Chad

/chad/, n.

1. Lake, a lake in Africa at the junction of four countries: Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria. 5000 to 10,000 sq. mi. (13,000 to 26,000 sq. km) (seasonal variation).

2. Official name, Republic of Chad. a republic in N central Africa, E of Lake Chad: a member of the French Community; formerly part of French Equatorial Africa. 7,166,023; 501,000 sq. mi. (1,297,590 sq. km). Cap.: N'Djamena.

3. Chadic.

4. a male given name. French, Tchad (for defs. 1, 2).

* * *

Chad

Introduction Chad -
Background: Chad, part of France's African holdings until 1960, endured three decades of ethnic warfare as well as invasions by Libya before a semblance of peace was finally restored in 1990. The government eventually suppressed or came to terms with most political-military groups, settled a territorial dispute with Libya on terms favorable to Chad, drafted a democratic constitution, and held multiparty presidential and National Assembly elections in 1996 and 1997 respectively. In 1998 a new rebellion broke out in northern Chad, which continued to escalate throughout 2000. A peace agreement, signed in January 2002 between the government and the rebels, provides for the demobilization of the rebels and their reintegration into the political system. Despite movement toward democratic reform, power remains in the hands of a northern ethnic oligarchy. Geography Chad
Location: Central Africa, south of Libya
Geographic coordinates: 15 00 N, 19 00 E
Map references: Africa
Area: total: 1.284 million sq km water: 24,800 sq km land: 1,259,200 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly more than three times the size of California
Land boundaries: 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: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none (landlocked)
Climate: tropical in south, desert in north
Terrain: broad, arid plains in center, desert in north, mountains in northwest, lowlands in south
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Djourab Depression 160 m highest point: Emi Koussi 3,415 m
Natural resources: petroleum (unexploited but exploration under way), uranium, natron, kaolin, fish (Lake Chad)
Land use: arable land: 2.78% permanent crops: 0.02% other: 97.2% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 200 sq km (1998 est.)
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 party to: Biodiversity, Climate
agreements: Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban, 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 People Chad -
Population: 8,997,237 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 47.8% (male 2,162,732; female 2,135,354) 15-64 years: 49.4% (male 2,108,134; female 2,340,189) 65 years and over: 2.8% (male 103,683; female 147,145) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 3.27% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 47.74 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: 15.06 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.9 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/ female total population: 0.95 male(s)/ female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 93.46 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) Life expectancy at birth: total population: 51.27 years female: 53.4 years (2002 est.) male: 49.22 years
Total fertility rate: 6.5 children born/woman (2002 est.) HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 5%-7% (2001) HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/ 300,000 (2001)
AIDS:
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 14,000 (confirmed AIDS cases, actual number far higher but difficult to estimate) (2001)
Nationality: noun: Chadian(s) adjective: Chadian
Ethnic groups: 200 distinct groups; in the north and center: Arabs, Gorane (Toubou, Daza, Kreda), Zaghawa, Kanembou, Ouaddai, Baguirmi, Hadjerai, Fulbe, Kotoko, Hausa, Boulala, and Maba, most of whom are Muslim; in the south: Sara (Ngambaye, Mbaye, Goulaye), Moundang, Moussei, Massa, most of whom are Christian or animist; about 1,000 French citizens live in Chad
Religions: Muslim 51%, Christian 35%, animist 7%, other 7%
Languages: French (official), Arabic (official), Sara (in south), more than 120 different languages and dialects
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write French or Arabic total population: 40% male: 49% female: 31% (1998) Government Chad -
Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Chad conventional short form: Chad local long form: Republique du Tchad local short form: Tchad
Government type: republic
Capital: N'Djamena Administrative divisions: 14 prefectures (prefectures, singular - prefecture); Batha, Biltine, Borkou-Ennedi-Tibesti, Chari-Baguirmi, Guera, Kanem, Lac, Logone Occidental, Logone Oriental, Mayo-Kebbi, Moyen-Chari, Ouaddai, Salamat, Tandjile note: instead of 14 prefectures, there may be a new administrative structure of 28 departments (departments, singular - department), and 1 city*; Assongha, Baguirmi, Bahr El Gazal, Bahr Koh, Batha Oriental, Batha Occidental, Biltine, Borkou, Dababa, Ennedi, Guera, Hadjer Lamis, Kabia, Kanem, Lac, Lac Iro, Logone Occidental, Logone Oriental, Mandoul, Mayo- Boneye, Mayo-Dallah, Monts de Lam, N'djamena*, Ouaddai, Salamat, Sila, Tandjile Oriental, Tandjile Occidental, Tibesti
Independence: 11 August 1960 (from France)
National holiday: Independence Day, 11 August (1960)
Constitution: passed by referendum 31 March 1996
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 (since 4 December 1990) head of government: Prime Minister Nagoum YAMASSOUM (since 13 December 1999) cabinet: Council of State, members appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister election results: Lt. Gen. Idriss DEBY reelected president; percent of vote - Lt. Gen. Idriss DEBY 63%, Ngarlegy YORONGAR 16%, Saleh KEBZABO 7% note: government coalition - MPS, UNDR, and URD 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 20 May 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); prime minister appointed by the president
Legislative branch: bicameral according to constitution, consists of a National Assembly (155 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and a Senate (not yet created and size unspecified, members to serve six- year terms, one-third of membership renewable every two years) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - MPS 110, RDP 12, FAR 9, RNDP 5, URD 5, UNDR 3, others 11 elections: National Assembly - last held 25 April 2002 (next to be held in NA April 2006)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court; Court of Appeal; Criminal Courts; Magistrate Courts Political parties and leaders: Federation Action for the Republic or FAR [Ngarlejy YORONGAR]; National Rally for Development and Progress or RNDP [Mamadou BISSO]; National Union for Development and Renewal or UNDR [Saleh KEBZABO]; National Union for Renewal and Democracy or UNRD [leader NA]; Party for Liberty and Democracy or PLD [Ibni Oumar Mahamat SALEH]; Patriotic Salvation Movement or MPS [Mahamat Saleh AHMAT, chairman] (originally in opposition but now the party in power and the party of the president); Rally for Democracy and Progress or RDP [Lal Mahamat CHOUA]; Union for Democracy and the Republic or UDR [Jean Bawoyeu ALINGUE]; Union for Renewal and Democracy or URD [Gen. Wadal Abdelkader KAMOUGUE]; Viva Rally for Development and Progress or Viva RNDP [Delwa Kassire COUMAKOYE] Political pressure groups and NA
leaders: International organization ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, CEEAC,
participation: CEMAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Hassaballah Abdelhadi Ahmat SOUBIANE chancery: 2002 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 FAX: [1] [phone] telephone: [1] [phone] Diplomatic representation from the chief of mission: Ambassador
US: Christopher E. GOLDTHWAIT embassy: Avenue Felix Eboue, N'Djamena mailing address: B. P. 413, N'Djamena telephone: [235] (51) 70-09 FAX: [235] (51) 56-54
Flag description: three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, and red; 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 Chad
Economy - overview: Chad's primarily agricultural economy will be boosted by major oilfield and pipeline projects that began in 2000. Over 80% of Chad's population relies on subsistence farming and stock raising for their livelihood. Cotton, cattle, and gum arabic provide the bulk of Chad's export earnings, but Chad will begin to export oil in 2004. Chad's economy has long been handicapped by its land-locked 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 is investing $3.7 billion to develop oil reserves estimated at 1 billion barrels in southern Chad.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $8.9 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 8% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $1,030 (2001 est.) GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 38% industry: 13% services: 49% (2001 est.) Population below poverty line: 80% (2001 est.) Household income or consumption by lowest 10%: NA%
percentage share: highest 10%: NA% Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3% (2000 est.)
Labor force: NA Labor force - by occupation: agriculture more than 80% (subsistence farming, herding, and fishing)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues: $198 million expenditures: $218 million, including capital expenditures of $146 million (1998 est.)
Industries: cotton textiles, meatpacking, beer brewing, natron (sodium carbonate), soap, cigarettes, construction materials Industrial production growth rate: 5% (1995) Electricity - production: 92 million kWh (2000) Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% other: 0% (2000) nuclear: 0% Electricity - consumption: 85.56 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: cotton, sorghum, millet, peanuts, rice, potatoes, manioc (tapioca); cattle, sheep, goats, camels
Exports: $172 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.)
Exports - commodities: cotton, cattle, gum arabic
Exports - partners: Portugal 38%, Germany 12%, Thailand, Costa Rica, South Africa, France, Nigeria (2001)
Imports: $223 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.)
Imports - commodities: machinery and transportation equipment, industrial goods, petroleum products, foodstuffs, textiles
Imports - partners: France 40%, Cameroon 13%, Nigeria 12%, India 5% (1999)
Debt - external: $1.1 billion (2000 est.) Economic aid - recipient: $238.3 million (1995); note - $125 million committed by Taiwan (August 1997); $30 million committed by African Development Bank
Currency: Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States
Currency code: XAF
Exchange rates: Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 742.79 (January 2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997); note - from 1 January 1999, the XAF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XAF per euro
Fiscal year: calendar year Communications Chad - Telephones - main lines in use: 10,260 (2000) Telephones - mobile cellular: 20,000 (2002)
Telephone system: general assessment: primitive system domestic: fair system of radiotelephone communication stations international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 5 (1998)
Radios: 1.67 million (1997) Television broadcast stations: 1 (1997)
Televisions: 10,000 (1997)
Internet country code: .td Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 1 (2000)
Internet users: 1,000 (2000) Transportation Chad -
Railways: 0 km
Highways: total: 33,400 km paved: 450 km note: probably no more than 8,000 km of the total receive maintenance, the remainder being desert tracks (2000) unpaved: 32,950 km
Waterways: 2,000 km
Ports and harbors: none
Airports: 49 (2001) Airports - with paved runways: total: 7 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2001) Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 42 1,524 to 2,437 m: 12 914 to 1,523 m: 20 under 914 m: 10 (2001) Military Chad -
Military branches: Armed Forces (including National Army, Air Force, and Gendarmerie), Rapid Intervention Force, National and Nomadic Guard (GNNT), Presidential Security Guard, Police Military manpower - military age: 20 years of age (2002 est.) Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 1,881,769 (2002 est.) Military manpower - fit for military males age 15-49: 985,094 (2002 est.)
service: Military manpower - reaching males: 82,003 (2002 est.)
military age annually: Military expenditures - dollar $31 million (FY01)
figure: Military expenditures - percent of 1.9% (FY01)
GDP: Transnational Issues Chad - Disputes - international: Lake Chad Commission urges signatories Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria to ratify delimitation treaty over lake region, the site of continuing armed clashes; Nigeria requests and Chad rejects redemarcation of boundary, which lacks clear demarcation in sections and has caused several cross-border incidents; Chadian rebels from Aozou reside in Libya

