Chad (GPS: 15 00 N, 19 00 E) located in Central Africa, south of Libya. The country’s area measurements are total: 1.284 million sq km; land: 1,259,200 sq km, water: 24,800 sq km. This sovereign state is slightly more than three times the size of California. The total irrigated land is 300 sq km (2012).
One of the essential features of Chad: Chad is the largest of Africa’s 16 landlocked countries. Not long ago – geologically speaking – what is today the Sahara was green savannah teeming with wildlife. During the African Humid Period, roughly 11,000 to 5,000 years ago, a vibrant animal community, including elephants, giraffes, hippos, and antelope, lived there. The last remnant of the “Green Sahara” exists in the Lakes of Ounianga (oo-nee-ahn-ga) in northern Chad, a series of 18 interconnected freshwater, saline, and hypersaline lakes now protected as a World Heritage site.
Lake Chad, the most significant water body in the Sahel, is a remnant of a former inland sea, paleolake Mega-Chad. At its greatest extent, sometime before 5000 B.C., Lake Mega-Chad was the largest of four Saharan paleolakes that existed during the African Humid Period. It covered an area of about 400,000 sq km (150,000 sq mi), roughly the size of today’s Caspian Sea.
It’s significant, and at the same time, the principal city, N’Djamena’s GPS coordinates are 12 06 N 15 02 E. N’Djamena’s local time is 6 hours ahead of Washington DC during Standard Time. The capital’s time difference: UTC+1.
For more information on Chad, please scroll down below the Google Maps.
Google Maps Chad and N’Djamena, Africa
About Chad in detail
Flag of Chad
Map of Chad
Chad, part of France’s African holdings until 1960, endured three decades of civil warfare and invasions by Libya before peace restored in 1990. The government eventually drafted a democratic constitution and held flawed presidential elections in 1996 and 2001. In 1998, a rebellion broke out in northern Chad, sporadically flared up despite several peace agreements between the government and insurgents. In June 2005, President Idriss DEBY held a referendum successfully removing constitutional term limits and won another controversial election in 2006. Sporadic rebel campaigns continued throughout 2006 and 2007. The capital experienced a significant insurrection in early 2008 but has had no significant rebel threats since then due to Chad’s 2010 rapprochement with Sudan, which previously used Chadian rebels as proxies.
Nevertheless, a state of emergency continues to be in place in the Sila and Ouaddai regions bordering Sudan. In late 2015, the government imposed a state of emergency in the Lake Chad region following multiple attacks by the terrorist group Boko Haram throughout the year; Boko Haram also launched several bombings in N’Djamena mid-2015. A state of emergency is also emplaced in the western Tibesti region bordering Niger, where rival ethnic groups are fighting. DEBY in 2016 was re-elected to his fifth term in an election that was peaceful but flawed. In December 2015, Chad completed a two-year rotation on the UN Security Council. In January 2017, DEBY completed a one-year term as Chairperson of the African Union Assembly. (2019)
Chad’s names conventional long form: Republic of Chad, conventional short form: Chad, local long form: Republique du Tchad/Jumhuriyat Tshad, local short form: Tchad/Tshad, etymology: named for Lake Chad, which lies along the country’s western border; the word “tsade” means “large body of water” or “lake” in several local native languages. Named for Lake Chad, which lies along the country’s western border; The word “tsade” means “large body of water” or “lake” in several local native languages.
Chad’s terrain is typically broad, arid plains in center, desert in north, mountains in northwest, lowlands in south. The country’s mean elevation: 543 m, elevation extremes; lowest point: Djourab 160 m, highest point: Emi Koussi 3,415 m.
The general climate in the country; tropical in the south, desert in the north.
The total number of border countries is 6, Cameroon 1,116 km, Central African Republic 1,556 km, Libya 1,050 km, Niger 1,196 km, Nigeria 85 km, Sudan 1,403 km are the neighboring nations with the indicated border lengths. Chad’s coastline is 0 km (landlocked country), while its marital claims are: none. Waterways: (Chari and Legone Rivers are navigable only in wet season) (2012). Land use: agricultural land: 39.6%; arable land 3.9%; permanent crops 0%; permanent pasture 35.7%; forest: 9.1%; other: 51.3% (2011 estimate).
