ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a brief historical background and a description of major events in Chad. It also provides basic political, economic, and social data arranged in the following categories: polity, economy, population, purchasing power parities, life expectancy, ethnic groups, capital, political rights, civil liberties, and status. The chapter discusses the progress and decline of political rights and civil liberties in Chad. Chad has been in a state of almost constant war since achieving its independence from France in 1960. Chad's army and political life are largely in the hands of members of the small Zaghawa and Bideyat groups from President Deby's north-eastern region. In theory Chadians have the right to choose their political leaders. In practice, this right is severely restricted. Chad has never experienced a peaceful, fair, and orderly transfer of political power. Chad's long and porous borders are virtually unpoliced. Trade in weapons among nomadic Sahelian peoples is rife, and banditry adds to the pervasive insecurity.