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French Tchad

Country, north-central Africa.

Area: 495,752 sq mi (1,283,998 sq km). Population (2002 est.): 8,997,000. Capital: N'Djamena. The Sara are the largest ethnic group, comprising about one-fourth of the total population; other groups include the Kebbi, Kanem-Bornu, Tangale, Fulani, and Gorane. Arabs, composed of a number of peoples, represent a single ethnic group. Languages: French, Arabic (both official), Fula, Sara. Religions: Islam, traditional religions, Roman Catholicism, Protestantism. Currency: CFA franc. The landlocked country's terrain is a shallow basin that rises gradually from 750 ft (228 m) above sea level at Lake Chad. The basin is rimmed by mountains, including the volcanic Tibesti Massif to the north, rising to 11,204 ft (3,415 m) at Mount Koussi. The lowest elevation, 573 ft (175 m), is in the Djourab Depression. Chad's river network is limited to the Chari and Logone rivers and their tributaries, which flow from the southeast into Lake Chad. The economy is agricultural; gold, uranium, and petroleum have not been fully exploited. Chad is a republic with one legislative body; its chief of state is the president, its head of government the prime minister. About AD 800 the kingdom of Kanem was founded, and by the early 1200s its borders had expanded to form a new kingdom, Kanem-Bornu, in the north. Its power peaked in the 16th century with its command of the southern terminus of the trans-Sahara trade route to Tripoli. About this time the rival kingdoms of Baguirmi and Wadai evolved in the south. In the years 1883–93 all three kingdoms fell to the Sudanese adventurer Rabih al-Zubayr, who was in turn pushed out by the French in 1891. Extending their power, the French in 1910 made Chad a part of French Equatorial Africa. Chad became a separate colony in 1920 and was made an overseas territory in 1946. The country achieved independence in 1960 but has had decades of civil war, resulting in political instability and a lack of economic development. Although France and Libya frequently intervened in Chad, a lasting peace has proved elusive.

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▪ 2009

Area:

1,284,000 sq km (495,755 sq mi)

Population

(2008 est.): 10,111,000, excluding more than 200,000 refugees from The Sudan

Capital:

N'Djamena

Chief of state:

President Lieut. Gen. Idriss Déby

Head of government:

Prime Ministers Delwa Kassire Koumakoye and, from April 16, Youssouf Saleh Abbas

      The deployment took place in Chad in January 2008 of a portion of the planned EU military force of 3,700 troops (EUFOR). This was to help protect humanitarian personnel providing services mainly to refugees in Chad streaming in from Darfur, a war-torn region in The Sudan, as well as some 180,000 internally displaced people. The deployment of EUFOR had been delayed owing to logistic, financial, and political factors. In February the long-standing armed conflict in eastern Chad between the government and rebels reached the capital, N'Djamena, and heavy fighting occurred there before the rebel troops were expelled. A leading opposition figure fled to France, which claimed that its troops had not been involved in the fighting, but French logistic assistance was likely to have helped to ensure the survival of the government of Pres. Idriss Déby. Accusing The Sudan of aiding the rebels, Déby renewed Chad's state of emergency. By October, EUFOR troops numbered more than 3,300, and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on the Security Council to replace EUFOR (its mandate was to expire in March 2009) with a 6,000 UN troop contingent in Chad and the Central African Republic. As long as the Darfur crisis continued, there was little hope of stability in Chad. (See The Sudan: Sidebar (Combating the Crisis in Darfur ).)

      Chad retained its reputation as one of the most corrupt countries in the world, and much of the money that flowed to the government from the new oil revenues seemed to be swallowed up by the armed conflict against the rebels. In September 2008 the World Bank withdrew its loan agreement that backed a vast oil pipeline project with Cameroon, operated by ExxonMobil, on the grounds that Déby's government had not complied with the commitment it had given to set aside oil revenues to benefit local communities, especially in respect to health and education.

Christopher Saunders

▪ 2008

Area:

1,284,000 sq km (495,755 sq mi)

Population

(2007 est.): 10,239,000, excluding nearly 250,000 refugees from The Sudan

Capital:

N'Djamena

Chief of state:

President Lieut. Gen. Idriss Déby

Head of government:

Prime Ministers Pascal Yoadimnadji, Adoum Younousmi (interim) from February 23, and, from February 26, Delwa Kassire Koumakoye

 Chad continued to be affected in 2007 by both the conflict across its border in the Darfur region of The Sudan and the ongoing low-intensity warfare between various rebel factions and the government of Pres. Idriss Déby. Déby and his ruling Zaghawa group were accused of having committed human rights abuses and of having misused oil revenues. By September there were an estimated 250,000 Sudanese refugees from Darfur in camps in eastern Chad, and more than 100,000 Chadians in the east had been forced from their homes. As raids by mounted armed men from Darfur continued, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the French government called for a UN– European Union peacekeeping force to be established in eastern Chad to protect the camps. EU troops were expected to be in place before year's end. The leader of the Alliance for Democratic Change and other rebels said they feared that the peacekeeping force would aid the Déby government, which in the past had counted on French assistance. Having switched support from Taiwan to Beijing in 2006, the Déby government had a new ally in the Chinese, with whom an oil agreement was signed after an announcement of the discovery of new oil fields. Once again, Transparency International found Chad to be one of the most corrupt countries in the world.

      In an effort at reconciliation, in March Déby appointed as minister of defense Mahamat Nour, leader of the Tama and a coalition of rebel groups. Despite this, the Tama were involved in fighting that resumed in August near the town of Guéréda, but exceptionally heavy rains led to such extensive flooding in the east of the country that both continued attacks and relief work for refugees were severely hampered.

Christopher Saunders

▪ 2007

Area:

1,284,000 sq km (495,755 sq mi)

Population

(2006 est.): 9,944,000, excluding more than 200,000 refugees from The Sudan

Capital:

N'Djamena

Chief of state:

President Lieut. Gen. Idriss Déby

Head of government:

Prime Minister Pascal Yoadimnadji

      After the constitution was amended by the parliament to allow him to run for a third term, Pres. Idriss Déby won the May 2006 presidential election in Chad, a country that Transparency International in 2005 had ranked as the most corrupt in the world. The month before the election, a rebel attack on N'Djamena left more than 200 dead. As a result, many residents fled to northern Cameroon, fearing further violence. Most of the opposition boycotted the election in protest against Déby's candidacy; their slogan was “Dialogue first, elections after,” and the leader of the Action Federation for the Republic called Déby's reelection a sham.

      In January Déby reneged on an agreement with the World Bank that provided for oil revenues to be spent on poverty reduction and said that he would use the money at his discretion. In July he agreed again to target funds for poverty and to create a stabilization fund for future generations, but he continued to use oil money to buy arms and win support against the rebels. In August he threatened American oil company Chevron and Malaysia's Petronas, which together produced 60% of the oil exported from Chad via Cameroon, with expulsion, on the grounds that they had not paid taxes of $450 million. The matter seemed to be resolved in October.

