Chad
COUNTRY PROFILES A-Z Africa Institute of South Africa | Africa A-Z: Continental and Country Profiles 137 Chad Orientation Chad occupies a central and strategic position north of the equator. Its capital, N’Djamena, located some 1 500 km from the nearest seaport, is among the most remote of African cities. From its southern savanna zone Chad stretches over a distance of nearly 2 000 km to its northern border (with Libya). The tropical savanna region, receiving the most rainfall, merges into the semi-arid Sahel belt stretching through the middle of the country. The Sahel borders on the Sahara Desert whose barren plains extend across the northern third of the country. The highest part of Chad is in the far northwest where the rugged Tibesti Mountains rise to more than 3 000 m above sea level. Located on the country’s southwestern border, the lake with the same name as the country has shrunk substantially since ancient times. Lake Chad is a shallow stretch of water, only a few metres deep and whose surface area may vary between about 10 000 and 26 000 km2 , depending on the rainfall. The Djourab Depression to the north of Lake Chad lies only 160 m above sea level and was once part of the lake. Two large rivers, the Chari and the Logone, flow into the lake from southern Chad. N’Djamena, the country’s capital and largest city, is situated near the confluence of these rivers, about 100 km south of the lake. People Except for scattered Arabic and Chadicspeaking groups, the people speak Nilo-Saharan languages, a linguistic group prevalent in the Sahel and the Sahara. Prominent among the Nilo-Saharan groups are the speakers of the Kanuri sub-group of languages such as the Zaghawa and the Tubu; the first-mentioned group living on both sides of Chad’s western border with Niger and the Tubu people inhabiting the Tibesti Mountains in the far north; other prominent Kanuri groups are the Sara and the Bagirmi of the savanna zones south of N’Djamena and the Maba who dominate along the eastern border with Sudan, especially in the vicinity of Abeche, one of the larger towns. Arabic and French are the official languages. The northern desert peoples are predominantly Muslims; in the south Christianity has made many converts, though many people continue to profess the traditional ethnic religions. This huge country of more than 1.2 million square kilometres, inhabited by 8–9 million people, is sparsely populated, especially the northern and central parts; the southern section, with most of the COUNTRY PROFILES A-Z 138 Africa A-Z: Continental and Country Profiles | Africa Institute of South Africa arable land and the highest rainfall (av 500 mm per year) has a population density of about 33 persons per kilometre, which exceeds the African average. About a quarter of the population is urbanised, living in N’Djamena (population about 700 000) and other large towns with 100 000 or more residents, such as Abeche, near the eastern border, and Moundou and Sarh in the far south. Economy Although Chad is one of the world’s poorest countries, its people are generally self-suf- ficient in food and other necessities of life. The discovery of large petroleum deposits raised hopes for Chad’s economic advancement , though the country’s remoteness acts as a constraint on development. The oil will be transported by means of a pipeline from the Doba oilfields in the far south of Chad to the port of Kribi on the coast of Cameroon. A more than 1 000 km pipeline was completed towards the end of 2003 and the oil has been kept flowing to Kribi since 2004. The World Bank provided loans for the development of Chad’s petroleum resource which is one of the largest investment projects in Africa in recent years. In a few years, production at the Doba oilfields is expected to reach an average of 400 000 barrels per day. To the north of Lake Chad the Sedigui petroleum deposits are still awaiting exploitation. Apart from oil, Chad has known reserves of minerals like chromium, iron ore, gold, tin, titanium and uranium. Most Chadians depend on agriculture for a living. Cotton, which is indigenous to Chad, is the principal crop and earner of foreign exchange. It is cultivated in the south while livestock herding is the dominant activity in the lower rainfall areas. The main food crops are...
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