Chad (2002) | French Guiana (2004) | |
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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) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 47.8% (male 2,162,732; female 2,135,354)
15-64 years: 49.4% (male 2,108,134; female 2,340,189) 65 years and over: 2.8% (male 103,683; female 147,145) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 29.6% (male 28,959; female 27,657)
15-64 years: 64.5% (male 66,388; female 57,020) 65 years and over: 5.9% (male 5,736; female 5,549) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cotton, sorghum, millet, peanuts, rice, potatoes, manioc (tapioca); cattle, sheep, goats, camels | corn, rice, manioc (tapioca), sugar, cocoa, vegetables, bananas; cattle, pigs, poultry |
Airports | 49 (2001) | 11 (2003 est.) |
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 (2002) |
total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 43
1,524 to 2,437 m: 13 914 to 1,523 m: 20 under 914 m: 10 (2002) |
total: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 5 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 1.284 million sq km
land: 1,259,200 sq km water: 24,800 sq km |
total: 91,000 sq km
land: 89,150 sq km water: 1,850 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than three times the size of California | slightly smaller than Indiana |
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. The 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 2000. A peace agreement, signed in January 2002 between the government and the rebels, provides for the demobilization of the rebels and their reintegration into the political system. Despite movement toward democratic reform, power remains in the hands of a northern ethnic oligarchy. | First settled by the French in 1604, French Guiana was the site of notorious penal settlements until 1951. The European Space Agency launches its communication satellites from Kourou. |
Birth rate | 47.74 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 21 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $198 million
expenditures: $218 million, including capital expenditures of $146 million |
revenues: $225 million
expenditures: $390 million, including capital expenditures of $105 million (1996) |
Capital | N'Djamena | Cayenne |
Climate | tropical in south, desert in north | tropical; hot, humid; little seasonal temperature variation |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 378 km |
Constitution | passed by referendum 31 March 1996 | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Chad
conventional short form: Chad local long form: Republique du Tchad local short form: Tchad |
conventional long form: Department of Guiana
conventional short form: French Guiana local long form: none local short form: Guyane |
Currency | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States | euro (EUR) |
Death rate | 15.06 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 4.82 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.1 billion (2000 est.) | $1.2 billion (1988) |
Dependency status | - | overseas department of France |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Christopher E. GOLDTHWAIT
embassy: Avenue Felix Eboue, N'Djamena mailing address: B. P. 413, N'Djamena telephone: [235] (51) 70-09 FAX: [235] (51) 56-54 |
none (overseas department of France) |
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 |
none (overseas department of France) |
Disputes - international | Lake Chad Commission urges signatories Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria to ratify delimitation treaty over lake region, the site of continuing armed clashes; Nigeria requests and Chad rejects redemarcation of boundary, which lacks clear demarcation in sections and has caused several cross-border incidents; Chadian rebels from Aozou reside in Libya | Suriname claims area between Riviere Litani and Riviere Marouini (both headwaters of the Lawa) |
Economic aid - recipient | $238.3 million (1995); note - $125 million committed by Taiwan (August 1997); $30 million committed by African Development Bank | NA (1995) |
Economy - overview | Chad's primarily agricultural economy will be boosted by major oilfield and pipeline projects that began in 2000. Over 80% of Chad's population relies on subsistence farming and stock raising for their livelihood. Cotton, cattle, and gum arabic provide the bulk of Chad's export earnings, but Chad will begin to export oil in 2004. Chad's economy has long been handicapped by its land-locked 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 is investing $3.7 billion to develop oil reserves estimated at 1 billion barrels in southern Chad. | The economy is tied closely to the larger French economy through subsidies and imports. Besides the French space center at Kourou (which accounts for 25% of GDP), fishing and forestry are the most important economic activities. Forest and woodland cover 90% of the country. The large reserves of tropical hardwoods, not fully exploited, support an expanding sawmill industry that provides sawn logs for export. Cultivation of crops is limited to the coastal area, where the population is largely concentrated; rice and manioc are the major crops. French Guiana is heavily dependent on imports of food and energy. Unemployment is a serious problem, particularly among younger workers. |
Electricity - consumption | 85.56 million kWh (2000) | 423.2 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 92 million kWh (2000) | 455 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Djourab Depression 160 m