  Rebel militias operated in eastern Chad, where more than 200,000 displaced people lived after having fled there from the Darfur region of The Sudan. After months of accusations that The Sudan was sponsoring militias—notably the United Front for Democratic Change, a coalition of rebel groups seeking to overthrow Déby's government—to install a pro-Khartoum government in N'Djamena, the Chad government signed an agreement in August with The Sudan to restore diplomatic relations, which had been severed in April. Amnesty International called for UN peacekeeping troops to be sent to eastern Chad as well as to Darfur.

      Many in Chad welcomed the African Union's decision in July to request the prosecution of former president Hissène Habré, who was allegedly responsible for thousands of deaths; he would be tried for his crimes in Senegal, where he had taken refuge.

Christopher Saunders

▪ 2006

Area:

1,284,000 sq km (495,755 sq mi)

Population

(2005 est.): 9,657,000, excluding some 200,000 refugees from The Sudan

Capital:

N'Djamena

Chief of state:

President Lieut. Gen. Idriss Déby

Head of government:

Prime Ministers Moussa Faki Mahamat and, from February 3, Pascal Yoadimnadji

      In 2005, despite its wealth as a new oil exporter, Chad remained one of the world's poorest nations, with 80% of the population living on less than a dollar a day by UN estimates. For months early in the year, civil servants and other workers were not paid. After a series of protest strikes, Moussa Faki, who had been appointed prime minister in June 2003, resigned in February and was replaced by Pascal Yoadimnadji, a former agriculture minister. After the army quelled a mutiny that Pres. Idriss Déby said was aimed at him, his ruling Patriotic Salvation Movement (MPS) pushed a series of constitutional amendments through the parliament, where the MPS held 113 of the 155 seats. The measure that aroused most criticism, within the country and abroad, repealed the restriction on the president's holding office for more than two terms. This would allow Déby to stand in 2006 for a third five-year term as elected chief of state. Despite rumours that the president was seriously ill, the amendments were endorsed by 77% of those who voted in a referendum held on June 6. Another amendment replaced the Senate with an Economic, Social and Cultural Council, the members of which would all be nominated by the president. Most newspapers and radio stations stopped work in August to protest what one reporter called Déby's “creeping dictatorship.”

      Meanwhile, the some 200,000 refugees from the conflict in the Darfur region of The Sudan who had fled into Chad put pressure on resources in the extremely poor east of the country. The refugees were supplied with food rations by the UN, but providing them with enough water in such arid country posed major problems. In mid-2005 waves of refugees began entering southern Chad from the Central African Republic.

      In December tensions between Chad and The Sudan increased following a deadly rebel attack in eastern Chad. Although The Sudan denied involvement, Chad declared “a state of war.”

Christopher Saunders

▪ 2005

Area:

1,284,000 sq km (495,755 sq mi)

Population

(2004 est.): 9,539,000, excluding some 180,000 refugees from The Sudan

Capital:

N'Djamena

Chief of state:

President Lieut. Gen. Idriss Déby

Head of government:

Prime Minister Moussa Faki

      In 2004 Chad received the first share of royalties from the large oil project that went onstream in 2003. Estimated at about $100 million, these royalties added another 40% to the government's revenues. In theory, a citizens' committee was to review all spending, but, despite a very low standard of living in the country, the government had used much of the $25 million signing bonus it got before the completion of the pipeline to Cameroon to purchase arms. After an abortive army uprising in the capital, which Pres. Idriss Déby claimed had been organized to overthrow him, the parliament in May approved the idea of amending the constitution to allow him to seek a third term as president.

      International attention focused on eastern Chad because of the humanitarian disaster caused by the genocide in the Darfur region of The Sudan, which borders Chad. By midyear there were an estimated 180,000 Sudanese refugees in some 10 large camps located in a remote part of the country. The death rate in the camps was high, and as disease spread, Chadians living nearby were affected. Meanwhile, a cholera epidemic broke out in western Chad and spread to the capital, and locusts fell on what vegetation there was in this very arid country.

      From December 2003 Chad hosted a series of talks between the Sudanese government and the Darfur rebels, and a cease-fire agreement was signed in April 2004. This did not hold, however, and the Chadian government began to accuse the Janjawid militia of helping to revive the Renewed National Front of Chad (FNTR) rebel movement. The Chadian army clashed with the Janjawid militia raiding across the border. The army uprising in N'Djamena in mid-May was thought to have resulted from dissatisfaction with the relatively conciliatory line being taken by the Chadian authorities towards the Sudanese government.

Christopher Saunders

▪ 2004

Area:

1,284,000 sq km (495,755 sq mi)

Population

(2003 est.): 9,253,000

Capital:

N'Djamena

Chief of state:

President Lieut. Gen. Idriss Déby

Head of government:

Prime Ministers Haroun Kabadi and, from June 24, Moussa Faki

      In 2003, after years of effort and $3.7 billion in expenditures, oil began to flow from southern Chad's Doba basin to the port of Kribi in Cameroon. Though Chad remained one of the poorest countries in the world, it hoped to receive $80 million annually from oil exports. Plans had been laid for the oil revenues to be spent on social improvements in Chad, especially the Doba basin, but by mid-2003 there were already signs that benefits would mainly accrue to the ruling elite.

      In January 2003 it was announced that the government had signed a peace agreement with a major rebel group, the National Resistance Army (ANR), which had been active near the border with The Sudan and the Central African Republic (CAR). The agreement provided for a cease-fire and amnesty and the integration of the rebels into the national army or their return to civilian life. Unrest continued on the border with the CAR, however, and from late 2002 Chad became increasingly involved in fighting between the CAR government and rebels seeking to overthrow it. Each country accused the other of supporting opposition groups. Tens of thousands of people, many of them Chadians who had been living in the northern CAR, fled into southern Chad to escape the fighting. Pres. Idriss Déby visited the CAR in February 2003 in an attempt to improve relations, but in March the rebels overthrew CAR Pres. Ange-Félix Patassé, and the self-declared president, Gen. François Bozizé, immediately called upon Chad to send troops to help. A Chadian contingent of 400 soldiers was dispatched and stabilized the situation in Bangui. Bozizé's visit to Chad in May reflected the new friendship between the governments.

Christopher Saunders

▪ 2003

Area:

1,284,000 sq km (495,755 sq mi)

Population

(2002 est.): 8,997,000

Capital:

N'Djamena

Chief of state:

President Lieut. Gen. Idriss Déby

Head of government:

Prime Ministers Nagoum Yamassoum and, from June 12, Haroun Kabadi

      In January 2002, after mediation by Libya, the government of Chad signed a peace agreement with the Movement for Democracy and Justice in Chad (MDJT), which had been fighting since 1998 in the northern Tibesti region of the country, bordering Libya. The agreement provided for a cease-fire and amnesty for rebel fighters, and in February the Chad parliament passed the necessary amnesty legislation. The peace process moved slowly, but with the death of Youssouf Togoimi, the leader and founder of the MDJT, in September of wounds received in a land-mine accident, the peace process was expected to gather momentum.

      In April, when Pres. Idriss Déby met his Central African Republic counterpart in N'Djamena, the two agreed to the immediate reopening of their common border and called for a bilateral commission of experts and parliamentarians to address outstanding issues causing tension between the two countries.

      The building of the pipeline from the Doba oil fields in southern Chad to the coast in Cameroon went ahead, though an inspection panel set up by the World Bank raised serious concerns over the project. The inspection team's report, which was leaked to critics of the project before the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, S.Af., suggested that the project might cause environmental damage, destroy the livelihood of people in the area affected, and fail to meet the bank's social and economic goals. The bank itself, however, seemed satisfied with the Chad government's commitment to spending 80% of its oil revenues on the priority sectors of health, education, rural development, infrastructure, environment, and water.

      The most spectacular news from Chad in 2002 was the report of the discovery of hominid fossil remains much older than any previously known—and far distant from earlier finds in the Rift Valley of Eastern Africa. (See Anthropology and Archaeology: Physical Anthropology (Anthropology and Archaeology ).)

Christopher Saunders

▪ 2002

Area:

1,284,000 sq km (495,755 sq mi)

Population

(2001 est.): 8,707,000

Capital:

N'Djamena

Chief of state:

President Lieut. Gen. Idriss Déby

Head of government:

Prime Minister Nagoum Yamassoum

      Chadian Pres. Idriss Déby won 63% of the vote in the May 2001 presidential election, securing for himself another five-year term, but this was only after many irregular electoral practices. Opposition members of the electoral commission resigned before the results were announced, maintaining that the election had been rigged. The opposition parties continued to refuse to accept the results, but their appeal to the constitutional court failed, protest meetings were banned, and demonstrations were broken up. Such actions cost Déby support, both within the country and in the international community. He postponed the legislative elections until 2002, and the opposition feared that in the interval he would use his patronage to strengthen his party, the Patriotic Salvation Movement.

