and Chad at 12.5 percent (as well as
   taxes). Chad's 12.5 percent share of its multibillion oil industry
   compares poorly with the 80 percent oil proceeds seen by countries such
   as Nigeria. On August 28, Déby suspended Oil Minister Mahmat Hassan
   Nasser, Planning Minister Mahmat Ali Hassan and Livestock Minister
   Mockhtar Moussa for their involvement in negotiating the terms of the
   agreements with Chevron and Petronas. Earlier in August, Chad broke its
   ties with Taiwan and established relations with the People's Republic
   of China, a move considered related to bringing investments from
   Chinese oil companies to the country.

   On September 12, Chevron has agreed to pay an additional tax in order
   to maintain its presence in Chad's oil industry. On that day, US Deputy
   Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of African Affairs Don
   Yamamoto met Prime Minister Pascal Yoadimnadji to discuss the oil
   dispute as well as the escalating Darfur conflict.

Demographics

   There are more than 200 ethnic groups in Chad. Those in the north and
   east are generally Muslim; most southerners are animists or Christians,
   although such a north/south division glosses over the complex and
   nuanced tribal and religious relationships in Chad. Through their long
   religious and commercial relationships with Sudan and Egypt, many of
   the peoples in Chad's eastern and central regions have become more or
   less Arabized, speaking Chadian Arabic (see below) (although typically
   not literary Arabic) and engaging in many other Arab cultural practices
   as well. More than three-quarters of the Chadian population is rural.

Culture

   A Ouaddai Chadian girl smiles
   Enlarge
   A Ouaddai Chadian girl smiles
   A Sara Chadian girl smiles
   Enlarge
   A Sara Chadian girl smiles

   Chad is a very culturally diverse nation. Among the manifestations of
   this diversity is the extremely large number of languages spoken there.
   Although the only official languages in Chad are Arabic and French,
   there are also more than 100 tribal languages spoken and a dialect of
   Arabic known as Chadian Arabic is the closest thing the country has to
   a national trade language. Chadian Arabic is a mix of "literary"
   Arabic, French and local dialects. It differs from the country's
   official language, literary Arabic, and, while literary Arabic speakers
   can often understand Chad Arabic, the inverse is not true. Government
   schools are taught in the official languages, with French typically the
   language of instruction. Few Chadians other than the educated/traveled
   elite speak literary Arabic.

   The largest ethnic group in Chad, the Christian/animist Sara peoples
   living in the south, only makes up 20% of the population. In central
   Chad, people are mostly nomadic and pastoralist. The mountainous north
   has a sparse, mostly Muslim population of mixed backgrounds. Each
   society in Chad (smaller than the groups described above) has developed
   their own religion, music, and folklore.

   The CIA World Factbook estimates that Chad's population is 51% Muslim,
   35% Christian, 7% adherents of traditional faiths; 7% adhere to other
   faiths or are nonreligious. The largest Christian churches are the
   Roman Catholic Church, the Assemblées Chrétiennes du Tchad, the Eglise
   Baptiste du Tchad and the Eglises Evangeliques au Tchad.

   List of writers from Chad, Day (language)

Geographic locale

   Flag of Libya  Libya
   Flag of Niger  Niger North Flag of Sudan  Sudan
   West    Flag of Chad  Chad     East
   South
   Flag of Nigeria  Nigeria
   Flag of Cameroon  Cameroon Flag of Central African Republic  Central
   African Republic

   Countries of Central Africa

   Burundi • Central African Republic • Chad • Democratic Republic of the
   Congo • Rwanda
   Countries of Africa

