eum (unexploited but exploration under way), uranium, natron,
kaolin, fish (Lake Chad)
Land use:
arable land:
2%
permanent crops:
0%
meadows and pastures:
36%
forest and woodland:
11%
other:
51%
Irrigated land:
100 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues:
desertification
natural hazards:
hot, dry, dusty harmattan winds occur in north; periodic droughts;
subject to locust plagues
international agreements:
party to - Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban, Wetlands; signed, but
not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the Sea, Marine
Dumping
Note:
landlocked; Lake Chad is the most significant water body in the Sahel

@Chad, People

Population:
5,466,771 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
2.15% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
42.12 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
20.59 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
131.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
40.79 years
male:
39.7 years
female:
41.94 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate:
5.33 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
Chadian(s)
adjective:
Chadian
Ethnic divisions:
north and center:
Muslims (Arabs, Toubou, Hadjerai, Fulbe, Kotoko, Kanembou, Baguirmi,
Boulala, Zaghawa, and Maba)
south:
non-Muslims (Sara, Ngambaye, Mbaye, Goulaye, Moundang, Moussei, Massa)
nonindigenous 150,000, of whom 1,000 are French
Religions:
Muslim 50%, Christian 25%, indigenous beliefs, animism 25%
Languages:
French (official), Arabic (official), Sara (in south), Sango (in
south), more than 100 different languages and dialects are spoken
Literacy:
age 15 and over can read and write French or Arabic (1990 est.)
total population:
30%
male:
42%
female:
18%
Labor force:
NA
by occupation:
agriculture 85% (engaged in unpaid subsistence farming, herding, and
fishing)

@Chad, Government

Names:
conventional long form:
Republic of Chad
conventional short form:
Chad
local long form:
Republique du Tchad
local short form:
Tchad
Digraph:
CD
Type:
republic
Capital:
N'Djamena
Administrative divisions:
14 prefectures (prefectures, singular - prefecture); Batha, Biltine,
Borkou-Ennedi-Tibesti, Chari-Baguirmi, Guera, Kanem, Lac, Logone
Occidental, Logone Oriental, Mayo-Kebbi, Moyen-Chari