Republic+of+Chad


 * Republic** **of Chad**

Sara 27.7%, Arab 12.3%, Mayo-Kebbi 11.5%, Kanem-Bornou 9%, Ouaddai 8.7%, Hadjarai 6.7%, Tandjile 6.5%, Gorane 6.3%, Fitri-Batha 4.7%, other 6.4%, unknown 0.3% (1993 census)
 * Background/Overview:**
 * Chad, part of France's African holdings until 1960, endured three decades of civil warfare as well as invasions by Libya before a semblance of peace was finally 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, which has sporadically flared up despite several peace agreements between the government and the rebels. In 2005, new rebel groups emerged in western Sudan and made probing attacks into eastern Chad, despite signing peace agreements in December 2006 and October 2007. Power remains in the hands of an ethnic minority.
 * 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, and the capital experienced a significant rebel threat in early 2008.
 * **(Geography)** landlocked; Lake Chad is the most significant water body in the Sahel
 * **(Economy)** At least 80% of Chad's population relies on subsistence farming and livestock raising for its livelihood.
 * **(Economy)** Chad's economy has long been handicapped by its landlocked position, high energy costs, and a history of instability. Chad relies on foreign assistance and foreign capital for most public and private sector investment projects.
 * **(Sudan)** since 2003, Janjawid armed militia and the Sudanese military have driven hundreds of thousands of Darfur residents into Chad; Chad remains an important mediator in the Sudanese civil conflict, reducing tensions with Sudan arising from cross-border banditry
 * **(Trafficking)** Chad is a source, transit, and destination country for children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation
 * Population:** 10,111,337 (July 2008 est.)
 * Infant Mortality Rate:** 100.36 deaths/1,000 live births
 * People with HIV/AIDS:** 200,000 (2003 est.)
 * Ethnic Groups:**