highest point: Emi Koussi 3,415 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Bellevue de l'Inini 851 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, Nuclear Test Ban, 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 | black or mulatto 66%, white 12%, East Indian, Chinese, Amerindian 12%, other 10% |
Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 742.79 (January 2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997); note - from 1 January 1999, the XAF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XAF per euro | Euros per US dollar - 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Lt. Gen. Idriss DEBY (since 4 December 1990)
head of government: Prime Minister Haroun KABADI (since 12 June 2002) 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 20 May 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Lt. Gen. Idriss DEBY reelected president; percent of vote - Lt. Gen. Idriss DEBY 63%, Ngarlegy YORONGAR 16%, Saleh KEBZABO 7% note: government coalition - MPS, UNDR, and URD |
chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Ange MANCINI (since 31 July 2002)
head of government: President of the General Council Joseph HO-TEN-YOU (since 26 March 2001); President of the Regional Council Antoine KARAM (since 22 March 1992) 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 Interior; presidents of the General and Regional Councils are appointed by the members of those councils |
Exports | $172 million f.o.b. (2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | cotton, cattle, gum arabic | shrimp, timber, gold, rum, rosewood essence, clothing |
Exports - partners | Portugal 38%, Germany 12%, Thailand, Costa Rica, South Africa, France, Nigeria (2001) | France 62%, Switzerland 7%, US 2% (2001) |
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 - $8.9 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1.551 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 38%
industry: 13% services: 49% (2001 est.) |
agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,030 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $8,300 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 8% (2001 est.) | NA |
Geographic coordinates | 15 00 N, 19 00 E | 4 00 N, 53 00 W |
Geography - note | landlocked; Lake Chad is the most significant water body in the Sahel | mostly an unsettled wilderness; the only non-independent portion of the South American continent |
Highways | total: 33,400 km
paved: 450 km unpaved: 32,950 km note: probably no more than 8,000 km of the total receive maintenance, the remainder being desert tracks (2000) |
total: 722 km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Illicit drugs | - | small amount of marijuana grown for local consumption; minor transshipment point to Europe |
Imports | $223 million f.o.b. (2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transportation equipment, industrial goods, petroleum products, foodstuffs, textiles | food (grains, processed meat), machinery and transport equipment, fuels and chemicals |
Imports - partners | France 40%, Cameroon 13%, Nigeria 12%, India 5% (1999) | France 63%, US, Trinidad and Tobago, Italy (2002 est.) |
Independence | 11 August 1960 (from France) | none (overseas department of France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 5% (1995) | NA |
Industries | cotton textiles, meatpacking, beer brewing, natron (sodium carbonate), soap, cigarettes, construction materials | construction, shrimp processing, forestry products, rum, gold mining |
Infant mortality rate | 93.46 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 12.46 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 13.3 deaths/1,000 live births female: 11.58 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3% (2000 est.) | 1.5% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, CEEAC, CEMAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | UPU, WCL, WFTU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2002) | - |
Irrigated land | 200 sq km (1998 est.) | 20 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Court of Appeal; Criminal Courts; Magistrate Courts | Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel (highest local court based in Martinique with jurisdiction over Martinique, Guadeloupe, and French Guiana) |
Labor force | NA | 58,800 (1997) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture more than 80% (subsistence farming, herding, and fishing) | agriculture 18.2%, industry 21.2%, services, government, and commerce 60.6% (1980) |
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 |
total: 1,183 km
border countries: Brazil 673 km, Suriname 510 km |
Land use | arable land: 2.78%
permanent crops: 0.02% other: 97.2% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 0.14%
permanent crops: 0.05% other: 99.81% (90% forest, 10% other) (2001) |
Languages | French (official), Arabic (official), Sara (in south), more than 120 different languages and dialects | French |
Legal system | based on French civil law system and Chadian customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | French legal system |
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 in NA April 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - MPS 110, RDP 12, FAR 9, RNDP 5, URD 5, UNDR 3, others 11 |