      By mid-2001 the UN High Commissioner for Refugees was approaching the end of the voluntary repatriation of thousands of people who had fled Chad for Cameroon in the 1980s. More than 40,000 Chadian refugees in Cameroon did not return to their homeland, however, in part because of the deteriorating political situation in northern Chad. The Movement for Democracy and Justice in Chad (MDJT) continued fighting in the Tibesti region in the northwest, close to the Libyan border, under Youssouf Togoimi, a former defense minister. In July the MDJT claimed to have captured the strategic town of Fada and opened a new front 900 km (560 mi) northeast of the capital, N'Djamena. President Déby suspected that Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi was helping the rebels.

Christopher Saunders

▪ 2001

Area:

1,284,000 sq km (495,755 sq mi)

Population

(2000 est.): 8,425,000

Capital:

N'Djamena

Chief of state:

President Lieut. Gen. Idriss Déby

Head of government:

Prime Minister Nagoum Yamassoum

      The main issue in 2000 was whether construction of a giant oil-development project, which would link the Doba Basin in the south of Chad to the sea via a pipeline through Cameroon, would go ahead as planned. In November 1999 both French oil group Elf, which held a 20% stake in the project, and Anglo-Dutch Shell, which had a 40% stake, withdrew their support. When the Malaysian state oil firm Petronas took a 35% share, however, the project was finally approved—after 10 years of planning—in June 2000 by the World Bank, despite loud protests from environmentalists and human rights groups. The support of the U.S. government was crucial in the Bank's decision to lend some $193 million of the $3.7 billion needed. Barring further delays, oil was expected to begin flowing in 2004.

      Besides the government's inability to deal with corruption, the most serious threat to the project was the continued rebellion in the northern Tibesti region, led by former defense minister Yossouf Togoimi. In February some of Pres. Idriss Déby's presidential guard surrendered to Togoimi. As chair of the Community of the Sahelian-Saharan States, Déby appealed to Togoimi to lay down his arms. Déby was unable to suppress the rebellion. In addition, other elements involved in armed resistance to Déby's government formed a coordinating council based in Libreville, Gabon. Trouble erupted in March when Chadian troops occupied two potentially oil-rich islands belonging to Nigeria in the waters of Lake Chad. The charges of torture and brutality brought by a Senegalese court in May against exiled former Chadian dictator Hissène Habré were dropped inexplicably in July. At a meeting in N'Djamena, President Déby along with Pres. Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria and Pres. Tandja Mamadou of Niger agreed to take steps to halt the 30-year decline in the water level of Lake Chad.

Christopher Saunders

▪ 2000

Area:

1,284,000 sq km (495,755 sq mi)

Population

(1999 est.): 7,557,000

Capital:

N'Djamena

Chief of state:

President Lieut. Gen. Idriss Déby

Head of government:

Prime Minister Nassour Ouaidou Guelendouksia

      In May 1999 Chad welcomed its soldiers home from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Congo [Kinshasa]), where they had been sent in September 1998 to aid Congolese Pres. Laurent Kabila. Some 2,000 men fought in the northern Equatoria province. By December they had expelled the rebels, but at the cost of some 200 Chadian soldiers killed.

      Toward the end of the year, Chad still waited to see if the World Bank would support the l,100-km (680-mi) pipeline project to carry crude oil from the Doba oil fields to the port of Krili in Cameroon. Pres. Idriss Déby went to Washington, D.C., in May to lobby for U.S. support and to press for an end to the delay of a decision on the project. The World Bank's financial contribution was critical, for the oil groups involved made clear that they would not proceed without its support. The bank had found the first environmental impact report, submitted in August 1998, inadequate. Critics of the pipeline claimed that it would have devastating environmental consequences, and some opposed funding the project because of Chad's poor record on human rights. The case for the plan was not helped by Déby's close ties to Col. Muammar al-Qaddafi of Libya, his decision to send troops to Congo (Kinshasa), and the ongoing corruption and political instability in Chad.

      Moisa Medella, the leader of one of the main armed opposition groups, returned to Chad in July after 15 years in exile, ending the rebellion west of Lake Chad. In March the government acknowledged a new rebellion in Tibesti in the north, however, and sought Niger's support in dealing with it.

Christopher Saunders

▪ 1999

      Area: 1,284,000 sq km (495,755 sq mi)

      Population (1998 est.): 7,360,000

      Capital: N'Djamena

      Chief of state: President Lieut. Gen. Idriss Déby

      Head of government: Prime Minister Nassour Ouaidou Guelendouksia

      In May 1998 a peace agreement between the government of Chad and the main group of rebels, the Armed Forces for a Federal Republic (FARF), was signed; in succeeding months it proved to have been more effectively implemented than had a 1997 agreement. A border dispute with Nigeria remained unresolved; in May government forces clashed with Nigerian troops on Lake Chad. Refugees from the fighting in the Darfur region of western Sudan continued to enter the country. A visit by Libyan chief of state Col. Muammar al-Qaddafi proved highly successful and a diplomatic coup for Pres. Idriss Déby.

      The main bone of contention within Chad in 1998 was the pipeline project, designed to carry high-quality crude oil from the oil fields 480 km (300 mi) south of N'Djamena to the Atlantic port of Kribi in Cameroon. Some critics of the project expressed concern about the environmental impact of the pipeline, which could endanger two national parks; others were concerned about its impact on the movement of people and livestock. FARF feared that those in power would not share the revenues that would accrue from the project with the people of the south. The estimated cost of the pipeline was about $3 billion, and though Exxon and Shell were to pay for most of it, with the French company Elf having a small share in the consortium, the project required World Bank approval, and that was delayed. If production began in 2001, as planned, and lasted 30 years, Chad would become Africa's fourth largest exporter of oil, and the project could double the nation's per capita income.

CHRISTOPHER SAUNDERS

▪ 1998

      Area: 1,284,000 sq km (495,755 sq mi)

      Population (1997 est.): 7,166,000

      Capital: N'Djamena

      Chief of state: President Lieut. Gen. Idriss Déby

      Head of government: Prime Ministers Djimasta Koibla and, from May 16, Nassour Ouaidou Guelendouksia

      Legislative elections for the 125-member National Assembly, which had originally been scheduled for November 1996, were postponed until early 1997; the polling took place in two rounds—on January 5 and February 23. The elections, part of a transition to democracy in Chad that had begun in January 1993, were pronounced "free and fair" by international observers in spite of allegations of minor irregularities. Pres. Idriss Déby's Patriotic Salvation Movement gained 55 seats, the Union for Renewal and Democracy 31, the National Union for Development and Renewal 15, and other parties 24.

      In January the International Federation of Human Rights Leagues (FIDH) reported an increase in human rights abuses in Chad. The FIDH stated that scores of people had been summarily executed by the nation's security forces in recent months and produced a copy of a government order, allegedly issued to the forces in November 1996, that told officers that "robbers must not be the object of normal procedures [of arrest]. If one is caught in the act, you must proceed with his physical elimination." The FIDH report echoed findings published earlier by Amnesty International.

      On April 18 the government signed a peace agreement with the rebel Armed Forces for a Federal Republic (FARF) that granted general amnesty to FARF members and provided for the transformation of FARF into a political party. In May President Déby replaced Prime Minister Koibla with Nassour Ouaidou Guelendouksia, who announced a new Cabinet on May 21.

      The leaders of 21 opposition parties in August denounced the presence of French troops in Chad. They claimed that the troops represented an outmoded colonialism and that they were there to bolster the personal rule of Déby.

GUY ARNOLD

      This article updates chad, history of (Chad).

▪ 1997

      Chad is a landlocked republic of central Africa. Area: 1,284,000 sq km (495,755 sq mi). Pop. (1996 est.): 6,543,000. Cap.: N'Djamena. Monetary unit: CFA franc, with a par value of CFAF 100 to the French franc and (as of Oct. 11, 1996) a free rate of CFAF 518.24 to U.S. $1 (CFAF 816.38 = £1 sterling). President in 1996, Lieut. Gen. Idriss Déby; prime minister, Djimasta Koibla.

      In a referendum held at the end of March 1996, 63.5% of voters in Chad approved a new constitution for the country. Multiparty presidential elections, provided for by the constitution, were held on June 2, and there was enthusiastic participation in the first round with its field of candidates. By the end of the month, however, the opposition groups were calling for a boycott of the second round, scheduled for July 3, on the grounds of massive electoral fraud. The official results of the first round gave Pres. Idriss Déby 43.9% of the vote and his nearest rival, Gen. Abdelkader Wadal Kamougue of the Union for Renewal and Democracy, 12.39%. In the second round Déby received 69.09%, against 30.91% for Kamougue.

