Currency (code):
Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible
authority is the Bank of the Central African States
Currency code:
XAF
Exchange rates:
Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 528.29
(2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
Communications Chad
Telephones - main lines in use:
11,800 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
65,000 (2003)
Telephone system:
general assessment: primitive system
domestic: fair system of radiotelephone communication stations
international: country code - 235; satellite earth station - 1
Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 2, FM 4, shortwave 5 (2002)
Radios:
1.67 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations:
1 (2002)
Televisions:
10,000 (1997)
Internet country code:
.td
Internet hosts:
8 (2004)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
1 (2002)
Internet users:
15,000 (2002)
Transportation Chad
Highways: total: 33,400 km paved: 267 km unpaved: 33,133 km (1999 est.)
Waterways:
Chari and Legone rivers are navigable only in wet season (2002)
Pipelines:
oil 205 km (2004)
Airports:
50 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 7 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 44 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 20 under 914 m: 10 (2004 est.)
Military Chad
Military branches:
Chadian National Army (Armee Nationale Tchadienne, ANT), Air Force,
Gendarmerie (2004)
Military service age and obligation: 20 years of age for conscripts, with 3-year service obligation; 18 years of age for volunteers; no minimum age restriction for volunteers with consent from a guardian (2004)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 20–49: 1,559,382 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 20–49: 834,695 (2005 est.)
Manpower reaching military service age annually:
males: 95,228 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$101.3 million (2004)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
2.1% (2004)
Transnational Issues Chad
Disputes - international:
since 2003, Janjawid armed militia and Sudanese military have
driven about 200,000 Darfur region refugees into eastern Chad; Chad
remains an important mediator in the Sudanese civil conflict;
Chadian Aozou rebels reside in southern Libya; only Nigeria and
Cameroon have heeded the Lake Chad Commission's admonition to ratify
the delimitation treaty which also includes Chad and Niger
Refugees and internally displaced persons:
refugees (country of origin): 200,000 (Sudan) 30,000 (Central
African Republic) (2004)
This page was last updated on 20 October, 2005
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@Chile
Introduction Chile
Background:
Prior to the coming of the Spanish in the 16th century, northern
Chile was under Inca rule while Araucanian Indians inhabited central
and southern Chile; the latter were not completely subjugated until
the early 1880s. Although Chile declared its independence in 1810,
decisive victory over the Spanish was not achieved until 1818. In
the War of the Pacific (1879–84), Chile defeated Peru and Bolivia
and won its present northern lands. A three-year-old Marxist
government of Salvador ALLENDE was overthrown in 1973 by a
dictatorial military regime led by Augusto PINOCHET, who ruled until
a freely elected president was installed in 1990. Sound economic
policies, maintained consistently since the 1980s, have contributed
to steady growth and have helped secure the country's commitment to
democratic and representative government. Chile has increasingly
assumed regional and international leadership roles befitting its
status as a stable, democratic nation.
Geography Chile
Location:
Southern South America, bordering the 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: territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200/350 nm
Climate:
temperate; desert in north; Mediterranean in central region; cool
and damp in south
Terrain:
low coastal mountains; fertile central valley; rugged Andes in east
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Nevado Ojos del Salado 6,880 m
Natural