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Communications

Airports [time series]

70 total, 54 usable; 4 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 3 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 23 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

Defense Forces

Military and security forces (Branches) [time series]

Patriotic Salvation Force (FPS; Army, Air Force), paramilitary Gendarmerie, National Police

Military expenditures (Defense expenditures) [time series]

$39 million, 4.3% of GDP (1988)

Manpower availability [time series]

males 15-49, 1,188,222; 616,932 fit for military service; 51,713 reach military age (20) annually

Economy

Agricultural products (Agriculture) [time series]

accounts for about 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

Budget [time series]

revenues $78 million; expenditures $127 million, not including capital expenditures that are mostly financed by foreign aid donors (1989 est.)

Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]

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

Economic aid [time series]

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $198 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $1.3 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $28 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $80 million

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--256.54 (January 1991), 272.26 (1990), 319.01 (1989), 297.85 (1988), 300.54 (1987), 346.30 (1986), 449.26 (1985)

Exports [time series]

$174 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.); commodities--cotton 48%, cattle 35%, textiles 5%, fish; partners--France, Nigeria, Cameroon

Debt - external (External debt) [time series]

$530 million (December 1990 est.)

Fiscal year [time series]

calendar year

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

$1,015 million, per capita $205; real growth rate 0.9% (1989 est.)

Imports [time series]

$264 million (c.i.f., 1990 est.); commodities--machinery and transportation equipment 39%, industrial goods 20%, petroleum products 13%, foodstuffs 9%; note--excludes military equipment; partners--US, France, Nigeria, Cameroon

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

growth rate 12.9% (1989 est.); accounts for nearly 15% of GDP

Industries [time series]

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices) [time series]

- 4.9% (1989)

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 burdened by the ravages of 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 48% 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 highly dependent on foreign aid, with its economy in trouble and many regions suffering from shortages. Oil companies are exploring areas north of Lake Chad and in the Doba basin in the south.

Unemployment rate [time series]

Geography

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 the 100,000 km2 Aozou Strip in the far north; demarcation of international boundaries in Lake Chad, the lack of which has led to border incidents in the past, is completed and awaiting ratification by Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria

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]

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

Maritime claims [time series]

none--landlocked

Natural resources [time series]

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

Government

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, suspended 3 December 1990; Provisional National Charter 1 March 1991

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 Richard W. BOGOSIAN; Embassy at Avenue Felix Eboue, N'Djamena (mailing address is B. P. 413, N'Djamena); telephone [235] (51) 62-18, 40-09

Executive branch [time series]

president, Council of State (cabinet)

Flag [time series]

three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, and red; similar to the flag of Romania; also similar to the flag of Andorra which has a national coat of arms featuring a quartered shield 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--Col. Idriss DEBY (since 4 December 1990); Head of Government--Prime Minister Jean LINGUE Bawoyeu (since 8 March 1991)

Legal system [time series]

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

Legislative branch [time series]

the National Consultative Council (Conseil National Consultatif) was disbanded 3 December 1990 and replaced by the Provisional Council of the Republic; 30 members appointed by President DEBY on 8 March 1991

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

Republic of Chad

International organization participation (Member of) [time series]

ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, CEEAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-77, GATT, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IDB, IFAD, ILO, IMF, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, OIC, UDEAC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

National holiday [time series]

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

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

Patriotic Salvation Movement (MPS; former dissident group), Idriss DEBY, chairman; President DEBY has promised political pluralism, a new constitution, and free elections by September 1993; numerous dissident groups

Suffrage [time series]

universal at age NA President--last held 10 December 1989 (next to be held NA); results--President Hissein HABRE was elected without opposition; note--the government of then President HABRE fell on 1 December 1990 and Idriss DEBY seized power on 3 December 1990; National Consultative Council--last held 8 July 1990; disbanded 3 December 1990

Government type (Type) [time series]

republic

People

Birth rate [time series]

42 births/1,000 population (1991)

Death rate [time series]

22 deaths/1,000 population (1991)

Ethnic groups (Ethnic divisions) [time series]

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

Infant mortality rate [time series]

134 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)

Labor force [time series]

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

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]

39 years male, 41 years female (1991)

Literacy [time series]

30% (male 42%, female 18%) age 15 and over can read and write French or Arabic (1990 est.)

Nationality [time series]

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

Net migration rate [time series]

NEGL migrants/1,000 population (1991)

Organized labor [time series]

about 20% of wage labor force

Population [time series]

5,122,467 (July 1991), growth rate 2.1% (1991)

Religions (Religion) [time series]

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

Total fertility rate [time series]

5.3 children born/woman (1991)