France sucks

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.
A transitional 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 1999. Despite movement toward democratic
reform, power remains in the hands of a northern ethnic oligarchy.

Transnational Issues

Disputes - international:
Delimitation of international boundaries in the vicinity
of Lake Chad, the lack of which led to border incidents
in the past, has been completed and awaits ratification
by Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria

Environment - current issues:
Inadequate supplies of potable water; improper waste disposal in
rural areas contributes to soil and water pollution; desertification

Environment - international agreements:
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species,
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.

Ethnic groups:
Muslims, commonly referred to as "northerners"
or "gorane" (Arabs, Toubou, Hadjerai, Fulbe, Kotoko,
Kanembou, Baguirmi, Boulala, Zaghawa, and Maba);
non-Muslims, commonly referred to as "southerners"
(Sara, Ngambaye, Mbaye, Goulaye, Moundang, Moussei, Massa)
including nonindigenous 150,000 (of whom 1,000 are French)
note: ethnicity and regional background more commonly
used to identify Chadians than religious affiliation

Government

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

Executive branch:
chief of state:
President Lt. Gen. Idriss DEBY (since 12/4/90)
head of government:
Prime Minister Nagdum YAMASSOUM (since 2/13/99)
cabinet: Council of State, members appointed by the
president on the recommendation of the prime minister
elections: president elected by popular vote to serve 5-yr terms;
if no candidate receives at least 50% of the total vote, the 2 candidates
receiving the most votes must stand for a 2nd round of voting;
last held 6/2/96 and 7/11/96 (next to be held June 2001);
prime minister appointed by the president
election results:
In the 1st round of voting none of the 15 candidates
received the required 50% of the total vote;
% of vote, 1st round - Lt. Gen. Idriss DEBY 43.8%,
Wadal Abdelkader KAMOUGUE 12.4%;
% of vote, 2nd round - Lt. Gen. Idriss DEBY 69.1%,
Wadal Abdelkader KAMOUGUE 30.9%
note: govt coalition - MPS, UNDR, and URD

Legislative branch:
Unicameral National Assembly (125 seats;
members elected by popular vote to serve 4-yr terms); replaces the
Higher Transitional Council or the Conseil Superieur de Transition
elections:
National Assembly - last held in two rounds on 1/5/97 and 2/23/97
(next to be held NA 2001); in the 1st round of voting some candidates
won clear victories by receiving 50% or more of the vote; where that did not
happen, the two highest scoring candidates stood for a 2nd round of voting
election results:
% of vote by party - NA;
Seats by party - MPS 65, URD 29, UNDR 15, RDP 3, others 13

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court; Court of Appeal; Criminal Courts; Magistrate Courts

Political parties and leaders:
National Union for Development and Renewal or UNDR [Saleh KEBZABO];
Patriotic Salvation Movement or MPS [Maldom Bada ABBAS, 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 Renewal and Democracy or URD [Gen. Wadal Abdelkader KAMOUGUE]

International organization participation:
ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, CEEAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD,
ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF,
Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW,
UDEAC, 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
telephone: [1] (202) 462-4009 FAX: [1] (202) 265-1937

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Christopher GOLDTHWAIT
embassy: Avenue Felix Eboue, N'Djamena
mailing address: B. P. 413, N'Djamena
telephone: [235] (51) 70-09, (51) 90-52, (51) 92-33
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

Landlocked Chad's economic development suffers from it's geographic
remoteness, drought, lack of infrastructure, and political turmoil.
About 85% of the population depends on agriculture,
including the herding of livestock. Of Africa's Francophone countries,
Chad benefited least from the 50% devaluation of their currencies
in January 1994. Financial aid from the World Bank, the African
Development Fund, and other sources is directed largely at the
improvement of agriculture, especially livestock production.
Due to lack of financing, the development of the Doba Basin oil fields,
originally due to finish in 2000, has been substantially delayed.

Telephone system:
Primitive system
domestic: fair system of radiotelephone communication stations
international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Economy

Economic aid - recipient:
$238.3 million (1995);
note - $125 million committed by Taiwan (August 1997);
$30 million committed by African Development Bank

Currency:
1 Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates:
Communaute Financiere Africaine Francs (CFAF) per US$1 -
647.25 (Jan. 2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998),
583.67 (1997), 511.55 (1996), 499.15 (1995)
note: since 1 January 1999, the CFAF is pegged to
the euro at a rate of 655.957 CFA francs per euro.

