Chad
Chad is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It borders Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west. The north of Chad is located in the Sahara Desert. Chad is divided into three major geographic regions: a desert zone in the north, a dry sahelbælte in the middle and a more fertile savannah south. The country is named after Lake Chad, which is the largest wetland in Chad and the second largest in Africa. Chad’s highest peak is the Emi Koussi in the Sahara, and the largest city is the capital N’Djamena. Chad is home to over 200 different ethnic and linguistic groups. The official languages are French and Arabic and Islam is the predominant religion in the country.
At the beginning of the seventh millennium BC moved large groups of people into the Chad Basin. At the end of the first millennium BC came and dropped a number of states and empires in Chad sahelbælte which all focused on control over the transsahariske trade routes that passed through the region. France conquered the region in 1920 and incorporated it as part of French Equatorial Africa. Under the leadership of François Tombalbaye Chad became independent in 1960, but his policies aroused discontent in the Muslim norddel of the country, which culminated in the outbreak of a protracted civil war in 1965. In 1979 the rebels conquered the capital and ended the hegemony of the south. Rebel leaders, however, came in the split until Hissène Habré defeated his rivals. He was overthrown in 1990 by his general Idriss Déby. In recent years, the Darfur conflict has spread across the border from Sudan and destabilized the country.
There are many active political parties in Chad, but the power lies firmly in the hands of President Déby and his party, the Patriotic Salvation Movement. Chad is still affected by politically motivated violence and constant attempts at coup d’etat. It is one of the poorest and most corrupt countries in Africa. Most Chadians live in poverty and engaged in agricultural and livestock for their own use. The traditional cotton industry was the country’s foremost source of export revenue until 2003, when crude oil took over.
Chile & Central African Republic
