CHAD

officially Republic of Chad, French Rpublique Du Tchad landlocked country in north-central Africa, covering an area of 495,755 square miles (1,284,000 square km). The capital is N'Djamena (formerly Fort-Lamy). Lying about the Lake Chad basin to the northeast and southeast, Chad is bordered by Libya to the north, The Sudan to the east, Central African Republic and Cameroon to the south, and Nigeria and Niger to the west. The population in 1990 was estimated to be 5,668,000. The land. The country's terrain takes the form of a shallow basin that rises gradually from 750 feet (228 m) above sea level at Lake Chad, which is situated in the centre of the western frontier. Lake Chad covered much more of the region in earlier geologic periods and still varies considerably in surface area. The Lake Chad basin is lined with clay and sand sediments and is rimmed by mountains, including the volcanic Tibesti Massif to the north, rising to 11,204 feet (3,415 m) at Mount Koussi; the sandstone Ennedi Plateau to the northeast; the crystalline rock mountains of Ouadda (Wadai) to the east; and the Oubangui Plateau to the south. The basin's lowest elevation is the Djourab Depression, at 573 feet (175 m) above sea level. Chad's river network is virtually limited to the Chari and Logone rivers and their tributaries, which flow from the southeast into Lake Chad. The Chari is about 750 miles (1,200 km) in length, and the Logone, formed by the junction of the Pend and Mbr rivers, runs more than 600 miles (970 km) before it joins the Chari at N'Djamena. The level of Lake Chad fluctuates mainly according to the flow of the rivers. Chad's wide climatic range varies from wet and dry tropical in the southern region to semiarid in the south-central region to hot arid in the central and northern regions. In the wet and dry tropical zone, between 32 and 48 inches (800 and 1,200 mm) of rainfall occur annually between May and October, while in the central semiarid zone between 12 and 32 inches (300 and 800 mm) of rain fall between June and September. Extreme annual temperatures range from 53 to 124 F (12 to 50 C). The wet and dry tropical zone is characterized by shrubs, tall grasses, and scattered broad-leaved deciduous trees. The semiarid zone has broad savanna (grassy parkland), while the hot arid zone is composed of sand dunes and plateaus in which vegetation is scarce, though there are occasional palm oases. The wildlife in the southern and south-central regions includes elephant, hippopotamus, rhinoceros, warthog, giraffe, antelope, lion, leopard, and cheetah, which coexist with a wide assortment of birds and reptiles. Only about 2 percent of the total land area of Chad is considered truly arable, some 10 percent is forested, and more than one-third is available as pasture. officially Republic of Chad, French Rpublique du Tchad, landlocked state in north central Africa. It has an area of 495,755 square miles (1,284,000 square kilometres). It is bounded on the north by Libya, on the east by The Sudan, on the south by the Central African Republic, and on the west by Cameroon, Nigeria, and Niger. The capital, N'Djamena (formerly Fort-Lamy), is almost 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometres) by road from the western African coastal ports. Although it is the fifth largest country on the continent, Chadmuch of the northern part of which lies in the Saharahas a population density of only about 10 persons per square mile (four persons per square kilometre). Most of the population lives by agriculture; cotton is grown in the south, and cattle are raised in the central region. Chad is one of the world's poorest countries. Additional reading Harold D. Nelson et al., Area Handbook for Chad (1972), is still a useful introduction. See also Pierre Hugot, Le Tchad (1965); Mario Azevedo (ed.), Cameroon and Chad in Historical and Contemporary Perspectives (1989); and Jean Cabot and Christian Bouquet, Atlas pratique du Tchad (1972). Ethnographic studies include Jean Chapelle, Nomades noirs du Sahara (1958, reissued 1982), the authoritative study on the Teda; Albert Le Rouvreur, Sahliens et sahariens du Tchad (1962), information about the northern and eastern populations; and Jean Chapelle, Le Peuple tchadien (1980). Politics and government are treated in Georges Diguimbaye and Robert Langue, L'Essor du Tchad (1969); and Michael P. Kelley, A State in Disarray: Conditions of Chad's Survival (1986), discussing dependency. Samuel Decalo, Historical Dictionary of Chad, 2nd ed. (1987), has an extensive bibliography. Early history is discussed in Jean Paul Lebeuf, Archologie tchadienne: les Sao du Cameroun et du Tchad (1962); and Jean Paul Lebeuf and A. Masson Detourbet, La Civilisation du Tchad (1950). Jacques Le Cornec, Histoire politique du Tchad, de 1900 1962 (1963), provides information on the colonial era and the first years of independence. Robert Buijtenhuijs, Le Frolinat et les rvoltes populaires du Tchad, 196576 (1978), and Le Frolinat et les guerres civiles du Tchad (19771984) (1987), are the best sources of information on Chad's civil wars. The boundary disputes are discussed in Bernard Lanne, Tchad-Libye, 2nd ed. (1986). Alfred Thomas Grove Administration and social conditions Government The constitution of 1975 was replaced by the charte fondamentale in 1978, and this in turn was abolished in 1979. In 1982, pending the adoption of a new constitution, the provisional acte fondamental was instituted. It assigned full powers to the president. The government consists of a Council of Ministers and the National Consultative Assembly, an advisory body consisting of two representatives from each of the country's 14 prfectures, plus two representatives from the capital, all appointed by the president. The new constitution was adopted in 1989. Civil war broke out in the mid-1960s when two guerrilla groups struggled to overthrow the government and create closer ties with Arab North Africa. Internal struggles and conflict with Libya continued throughout the 1980s. Education The size of the country, the dispersion of populations, and the occasional reluctance to send children to school all constitute educational problems that the government is endeavouring to overcome. Less than one-half of the school-age population is enrolled. Missions and public education services are responsible for primary education. Secondary and technical education is also available. The University of Chad, founded in 1971, offers higher education, and some Chad students study abroad.