The Republic of Chad

By: Hana said  

A historical background  

•           The area which include now the Republic of Chad, witnessed several Islamic kingdom, the most famous of which are the kingdoms of (Kanem, Bagouri and Borno).  

•           Chad was exposed to the European invasion effective from 1822 starting with the British, then it was joined by France and became a French colony.  

•           In 1890, a Sudanese leader called (Rabih Al-Zobeir) could impose his control on the middle of Chad, yet the French invasion succeeded in getting red of him.  

•           In 1900 France declared that Chad is one of the countries of equatorial Africa.  

•           Chad was subjugated to the French imperialism during the period from 1900-1960 until it got its independence and "Tomba Lebai" became the first President of the Republic of Chad during the period from 1961-1975.  

•           Then the country was exposed to internal confusions which lasted for three decades. It was also exposed in 1973 to invasion from Libya which signed the strip of "Ozo" which is rich in Uranium. Then the dispute was settled after the international Court of Justice ruled in the favor of Chad.  

•           The country was then ruled by President "Filex Malom" during the period 1975-1979; then President Joconi Owayali during the period from 1979-1982, then President "Hussein Habri" (1982-1990), then President "Idris Dibie" who undertook the authority in 12/12/1990.  

The authority is still in the hands of a government from the southern ethnic minority despite the country's efforts to achieve democratic reform.

Basic information:  

Location: the Republic of Chad lies in the middle of the African Continent. It is bordered from the east by Sudan and from the south by Central Africa and part of Cameron. From the north it is bordered by Libya and from the west it is bordered by Niger, Nigeria and Cameron. Therefore, Chad is one of the in-land countries.  

The area: 1.284.000 square kilometers.  

Population: 9.944.201 million people (according to July estimates).  

The ethnic divisions: there are about 200 ethnic groups in Chad namely: In the north:  

The Arab ethnic groups: Al-Gourano: (Al-Toubou-Al-Daga-Al-Kreda)- Al-Zaghawa-Kanembou-Ouaddai-Baguirmi-Hadjera-Fulbe-Goulaye-Moundang-Massa-Moussei.  

Language: French is the official language, besides the Arabic language, in addition to some local dialects, the most important of which is Sara.  

Religion: Islam represents 51% of the total population, Christianity 35% and  the neutral cults represent 7%.  

The capital: N'djamena  

The main cities: Faya Largo-Sarah- Abishi-Mondo Comra.  

The system of government: Presidential Republican.  

Date of independence: 11/8/1960.  

The economic status:  

Although Chad is an oil exporting country, yet it is still one of the poorest countries in the world. Economic development in Chad suffers because Chad is poor in the marine outlets, in addition to the high costs of energy, drought, the weakness of the infrastructure and the political instability.  

•           More than 80% of the people of Chad depends on agriculture and cattle raising. Cotton, cattle and the Arab gum provide most of the revenues of exports.  

•           Chad depends on foreign aids and foreign capital in most investment projects in both the public and private sectors.  

•           The oil sector gets financing and foreign aids. The American companies invested US $3.7 billion to develop this vital sector.  

•           It is noteworthy that oil was first discovered in Chad in 2000. the actual production started in 2003. it is hoped that the oil sector will enhance the economy of Chad.  

The economic indicators:  

•           Gross Domestic Product: US$ 17.73 billion (2005).  

•           The growth rate of the domestic product: 11%.  

•           Rate of Inflation: 6%  

•           Per capita share in the domestic product: US$ 1800.  

•           Those who live below the poverty level: 80%.  

•           The percentage of the various sectors' share in the Gross Domestic Product:  

1.         Agriculture: 23.7%  

2.         Industry: 38.6%  

3.         Services: 37.7%  

•           The budget: the revenues: US$765.2 millions.  

•           Expenditures: US$ 653.3 millions (2005).

•           Currency: the African Franc (the Sifa) the US$ is equal to 696.988 Sifa franc. Euro is equal to 655.957 Sifa franc.  

The main features of the economic sectors:  

The agricultural sector:  

•           Chad depends on the agricultural and animal production in its economy, in addition to the income from customs and oil.  

•           The most important agricultural products in Chad are: Cotton- Arab gum- the ground nuts- Rice- Sugar cane- Sargoom- Maise- Fruits.  

The Animal Wealth:  

Chad has rich farms in which cattle, sheep-goats-horses are too many. Chad also possesses a huge wealth of cows and camels which are considered the only source of meat for the countries in the middle and west Africa. It also exports meats to the rest of the world countries.   

The industry sector:  

The most important industries are: Tobacco-cotton-textiles-meat-canning-beer-manufacturing-building materials-soaps and petrochemical industries.  

The mining sector:   

Chad has some mineral wealth such as oil which it started to export in 2003. there is also a large store of gold and iron, uranium, zinc and marble which the country has not yet made use of it.

Foreign trade:  

Exports: 3.016  

The main exports: Arab gum-oil-cotton-cattle.  

The main importing countries: the United Sates of America 4.3%  

Imports : the total value US$749.1 million (2005).  

The main imports: machines-means of transport-industrial materials-food stuffs-textiles.  

The main exporting countries: France 21.9%-USA 10.8%- Germany 6.4%- Cameron 36.2%- Portugal 10.5%.