   Sovereign states: Algeria • Angola • Benin • Botswana • Burkina Faso •
   Burundi • Cameroon • Cape Verde • Central African Republic • Chad •
   Democratic Republic of the Congo • Republic of the Congo • Comoros •
   Côte d'Ivoire • Djibouti • Egypt ^1 • Equatorial Guinea • Eritrea •
   Ethiopia • France ^2 • Gabon • The Gambia • Ghana • Guinea-Bissau •
   Guinea • Kenya • Lesotho • Liberia • Libya • Madagascar • Malawi • Mali
   • Mauritania • Mauritius • Morocco • Mozambique • Namibia • Niger •
   Nigeria • Portugal ^2 • Rwanda • Senegal • Seychelles • Sierra Leone •
   Somalia • South Africa • Spain ^2 • Sudan • Swaziland • São Tomé and
   Príncipe • Tanzania • Togo • Tunisia • Uganda • Yemen ^3 • Zambia •
   Zimbabwe

   Dependencies: British Indian Ocean Territory (UK) • French Southern
   Territories (France) • Mayotte (France) • Réunion (France) • Saint
   Helena ^4 (UK)

   Unrecognized countries: Somaliland • Western Sahara •

   ^1  Partly in Asia. ^2  Mostly in Europe. ^3  Mostly in Asia.
   ^4 Includes the dependencies of Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha.
   Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC)
   Flag of the OIC

   Afghanistan • Albania • Algeria • Azerbaijan • Bahrain • Bangladesh •
   Benin • Burkina Faso • Brunei • Cameroon • Chad • Comoros •
   Côte d'Ivoire • Djibouti • Egypt • Gabon • Gambia • Guinea •
   Guinea-Bissau • Guyana • Indonesia • Iran • Iraq • Jordan • Kuwait •
   Kazakhstan • Kyrgyzstan • Lebanon • Libya • Maldives • Malaysia •
   Mali • Mauritania • Morocco • Mozambique • Niger • Nigeria • Oman •
   Pakistan • State of Palestine • Qatar • Saudi Arabia • Senegal •
   Sierra Leone • Somalia • Sudan • Surinam • Syria • Tajikistan •
   Turkey • Tunisia • Togo • Turkmenistan • Uganda • Uzbekistan •
   United Arab Emirates • Yemen

   Observer countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina • Central African Republic •
   Russia • Thailand • Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus

   Observer Muslim organizations and communities:
   Moro National Liberation Front

   Observer international organizations:
   Economic Cooperation Organization • Organisation of African Unity •
   League of Arab States • Non-Aligned Movement • United Nations
   Member states of the African Union

   Algeria • Angola • Benin • Botswana • Burkina Faso • Burundi •
   Cameroon • Cape Verde • Central African Republic • Chad • Comoros •
   Democratic Republic of the Congo • Republic of the Congo •
   Côte d'Ivoire • Djibouti • Egypt • Eritrea • Ethiopia •
   Equatorial Guinea • Gabon • The Gambia • Ghana • Guinea •
   Guinea-Bissau • Kenya • Lesotho • Liberia • Libya • Madagascar •
   Malawi • Mali • Mauritania • Mauritius • Mozambique • Namibia • Niger •
   Nigeria • Rwanda • São Tomé and Príncipe • Senegal • Seychelles •
   Sierra Leone • Somalia • South Africa • Sudan • Swaziland • Tanzania •
   Togo • Tunisia • Uganda • Western Sahara  (SADR) • Zambia • Zimbabwe
   Francophonie
   Members: Belgium • Benin • Bulgaria • Burkina Faso • Burundi • Cambodia
   • Cameroon • Canada • New Brunswick • Quebec • Ontario • Cape Verde •
   Central African Republic • Chad • Comoros • Côte d'Ivoire • Cyprus •
   Democratic Republic of the Congo • Djibouti • Dominica • Egypt •
   Equatorial Guinea • France • French Guiana • Gabon • Ghana • Guadeloupe
   • Guinea • Guinea-Bissau • Haiti • Laos • Lebanon • Madagascar • Mali •
   Martinique • Mauritania • Mauritius • Morocco • Niger • Republic of the
   Congo • Romania • Rwanda • Saint Lucia • São Tomé and Príncipe •
   Senegal • Seychelles • Saint-Pierre and Miquelon • Switzerland • Togo •
   Tunisia • Ukraine • Vanuatu • Vietnam

