Airports [time series]

71 total, 55 usable; 4 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 3 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 24 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Civil air [time series]

3 major transport aircraft

Roadways (Highways) [time series]

31,322 km total; 32 km bituminous; 7,300 km gravel and laterite; remainder unimproved

Waterways (Inland waterways) [time series]

2,000 km navigable

Telecommunication systems (Telecommunications) [time series]

fair system of radiocommunication stations for intercity links; 5,000 telephones; stations--3 AM, 1 FM, limited TV service; many facilities are inoperative; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station

Military and security forces (Branches) [time series]

Army, Air Force, paramilitary Gendarmerie, Presidential Guard

Military expenditures (Defense expenditures) [time series]

3.5% of GDP (1987)

Military manpower [time series]

males 15-49, 1,163,312; 603,923 fit for military service; 50,255 reach military age (20) annually

Agricultural products (Agriculture) [time series]

accounts for 45% of GDP; largely subsistence farming; cotton most important cash crop; food crops include sorghum, millet, peanuts, rice, potatoes, manioc; livestock--cattle, sheep, goats, camels; self-sufficient in food in years of adequate rainfall

Aid [time series]

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $178 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $1.2 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $28 million; Communist countries (1970-88), $71 million

Budget [time series]

revenues $61 million; expenditures $85 million, including capital expenditures of NA (1988 est.)

Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]

Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (plural--francs); 1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes

Electricity [time series]

38,000 kW capacity; 70 million kWh produced, 14 kWh per capita (1989)

Exchange rates [time series]

Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (CFAF) per US$1--287.99 (January 1990), 319.01 (1989), 297.85 (1988), 300.54 (1987), 346.30 (1986), 449.26 (1985)

Exports [time series]

$432 million (f.o.b., 1988); commodities--cotton 43%, cattle 35%, textiles 5%, fish; partners--France, Nigeria, Cameroon

Debt - external (External debt) [time series]

$360 million (December 1989)

Fiscal year [time series]

calendar year

Real GDP (purchasing power parity) (GDP) [time series]

$902 million, per capita $190; real growth rate 7.0% (1988)

Imports [time series]

$214 million (c.i.f., 1988); commodities--machinery and transportation equipment 39%, industrial goods 20%, petroleum products 13%, foodstuffs 9%; partners--US, France

Industrial production growth rate (Industrial production) [time series]

growth rate - 7.0% (1986)

Industries [time series]

cotton textile mills, slaughterhouses, brewery, natron (sodium carbonate)

Inflation rate (consumer prices) [time series]

- 3.0% (1987)

Economic overview (Overview) [time series]

The climate, geographic location, and lack of infrastructure and natural resources potential make Chad one of the most underdeveloped countries in the world. Its economy is slowly recovering from the ravaging effects of prolonged civil war, conflict with Libya, drought, and food shortages. In 1986 real GDP returned to its 1977 level, with cotton, the major cash crop, accounting for 43% of exports. Over 80% of the work force is employed in subsistence farming and fishing. Industry is based almost entirely on the processing of agricultural products, including cotton, sugarcane, and cattle. Chad is still highly dependent on foreign aid, with its economy in trouble and many regions suffering from shortages.

Unemployment rate [time series]

NA

Climate [time series]

tropical in south, desert in north

Coastline [time series]

none--landlocked

Area - comparative (Comparative area) [time series]

slightly more than three times the size of California

Disputes - international (Disputes) [time series]

Libya claims and occupies a small portion of the Aozou Strip in far north; exact locations of the Chad-Niger-Nigeria and Cameroon-Chad-Nigeria tripoints in Lake Chad have not been determined--since the boundary has not been demarcated, border incidents have resulted

Environment - current issues (Environment) [time series]

hot, dry, dusty harmattan winds occur in north; drought and desertification adversely affecting south; subject to plagues of locusts

Land boundaries [time series]

5,968 km total; 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

Land use [time series]

2% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 36% meadows and pastures; 11% forest and woodland; 51% other; includes NEGL% irrigated