      It was a year of reconciliation. In January the government signed a peace agreement with the Action for Unity and Development, which was legalized as a political party after it abandoned the armed struggle. At a meeting in Franceville, Gabon, in March, 13 rebel groups signed peace agreements with the government. In August an agreement with the southern-based Armed Forces for a Federal Republic was reached, and all military action was brought to an end. (GUY ARNOLD)

      This article updates chad, history of (Chad).

▪ 1996

      Chad is a landlocked republic of central Africa. Area: 1,284,000 sq km (495,755 sq mi). Pop. (1995 est.): 6,361,000. Cap.: N'Djamena. Monetary unit: CFA franc, with a par value of CFAF 100 to the French franc and (as of Oct. 6, 1995) a free rate of CFAF 501.49 to U.S. $1 (CFAF 792.78 = £1 sterling). President in 1995, Col. Idriss Déby; prime ministers, Delwa Kassire Koumakoye and from April 8, Djimasta Koibla.

      The 1995-96 national budget presented in January, estimated an expenditure of CFAF 61 billion against revenues of only CFAF 41 billion. On March 31, 1995, the Higher Transitional Council (CST; the transitional legislature) extended the transition period (for a return to full democracy), which was due to end on April 9, for an additional 12 months (it had already been extended once since it began in 1993). The CST claimed the government had failed to discharge its commitments and had not taken adequate action to cushion the impact of the devaluation of the CFA franc. On April 8, after dismissing Prime Minister Delwa Kassire Koumakoye, the CST elected Djimasta Koibla in his place. The new prime minister said he expected to bring the final stage of the transition period to a close. In November the independent national election commission rescheduled the election timetable: a constitutional referendum to be held on March 31, 1996; presidential elections in June 1996; and legislative elections on December 22-24, 1996.

      In August the deposed prime minister, Koumakoye, announced that he would run as a presidential candidate in 1996. Also that month the opposition National Liberation Front (Frolinat) called for a conference of all Chad's politico-military groups to be held in a neutral country such as Nigeria. Following a corruption scandal the CST Bureau resigned, and a new CST chairman, Abbas Ali, was elected to replace Abderamane Hagar, who had stepped down because of the corruption charges. (GUY ARNOLD)

      This updates the article chad, history of (Chad).

▪ 1995

      Chad is a landlocked republic of central Africa. Area: 1,284,000 sq km (495,755 sq mi). Pop. (1994 est.): 6,495,000. Cap.: N'Djamena. Monetary unit: CFA franc, with (from Jan. 12, 1994) a par value of CFAF 100 to the French franc and (as of Oct. 7, 1994) a free rate of CFAF 526.67 to U.S. $1 (CFAF 837.67 = £ 1 sterling). President in 1994, Col. Idriss Déby; prime minister, Delwa Kassire Koumakoye.

      In January 1994 Prime Minister Delwa Kassire Koumakoye reshuffled his Cabinet; the most significant appointment was that of Abderamane Izo Miskine to the Ministry of the Interior and Security, which put him in charge of antirebel activities and national reconciliation. Two opposition groups—the Movement for Democracy and Development and the National Union for Democracy and Socialism—announced their decision to join in opposing the government of Pres. Idriss Déby, and they invited other groups to join them. There was increased violent activity by the Chadian National Front (FNT) in Abeche, where 31 deaths occurred (29 of them reportedly FNT members). The government signed a peace agreement with the rebels on October 12.

      In March the International Monetary Fund approved a credit of SDR16,520,000 (about $23 million) to support a 12-month economic-growth program. Early in April the Higher Transitional Council extended by 12 months the transitional period before elections had to be held. President Déby carried out a major Cabinet reshuffle in May, dismissing nine ministers.

      On February 3 the International Court of Justice ruled 16-1 in Chad's favour to confirm its sovereignty over the Aozou strip (114,000 sq km [44,000 sq mi]), which it had been contesting with Libya for 20 years; both nations had agreed at the outset to accept the ICJ ruling. On May 31 the Aozou strip was formally returned to Chad.

      (GUY ARNOLD)

      This updates the article chad, history of (Chad).

▪ 1994

      Chad is a landlocked republic of central Africa. Area: 1,284,000 sq km (495,755 sq mi). Pop. (1993 est.): 6,118,000. Cap.: N'Djamena. Monetary unit: CFA franc, with (Oct. 4, 1993) a par value of CFAF 50 to the French franc and a free rate of CFAF 283.25 to U.S. $1 (CFAF 429.12 = £1 sterling). President in 1993, Col. Idriss Déby; prime ministers, Joseph Yodoyman, Fidèle Moungar from April 7 to October 28, and, from November 6, Delwa Kassire Koumakoye.

      On Jan. 15, 1993, Pres. Idriss Déby formally opened the national conference, a move that represented the next step in the process of the democratization of Chad. The conference was suspended after four days, however. At the end of the month, while Déby was out of the country, a coup on behalf of the former president, Hissène Habré, was attempted but failed. An alleged coup plot was foiled in October, and rebel leader Col. Abbas Koty was shot dead. The national conference selected its presidium (February 11) and elected Adoum Maurice El-Bongo, the trade union leader, chairman. By this time 40 opposition parties, 20 other organizations, and 6 rebel movements were due to make declarations to the conference, although the rebel Movement for Democracy and Development continued fighting in the Lake Chad region. In March 15,000 people from southern Chad fled into the Central African Republic following massacres by government troops. The national conference set up a special court to try former president Habré. On April 7 the conference adopted a transitional charter and elected Fidèle Moungar as the transitional prime minister. Moungar appointed a Cabinet in June, but it resigned after a vote of no confidence in October; the former minister of justice, Delwa Kassire Koumakoye, was elected prime minister.

      (GUY ARNOLD)

      This updates the article chad, history of (Chad).

* * *

Introduction

Chad, flag of   landlocked state in north-central Africa. The capital, N'Djamena (formerly Fort-Lamy), is almost 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometres) by road from the western African coastal ports.

      Although it is the fifth largest country on the continent, Chad—much of the northern part of which lies in the Sahara—has a population density of only about 20 persons per square mile (8 persons per square kilometre). Most of the population lives by agriculture; cotton is grown in the south, and cattle are raised in the central region. Chad joined the ranks of oil-producing countries in 2003, raising hopes that the revenues generated would improve the country's economic situation.

The land

 Chad is bounded on the north by Libya, on the east by The Sudan (Sudan, The), on the south by the Central African Republic, and on the west by Cameroon, Nigeria, and Niger. The frontiers of Chad, which constitute a heritage from the colonial era, do not coincide with either natural or ethnic boundaries.

Relief and drainage

      In its physical structure Chad consists of a large basin bounded on the north, east, and south by mountains. Lake Chad (Chad, Lake), which represents all that remains of a much larger lake that covered much of the region in earlier geologic periods, is situated in the centre of the western frontier; it is 922 feet (281 metres) above sea level. The lowest altitude of the basin is the Djourab Depression, which is 573 feet above sea level.

      In the early Holocene, possibly until as recently as 7,000 years ago, the lake stood at a level of about 1,100 feet above sea level, or some 180 feet higher than today, and was as much as 550 feet deep. At that stage Mega-Chad, as it has been called, occupied an area of some 130,000 square miles and overflowed southward via the present-day Kébi River and then over the Gauthiot Falls westward to the Benue River and the Atlantic Ocean. Older dune systems, flooded by Mega-Chad, form linear islands in the present lake and extend hundreds of miles to the east, the interdunal hollows being occupied by diatomites and other lake sediments.

      The mountains that rim the basin include the volcanic Tibesti Massif to the north (of which the highest point is Mount Koussi (Koussi, Mount), with an altitude of 11,204 feet [3,415 metres]), the sandstone peaks of the Ennedi Plateau to the northeast, the crystalline rock mountains of the Ouaddaï (Wadai) region to the east, and the Oubangui Plateau to the south. The semicircle is completed to the southwest by the mountains of Adamawa and Mandara, which lie mostly beyond the frontier in Cameroon and Nigeria.

      Chad's river network is virtually limited to the Chari (Chari River) and Logone rivers (Logone River) and their tributaries, which flow from the southeast to feed Lake Chad. The remaining Chad waterways are either seasonal or are of insignificant size. The Chari, which arises from headstreams in the Central African Republic to the south, is later joined from the east by the Salamat Wadi and from the west by the Ouham River, its largest tributary. After entering an ill-defined area of swampland between Niellim and Dourbali, it flows through a large delta into Lake Chad. The Chari is about 750 miles in length and has a flow that normally varies between 600 and 12,000 cubic feet (17,000 to 340,000 litres) per second, according to the season. The Logone, which for some of its course runs along the Cameroon frontier, is formed by the junction of the Pendé and Mbéré rivers; its flow varies between 170 and 3,000 cubic feet per second, and its course is more than 600 miles long before it joins the Chari at N'Djamena. The level of Lake Chad fluctuates according to the flow of these rivers, as well as according to the degree of precipitation, evaporation, and seepage. The droughts of the 1970s and early '80s in the Sahel region of western Africa reduced the lake to record low levels. By 1985 it had been reduced to a pool, immediately to the north of the Chari–Logone mouth, occupying about 1,000 square miles.