   Observers: Armenia • Austria • Croatia • Czech Republic • Georgia •
   Hungary • Lithuania • Mozambique • Poland • Serbia • Slovakia •
   Slovenia • Ukraine
   Chadic-speaking nations

   Flag of Cameroon  Cameroon • Flag of Central African Republic  Central
   African Republic • Flag of Chad  Chad • Flag of Niger  Niger • Flag of
   Nigeria  Nigeria
   Niger-Congo-speaking nations
   Kordofanian

   Flag of Sudan  Sudan
   Mande

   Flag of The Gambia  The Gambia • Flag of Guinea  Guinea • Flag of
   Guinea-Bissau  Guinea-Bissau • Flag of Mali  Mali • Flag of Mauritania
    Mauritania • Flag of Senegal  Senegal • Flag of Sierra Leone  Sierra
   Leone
   Atlantic-Congo

   Atlantic

   Flag of Benin  Benin • Flag of Burkina Faso  Burkina Faso • Flag of
   Cameroon  Cameroon • Flag of Central African Republic  Central African
   Republic • Flag of Chad  Chad • Flag of Côte d'Ivoire  Côte d'Ivoire •
   Flag of The Gambia  The Gambia • Flag of Guinea  Guinea • Flag of
   Guinea-Bissau  Guinea-Bissau • Flag of Liberia  Liberia • Flag of Mali
    Mali • Flag of Mauritania  Mauritania • Flag of Niger  Niger • Flag of
   Senegal  Senegal • Flag of Sierra Leone  Sierra Leone • Flag of Sudan
   Sudan • Flag of Togo  Togo

   Ijoid: Flag of Nigeria  Nigeria - Dogon: Flag of Mali  Mali
   Volta-Congo

   Senufo: Flag of Benin  Benin • Flag of Côte d'Ivoire  Côte d'Ivoire •
   Flag of Mali  Mali

   Gur: Flag of Benin  Benin • Flag of Burkina Faso  Burkina Faso • Flag
   of Côte d'Ivoire  Côte d'Ivoire • Flag of Ghana  Ghana • Flag of Mali
   Mali • Flag of Nigeria  Nigeria • Flag of Togo  Togo

   Adamawa-Ubangi: Flag of Cameroon  Cameroon • Flag of Central African
   Republic  Central African Republic • Flag of Chad  Chad • Flag of
   Nigeria  Nigeria

   Kru: Flag of Burkina Faso  Burkina Faso • Flag of Côte d'Ivoire  Côte
   d'Ivoire • Flag of Liberia  Liberia

   Kwa: Flag of Benin  Benin • Flag of Côte d'Ivoire  Côte d'Ivoire • Flag
   of Ghana  Ghana • Flag of Nigeria  Nigeria • Flag of Togo  Togo
   Benue-Congo

   Bantu

   Flag of Angola  Angola • Flag of Botswana  Botswana • Flag of Burundi
   Burundi • Flag of Cameroon  Cameroon • Flag of Democratic Republic of
   the Congo  Democratic Republic of the Congo • Flag of Republic of the
   Congo  Republic of the Congo • Flag of Equatorial Guinea  Equatorial
   Guinea • Flag of Gabon  Gabon • Flag of Kenya  Kenya • Flag of Nigeria
    Nigeria • Flag of Malawi  Malawi • Flag of Mozambique  Mozambique •
   Flag of Namibia  Namibia • Flag of Rwanda  Rwanda • Flag of Somalia
   Somalia • Flag of South Africa  South Africa • Flag of Swaziland
   Swaziland • Flag of Tanzania  Tanzania • Flag of Uganda  Uganda • Flag
   of Zambia  Zambia • Flag of Zimbabwe  Zimbabwe

   Yoruba and Igbo: Flag of Nigeria  Nigeria
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