Chad

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 * Why to visit Chad? **


 * Flag Description **

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 * Labels **
 * Geography **


 * People **


 * Government **


 * Economy **


 * Georgraphy (II) **


 * People (II) **


 * History **


 * Timeline of Chad **


 * Works Cited **

__Why to visit Chad?__
Don't be fooled by Chad's economy. It is still a very interesting place to check out. For example, there is a park known as Zakouma Park, which is a wild animal park in the middle of the country with alot of animals. Also, there are famous museums in Abéché and N'Djaména that are very interesting. In Northern Chad, there are mountain engravings to observe from hunters that have even dated back to prehistoric times, with hot springs that are especially interesting. And a resort north of N'Djaména provides boat rides to observe hippos in the Chari River up close. These are only few of the many sites to view in Chad.

=__ Flag description __= Chad's flag is simple with three different portions of color. From left to right it goes blue, yellow, then red. The flag of chad was officially adopted on november 6, 1959. Blue represents they sky, hope and agricultural strength of the southern part of the country. Yellow is representative of the country's northern desert and the sun. Red represents prosperity, unity and the blood shed for independence.

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**Some of the animals viewed at Zakouma Park**.
**Hot springs and Glacies viewed in Northern Chad**.

**City of N'Djaména**. Area: 1,284,634 sq. km. (496,000 sq. mi.); about twice the size of Texas. Cities: Capital--N'Djamena (pop. 1 million est.). Other major cities--Moundou, Abeche, Sarh, Bongor, Faya. Terrain: Desert, mountainous north; large arid central plain; fertile lowlands in southern regions. Climate: Northern desert--very dry throughout the year; central plain--hot and dry, with intense rainy season mid-June to mid-September; southern lowlands--warm and more humid with intense rainy seasons from late May to early October.
 * Map of Chad **
 * Geography**

Nationality: Noun and adjective--Chadian(s). Population (2009 census): 11,175,915. Annual growth rate (2009 census): 3.5%. Density: 8.7 per sq. km. (3.36 per sq. mi.). Ethnic groups: 200 distinct groups. In the north and center, Gorane (sub-groups are Toubou, Daza, Kreda), Zaghawa, Kanembou, Ouaddai, Arabs, Baguirmi, Hadjerai, Fulbe, Kotoko, Hausa, Boulala, and Maba, most of whom are Muslim. In the south, Sara (including major subgroups--Ngambaye, Mbaye, Goulaye), Moudang, Moussei, and Massa, most of whom are Christian or animist. About 1,000 French citizens live in Chad. Religions: Muslim 55%, Christian 35%, animist 10%. Languages: French and Arabic (official); Sara (in the south), more than 120 indigenous Chadian languages and dialects. Education: Years compulsory--6. Attendance--primary school 82.71% (2008); secondary school 19.02% (2007); higher education n/a. Literacy (age 15 and over can read and write French or Arabic, 2003 est.)--48%. Health: Life expectancy (2009 est.)--48.7 years. Infant mortality rate (2008 est.)--130 deaths/1,000 live births. Work force (2006 est.)--3.747 million. Agriculture--more than 80%; largely subsistence agriculture and stock raising.
 * People **

Type: Republic. Independence: August 11, 1960 (from France). Branches: Executive--president (head of state), prime minister, Council of State. Legislative--National Assembly (unicameral). Judicial--Supreme Court; Court of Appeals; criminal courts; magistrate courts. Major political parties: The Patriotic Salvation Movement (MPS) is dominant, with a coalition of 103 of the 120 parties. The other 17 are aligned in the opposition coalition called the Coalition for the Defense of the Constitution (CPDC). Suffrage: Universal over 18. Administrative subdivisions: 22 regions.
 * Government **

GDP, current prices (2010): $7.9 billion. GDP per capita income (2008): $780. Population living below poverty line (2008): 43.4%. Natural resources: Petroleum, natron (sodium carbonate), kaolin, gold, bauxite, tin, tungsten, titanium, iron ore. Agriculture (2008, 13.6% of GDP): Products--sugar, cotton, gum arabic, livestock, fish, peanuts, millet, sorghum, rice, sweet potatoes, cassava, dates, manioc. Arable land (2007)--38%. Industry (2008, 48.8% of GDP): Types--meatpacking, beer brewing, soap, cigarettes, construction materials, natron mining, soft-drink bottling. Services (2008): 37.6% of GDP. Trade: Exports--U.S. $2.71 billion (f.o.b., 2009): oil, cotton, livestock, gum arabic. Major markets--United States, Nigeria, France, Cameroon, Portugal, Germany, Thailand, Costa Rica, South Africa. Imports--U.S. $2.54 billion (f.o.b., 2009): petroleum products, machinery and transportation equipment, foodstuffs, industrial goods, textiles. Major suppliers (2004)--U.S., France, Cameroon, Nigeria. Central government budget (2010): Revenues--U.S. $2.06 billion. Expenditures--U.S. $2.4 billion. Defense (2002): $31 million. National holiday: Independence Day, August 11. Fiscal year: Calendar year. U.S. aid received to date (FY 2008 and 2009): Total USAID and State humanitarian assistance to // Chad //--$777,425,663.
 * Economy **