Geography

Location:
Central Africa, south of Libya

Geographic coordinates:
15 00 N, 19 00 E

Map references: Africa

Area:
total: 1.284 million sq km
land: 1,259,200 sq km
water: 24,800 sq km

Area - comparative:
Slightly more than 3x 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: 3%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 36%
forests and woodland: 26%
other: 35%
(1993 est.)

Irrigated land:
140 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards:
Hot, dry, dusty harmattan winds occur in
north; periodic droughts; locust plagues

People

Population:
8,424,504

Age structure:
0-14 yrs: 48% (m 2,022,339; fe 1,994,978)
15-64 yrs: 49% (m 1,964,216; fe 2,204,902)
65 yrs and up: 3% (m 99,459; fe 138,610)

Population growth rate:
3.31%

Birth rate:
48.81 births/1,000 population

Death rate:
15.71 deaths/1,000 population

Net migration rate:
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.04 m/fe
under 15 years: 1.01 m/fe
15-64 years: 0.89 m/fe
65 years and over: 0.72 m/fe
total population: 0.94 m/fe

Infant mortality rate:
96.66 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 50.49 years
m: 48.5 years fe: 52.56 years

Total fertility rate:
6.63 children born/woman

Nationality:
noun: Chadian(s)
adjective: Chadian

Religions:
Muslim 50%, Christian 25%,
indigenous beliefs (mostly animism) 25%

Languages:
French (official), Arabic (official),
Sara and Sango (in south), more than
100 different languages and dialects

Literacy:
definition:
15 and up can read/write French or Arabic
total population: 48.1%
m: 62.1% fe: 34.7%
(1995 est.)

Government

Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Chad
conventional short form: Chad
local long form: Republique du Tchad
local short form: Tchad

Data code:
CD

Government type:
Republic

Capital:
N'Djamena

Independence:
11 August 1960 (from France)

National holiday:
Independence Day, 11 Aug. (1960)

Constitution:
Passed by referendum 3/31/95

Legal system:
Based on French civil law system
and Chadian customary law; does not
accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Economy

GDP:
Purchasing power parity - $7.6 billion
(1999 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
0.6% (1999 est.)

GDP - per capita:
Purchasing power parity - $1,000
(1999 est.)

Debt - external:
$1 billion (1999 est.)

Fiscal year:
Calendar year

Communications

Telephones - main lines in use:
5,000 (1995)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
0 (1995)

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 Service Providers:
1 (1999)

Transportation

Railways:
0 km

Highways:
total: 33,400 km
paved: 267 km
unpaved: 33,133 km
(1996 est.)

Waterways:
2,000 km navigable

Ports and harbors:
None

Airports:
49 (1999 est.)

Airports - Paved runways:
total: 7
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1
under 914 m: 1

Airports - Unpaved runways:
total: 42
1,524 to 2,437 m: 13
914 to 1,523 m: 19
under 914 m: 10

Military

Military branches:
Armed Forces (w/ Ground Force,
Air Force, and Gendarmerie),
Republican Guard, Police,
Rural and Nomadic Guard (GNNT),
Rapid Intervention Force,

Military age:
20 years of age

Manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 1,749,033

Fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 915,664

Reach military age annually:
males: 79,596

Expenditures - % figure:
$39 million (FY96)

Expenditures - % of GDP:
3.5% (FY96)

Economy

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 38%
industry: 14%
services: 48%
(1998)

Population below poverty line:
NA%

Household income or
consumption by % share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
12% (1998 est.)

Labor force:
NA

Labor force - by occupation:
Agriculture 85%
(subsistence farming, herding, and fishing)

Unemployment rate:
NA%

Budget:
revenues: $198 million
expenditures: $218 million, w/
capital expenditures of $146 million
(1998 est.)

Industries:
Cotton textiles, meat packing,
beer brewing, soap, cigarettes,
natron (sodium carbonate),
construction materials

Industrial production growth rate:
5% (1995)

Electricity - production:
100 million kWh (1998)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 100%
(1998)

Electricity - consumption:
93 million kWh (1998)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (1998)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (1998)

Agriculture - products:
Cotton, sorghum, millet, peanuts,
rice, potatoes, manioc (tapioca);
cattle, sheep, goats, camels

Exports:
$288 million
(f.o.b., 1999 est.)

Exports - commodities:
Cotton, cattle, textiles

Exports - partners:
Portugal 30%, Germany 14%,
Thailand, Costa Rica,
South Africa, France (1997)

Imports:
$359 million (f.o.b., 1999 est.)

Imports - commodities:
Machinery and transportation equipment,
industrial goods, petrol products,
foodstuffs, textiles

Imports - partners:
France 41%, Nigeria 10%,
Cameroon 7%, India 6%
(1997)