Chad (2006) | Reunion (2003) | |
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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 |
none (overseas department of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 4 arrondissements, 24 communes, and 47 cantons |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 47.9% (male 2,396,393/female 2,369,261)
15-64 years: 49.3% (male 2,355,940/female 2,550,535) 65 years and over: 2.7% (male 107,665/female 164,407) (2006 est.) |
0-14 years: 31.3% (male 121,119; female 115,501)
15-64 years: 62.8% (male 233,607; female 240,502) 65 years and over: 5.9% (male 18,036; female 26,406) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cotton, sorghum, millet, peanuts, rice, potatoes, manioc (tapioca); cattle, sheep, goats, camels | sugarcane, vanilla, tobacco, tropical fruits, vegetables, corn |
Airports | 52 (2006) | 2 (2002) |
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 (2006) |
total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 45
1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 21 under 914 m: 10 (2006) |
- |
Area | total: 1.284 million sq km
land: 1,259,200 sq km water: 24,800 sq km |
total: 2,517 sq km
land: 2,507 sq km water: 10 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than three times the size of California | slightly smaller than Rhode Island |
Background | Chad, part of France's African holdings until 1960, endured three decades of civil warfare as well as invasions by Libya before a semblance of peace was finally restored in 1990. The government eventually drafted a democratic constitution, and held flawed presidential elections in 1996 and 2001. In 1998, a rebellion broke out in northern Chad, which sporadically flares up despite several peace agreements between the government and the rebels. In 2005 new rebel groups emerged in western Sudan and have made probing attacks into eastern Chad. Power remains in the hands of an ethnic minority. In June 2005, President Idriss DEBY held a referendum successfully removing constitutional term limits. | The Portuguese discovered the uninhabited island in 1513. From the 17th to the 19th centuries, French immigration, supplemented by influxes of Africans, Chinese, Malays, and Malabar Indians, gave the island its ethnic mix. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 cost the island its importance as a stopover on the East Indies trade route. |
Birth rate | 45.73 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 20.17 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $765.2 million
expenditures: $653.3 million; including capital expenditures of $146 million (2005 est.) |
revenues: $1.26 billion
expenditures: $2.62 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998) |
Capital | name: N'Djamena
geographic coordinates: 12 07 N, 15 03 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Saint-Denis |
Climate | tropical in south, desert in north | tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry from May to November, hot and rainy from November to April |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 207 km |
Constitution | passed by referendum 31 March 1996; a June 2005 referendum removed constitutional term limits | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Chad
conventional short form: Chad local long form: Republique du Tchad/Jumhuriyat Tshad local short form: Tchad/Tshad |
conventional long form: Department of Reunion
conventional short form: Reunion local long form: none local short form: Ile de la Reunion former: Bourbon Island |
Currency | - | euro (EUR) |
Death rate | 16.38 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 5.49 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.5 billion (2003 est.) | $NA |
Dependency status | - | overseas department of France |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Marc M. WALL
embassy: Avenue Felix Eboue, N'Djamena mailing address: B. P. 413, N'Djamena telephone: [235] 516-211 FAX: [235] 515-654 |
none (overseas department of France) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Mahamat Adam BECHIR
chancery: 2002 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 462-4009 FAX: [1] (202) 265-1937 |
none (overseas department of France) |
Disputes - international | since the expulsions of residents from Darfur in 2003 by Janjawid armed militia and Sudanese military, about 200,000 refugees remain in eastern Chad; Chad remains an important mediator in the Sudanese civil conflict, reducing tensions with Sudan arising from cross-border banditry; Chadian Aozou rebels reside in southern Libya; only Nigeria and Cameroon have heeded the Lake Chad Commission's admonition to ratify the delimitation treaty, which also includes the Chad-Niger and Niger-Nigeria boundaries | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $238.3 million received; note - $125 million committed by Taiwan (August 1997); $30 million committed by African Development Bank; ODA $246.9 million (2003 est.) | $NA; note - substantial annual subsidies from France |
Economy - overview | Chad's primarily agricultural economy will continue to be boosted by major foreign direct investment projects in the oil sector that began in 2000. Over 80% of Chad's population relies on subsistence farming and livestock raising for its livelihood. Chad's economy has long been handicapped by its landlocked 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 has been investing $3.7 billion to develop oil reserves - estimated at 1 billion barrels - in southern Chad. The nation's total oil reserves has been estimated to be 2 billion barrels. Oil production came on stream in late 2003. Chad began to export oil in 2004. Cotton, cattle, and gum arabic provide the bulk of Chad's non-oil export earnings. | The economy has traditionally been based on agriculture, but services now dominate. Sugarcane has been the primary crop for more than a century, and in some years it accounts for 85% of exports. The government has been pushing the development of a tourist industry to relieve high unemployment, which amounts to one-third of the labor force. The gap in Reunion between the well-off and the poor is extraordinary and accounts for the persistent social tensions. The white and Indian communities are substantially better off than other segments of the population, often approaching European standards, whereas minority groups suffer the poverty and unemployment typical of the poorer nations of the African continent. The outbreak of severe rioting in February 1991 illustrates the seriousness of socioeconomic tensions. The economic well-being of Reunion depends heavily on continued financial assistance from France. |
