Official name is Republic of Chad. Chad spreads out on 1 284 000 sq km in area of central Africa. It borders on Libya to the north, Niger to the west, Nigeria and Cameroon to the southwest, Central African Republic to the south and Sudan to the east. There is a desert in the north that runs into the Sahara.

The only biggest water sheet is Lake Chad on the border with Niger and Cameroon. The country was named for this lake. It used to cover greater area but it is still getting smaller. The highest mountains are Tibesti with Emi Koussi (3415m) that is also the highest range of Sahara.

People of Chad

Chad has population of about 10 146 000. The capital city of Chad is N’Djamena with 740 000 inhabitants and other big cities are Sarh, Moundou and Abéché.More then half of people live in the south fifth of this country because of its better climate conditions. There are many mixtures of nationalities and cultures in Chad. More than one hundred various languages and dialects are spoken in Chad. Official languages are Arabic and English. Most of people are Muslims, Christians or animist.

Unfortunately, situation of woman in Chad is very bad. Polygyny as well as female genital mutilation is still very common even if mutilation is forbidden. Women are discriminated and do not have possibility to educate and then compete for good job.

History

People came to the area of Like Chad about in 500 BC. The first state Kanem-Bornu was established in 9th century. In 15th century Arabic expansion and Islamization started. Kingdom Wadaj started up in 16th century. This kingdom had control over main Trans Sahara caravan route. In 19th century Chad became part of French Equatorial Africa. In 1960 Chad gained independence. 70th and 80th were stigmatized by civil war which was accompanied by intervention of French and Libya forces. There was disagreement with Libya about north part of Chad, about 100 000 sq km. This dispute was resolved by international law court on behalf of Chad in 1994 but Libya still has not vacated this area.

Culture

Because of lot of tribes and their languages Chad has very rich cultural heritage. Unfortunately, there is now government support. The only exception is National Museum in N’Djamena. Each region has its typical music and dance. Typical music instruments are the hu hu, kakaki and various horns, other are flutes and drums. Various ethnic groups have their own oral literature, eposes as well as artistic traditions. In Chad the most popular sport is football.

Summary

Chad is one of the poorest countries in Africa and is jotted by civil war. The situation is still uncertain and everybody should think twice about his travel to Chad. If you really wish to visit Chad you should go there in period from December to February when the weather is warm and dry. All the same you should count with bad travelling conditions.