*Chad, Economy
Overview:
The climate, geographic location, and lack of infrastructure and natural
resources make Chad one of the most underdeveloped countries in the world.
Its economy is burdened by the ravages of civil war, conflict with Libya,
drought, and food shortages. In 1986 real GDP returned to its 1977 level,
with cotton, the major cash crop, accounting for 48% of exports. Over 80% of
the work force is employed in subsistence farming and fishing. Industry is
based almost entirely on the processing of agricultural products, including
cotton, sugarcane, and cattle. Chad is highly dependent on foreign aid, with
its economy in trouble and many regions suffering from shortages. Oil
companies are exploring areas north of Lake Chad and in the Doba basin in
the south. Good crop weather led to 8.4% growth in 1991.
National product:
GDP - exchange rate conversion - $1.1 billion (1991 est.)
National product real growth rate:
8.4% (1991 est.)
National product per capita:
$215 (1991 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2%-3% (1991 est.)
Unemployment rate:
NA%
Budget:
revenues $115 million; expenditures $412 million, including capital
expenditures of $218 million (1991 est.)
Exports:
$193.9 million (f.o.b., 1991)
commodities:
cotton 48%, cattle 35%, textiles 5%, fish
partners:
France, Nigeria, Cameroon
Imports:
$294.1 million (f.o.b., 1991)
commodities:
machinery and transportation equipment 39%, industrial goods 20%, petroleum
products 13%, foodstuffs 9%; note - excludes military equipment
partners:
US, France, Nigeria, Cameroon
External debt:
$492 million (December 1990 est.)
Industrial production:
growth rate 12.9% (1989 est.); accounts for nearly 15% of GDP
Electricity:
40,000 kW capacity; 70 million kWh produced, 15 kWh per capita (1991)
Industries:
cotton textile mills, slaughterhouses, brewery, natron (sodium carbonate),
soap, cigarettes
Agriculture:
accounts for about 45% of GDP; largely subsistence farming; cotton most
important cash crop; food crops include sorghum, millet, peanuts, rice,
potatoes, manioc; livestock - cattle, sheep, goats, camels; self-sufficient
in food in years of adequate rainfall
Economic aid:
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $198 million; Western (non-US)
countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $1.5 billion; OPEC
bilateral aid (1979-89), $28 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $80
million
Currency:
1 CFA franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes
*Chad, Economy
Exchange rates:
Communaute Financiere Africaine Francs (CFAF) per US$1 - 274.06 (January
1993), 264.69 (1992), 282.11 (1991), 272.26 (1990), 319.01 (1989), 297.85
(1988)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
*Chad, Communications
Highways:
31,322 km total; 32 km bituminous; 7,300 km gravel and laterite; remainder
unimproved earth
Inland waterways:
2,000 km navigable
Airports:
total:
69
usable:
55
with permanent-surface runways:
5
with runways over 3,659 m:
0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
4
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
24
Telecommunications:
fair system of radiocommunication stations for intercity links; broadcast
stations - 6 AM, 1 FM, limited TV service; many facilities are inoperative;
1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
*Chad, Defense Forces
Branches:
Army (includes Ground Forces, Air Force, and Gendarmerie), Republican Guard
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49 1,246,617; fit for military service 647,908; reach military
age (20) annually 52,870 (1993 est.)
Defense expenditures:
exchange rate conversion - $58 million, 5.6% of GDP (1989)
*Chile, Geography
Location:
Western South America, bordering the South Pacific Ocean between Argentina
and Peru
Map references:
South America, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
total area:
756,950 km2
land area:
748,800 km2
comparative area:
slightly smaller than twice the size of Montana
note:
includes Isla de Pascua (Easter Island) and Isla Sala y Gomez
Land boundaries:
total 6,171 km, Argentina 5,150 km, Bolivia 861 km, Peru 160 km
Coastline: 6,435 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone:
24 nm
continental shelf:
200 nm
exclusive economic zone:
200 nm
territorial sea:
12 nm
International disputes:
short section of the southern boundary with Argentina is indefinite; Bolivia
has wanted a sovereign corridor to the South Pacific Ocean since the Atacama
area was lost to Chile in 1884; dispute with Bolivia over Rio Lauca water
rights; territorial claim in Antarctica (Chilean Antarctic Territory)
partially overlaps Argentine and British claims
Climate:
temperate; desert in north; cool and damp in south
Terrain:
low coastal mountains; fertile central valley; rugged Andes in east
Natural resources:
copper, timber, iron ore, nitrates, precious metals, molybdenum
Land use:
arable land:
7%
permanent crops:
0%
meadows and pastures:
16%
forest and woodland:
21%
other:
56%
Irrigated land:
12,650 km2 (1989 est.)
Environment:
subject to severe earthquakes, active volcanism, tsunami; Atacama Desert one
of world's driest regions; desertification
Note:
strategic location relative to sea lanes between Atlantic and Pacific Oceans
(Strait of Magellan, Beagle Channel, Drake Passage)