Chad
Republic of Chad
République du Tchad
جمهورية تشاد
Jumhūriyyat Tshād
Flag
Motto: "Unité, Travail, Progrès" (French)
"Unity, Work, Progress"
Anthem: "La Tchadienne"
Capital
(and largest city)
N’Djamena
12°06′N 15°02′E / 12.1°N
15.033°E / 12.1; 15.033
Official
languages
French, Arabic
Demonym
Chadian
Government
Republic
-
President
Idriss Déby
-
Prime
Minister
Youssouf Saleh Abbas
Independence
from France
-
Date
August 11, 1960
Area
-
Total
1,284,000 km2 (21st)
495,753 sq mi
- Water (%)
1.9
Population
-
2007 estimate
10,780,600 (75th)
-
1993 census
6,279,921
-
Density
7.9/km2 (212th)
20.4/sq mi
GDP (PPP)
2008 estimate
-
Total
$16.119 billion[1]
-
Per capita
$1,656[1]
GDP (nominal)
2008 estimate
-
Total
$8.390 billion[1]
-
Per capita
$862[1]
HDI (2007)
▲ 0.388 (low) (170th)
Currency
CFA franc (XAF)
Time zone
WAT (UTC+1)
-
Summer (DST) not observed (UTC+1)
Internet TLD
.td
Calling code
235
Chad (French: Tchad, Arabic: ????
Tshād),
officially known as the Republic of Chad, is
a landlocked country in central Africa. It is
bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the
east, the Central African Republic to the
south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southw-
est, and Niger to the west. Due to its distance
from the sea and its largely desert climate,
the country is sometimes referred to as the
"Dead Heart of Africa". Chad is divided into
three major geographical regions: a desert
zone in the north, an arid Sahelian belt in the
centre and a more fertile Sudanese savanna
zone in the south. Lake Chad, after which the
country is named, is the largest wetland in
Chad and the second largest in Africa. Chad’s
highest peak is the Emi Koussi in the Sahara,
and N’Djamena,(formerly Fort-Lamy),
the
capital, is the largest city. Chad is home to
over 200 different ethnic and linguistic
groups. Arabic and French are the official
languages. Islam and Christianity are the
most widely practiced religions.
Beginning in the 7th millennium BC, hu-
man populations moved into the Chadian
basin in great numbers. By the end of the 1st
millennium