unicameral General Council or Conseil General (19 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council or Conseil Regional (31 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held NA March 2000 (next to be held NA 2006); 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 - PSG 5, various left-wing parties 5, independents 7, other 2; Regional Council - percent of vote by party - PS 28.28%, various left parties 22.56%, RPR 15.91%, independents 8.6%, Walwari Committee 6%; seats by party - PS 11, various left parties 9, RPR 6, independents 3, Walwari Committee 2 note: one seat was elected to the French Senate on 27 September 1998 (next to be held NA September 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; 2 seats were elected to the French National Assembly on 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UMP/RPR 1, Walwari Committee 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 51.27 years
male: 49.22 years female: 53.4 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 76.89 years
male: 73.57 years female: 80.38 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write French or Arabic
total population: 40% male: 49% female: 31% (1998) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 83% male: 84% female: 82% (1982 est.) |
Location | Central Africa, south of Libya | Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Brazil and Suriname |
Map references | Africa | South America |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of France |
Military branches | Armed Forces (including National Army, Air Force, and Gendarmerie), Rapid Intervention Force, National and Nomadic Guard (GNNT), Presidential Security Guard, Police | no regular military forces; Gendarmerie |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $31 million (FY01) | NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.9% (FY01) | NA |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,881,769 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 52,294 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 985,094 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 33,914 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 20 years of age (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 82,003 (2002 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 11 August (1960) | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
Nationality | noun: Chadian(s)
adjective: Chadian |
noun: French Guianese (singular and plural)
adjective: French Guianese |
Natural hazards | hot, dry, dusty harmattan winds occur in north; periodic droughts; locust plagues | high frequency of heavy showers and severe thunderstorms; flooding |
Natural resources | petroleum (unexploited but exploration under way), uranium, natron, kaolin, fish (Lake Chad) | bauxite, timber, gold (widely scattered), petroleum, kaolin, fish, niobium, tantalum, clay |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 6.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Federation Action for the Republic or FAR [Ngarlejy YORONGAR]; National Rally for Development and Progress or RNDP [Mamadou BISSO]; National Union for Development and Renewal or UNDR [Saleh KEBZABO]; National Union for Renewal and Democracy or UNRD [leader NA]; Party for Liberty and Democracy or PLD [Ibni Oumar Mahamat SALEH]; Patriotic Salvation Movement or MPS [Mahamat Saleh AHMAT, 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 Democracy and the Republic or UDR [Jean Bawoyeu ALINGUE]; Union for Renewal and Democracy or URD [Gen. Wadal Abdelkader KAMOUGUE]; Viva Rally for Development and Progress or Viva RNDP [Delwa Kassire COUMAKOYE] | Guyanese Democratic Action or ADG [Andre LECANTE]; Guyanese Socialist Party or PSG [Marie-Claude VERDAN]; Guyana Democratic Forces or FDG [Georges OTHILY]; Popular National Guyanese Party or PNPG [Jose DORCY]; Socialist Party or PS [Paul DEBRIETTE]; Union for a Popular Movement or UMP [Muriel ICARE]; Walwari Committee (aligned with the PRG in France) [Christine TAUBIRA-DELANON] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 8,997,237 (July 2002 est.) | 191,309 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 80% (2001 est.) | NA |
Population growth rate | 3.27% (2002 est.) | 2.25% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | Cayenne, Degrad des Cannes, Saint-Laurent du Maroni |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 4, shortwave 5 (2002) | AM 2, FM 14 (including 6 repeaters), shortwave 6 (including 5 repeaters) (1998) |
Radios | 1.67 million (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | - |
Religions | Muslim 51%, Christian 35%, animist 7%, other 7% | Roman Catholic |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.9 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.16 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.03 male(s)/female total population: 1.12 male(s)/female (2004 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: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: NA
domestic: fair open-wire and microwave radio relay system international: country code - 594; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 9,700 (1999) | 51,000 (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 5,500 (2000) | 138,200 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2002) | 3 (plus eight low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | broad, arid plains in center, desert in north, mountains in northwest, lowlands in south | low-lying coastal plains rising to hills and small mountains |
Total fertility rate | 6.5 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 3.05 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 22% (2001) |
Waterways | 2,000 km | 3,760 km
note: 460 km navigable by small oceangoing vessels and coastal and river steamers, 3,300 km by native craft (2004) |