Chad
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Overview
A largely semi-desert country, Chad is rich in gold and uranium and stands to benefit from its recently-acquired status 
as an oil-exporting state.
Chad’s post-independence history has been marked by instability and violence, stemming mostly from tension between the mainly Arab-Muslim north and the predominantly Christian and animist south.
Chad became an oil-producing nation in 2003, with the completion of a $4bn pipeline linking its oilfields to terminals on the Atlantic coast.
However, Africa’s fifth-largest nation suffers from inadequate infrastructure, and internal conflict. Poverty is rife, and health and social conditions compare unfavourably with those elsewhere in the region.
- Read more country profiles – Profiles by BBC Monitoring
The Situation
- 1883-93 – Sudanese adventurer Rabih al-Zubayr conquers the kingdoms of Ouadai, Baguirmi and Kanem-Bornu, situated in what is now Chad.
- 1900 – France defeats al-Zubayr’s army, completing its conquest in 1913. Chad becomes a colony.
- 1960 – Chad becomes independent with a southern Christian, Francois – later Ngarta – Tombalbaye, as president.
- 1963 – The banning of political parties triggers violent opposition in the Muslim north, led by the Chadian National Liberation Front, or Frolinat; three years later this revolt develops into a fully-fledged guerrilla war.
- 1973 – French troops help put down a revolt in the Muslim north.
- 1977 – Libya annexes the northern Chadian Aouzou strip, and sends in troops in 1980 to support President Goukouni Oueddei.
- 1990 – Coup leader Hissene Habre toppled by former ally, Idriss Deby.
- 2011 – Presidential election, boycotted by opposition. President Idriss Deby is declared winner.
- 2016 – Ex-ruler Hissene Habre is convicted of crimes against humanity and sentenced to life in prison at a landmark trial in Senegal.
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Fun Trivia Facts
The Republic of Chad
Capital: N’Djamena
- Population 11.8 million
- Area 1.28 million sq km (495,800 sq miles)
- Major languages French, Arabic
- Major religions Islam, Christianity
- Life expectancy 49 years (men), 52 years (women)
- Currency CFA (Communaute Financiere Africaine) franc