The population in Chad 15,833,116 (July 2018 estimate), urban population: 22.5% of total population (2015), central metropolitan area’s population: N’DJAMENA (capital) 1.26 million (2015), while Chad has the population is unevenly distributed due to contrasts in climate and physical geography; the highest density is found in the southwest, particularly around Lake Chad and points south; the dry Saharan zone to the north is the least densely populated.
Their spoken languages are French (official language), Arabic (official language), Sara (in the south), more than 120 different languages and dialects. Main religions in Chad are Muslim 58.4%, Catholic 18.5%, Protestant 16.1%, animist 4%, other 0.5%, none 2.4% (2009 estimate). The nation uses a mixed legal system of civil and customary law. It is a(n) presidential republic, National holiday(s) Independence Day, 11 August (1960).
Economic overview for the country: Chad’s landlocked location results in high transportation costs for imported goods and dependence on neighboring countries. Oil and agriculture are mainstays of Chad’s economy. Oil provides about 60% of export revenues, while cotton, cattle, livestock, and gum arabic provide the bulk of Chad’s non-oil export earnings. The services sector contributes less than one-third of GDP and has attracted foreign investment mostly through telecommunications and banking. Nearly all of Chad’s fuel is provided by one domestic refinery, and unanticipated shutdowns occasionally result in shortages. The country regulates the price of domestic energy, providing an incentive for black market sales.
Although high oil prices and healthy local harvests supported the economy in the past, low oil prices now stress Chad’s fiscal position and have resulted in significant government cutbacks. Chad relies on foreign assistance and foreign capital for most of its public and private sector investment. Investment in Chad is difficult due to its limited infrastructure, lack of trained workers, extensive government bureaucracy, and corruption. Chad obtained a three-year extended credit facility from the IMF in 2014 and was granted debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative in April 2015. In 2018, economic policy will be driven by efforts that started in 2016 to reverse the recession and to repair damage to public finances and exports. The government is implementing an emergency action plan to counterbalance the drop in oil revenue and to diversify the economy.
Chad’s national development plan (NDP) cost just over $9 billion with a financing gap of $6.7 billion. The NDP emphasized the importance of private sector participation in Chad’s development, as well as the need to improve the business environment, particularly in priority sectors such as mining and agriculture. The Government of Chad reached a deal with Glencore and four other banks on the restructuring of a $1.45 billion oil-backed loan in February 2018, after a long negotiation. The new terms include an extension of the maturity to 2030 from 2022, a two-year grace period on principal repayments, and a lower interest rate of the London Inter-bank Offer Rate (Libor) plus 2% – down from Libor plus 7.5%.
The original Glencore loan was to be repaid with crude oil assets, however, Chad’s oil sales were hit by the downturn in the price of oil. Chad had secured a $312 million credit from the IMF in June 2017, but release of those funds hinged on restructuring the Glencore debt. Chad had already cut public spending to try to meet the terms of the IMF program, but that prompted strikes and protests in a country where nearly 40% of the population lives below the poverty line. Multinational partners, such as the African Development Bank, the EU, and the World Bank are likely to continue budget support in 2018, but Chad will remain at high debt risk, given its dependence on oil revenue and pressure to spend on subsidies and security.
Natural resources of Chad: petroleum, uranium, natron, kaolin, fish (Lake Chad), gold, limestone, sand and gravel, salt.
Main export partners for Chad, Africa are US 58.5%, India 13.3%, Japan 11.3%, China 4.1% (2015) for oil, livestock, cotton, sesame, gum arabic, shea butter, while the main import partners for the country are: France 16.5%, China 14.2%, Cameroon 11%, US 6.4%, India 6%, Belgium 5.7%, Italy 4.8% (2015) for machinery and transportation equipment, industrial goods, foodstuffs, textiles.
When you visit this country in Africa, consider the natural hazards in Chad: Hot, dry, dusty harmattan winds occur in north, periodic droughts, locust plagues, while infectious diseases are degree of risk: very high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: malaria and dengue fever water contact disease: schistosomiasisrespiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis animal contact disease: rabies (2016). Also, note that Chad faces the following environmental issues: Inadequate supplies of potable water, Improper waste disposal in rural areas and poor farming practices contribute to soil and water pollution, Desertification.
You may also be interested in the countries next to Chad around its total: 6,406 km border, like Cameroon, Central African Republic, Libya, Niger, Nigeria, Sudan.
