Map:

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 suppressed or came to terms with most political-military groups, settled a territorial dispute with Libya on terms favorable to Chad, drafted a democratic constitution, and held multiparty presidential elections in 1996 and 1997. In 1998, a new rebellion broke out in northern Chad, which sporadically flares up despite two peace agreements signed in 2002 and 2003 between the government and the rebels. Despite movement toward democratic reform, power remains in the hands of an ethnic minority.

The People:
Population: 9,826,419 (July 2005 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 47.9% (male 2,365,277/female 2,337,388)
15-64 years: 49.4% (male 2,323,110/female 2,528,086)
65 years and over: 2.8% (male 109,535/female 163,023) (2005 est.)

Religions:
Muslim 51%, Christian 35%, animist 7%, other 7%

Government Type:
republic

Leader(s) to pray for:
chief of state: President Lt. Gen. Idriss DEBY (since 4 December 1990)
head of government: Prime Minister Pascal YOADIMNADJI (since 3 February 2005)

Source: The World Factbook

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