According to ehistorylib, in 2005, the population of Chad was estimated to be around 8.9 million people, with the majority being of Sara ethnicity (40%), followed by Arabs and other Afro-Asiatic groups (30%), Kotoko (20%) and other ethnicities (10%). The economy of Chad was largely based on subsistence agriculture and the export of agricultural products such as cotton, cattle, gum arabic and groundnuts. It also relied heavily on foreign aid from countries such as France, China and the United States. The foreign relations of Chad were mainly focused on Central Africa where it had close ties with its neighbours such as Cameroon, Central African Republic and Sudan. With regards to politics in 2005, Chad was a presidential republic led by President Idriss Déby who sought to improve the country’s economic situation through investment in infrastructure and education. He also advocated for increased regional integration through the establishment of the Central African Economic Community (CAEC).
Yearbook 2005
Chad. Prime Minister Moussa Faki Mahamat and a few other ministers were forced to leave their positions in February after public servants strike in protest against missing wages. Former Minister of Agriculture Pascal Yoadimnadji was appointed new head of government.
According to countryaah, N’Djamena is the capital and one of the major cities within the country of Chad. President Déby expressed his will in a referendum in June, when according to official data 77% voted for constitutional amendments that allow the president to stand for re-election in 2006. Previously, the president’s term in power was limited to two terms of office. The opposition called for a boycott of the referendum, which it believed was a masked attempt to turn the country into “monarchy”.
- Also see abbreviationfinder.org for how the acronym CD stands for the country of Chad and other meanings of this two-letter abbreviation.
In the fall, a large number of soldiers deserted from the President’s Republican Guard, causing Déby to disband the Guard. The deserters, demanding the departure of the president, went to the troubled border area against Sudan in the east. Between 100,000 and 200,000 black Africans, who fled the Arab militia in the Sudanese province of Darfur, resided in eastern Chad. The refugees lived in miserable conditions with severe water shortages in a heat exceeding 50 degrees. The situation in the area was very unstable with military conflicts, and Chad and Sudan accused each other of violating the border and supporting rebels on both sides of it. Chad had previously mediated in the Darfur conflict in Sudan, but declined the assignment during the year.
Chad’s former president Hissène Habré was arrested in November in Senegal at the request of a court in Belgium. Habré is accused of serious human rights violations during his time in power, and under Belgian law human rights violations in other countries can be investigated in Belgium. After the arrest, Habré was released and allowed to remain in Senegal until the African Union decides on his further fate.
At the end of the year, Chad accused Sudan of being behind the rebel attack, which killed about a hundred people in a small town on the border. Sudan denied involvement. Chadian military fought back and said it had killed about 300 rebels. Chad claimed to be in a state of war with Sudan and urged the Chadis to mobilize against Sudanese aggression. The Islamic Conference urged Chad and Sudan to restraint in order to reduce tensions and resolve the conflict.
Deubet resigned as prime minister in February 2016. The president appointed Albert Pahimi Padacké instead. The same month, the president was nominated by his party Mouvement Patriotique du Salut (MPS) to run for a fifth term as the country’s president. The April presidential election was won by Déby with 59.9% of the vote already in the first round of elections. The second most votes were Saleh Kebzabo with 12.8%. Opposition candidates criticized the outcome of the election for being scammed. However, election observers from the AU approved the result, but noted that there had been a number of irregularities.
In May, Hissène Habré was sentenced to life in prison in Senegal for crimes against humanity in 1982-90. He was the first African head of state to be sentenced by a court organized by the AU.
Throughout 2016, Boko Haram continued its attacks on the civilian population in the area around Lake Chad. 105,000 people were internally displaced as a result of Boko Haram’s and the military’s operations. In addition, 389,000 refugees came from the Central African Republic, Sudan and Nigeria, living in miserable conditions in camps.
Security forces routinely attacked demonstrations, killing, systematic torture and mistreatment. Journalists were threatened, arrested or sent into exile.
In September 2017, US President Donald Trump added Chad to the iceberg across countries from which there are entry bans to the United States. The decision led to anger in Chad’s government.
According to Transparency International, Chad is one of the most corrupt countries in the world. It has been hit financially hard by the drastically reduced crude oil prices in 2014, as over oil accounts for over 90% of the country’s export revenue.