** GEOGRAPHY ** Chad is a landlocked country in north central Africa, with a territory twice the size of Texas. Population densities range from 54 persons per square kilometer in southern zones to 0.1 persons in the vast northern desert region, itself larger than France. The population of the capital city of N'Djamena, situated at the confluence of the Chari and Logone Rivers, is representative of Chad’s ethnic and cultural diversity, with a current population of over one million people.

Chad has four bioclimatic zones. The northernmost Saharan Desert zone averages less than 200 mm (8") of rainfall annually. The central Sahelian zone receives between 200 and 600 mm (24") of rainfall and has vegetation ranging from grass/shrub steppe to thorny, open savanna. The southern zone, often referred to as the Sudanian zone, receives between 600 and 1,000 mm (39"), with woodland savanna and deciduous forests for vegetation. Rainfall in the small Guinea zone, limited to Chad's southwestern tip, ranges between 1,000 and 1,200 mm (47").

The country's topography is generally flat, with the elevation gradually rising as one moves north and east away from Lake Chad. The highest point in Chad is Emi Koussi, a mountain that rises 3,100 meters (10,200 ft.) in the northern Tibesti Mountains. The Ennedi Plateau and the Ouaddai highlands in the east complete the image of a gradually sloping basin, which descends toward Lake Chad. There also are central highlands in the Guera region rising to 1,500 meters (4,900 ft.).

Lake Chad is the second-largest lake in West Africa and is one of the most important wetlands on the continent. Home to hundreds of species of fish and birds, the lake has shrunk dramatically in the last 4 decades due to increased water use and inadequate rainfall. Bordered by Chad, Niger, Nigeria, and Cameroon, Lake Chad currently covers 1,350 square kilometers, down from 25,000 square kilometers in 1963. The Chari and Logone Rivers, both of which originate in the Central African Republic and flow northward, provide most of the water entering Lake Chad.

** PEOPLE ** There are more than 200 ethnic groups in Chad. Those in the north and center are generally Muslim; most southerners are Christians or animists. About 80% of the Chadian population is rural. There are over 250,000 refugees near the eastern border from the Sudanese conflict in Darfur; more than 50,000 Central African Republic refugees in the south; and approximately 200,000 internally displaced persons in eastern Chad.

** HISTORY ** The region has been known to traders and geographers since the late Middle Ages. Since then, Chad has served as a crossroads for the Muslim peoples of the desert and sahelian regions, and the animist African tribes of the savanna regions to the south. While the former developed coherent political entities that became the powerful kingdoms of Kanem-Bornu, Baguirmi, and Ouaddai, controlling much of northern and central Chad as well as parts of Nigeria and Sudan, the southern regions were much less politically developed and remained splintered into small, local, tribal chiefdoms. Contact between the two regions was dominated by regular raids conducted by Muslims into the non-Muslim south to secure slaves for their own use and for trade into North Africa and the Middle East. **__ Chad Timeline __** ** 1946—Chad becomes a French overseas territory with its own territorial parliament and representation in the French National Assembly .**

**1960—Chad becomes independent with a southern Christian, Francois—** **later Ngarta—** **Tombalbaye, as president.**

**1963—The banning of political parties triggers violent opposition in the Muslim north, led by the Chadian National Liberation Front, or Frolinat.**

**1966—Northern revolt develops into a fully-fledged guerrilla war.**

**1973—French troops help put down the northern revolt, but Frolinat continues guerrilla operations throughout the 1970s and 1980s with the help of weapons supplied by Libya.**

**1983—The Organization of African Unity recognizes Habre's government, but Oueddei's forces continue** resistance in the north with Libyan help.

**1997—Deby's Patriotic Salvation Movement triumphs on legislative elections.**

**1998—The Movement for Democracy and Justice in Chad, led by Deby's former Defence Minister, Youssouf Togoimi, begins armed rebellion against the government.**

**2000 July—Rebels of the Movement for Democracy and Justice in Chad (MDJC) say they have captured the key government garrison town of Bardai in the north.**

**2001 January—President Deby urges MDJC rebels to end their revolt, amid continuing heavy fighting with government troops which has claimed, among others, the deputy commander of the presidential security guards.**

**__Works Cited__**: [] [] [] [] []