Profile
Background and figures as recorded in the CIA World Factbook.
Chad emerged from a collection of powerful states that controlled the Sahelian belt starting around the 9th century. These states focused on controlling trans-Saharan trade routes and profited mostly from the slave trade. The Kanem-Bornu Empire, centered around the Lake Chad Basin, existed between the 9th and 19th centuries, and at its peak, the empire controlled territory stretching from southern Chad to southern Libya and included portions of modern-day Algeria, Cameroon, Niger, Nigeria, and Sudan.
- Capital
- N'Djamena
- Government
- presidential republic
- Population
- 19,674,004
- Area
- 1.284 million sq km
- Location
- Central Africa, south of Libya
- Climate
- tropical in south, desert in north
- Natural resources
- petroleum; uranium; natron; kaolin; fish (Lake Chad); gold…
- Languages
- French (official); Arabic (official); Sara (in south); more than 120 languages and dialects
- Religions
- Muslim 52.1%; Protestant 23.9%; Roman Catholic 20%; animist 0.3%…
- Independence
- 11 August 1960 (from France)
- Administrative divisions
- 23 provinces; Barh-El-Gazel, Batha, Borkou, Chari-Baguirmi, Ennedi-Est, Ennedi-Ouest, Guera, Hadjer-Lamis, Kanem, Lac, L…
- Currency
- Cooperation Financiere en Afrique Centrale francs (XAF)
- Export partners
- UAE 26%; China 19%; Germany 17%; Netherlands 13%…
- Import partners
- China 28%; UAE 23%; Turkey 10%; France 9%…
Source: CIA World Factbook — a work of the US government, in the public domain