Soils

      Several types of soil formation occur in Chad, apart from the sand of the desert zone and the sheer rock of the mountainous areas. On the south side of Lake Chad the soils are derived from clayey deposits that accumulated on the floor of Mega-Chad. Along the seasonally flooded banks of the Chari and Logone rivers and the Salamat Wadi, hydromorphic (waterlogged) soils occur. Tropical iron-bearing soils, red in colour, are found on the exposed folds and mounds of the Ouaddaï region's upland slopes. In the Kanem region (area north of Lake Chad) subarid soils are characteristic, except in the depressions that occur between the dunes on the shores of Lake Chad, where hydromorphic soils liable to salinization are found.

Climate

      Chad's wide range in latitudes (that extend southward from the tropic of Cancer for more than 15°) is matched by a climatic range that varies from wet and dry tropical to hot arid. At the towns of Moundou and Sarh, in the wet and dry tropical zone, between 32 and 48 inches (800 and 1,200 millimetres) of rain falls annually between May and October. In the central semiarid tropical (Sahel) zone, where N'Djamena is situated, between 12 and 32 inches of rain falls between June and September. In the north rains are infrequent, with an annual average of less than one inch being recorded at Largeau.

      Chad thus has one relatively short rainy season. The dry season, which lasts from December to February everywhere in the country, is relatively cool, with daytime temperatures of about 85° to 95° F (29° to 35° C) and nighttime temperatures that drop to about 55° F (13° C). From March onward it becomes very hot until the first heavy rains fall. At N'Djamena, for example, daytime temperatures average more than 100° F (38° C) between March and June. Heavy rains begin at N'Djamena in July, and average daytime temperatures drop to the low 90s F (mid-30s C), but nighttime temperatures remain in the 70s F (20s C) until the onset of N'Djamena's dry, cool season in November.

Plant and animal life

      Three vegetation zones, correlated with the rainfall, may be distinguished. These are a wet and dry tropical zone in the south, characterized by shrubs, tall grasses, and scattered broad-leaved deciduous trees; a semiarid tropical (Sahel) zone, in which savanna vegetation gradually merges into a region of thorn bushes and open steppe country; and a hot arid zone, composed of dunes and plateaus in which vegetation is scarce and occasional palm oases are to be found.

      The tall grasses and the extensive marshes of the savanna zone have an abundant wildlife. There large mammals—such as the elephant, hippopotamus, rhinoceros, warthog, giraffe, antelope, lion, leopard, and cheetah—coexist with a wide assortment of birds and reptiles. The rivers and the lake are among the richest in fish of all African waters. The humid regions also contain swarms of insects, some of which are dangerous.

Settlement patterns

      Conditioned by soil and climate, land is put to different uses in the three vegetation zones. In the wet and dry tropical zone, farmers cultivate rice and sorghum in the clay soils and peanuts (groundnuts) and millet in the sandier areas. Manioc, recently introduced, is also cultivated. Between the latitudes of 11° and 15° N, the retreat of the rivers in the dry season leaves behind flooded depressions called yaere, allowing a second crop of “dry season” sorghum, or berbere, to be cultivated. Since 1928 the cultivation of cotton in the area between the Logone and Chari rivers has been encouraged, first by the colonial administration and since 1960 by the national government. Cotton cultivation, while tending to upset the ecological balance by exhausting the soil, has nevertheless resulted in the introduction of a cash economy in place of a barter economy. The cultivation of rice, begun in 1958 in irrigated plots in the Bongor region, south of N'Djamena, has proved successful. A joint venture with France introduced sugarcane cultivation in the 1970s. Improved strains of both cotton and rice have produced higher yields.

      The intermediate semiarid tropical zone is inhabited by both sedentary cultivators and nomadic pastoralists. The northern limit of the bloodsucking tsetse fly, deadly to cattle and the carrier of sleeping sickness to humans, is latitude 10° N; beyond this limit, extensive stock raising begins, occasionally in association with agriculture, as for example in the Kanem region. The inhabitants raise millet and grow peanuts wherever the mean annual rainfall exceeds 15 inches. Cotton is grown where and when rainfall exceeds 30 inches. Large herds of cattle migrate over the semiarid tropical zone in search of pasture and water. In very limited areas bordering Lake Chad, the presence of water allows three harvests of wheat and corn (maize) to be grown in some years on irrigated plots called polders. Elsewhere the seminomadic inhabitants are almost completely dependent upon rainfall. Drought has had serious repercussions, affecting both the livestock and the pastoralists, whose livelihood depends on milk products.

      In the hot arid zone, nomads live among their herds of camels, frequenting palm groves in such oases as that at Largeau. Farther north, in the Tibesti Mountains, tiny plots of millet, tomatoes, peppers, and other minor crops are grown for local consumption, often in the shade of date palms. These garden crops depend on irrigation from springs breaking out from the sandstones and volcanic rocks at widely separated points and shallow wells in the sandy sediments flooring steep-sided valleys.

      Urban life in Chad is virtually restricted to the capital, N'Djamena. Founded in the early years of the 20th century, the city has undergone a dramatic growth in population due not to a high degree of industrialization but to the other attractions of urban life. The majority of the population is engaged in commerce. Other major towns, such as Sarh (formerly Fort-Archambault), Moundou, and Abéché, are less urbanized than is the capital.

The people

 The population of Chad presents a tapestry composed of different languages, peoples, and religions that is remarkable even amid the variety of Africa. The degree of variety encountered in Chad underscores the significance of the region as a crossroads of linguistic, social, and cultural interchange.

Linguistic groups

      More than 100 different languages and dialects are spoken in the country. Although many of these languages are imperfectly recorded, they may be divided into the following 12 groupings: (1) the Sara-Bongo-Bagirmi group, representing languages spoken by about one million people in southern and central Chad, (2) the Mundang-Tuburi-Mbum languages, which are spoken by several hundred thousand people in southwestern Chad, (3) the Chado-Hamitic (Chadic languages) group, which is related to the Hausa spoken in Nigeria, (4) the Kanembu-Zaghawa languages, spoken in the north, mostly by nomads, (5) the Maba (Maban languages) group, spoken in the vicinity of Abéché and throughout the Ouaddaï region of eastern Chad, (6) the Tama languages, spoken in the Abéché, Adré, Goz Béïda, and Am Dam regions, (7) Daju (Daju languages), spoken in the area of Goz Béïda and Am Dam, (8) some languages of the Central African groups, particularly Sango (also the lingua franca of the Central African Republic), which are spoken in the south, (9) the Bua group, spoken in southern and central Chad, (10) the Somrai group, spoken in western and central Chad, and (11) Mimi and (12) Fur (Fur languages), both spoken in the extreme east.

      In addition to this rich assortment, Arabic (Arabic language) is also spoken in various forms and is one of the two official languages of the country. The dialects spoken by the nomadic Arabs differ from the tongue spoken by settled Arabs. A simplified Arabic is spoken in towns and markets; its diffusion is linked to that of Islām.

      French (French language) is the other official language, and it is used in communications and in instruction as well, although the national radio network also broadcasts in Arabic, Sara Madjingay, Tuburi, and Mundang. While a regional form of French, showing local linguistic and environmental peculiarities, is spoken widely in the towns, its penetration into the countryside is uneven. Its use is closely linked to the development of education.

Ethnic groups

      As might be expected, the linguistic variety reflects an ethnic composition of great complexity. A general classification may nevertheless be made, again in terms of the three regions of Chad.

      In the wet and dry tropical zone, the Sara group forms a significant element of the population in the central parts of the Chari and Logone river basins. The Laka and Mbum peoples live to the west of the Sara groups and, like the Gula and Tumak of the Goundi area, are culturally distinct from their Sara neighbours. Along the banks of the Chari and Logone rivers, and in the region between the two rivers, are found the Tangale peoples.

