Between 1960 and 1990 Chad was torn by ethnic conflict and repeated Libyan incursions. After several years of peace, ethnic tensions flared up again in a northern rebellion in 1998. Relations with the Central African Republic (CAR) are currently tense, and Chadian military forces launched cross-border raids in 2002. Chad received an influx of refugees fleeing a civil war in the Darfur region of neighboring Sudan, and Sudanese rebel groups continue to launch raids across the border.

Chad is landlocked and very arid, with only 3 percent of its land arable. Much of the northern part of the country is a part of the Sahara Desert, and the majority of the population lives in the southwestern quarter of Chad. Oil resources in southern Chad are currently being developed.

The malaria death rate for children ages 0-4 in Chad is 1008 per 100,000. Fewer than one percent of children sleep under treated bednets. The tuberculosis death rate for the country is 52 per 100,000.

Sources: CIA World Factbook, United Nations Statistics Division

Source: World Bank

Demographic data contained in this section was obtained from the following sources: The Population Reference Bureau’s 2009 World Population Data Sheet was used for total population, life expectancy at birth, infant mortality, fertility, birth rate, death rate, % of married women 15-49 using modern methods of contraception, % of population 15-49 with HIV/AIDS in 2007/2008, and the GNI PPP per capita (2008). Literacy rates were found in the Population Reference Bureau’s publication 2005 Women of Our World. HIV prevalence data for 2001 and 2003 was obtained from the UNAIDS Barcelona 2002 report; HIV prevalence and orphan data for 2005 was obtained from the UNAIDS Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic 2006. Data on the % women who have discussed AIDS prevention with their husband or partner can be found in ORC Macro and USAID’s Women’s Lives and Experiences: Changes in the Past Ten Years (Research Findings from the Demographic and Health Surveys). Childhood malaria mortality data was accessed in 2003 from the United Nations Statistics Divisions’ Millennium Indicators. Tuberculosis data was obtained from the United Nations Statistics Division’s Millennium Indicators: MDGInfo 2006. In some cases information was unavailable.

Sources: WHO, Trav Med

Faculte Des Sciences de la Sante

1. The GFATM approved $7.4 million for an HIV/AIDS program in Chad. A grant agreement for this program is still awaiting signature.

   Source: GFATM