Maritime claims [time series]

none--landlocked

Natural resources [time series]

small quantities of crude oil (unexploited but exploration beginning), uranium, natron, kaolin, fish (Lake Chad)

Note [time series]

landlocked; Lake Chad is the most significant water body in the Sahel

Terrain [time series]

broad, arid plains in center, desert in north, mountains in northwest, lowlands in south

Area (Total area) [time series]

1,284,000 km2; land area: 1,259,200 km2

Administrative divisions [time series]

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

Capital [time series]

N'Djamena

Political parties (Communists) [time series]

no front organizations or underground party; probably a few Communists and some sympathizers

Constitution [time series]

22 December 1989

Diplomatic representation in the US (Diplomatic representation) [time series]

Ambassador Mahamat Ali ADOUM; Chancery at 2002 R Steet NW, Washington DC 20009; telephone (202) 462-4009; US--Ambassador-designate Richard W. BOGOSIAN; Charge d'Affaires, Julius WALKER; Embassy at Avenue Felix Eboue, N'Djamena (mailing address is B. P. 413, N'Djamena); telephone [235] (51) 32-69 or 35-13, 28-62, 23-29, 32-29, 30-94, 28-47

Executive branch [time series]

president, Council of Ministers (cabinet)

Flag [time series]

three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, and red; similar to the flag of Andorra which has a national coat of arms featuring a quartered shield centered in the yellow band; also similar to the flag of Romania which has a national coat of arms featuring a mountain landscape centered in the yellow band; design was based on the flag of France

Independence [time series]

11 August 1960 (from France)

Judicial branch [time series]

Court of Appeal Chief of State and Head of Government--President Hissein HABRE (since 19 June 1982)

Legal system [time series]

based on French civil law system and Chadian customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Legislative branch [time series]

unicameral National Consultative Council (Conseil National Consultatif)

Country name (Long-form name) [time series]

Republic of Chad

International organization participation (Member of) [time series]

ACP, AfDB, CEAO, Conference of East and Central African States, EAMA, ECA, EC (associate), FAO, G-77, GATT, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, IDA, IDB--Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, ILO, IMF, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, ITU, Lake Chad Basin Commission, NAM, OAU, OCAM, OIC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO

National holiday [time series]

National Day (founding of the Third Republic), 7 June (1982)

Political parties (Other political or pressure groups) [time series]

NA

Political parties (Political parties and leaders) [time series]

National Union for Independence and Revolution (UNIR) established June 1984 with Habre as President; numerous dissident groups (most significant opponents have returned to the government since mid-1986)

Suffrage [time series]

universal at age NA President--last held 10 December 1989 (next to be held December 1996); results--President Habre was reelected without opposition

Government type (Type) [time series]

republic

Birth rate [time series]

42 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate [time series]

22 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Ethnic groups (Ethnic divisions) [time series]

some 200 distinct ethnic groups, most of whom are Muslims (Arabs, Toubou, Fulbe, Kotoko, Hausa, Kanembou, Baguirmi, Boulala, and Maba) in the north and center and non-Muslims (Sara, Ngambaye, Mbaye, Goulaye, Moudang, Moussei, Massa) in the south; some 150,000 nonindigenous, of whom 1,000 are French

Infant mortality rate [time series]

136 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Labor force [time series]

NA; 85% agriculture (engaged in unpaid subsistence farming, herding, and fishing)

Languages (Language) [time series]

French and Arabic (official); Sara and Sango in south; more than 100 different languages and dialects are spoken

Life expectancy at birth [time series]

38 years male, 40 years female (1990)

Literacy [time series]

25.3%

Nationality [time series]

noun--Chadian(s); adjective--Chadian

Net migration rate [time series]

NEGL migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Organized labor [time series]

about 20% of wage labor force

Population [time series]

5,017,431 (July 1990), growth rate 2.1% (1990)

Religions (Religion) [time series]

44% Muslim, 33% Christian, 23% indigenous beliefs, animism

Total fertility rate [time series]

5.3 children born/woman (1990)