Chad

National name: République du Tchad

Geography 

Capital: N'Djamena
Major Towns: Mongo, Abéché, Bongor
Location (geographical coordinates/latitude and longitude): 12°06'N, 15°02'E
Time Zone: WAT (UTC+1)
Size (Land and Sea): 1.284 million sq km
Borders with 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
Elevation extremes: Lowest point: Djourab Depression 160 m; highest point: Emi Koussi 3,415 m
 
Politics 

Head of State: President: Idriss Déby (1990), Prime Minister: Delwa Kassire Koumakoye (2007)
Form of Government: Republic
Independancy (from France):  August 11, 1960 
Currency: CFA franc (XAF)

Industry 

Main Industries: Oil, cotton textiles, meatpacking, beer brewing, natron (sodium carbonate), soap, cigarettes, construction materials.
Natural resources: Petroleum (unexploited but exploration under way), uranium, natron, kaolin, fish (Lake Chad), gold, limestone, sand and gravel, salt.
Agriculture: Cotton, sorghum, millet, peanuts, rice, potatoes, manioc (tapioca); cattle, sheep, goats, camels.

Population and People 

Population: 10,238,807 (2007 est.)
Population density per sq mi: 21
Growth rate: 2.9%
Birth rate: 45.3/1000 (2007 est.)
Total fertility rate: 5.56 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 89.8/1000
Religion: Muslim 53.1%, Catholic 20.1%, Protestant 14.2%, animist 7.3%, other 0.5%, unknown 1.7%, atheist 3.1% (1993 census)
Languages: French (official), Arabic (official), Sara (in south), more than 120 different languages and dialects
Ethnic groups / Tribes: Sara 27.7%, Arab 12.3%, Mayo-Kebbi 11.5%, Kanem-Bornou 9%, Ouaddai 8.7%, Hadjarai 6.7%, Tandjile 6.5%, Gorane 6.3%, Fitri-Batha 4.7%, other 6.4%, unknown 0.3% (1993 census)
Average age: 0-14 years: 47.3% (male 2,366,496/female 2,308,155); 15-64 years: 49.8% (male 2,250,211/female 2,676,076); 65 years and over: 2.9% (male 120,666/female 164,057) (2007 est.)
Life expectancy: 47.9
Literacy (definition: age 15 and over can read and write French or Arabic): Total population: 47.5%; male: 56%
female: 39.3% (2003 est.)

• Four bioclimatic zones, mostly desert climate
• Named after Lake Chad
• Over 200 different ethnic and linguistic groups
• Lake Chad (with a surface area of 1,540 km²) is second largest in Africa, only 10.5 metres at the deepest point
• Home to 120 species of fish and at least that many species of birds (Lake Chad)
• Nomadic population in the north, desert area
• Enclosed by different and diverse African regions
• Great distances from any water/sea (Atlantic Ocean, Red Sea, Nile Valley or Mediterranean Sea
• Approx 1/3 covered by the Saharan Region (northern part of the country)
• In the northern region: coldest month is January with a maximum temperature of 32° and the hottest month is May with a maximum temperature of 45°
• Natural resources: petroleum, uranium, natron, kaolin, fish (Chari River, Logone River and Lake Chad)
• The country's capital is 1,600 kilometres (994 mi) from the nearest seaport
• 5968km of land boundaries
• Cotton production
• Major export is livestock, including smoked and dried fish
• Exports several million dollars worth of gum arabic to Europe and the U.S. each year
• Food crops include pearl millet, sorghum, peanuts, rice, sweet potatoes, manioc, cassava, and yams
• Culturally diverse nation  (Arabic, French, African influence/mixture)
• National instrument: hu hu, a stringed instrument that uses calabashes as loudspeakers
• Food: millet as staple food, rolled into a ball and then dipped into a sauce, mainly with fish
• Carcaje is a popular sweet drink extracted from hibiscus leaves
• Millet beer (“billi-billi”) or other locally made alcoholic beverages
• Mahamat Saleh Haroun’s film “Daratt” won the Grand Special Jury Prize at the 63rd Venice International Film Festival
• Capital N'Djamena with colourful daily market and laid-back atmosphere
• Dry desert to fertile farmland
• National Museum with Sarh culture dating back to the ninth century
• Abéché, a former capital of the powerful Ouadaï sultanate, with oriental charme
• Camel racing in the world in the Tibesti Mountains, home of the fierce Toubou tribe