Chad 2018

In 2018, the Republic of Chad had a population of approximately 15.8 million people. The economy is largely based on agriculture, which accounts for more than 40% of the GDP. Livestock and cotton are the main exports, while oil and uranium are also important exports. Arabic and French are the official languages although other languages such as Sara, Kanembu and Buduma are also spoken. According to extrareference, Chad is a presidential republic with an executive branch headed by the President who is elected for a five year term. The legislative branch consists of a unicameral parliament (the National Assembly). In terms of foreign relations, Chad maintains diplomatic ties with over 70 countries around the world and has close ties with its neighbors in Central Africa such as Cameroon, Congo-Brazzaville and Sudan. The government also works closely with international organizations such as the United Nations, African Union (AU), World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Trade Organization (WTO) and Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS).

Yearbook 2018

Chad. According to Countryaah.com, N’Djamena is the capital city of Chad, a country located in Central Africa. Chad had protested that the country was on the US list of countries whose citizens were not allowed to enter the United States. In April, the announcement came that Chad would be removed from the disputed list.

• According to Abbreviationfinder: TCD is an three letter acronym for Chad.

In February, the EU pledged to double its support for the West African G5 force to the equivalent of approximately SEK 1 billion. The G5 force will include 5,000 soldiers and police from Chad, Niger, Mali, Mauritania and Burkina Faso with the mission of fighting terrorists and refugee smugglers. Chad’s well-trained military is expected to bear great responsibility in the force.

In eight years, at least 20,000 people have been killed by the extremist group Boko Haram in the area around Lake Chad in Chad, Nigeria, Niger and Cameroon. More than 2 million people have been displaced and food shortages prevail in the area, suffering from climate warming and water scarcity with a shrinking lake. Svenska Sida decided to allocate SEK 180 million to remedy the food shortage.

In April, Chad’s parliament approved a new constitution that gave more power to President Idriss Déby and abolished the Prime Minister’s post. Déby was also given the opportunity to remain head of state for two additional terms until 2033 (he came to power in 1990). The opposition protested by not participating in the vote. Déby announced that parliamentary elections would be held in November.

At least 18 people were killed in July when suspected Boko Haram supporters attacked a village near the Nigeria border. The attackers cut the throats of their victims and kidnapped ten women, according to the military. The attacks from Boko Haram in Chad are said to have increased during the year.

The Election Commission announced in November that the planned election would be postponed until 2019. The same has happened several times since the election would have been held in 2015.

During the year, six tip rhinos flew from South Africa to Chad in order to create a new population of the species in the country. Late rhinos were once a natural part of wildlife in Chad, but illegal hunting led to their extinction 46 years ago.

HISTORY

At the beginning of the 21st century. the situation of Chad continued to be characterized by considerable political instability. The central authority was not in fact able to control relevant parts of the country, which still remained in the hands of various armed groups, even if between 2002 and 2003 it came to sign new truce agreements with the strongest of these groups, the Mouvement pour la démocratie et la justice in Tchad (MDJT), the Armée nationale de résistance (ANR), operating in the North, East and South-East. However, it was a fragile agreement, because within the signatory groups there were many dissenting voices and a strong mistrust of the government and its real intentions persisted. Also contributing to the difficulties of the normalization process was the omnipresence of the Mouvement patriotique du salut (MPS), the party of President I. Déby, which had almost total control of Parliament and the institutions and hindered the development of a regular democratic dialectic, including through strict supervision of the media.

This unchallenged domination certainly contributed to the outcome of the presidential elections in May 2001 and the legislative elections of April 2002. In the first Déby it obtained 63.17 % of the votes, while in the second the MPS won 110 of the 155 seats up for grabs. The opposition and many grassroots organizations, especially Christian ones, denounced fraud and irregularities, while some members of the Independent Electoral Commission, set up in 2000, resigned. The uncertainty of the political situation did not prevent Chad from obtaining, in June 2000, a large loan from the World Bank for the exploitation of oil resources and the construction of an oil pipeline, in a joint project with Cameroon and a consortium of foreign oil companies. The project, criticized by many ecological organizations, was completed in late 2003. For the first time in the history of financing for poor countries, the government of Chad committed itself to investing 70 % of its oil revenues in the sectors of education, health, agriculture and the construction of infrastructures; a commitment that was partially disregarded in January 2006,when a law was passed that reduced the percentage of oil revenues to be invested in development. The World Bank reacted by suspending lending and freezing the bank accounts into which the oil proceeds flowed. Meanwhile, in a situation marked by elements of strong instability, with the resumption of military activities (especially in the areas bordering Sudan), Déby strengthened, at least apparently, his power, obtaining with a referendum, held in June 2005, an amendment to the Constitution aimed at allowing him a third term, which he obtained in May 2006, in elections boycotted by the major opposition parties. In foreign policy, Chad no longer seemed to enjoy, in the early years of the 21st century, of the unconditional support of France, its traditional ally-protector, and saw its relations with Sudan worsen, accused of hosting the bases of the anti-government guerrillas.

Ndjamena

N’Djamena, until 1973 Fort-Lamy, capital of Chad; 1. 1 million residents (2012). N’Djamena is an economic center, important for cotton cultivation, livestock management and fishing. The city has good road links with neighboring countries and international airport. In N’Djamena there are universities (founded in 1971) and research institutes.

N’Djamena was founded in 1900 as a French military posting and became 1920 capital of the Chad territory in French Equatorial Africa.