ABSTRACT

Chad is an arid to semiarid country of nearly 7,270,000 located in the heart of northern central Africa. Its neighboring countries are Sudan, Libya, Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon, and Central African Republic. N’Djamena, with a population of 531,000, is the capital and the largest city in the nation. The ethnic makeup of Chad consists of two hundred distinct groups, 78 percent of whom live in rural areas. Over a hundred different languages are spoken in Chad, but the major languages are French (the official language), Arabic, Fulde, Hausa, Kotoko, Kanembou, and Sara Maba. Half of the population is Muslim, one-quarter is Christian, and one-quarter practices traditional indigenous religions.