Ambassador David C. HALSTED embassy: Avenue Felix Eboue, N'Djamena mailing address: B. P. 413, N'Djamena
Flag description: three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, and red; similar to the flag of Romania; also similar to the flag of Andorra, which has a national coat of arms featuring a quartered shield centered in the yellow band; design was based on the flag of France
Economy
Economy—overview: Landlocked Chad's economic development suffers from it's geographic remoteness, drought, lack of infrastructure, and political turmoil. About 85% of the population depends on agriculture, including the herding of livestock. Of Africa's Francophone countries, Chad benefited least from the 50% devaluation of their currencies in January 1994. Financial aid from the World Bank, the African Development Fund, and other sources is directed largely at the improvement of agriculture, especially livestock production. Lack of financing and low oil prices, however, are stalling the development of an oil field in the Doba Basin and the construction of a proposed oil pipeline through Cameroon.
GDP: purchasing power parity—$7.5 billion (1998 est.)
GDP—real growth rate: 2.9% (1998 est.)
GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity?$1,000 (1998 est.)
GDP—composition by sector: agriculture: 39% industry: 15% services: 46% (1997)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 15% (1997 est.)
Labor force: NA
Labor force—by occupation: agriculture 85% (subsistence farming, herding, and fishing)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget:
revenues: $198 million
expenditures: $218 million, including capital expenditures of $146
million (1998 est.)
Industries: cotton textiles, meat packing, beer brewing, natron
(sodium carbonate), soap, cigarettes, construction materials
Industrial production growth rate: 5% (1995)
Electricity—production: 90 million kWh (1996)
Electricity—production by source: fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1996)
Electricity—consumption: 90 million kWh (1996)
Electricity—exports: 0 kWh (1996)
Electricity—imports: 0 kWh (1996)
Agriculture—products: cotton, sorghum, millet, peanuts, rice, potatoes, manioc (tapioca); cattle, sheep, goats, camels
Exports: $220 million (f.o.b., 1998 est.)
Exports—commodities: cotton, cattle, textiles
Exports—partners: Portugal 30%, Germany 14%, Thailand, Costa
Rica, South Africa, France (1997)
Imports: $252 million (f.o.b., 1998 est.)
Imports—commodities: machinery and transportation equipment,
industrial goods, petroleum products, foodstuffs, textiles
Imports—partners: France 41%, Nigeria 10%, Cameroon 7%, India 6%
(1997)
Debt—external: $875 million (1995 est.)
Economic aid—recipient: $238.3 million (1995); note?$125 million committed by Taiwan (August 1997); $30 million committed by African Development Bank
Currency: 1 Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates: Communaute Financiere Africaine Francs (CFAF) per US$1—560.01 (December 1998), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997), 511.55 (1996), 499.15 (1995), 555.20 (1994)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Telephones: 5,000 (1987 est.)
Telephone system: primitive system domestic: fair system of radiotelephone communication stations international: satellite earth station—1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 3 (one of the shortwave stations has three frequencies) (1998)
Radios: NA
Television broadcast stations: 1 (broadcasts 1800 to 2100 hours, four days per week) (1997)
Televisions: 7,000 (1991 est.)
Transportation
Railways: 0 km
Highways: total: 33,400 km paved: 267 km unpaved: 33,133 km (1996 est.)
Waterways: 2,000 km navigable
Ports and harbors: none
Airports: 52 (1998 est.)
Airports—with paved runways: total: 8 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (1998 est.)
Airports—with unpaved runways: total: 44 1,524 to 2,437 m: 12 914 to 1,523 m: 22 under 914 m: 10 (1998 est.)
Military
Military branches: Armed Forces (includes Ground Force, Air
Force, and Gendarmerie), Republican Guard, Rapid Intervention Force,
Police
Military manpower—military age: 20 years of age
Military manpower—availability:
males age 15–49: 1,689,112 (1999 est.)
Military manpower—fit for military service:
males age 15–49: 875,541 (1999 est.)
Military manpower—reaching military age annually:
males: 70,464 (1999 est.)
Military expenditures—dollar figure: $39 million (1996)
Military expenditures—percent of GDP: 3.5% (1996)
Transnational Issues
Disputes—international: delimitation of international boundaries in the vicinity of Lake Chad, the lack of which led to border incidents in the past, is completed and awaits ratification by Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria
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@Chile——
Geography
Location: Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic
Ocean and South Pacific Ocean, between Argentina and Peru
Geographic coordinates: 30 00 S, 71 00 W
Map references: South America
Area:
total: 756,950 sq km
land: 748,800 sq km
water: 8,150 sq km
note: includes Easter Island (Isla de Pascua) and Isla Sala y Gomez
Area—comparative: slightly smaller than twice the size of Montana
Land boundaries: total: 6,171 km border countries: Argentina 5,150 km, Bolivia 861 km, Peru 160 km
Coastline: 6,435 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: 200 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: temperate; desert in north; cool and damp in south
Terrain: low coastal mountains; fertile central valley; rugged