Electricity - consumption | 111.6 million kWh (2003) | 1.005 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 120 million kWh (2003) | 1.08 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 55.5%
hydro: 44.5% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Djourab Depression 160 m
highest point: Emi Koussi 3,415 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Piton des Neiges 3,069 m |
Environment - current issues | inadequate supplies of potable water; improper waste disposal in rural areas contributes to soil and water pollution; desertification | NA |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping |
- |
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 | French, African, Malagasy, Chinese, Pakistani, Indian |
Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001) | euros per US dollar - 1.06 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); French francs per US dollar - 5.8995 (1998) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Lt. Gen. Idriss DEBY Itno (since 4 December 1990)
head of government: Prime Minister Pascal YOADIMNADJI (since 3 February 2005) cabinet: Council of State, members appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister 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 3 May 2006 (next to be held by May 2011); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Lt. Gen. Idriss DEBY Itno reelected president; percent of vote - Lt. Gen. Idriss DEBY 64.7%, Delwa Kassire COUMAKOYE 15.1%, Albert Pahimi PADACKE 7.8%, Mahamat ABDOULAYE 7.1%, Brahim KOULAMALLAH 5.3%; note - a June 2005 national referendum altered the constitution removing presidential term limits and permitting Lt. Gen. Idriss DEBY Itno to run for reelection |
chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Gonthier FRIEDERICI (since NA)
head of government: President of the General Council Jean-Luc POUDROUX (since NA March 1998) and President of the Regional Council Paul VERGES (since NA March 1993) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of the Interior; the presidents of the General and Regional Councils are elected by the members of those councils |
Exports | NA bbl/day | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | cotton, cattle, gum arabic, oil | sugar 63%, rum and molasses 4%, perfume essences 2%, lobster 3%, (1993) |
Exports - partners | US 78.1%, China 9.9%, Taiwan 4.1% (2005) | France 74%, Japan 6%, Comoros 4% (2000) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
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 | the flag of France is used |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $4.174 billion (1999 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 33.5%
industry: 25.9% services: 40.6% (2005 est.) |
agriculture: 8%
industry: 19% services: 73% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $5,600 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6% (2005 est.) | 2.5% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 15 00 N, 19 00 E | 21 06 S, 55 36 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; Lake Chad is the most significant water body in the Sahel | this mountainous, volcanic island has an active volcano, Piton de la Fournaise; there is a tropical cyclone center at Saint-Denis, which is the monitoring station for the whole of the Indian Ocean |
Highways | - | total: 2,724 km
paved: 1,300 km (including 73 km of four-lane road) unpaved: 1,424 km (1994) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | NA bbl/day | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transportation equipment, industrial goods, foodstuffs, textiles | manufactured goods, food, beverages, tobacco, machinery and transportation equipment, raw materials, and petroleum products |
Imports - partners | France 21.1%, Cameroon 15.5%, US 12.1%, Belgium 6.8%, Portugal 4.6%, Saudi Arabia 4.3%, Netherlands 4.1% (2005) | France 64%, Bahrain 3%, Germany 3%, Italy 3% (2000) |
Independence | 11 August 1960 (from France) | none (overseas department of France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 5% (1995) | NA% |
Industries | oil, cotton textiles, meatpacking, beer brewing, natron (sodium carbonate), soap, cigarettes, construction materials | sugar, rum, cigarettes, handicraft items, flower oil extraction |
Infant mortality rate | total: 91.45 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 100.12 deaths/1,000 live births female: 82.43 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
total: 8.13 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.89 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.34 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3% (2005 est.) | NA% |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, BDEAC, CEMAC, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OIF, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | FZ, InOC, WFTU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 300 sq km (2003) | 120 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Court of Appeal; Criminal Courts; Magistrate Courts | Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel |
Labor force | 2.719 million | 309,900 (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 80% (subsistence farming, herding, and fishing)
industry and services: 20% |
agriculture 13%, industry 12%, services 75% (2000) |
