|RNational holiday:|N Independence Day, August 11.
|RNature and climate:|N In north the mountainchain Tibelsi with a highest peak reaching 3415 m.a.s.l. In the east the low Eunedi-plateau and in the south the Chad-basin.
The northern part of Chad is a part of the Sahara desert with a percipitation of 100 mm.
South of the desert is a steppe with many wild animals and the most southern part of Chad is savannah.
Lake Chad is shallow and located at the border to Niger and Nigeria. It has no outlet but contains sweet or only little brackish water.
Percipitation in the south 1200 mm.
Average temperature in the south between 25 and 30°C throughout the year.
In the northern deserts temperature often reaches 35°C in July.
|RPeople:|N In the north Arabs dominate along with some African tribes that are strongly influenced by Islam and Arabian culture.
In the southern parts live several different African tribes.
|REconomy:|N Agriculture and stockraising occupies 85% of the labour force and the most important crop is cotton that accounts for 60% of the export revenues. Meat and cattle are also exported. Fishing is of great importance for domestic consumption.
Few mineral. Most important is salt, but Chad also have uranium and oil.
Manufacturing is very little developed. There is some foodprocessing and textile manufacturing.
|RHistory:|N The area around Lake Chad has since ages been a residence for highly developed civilizations. In the Middle Ages these were developed to the kingdoms Kanem-Bornu, Baguirmi and Onaddai.
In the 15th century Chad became a meetingplace between the Islamic cultures from the north and black civilizations from the south.
From the 16th to the 19th centuries Chad was harried by slavehunters.
By the end of the 19th century French troops started to occupy Chad, but not until 1915 the whole country was occupied. 1916 it became a part of French Equatorial Africa and from 1920 a colony within the federation.
When French Equatorial Africa was dissolved in 1958 Chad became a self-ruling republic within the French Commonwealth and it received full independence in 1960.
Ever since independence the strong tensions between the northern Muslim population and the Africans in the south have dominated politics with a chronic civil war. Several times foreign forces have helped one side or the other. Several peace-treaties have been signed, but none of them have lasted long.