      Among the inhabitants of the semiarid tropical zone are the Barma of Bagirmi, the founders of the kingdom of the same name; they are surrounded by groups of Kanuri, Fulani, Hausa, and Arabs (Arab), many of whom have come from outside Chad itself. Along the lower courses of the Logone and Chari rivers are the Kotoko, who are supposedly descended from the ancient Sao population that formerly lived in the region. The Yedina (Buduma) and Kuri inhabit the Lake Chad region and, in the Kanem area, are associated with the Kanembu and Tunjur, who are of Arabic origin. All of these groups are sedentary and coexist with Daza, Kreda, and Arab nomads. The Hadjeray (of the Guera Massif) and Abou Telfân are composed of refugee populations who, living on their mountainous terrain, have resisted various invasions. On the plains surrounding the Hadjeray are the Bulala, Kuka, and the Midogo, who are sedentary peoples. In the eastern region of Ouaddaï live the Maba, among whom the Kado once formed an aristocracy. They constitute a nucleus surrounded by a host of other groups who, while possessing their own languages, nevertheless constitute a distinct cultural unit. The Tama to the north and the Daju to the south have formed their own separate sultanates. Throughout the Ouaddaï region are found groups of nomadic Arabs, who are also found in other parts of south central Chad. Despite their widespread diffusion, these Arabs represent a single ethnic group composed of a multitude of tribes. In Kanem other Arabs, mostly of Libyan origin, are also found.

      In the northern Chad regions of Tibesti, Borkou, and Ennedi the population is composed of black nomads. Their dialects are related to those of the Kanembu and Kanuri.

Religious groups

      The great majority of Muslims are found in the north and east of Chad. Islāmization in Kanem came very early and was followed by the conversion to Islām of the major political entities of the region, such as the sultanates of Wadai, Bagirmi, and Fitri, and—more recently—the Saharan region. Islām is well established in most major towns and wherever Arab populations are found. It has attracted a wide variety of ethnic groups and has forged a certain unity which, however, has not resulted in the complete elimination of various local practices and customs.

       animism flourishes in the southern part of the country and in the mountainous regions of Guera. The various traditional religions provide a strong basis for cohesion in the villages where they are practiced. Despite a diversity of beliefs, a widespread common feature is the socioreligious initiation of young people into adult society.

      In Chad, as elsewhere, Christian missionary work has not affected the Muslim population; it has been directed toward the animist populations in the cities in the western regions south of the Chari River and in parts of the central uplands area. There are three Roman Catholic dioceses, with an archbishop at N'Djamena. There are some Protestant mission groups, and an effort has been made to form a Chad Evangelical church.

Demographic trends

      More than two-fifths of the population of Chad are under the age of 15. Nearly one-fourth of the people are considered to be urban dwellers, the majority living in N'Djamena. The population is increasing at a comparatively low rate for an African country. Emigration—especially to The Sudan, Nigeria, and northern Cameroon—resulting from drought, conflict, and famine, may help to account for this.

The economy

Resources

 Historically, Chad's principal mineral resource was natron (a complex sodium carbonate), which is dug up in the Lake Chad and Borkou areas and is used as salt and in the preparation of soap and medicines. Annual production is a few thousand tons. The discovery of oil (petroleum) north of Lake Chad led to further exploration and development, and in 2003 Chad began producing oil, which quickly became the country's most important resource and export. There are indications of deposits of gold in the Ouaddaï area, uranium in the Ennedi Plateau area, uranium and wolframite in the Aozou Strip in the far north, and bauxite near Laï.

Agriculture and fishing

      Cotton is Chad's primary agricultural product. Although it is basically an export crop, the processing of raw cotton provides employment for a majority of those in industry and accounts for some of Chad's export earnings. Most of the cotton fibre ginned in Chad's processing plants is exported to Europe and the United States.

      Chad's livestock constitutes another important economic resource and is primarily distributed across central Chad. Much of this wealth is not reflected in the national cash economy, however, and livestock products form less than one-tenth of exports. There is a refrigerated meat-processing plant at Sarh, which exports meat to the Congo and Gabon. The government has tried to improve livestock by introducing stronger breeds and production by building new slaughterhouses.

      Rice is produced in the Chari valley and in southwestern Chad, and wheat is grown along the shores of Lake Chad; little of either crop is processed commercially.

 About half the fish caught is salted and dried for export. Most fish are caught in the Lake Chad, Chari, and Logone basins.

Industry

 In the early 21st century, much industrial development centred around the exploitation and production of oil. Many established industries, such as cotton ginning, slaughtering, and the milling of wheat and rice, are associated with agriculture. Secondary industries are few and rely on imported materials.

Finance and trade

      The country relies heavily on foreign financial assistance. The sums received exceed export earnings and in many years constitute as much as a quarter of the gross national product. The main imports are machinery and equipment, food products, and textiles, most of which come from the European Union, Cameroon, and the United States. Petroleum is by far the main export; raw cotton, live cattle, meat, and fish are exported. Primary export partners are the United States and China.

Transportation

      Chad's economic development is primarily contingent upon the establishment of an effective transportation network. There are three access routes to the sea—by road, river, or rail, through neighbouring countries. Most of the country's roads and trails are impractical for travel during part of the rainy season. Year-round traffic is possible on gravel-surfaced roads and on a paved section between N'Djamena and Guélendeng. Three major road axes, forming a triangle joining N'Djamena, Sarh, and Abéché, were completed but have fallen into disrepair. In 1985 a bridge across the Chari River to Kousseri, Cameroon, ended N'Djamena's dependence on an unreliable ferry for its road connection through Cameroon to the railhead at Ngaoundéré and the sea.

      Rivers are of secondary importance due to great seasonal fluctuations in water levels, with only about half of the total river length navigable year-round. The Chari is navigable between Sarh and N'Djamena between August and December, and the Logone is navigable between Mondou and N'Djamena in September and October. Two railways have their terminals near the Chad border. Across the Nigerian frontier to the west there is a railhead at Maiduguri, which links up with the Nigerian ports of Lagos and Port Harcourt. Across the Sudanese frontier to the east is the railhead at Nyala, which leads eventually to Port Sudan on the Red Sea. Air traffic plays an important role in the Chad economy, in view of the paucity of alternative means. N'Djamena's airport can accommodate large jets, and there are more than 40 secondary airports.

Administration and social conditions

Government

      Under the constitution of 1996, Chad is a republic. The executive branch of the government is represented by the president, who serves as the chief of state, and a prime minister, who serves as the head of government. The president is elected by universal suffrage to a five-year term and is responsible for appointing the prime minister and the Council of Ministers. The legislative branch is served by the National Assembly, comprising members who are directly elected to four-year terms. For administrative purposes, Chad is divided into regions.

      Chad's judicial system comprises the Supreme Court, a Constitutional Council, and criminal and magistrate courts. A High Court of Justice, made up of National Assembly members elected by their peers, tries any cases of treason involving members of the government.

Education

      The size of the country, the dispersion of populations, and the occasional reluctance to send children to school all constitute educational problems that the government is endeavouring to overcome. Less than one-half of the school-age population is enrolled. Missions and public education services are responsible for primary education. Secondary and technical education is also available. The University of Chad, founded in 1971, offers higher education, and some Chad students study abroad.

Health and welfare

      There are major hospitals at N'Djamena, Sarh, Moundou, Bongor, and Abéché. Other health facilities include dispensaries and infirmaries dispersed throughout the country. The government, in cooperation with the World Health Organization, has developed a health education and training program. Campaigns have been conducted against malaria, sleeping sickness, leprosy, and other diseases.

Cultural life

 With its rich variety of peoples and languages, Chad possesses a valuable cultural heritage. The government has in the past encouraged cultural activities and institutions. There is a national museum of prehistoric and traditional artifacts. The Chad Cultural Centre seeks to awaken a conscious interest in national traditions. The lives of the people have been so dislocated by war and famine since the 1960s, however, that Chad is more impoverished than ever, and the main efforts of the government and people are now directed toward survival.

Alfred Thomas Grove

History

      The region of the eastern Sahara and Sudan from Fezzan, Bilma, and Chad in the west to the Nile valley in the east was well peopled in Neolithic times, as discovered sites attest. Probably typical of the earliest populations were the dark-skinned cave dwellers described by Herodotus as inhabiting the country south of Fezzan. The ethnographic history of the region is that of gradual modification of this basic stock by the continual infiltration of nomadic and increasingly Arabicized white African elements, entering from the north via Fezzan and Tibesti and, especially after the 14th century, from the Nile valley via Darfur. According to legend, the country around Lake Chad was originally occupied by the Sao. This vanished people is probably represented today by the Kotoko, in whose country, along the banks of the Logone and Chari, was unearthed in the 1950s a medieval culture notable for work in terra-cotta and bronze.

      The relatively large and politically sophisticated kingdoms of the central Sudan were the creation of Saharan Imazighen (Berbers (Berber)), drawn southward by their continuous search for pasturage and easily able to impose their hegemony on the fragmentary indigenous societies of agriculturalists. This process was intensified by the expansion of Islam. There are indications of a large immigration of pagan Imazighen into the central Sudan early in the 8th century.

From the 16th to the 19th century

      The most important of these states, Kanem-Bornu, which was at the height of its power in the later 16th century, owed its preeminence to its command of the southern terminus of the trans-Saharan trade route to Tripoli.