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 |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 2.8%
permanent crops: 0.02% other: 97.18% (2005) |
arable land: 13.2%
permanent crops: 2% other: 84.8% (1998 est.) |
Languages | French (official), Arabic (official), Sara (in south), more than 120 different languages and dialects | French (official), Creole widely used |
Legal system | based on French civil law system and Chadian customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | French law |
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)
elections: National Assembly - last held 21 April 2002 (next to be held by April 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - MPS 110, RDP 12, FAR 9, RNDP 5, URD 5, UNDR 3, other 11 |
unicameral General Council (49 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council (45 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held 15 and 22 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004); Regional Council - last held 15 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - various right-wing candidates 13, PCR 10, PS 10, UDF 8, RPR 6, other left-wing candidates 2; Regional Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PCR 19, UDF 9, RPR 8, various right-wing candidates 4, various left-wing candidates 5 note: Reunion elects three representatives to the French Senate; elections last held NA 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; Reunion also elects five deputies to the French National Assembly; elections last held 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP-RPR 1, UMP 1, PCR 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 47.52 years
male: 45.88 years female: 49.21 years (2006 est.) |
total population: 73.43 years
male: 70.03 years female: 77 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write French or Arabic
total population: 47.5% male: 56% female: 39.3% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 88.9% male: 87% female: 90.8% (2003 est.) |
Location | Central Africa, south of Libya | Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar |
Map references | Africa | World |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of France |
Military branches | Chadian National Army (Armee Nationale Tchadienne, ANT), Air Force, Gendarmerie (2004) | no regular indigenous military forces; French forces (including Army, Navy, Air Force, and Gendarmerie) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $68.95 million (2005 est.) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1% (2005 est.) | - |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 198,341 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 101,116 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 6,795 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 11 August (1960) | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
Nationality | noun: Chadian(s)
adjective: Chadian |
noun: Reunionese (singular and plural)
adjective: Reunionese |
Natural hazards | hot, dry, dusty harmattan winds occur in north; periodic droughts; locust plagues | periodic, devastating cyclones (December to April); Piton de la Fournaise on the southeastern coast is an active volcano |
Natural resources | petroleum, uranium, natron, kaolin, fish (Lake Chad), gold, limestone, sand and gravel, salt | fish, arable land, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -0.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | oil 205 km (2006) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Federation Action for the Republic or FAR [Ngarledjy YORONGAR]; National Rally for Development and Progress or RNDP [Delwa Kassire COUMAKOYE]; National Union for Democracy and Renewal or UNDR [Saleh KEBZABO]; Party for Liberty and Development or PLD [Ibni Oumar Mahamat SALEH]; Patriotic Salvation Movement or MPS [Mahamat Saleh AHMAT, chairman]; Rally for Democracy and Progress or RDP [Lol Mahamat CHOUA]; Union for Democracy and Republic or UDR [Jean ALINGUE]; Union for Renewal and Democracy or URD [Gen. Wadal Abdelkader KAMOUGUE] | Communist Party of Reunion or PCR [Paul VERGES]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Andre Maurice PIHOUEE]; Socialist Party or PS [Jean-Claude FRUTEAU]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Gilbert GERARD] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 9,944,201 (July 2006 est.) | 755,171 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 80% (2001 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.93% (2006 est.) | 1.47% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Le Port, Pointe des Galets |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 4, shortwave 5 (2002) | AM 2, FM 55, shortwave 0 (2001) |
Railways | - | 0 km |
Religions | Muslim 51%, Christian 35%, animist 7%, other 7% | Roman Catholic 86%, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist (1995) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.66 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: primitive system
domestic: fair system of radiotelephone communication stations international: country code - 235; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: adequate system; principal center is Saint-Denis
domestic: modern open-wire and microwave radio relay network international: radiotelephone communication to Comoros, France, Madagascar; new microwave route to Mauritius; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 13,000 (2004) | 268,500 (1999) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 210,000 (2005) | 197,000 (September 2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2002) | 35 (plus 18 low-power repeaters) (2001) |
Terrain | broad, arid plains in center, desert in north, mountains in northwest, lowlands in south | mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast |
Total fertility rate | 6.25 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 2.53 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 36% (1999 est.) |
Waterways | Chari and Legone rivers are navigable only in wet season (2002) | none |