About This Region
Chad, officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in central Africa, bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west. Chad is divided into three main geographical regions: the desert region in the north, with a tropical desert climate; the arid Sahel region in the center, with a tropical savanna climate; and the more fertile Sudanian savanna region in the south, with a tropical rainforest climate. The country is named after Lake Chad, its highest mountain is Emi Koussi in the Sahara, and its capital and largest city is N'Djamena. Chad is home to more than 200 ethnic groups, French and Arabic are the official languages, and Islam is the most widely practiced religion. It is an agricultural and pastoral country with a lagging economy and is one of the world's least developed countries. After Déby came to power, it accepted the International Monetary Fund's economic structural adjustment program, focusing on overhauling state-owned enterprises such as the cotton company and the civil service; encouraged private investment and the development of small and medium-sized enterprises; announced the privatization of enterprises and a free economy; cracked down on smuggling and ensured tax revenue; and actively sought international assistance and encouraged foreign investment. Chad's water transport is mainly concentrated on the Chari and Logone rivers, with a total inland waterway length of 4,830 kilometers, of which 2,000 kilometers are navigable year-round. Access to the sea must be transshipped through the port of Douala in Cameroon (1,500 kilometers from N'Djamena) or Port Harcourt in Nigeria (1,700 kilometers from N'Djamena). N'Djamena International Airport can accommodate large aircraft such as the Boeing 747 and has routes to Europe and neighboring countries. Airlines such as Air France, Cameroon Airlines, Libyan Airlines, Sudan Airways, and Ethiopian Airlines operate scheduled flights to Chad. In February 2004, the former Chad Airlines was renamed “Toumai Air Tchad”, operating routes in the Central African region and the Middle East, and cooperating with Air France on the N'Djamena-Paris route. 80% of trade goods between Chad and the Central African Republic are transshipped through the port of Douala.