      Products of the Islamized Sudanic culture diffused from Kanem were the kingdoms of Bagirmi (Bagirmi, Kingdom of) and Ouaddaï (Wadai), which emerged in the early years of the 17th century out of the process of conversion to Islam. In the 18th century the Arab dynasty of Ouaddaï was able to throw off the suzerainty of Darfur and extend its territories by the conquest of eastern Kanem. Slave raiding at the expense of animist populations to the south constituted an important element in the prosperity of all these Muslim states. In the 19th century, however, they were in full decline, torn by wars and internecine feuds. In the years 1883–93 they all fell to the Sudanese adventurer Rābiḥ az-Zubayr.

French administration

      By this time the partition of Africa among the European powers was entering its final phase. Rābiḥ was overthrown in 1900, and the traditional Kanembu dynasty was reestablished under French protection. Chad became part of the federation of French Equatorial Africa in 1910. The pacification of the whole area of the present republic was barely completed by 1914, and between the wars French rule was unprogressive. A pact between Italy and France that would have ceded the Aozou Strip to Italian-ruled Libya was never ratified by the French National Assembly, but it provided a pretext for Libya to seize the territory in 1973. During World War II Chad gave unhesitating support to the Free French cause. After 1945 the territory shared in the constitutional advance of French Equatorial Africa. In 1946 it became an overseas territory of the French Republic.

Independence

      A large measure of autonomy was conceded under the constitutional law of 1957, when the first territorial government was formed by Gabriel Lisette, a West Indian who had become the leader of the Chad Progressive Party (PPT). An autonomous republic within the French Community was proclaimed in November 1958, and complete independence in the restructured community was attained on August 11, 1960. The country's stability was endangered by tensions between the black and often Christian populations of the more economically progressive southwest and the conservative, Muslim, nonblack leadership of the old feudal states of the north, and its problems were further complicated by Libyan involvement.

      Lisette was removed by an associate more acceptable to some of the opposition, N'Garta (François) Tombalbaye, a southern trade union leader, who became the first president of the republic. In March 1961 Tombalbaye achieved a fusion of the PPT with the principal opposition party, the National African Party (PNA), to form a new Union for the Progress of Chad. An alleged conspiracy by Muslim elements, however, led in 1963 to the dissolution of the National Assembly, a brief state of emergency, and the arrest of the leading ministers formerly associated with the PNA. Only government candidates ran in the new elections in December 1963, ushering in the one-party state.

Douglas Henry Jones Alfred Thomas Grove

Civil war

      In the mid-1960s two guerrilla movements emerged. The Front for the National Liberation of Chad (Frolinat) was established in 1966 and operated primarily in the north from its headquarters at the southern Libyan oasis of Al-Kufrah, while the smaller Chad National Front (FNT) operated in the east-central region. Both groups aimed at the overthrow of the existing government, the reduction of French influence in Chad, and closer association with the Arab states of North Africa. Heavy fighting occurred in 1969 and 1970, and French military forces were brought in to suppress the revolts.

      By the end of the 1970s, civil war had become not so much a conflict between Chad's Muslim northern region and the black southern region as a struggle between northern political factions. Libyan troops were brought in at President Goukouni Oueddei's request in December 1980 and were withdrawn, again at his request, in November 1981. In a reverse movement the Armed Forces of the North (FAN) of Hissène Habré, which had retreated into The Sudan in December 1980, reoccupied all the important towns in eastern Chad in November 1981. Peacekeeping forces of the Organization of African Unity withdrew in 1982, and Habré formed a new government in October of the same year. Simultaneously, an opposition government under the leadership of Goukouni was established, with Libyan military support, at Bardaï in the north. After heavy fighting in 1983–84 Habré's FAN prevailed, aided by French troops. France withdrew its troops in 1984 but Libya refused to do so. Libya launched incursions deeper into Chad in 1986, and they were turned back by government forces with help from France and the United States.

      In early 1987 Habré's forces recovered the territory in northern Chad that had been under Libyan control and for a few weeks reoccupied Aozou. When this oasis was retaken by Muammar al-Qaddafi's Libyan forces, Habré retaliated by raiding Maaten es Sarra, which is well inside Libya. A truce was called in September 1987.

Continuing conflict

      Habré continued to face threats to his regime. In April 1989 an unsuccessful coup attempt was led by the interior minister, Brahim Mahamot Itno, and two key military advisers, Hassan Djamouss and Idriss Déby. Itno was arrested and Djamouss was killed, but Déby escaped and began new attacks a year later. By late 1990 his Movement for Chadian National Salvation forces had captured Abéché, and Habré fled the country. Déby suspended the constitution and formed a new government with himself as president. Although it was reported that he had received arms from Libya, he denied Libyan involvement and promised to establish a multiparty democracy in Chad.

      Déby's takeover of the government was not without resistance. In 1991 and 1992, there were several attacks and coup attempts by opposition forces, many of whom were still aligned with Habré, but Déby maintained his grip on the government and the country. A national conference was held in 1993 to establish a transitional government, and Déby was officially designated interim president. In 1996 a new constitution was approved and Déby was elected president in the first multiparty presidential elections held in Chad's history. Peace was still fragile, however, and periodic skirmishes with opposition groups developed into a full rebellion in late 1998 when the Mouvement pour la Démocratie et la Justice au Tchad (MDJT) began an offensive in the northern part of the country. Other opposition groups later joined forces with the MDJT, and the rebellion continued into the 21st century.

      In 2001 Déby was reelected amid allegations of fraud by his opponents; however, international observers found the electoral proceedings largely to be valid. Meanwhile, Déby's government was still coping with major rebel offensives, until peace accords in 2002 and 2003 essentially ended most of the fighting for a few years. Also in 2003, years of planning and construction came to fruition when Chad became an oil (petroleum)-producing country; the revenues generated from this undertaking had the potential to transform the country's economic situation.

 Despite the progress Déby's government made with promoting peace and creating an opportunity for economic prosperity, there were additional coup attempts, including those in 2004 and 2006. Rebel offensives also resumed, most notably in 2006, prior to Déby's reelection to a third term as president, and in 2008, when rebels reached N'Djamena before retreating; many Chadians were displaced by the fighting. Several rebel leaders involved in the 2008 offensive were tried in absentia in August of that year, as was former president Habré, who was suspected of directing rebel activity in Chad while living in exile in Senegal. Habré and the rebel leaders were found guilty of attempting to overthrow Déby's government and were sentenced to death. Habré also faced charges in Senegal regarding politically motivated killings and acts of torture allegedly committed during his rule in Chad; Senegal pursued these charges at the request of the African Union.

  In addition to internal conflicts, at the beginning of the 21st century Chad had problems along its border with neighbouring countries Niger, Central African Republic, and most notably The Sudan (Sudan, history of the). In early 2003, fighting in the Darfur region of western Sudan sent thousands of Sudanese fleeing to Chad; by early 2005 it was estimated that there were some 200,000 refugees in Chad. Chadian troops were drawn into the conflict periodically, as Sudanese militias crossed over the border into Chad while chasing Sudanese rebels or attacking refugee camps; Chadian rebels were also suspected of operating from bases in The Sudan. Both Chad and The Sudan accused each other of supporting rebel activity in the other's country.

Alfred Thomas Grove Ed.

Additional Reading

Harold D. Nelson et al., Area Handbook for Chad (1972), is still a useful introduction. See also Pierre Hugot, Le Tchad (1965); Mario Azevedo (ed.), Cameroon and Chad in Historical and Contemporary Perspectives (1989); and Jean Cabot and Christian Bouquet, Atlas pratique du Tchad (1972). Ethnographic studies include Jean Chapelle, Nomades noirs du Sahara (1958, reissued 1982), the authoritative study on the Teda; Albert Le Rouvreur, Sahéliens et sahariens du Tchad (1962), information about the northern and eastern populations; and Jean Chapelle, Le Peuple tchadien (1980). Politics and government are treated in Georges Diguimbaye and Robert Langue, L'Essor du Tchad (1969); and Michael P. Kelley, A State in Disarray: Conditions of Chad's Survival (1986), discussing dependency. Samuel Decalo, Historical Dictionary of Chad, 2nd ed. (1987), has an extensive bibliography. Early history is discussed in Jean Paul Lebeuf, Archéologie tchadienne: les Sao du Cameroun et du Tchad (1962); and Jean Paul Lebeuf and A. Masson Detourbet, La Civilisation du Tchad (1950). Jacques Le Cornec, Histoire politique du Tchad, de 1900 à 1962 (1963), provides information on the colonial era and the first years of independence. Robert Buijtenhuijs, Le Frolinat et les révoltes populaires du Tchad, 1965–76 (1978), and Le Frolinat et les guerres civiles du Tchad (1977–1984) (1987), are the best sources of information on Chad's civil wars. The boundary disputes are discussed in Bernard Lanne, Tchad-Libye, 2nd ed. (1986).Alfred Thomas Grove

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