Telephone system:
general assessment: fair system
domestic: network consists principally of microwave radio relay and
low-capacity, low-powered radiotelephone communication
international: country code - 236; satellite earth station - 1
Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 1 (2002)
Radios:
283,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations:
1 (2001)
Televisions:
18,000 (1997)
Internet country code:
.cf
Internet hosts:
6 (2002)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
1 (2002)
Internet users:
5,000 (2002)
Transportation Central African Republic
Highways: total: 23,810 km paved: 643 km unpaved: 23,167 km (1999 est.)
Waterways:
2,800 km (primarily on the Oubangui and Sangha rivers) (2004)
Ports and harbors:
Bangui, Nola, Salo, Nzinga
Airports:
50 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 47 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 10 914 to 1,523 m: 23 under 914 m: 13 (2004 est.)
Military Central African Republic
Military branches:
Central African Armed Forces (FACA): Ground Forces, Air Force;
General Directorate of Gendarmerie Inspection (DGIG), Republican
Guard (2004)
Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age for voluntary and compulsory military service; conscript service obligation is two years (2005)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 18–49: 758,103 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 18–49: 330,255 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$15.5 million (2004)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
1% (2004)
Transnational Issues Central African Republic
Disputes - international:
about 30,000 refugees fleeing the 2002 civil conflict in the CAR
still reside in southern Chad; periodic skirmishes over water and
grazing rights among related pastoral populations along the border
with southern Sudan persist
Refugees and internally displaced persons:
refugees (country of origin): 36,479 (Sudan) 1,864 (Chad) 6,484
(Democratic Republic of the Congo)
IDPs: 200,000 (unrest following coup in 2003) (2004)
This page was last updated on 20 October, 2005
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@Chad
Introduction Chad
Background:
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.
Geography Chad
Location:
Central Africa, south of Libya
Geographic coordinates:
15 00 N, 19 00 E
Map references:
Africa
Area:
total: 1.284 million sq km
land: 1,259,200 sq km
water: 24,800 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly more than three times the size of California
Land boundaries:
total: 5,968 km
border countries: Cameroon 1,094 km, Central African Republic 1,197
km, Libya 1,055 km, Niger 1,175 km, Nigeria 87 km, Sudan 1,360 km
Coastline:
0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims:
none (landlocked)
Climate:
tropical in south, desert in north
Terrain:
broad, arid plains in center, desert in north, mountains in
northwest, lowlands in south
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Djourab Depression 160 m
highest point: Emi Koussi 3,415 m
Natural resources:
petroleum, uranium, natron, kaolin, fish (Lake Chad), gold,
limestone, sand and gravel, salt
Land use: arable land: 2.86% permanent crops: 0.02% other: 97.12% (2001)
Irrigated land:
200 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:
hot, dry, dusty harmattan winds occur in north; periodic droughts;
locust plagues
Environment - current issues:
inadequate supplies of potable water; improper waste disposal in
rural areas contributes to soil and water pollution; desertification
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping
Geography - note:
landlocked; Lake Chad is the most significant water body in the