Demographics of Chad, Data of FAO, year 2005 ; Number of inhabitants in thousands.

The people of Chad speak more than 100 different languages and divide themselves into many ethnic groups. It is important to note, however, that language and ethnicity are not the same. Moreover, neither element can be tied to a particular physical type. In Chad, European conquest and administration intensified feelings of ethnic separateness by drawing local boundaries along perceived ethnic lines. The Europeans also appointed chiefs and other local African authorities who had little legitimacy over the groups they were to lead. In general, the French favored southerners over northerners and settled populations over nomads. This bias continued after independence and has been an important element in internecine conflict. Image File history File links Chad-demography. ... Image File history File links Chad-demography. ... FAO emblem With its headquarters in Rome, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that works to raise levels of nutrition and standards of living; to improve the production, processing, marketing, and distribution of food and agricultural products; to promote rural development; and... World map showing Europe Europe is conventionally considered one of the seven continents of Earth which, in this case, is more a cultural and political distinction than a physiogeographic one. ...

Although the possession of a common language shows that its speakers have lived together and have a common history, peoples also change languages. This is particularly so in Chad, where the openness of the terrain, marginal rainfall, frequent drought and famine, and low population densities have encouraged physical and linguistic mobility. Slave raids among non-Muslim peoples, internal slave trade, and exports of captives northward from the ninth to the twentieth centuries also have resulted in language changes.

Anthropologists view ethnicity as being more than genetics. Like language, ethnicity implies a shared heritage, partly economic, where people of the same ethnic group may share a livelihood, and partly social, taking the form of shared ways of doing things and organizing relations among individuals and groups. Ethnicity also involves a cultural component made up of shared values and a common worldview. Like language, ethnicity is not immutable. Shared ways of doing things change over time and alter a group's perception of its own identity.

Not only do the social aspects of ethnic identity change but the biological composition (or gene pool) also may change over time. Although most ethnic groups emphasize intermarriage, people are often proscribed from seeking partners among close relatives -- a prohibition that promotes biological variation. In all groups, the departure of some individuals or groups and the integration of others also changes the biological component.

The Chadian government has avoided official recognition of ethnicity. With the exception of a few surveys conducted shortly after independence, little data were available on this important aspect of Chadian society. Nonetheless, ethnic identity was a significant component of life in Chad.

Chad's languages fall into ten major groups, each of which belongs to either the Nilo-Saharan, Afro-Asiatic, or Congo-Kordofanian language family. These represent three of the four major language families in Africa; only the Khoisan languages of southern Africa are not represented. The presence of such different languages suggests that the Lake Chad Basin may have been an important point of dispersal in ancient times. Map showing the distribution of the Nilo-Saharan languages. ... Map showing the distribution of Afro-Asiatic languages The Afro-Asiatic languages are a language family of about 240 languages and 285 million people widespread throughout North Africa, East Africa, the Sahel, and Southwest Asia. ... The Niger-Kordofanian language family was proposed by Joseph H. Greenberg in his 1966 book Languages of Africa. ... !Kung San man from the Kalahari (1986) Khoisan is the name for two major ethnic groups of southern Africa. ... Lake Chad (in French: Lac Tchad) is a large, shallow lake in Africa. ...

Religions

The separation of religion from social structure in Chad represents a false dichotomy, for they are perceived as two sides of the same coin. Three religious traditions coexist in Chad-- classical African religions, Islam (see Islam in Chad), and Christianity. None is monolithic. The first tradition includes a variety of ancestor and/or place-oriented religions whose expression is highly specific. Islam, although characterized by an orthodox set of beliefs and observances, also is expressed in diverse ways. Christianity arrived in Chad much more recently with the arrival of Europeans. Its followers are divided into Roman Catholics and Protestants (including several denominations); as with Chadian Islam, Chadian Christianity retains aspects of pre-Christian religious belief. Islam (Arabic: ; ( (help· info)), submission (to the will of God)) is a monotheistic faith, considered one of the Abrahamic religions, and the worlds second-largest religion. ... Islam became a dynamic political and military force in the Middle East in the decades immediately following Muhammads death. ... Christianity is a monotheistic religion centered on the life, teachings, and actions of Jesus, the Christ, as recounted in the New Testament. ...

The number of followers of each tradition in Chad is unknown. Estimates made in 1962 suggested that 35 percent of Chadians practiced classical African religions, 55 percent were Muslims, and 10 percent were Christians. In the 1970s and 1980s, this distribution undoubtedly changed. Observers report that Islam has spread among the Hajerai and among other non-Muslim populations of the Saharan and sahelian zones. However, the proportion of Muslims may have fallen because the birthrate among the followers of traditional religions and Christians in southern Chad is thought to be higher than that among Muslims. In addition, the upheavals since the mid-1970s have resulted in brought the departure of some missionaries; whether or not Chadian Christians have been numerous enough and organized enough to have attracted more converts since that time is unknown. Islam (Arabic: ; ( (help· info)), submission (to the will of God)) is a monotheistic faith, considered one of the Abrahamic religions, and the worlds second-largest religion. ... Christianity is a monotheistic religion centered on the life, teachings, and actions of Jesus, the Christ, as recounted in the New Testament. ...

Demographic data from the CIA World Factbook

Population

9,826,419 (July 2005 est.)

Age structure

0-14 years: 47.9% (male 2,365,277/female 2,337,388)

15-64 years: 49.4% (male 2,323,110/female 2,528,086)

65 years and over: 2.8% (male 109,535/female 163,023) (2005 est.)

Median age

Total: 16.02 years

Male: 15.32 years

Female: 16.71 years (2005 est.)

Population growth rate

2.95% (2005 est.)

Birth rate

45.98 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Death rate

16.41 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Net migration rate

-0.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Sex ratio

At birth: 1.04 male(s)/female

Under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female

Total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2005 est.)

Infant mortality rate

Total: 93.82 deaths/1,000 live births

Male: 103.03 deaths/1,000 live births

Female: 84.24 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

Total population: 47.94 years

Male: 46.84 years

Female: 49.09 years (2005 est.)

Total fertility rate

6.32 children born/woman (2005 est.)

HIV/AIDS

Adult prevalence rate: 0.8% (2003 est.)

People living with HIV/AIDS: 20,000(2003 est.)

Deaths: 1,800 (2003 est.)

Major infectious diseases

Degree of risk: very high

Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

Vectorborne disease: malaria

Water contact disease: schistosomiasis

Respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis (2004)

People Flu: Avery Becker

Clamidia: Stephen Sheehan

Nationality

Noun: Chadian(s)

Adjective: Chadian

Ethnic groups

200 distinct groups; in the north and center: Arabs, Gorane (Toubou, Daza, Kreda), Zaghawa, Kanembou, Ouaddai, Baguirmi, Hadjerai, Fulbe, Kotoko, Hausa, Boulala, and Maba, most of whom are Muslim; in the south: Sara (Ngambaye, Mbaye, Goulaye), Moundang, Moussei, Massa, most of whom are Christian or animist; about 1,000 French citizens live in Chad

The Toubou are an ethnic group in northern Chad. ... a Sara woman about 1900 The Sara are an ethnic group in Central Africa. ...

Religions

Muslim 51%, Christian 35%, animist 7%, other(Brandon Vick) 7%

A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم) (sometimes also spelled Moslem) is an adherent of Islam. ... A Christian is a follower of Jesus Christ. ... This article is in need of attention. ...

Languages

French (official), Arabic (official), Sara (in south), more than 120 different languages and dialects

The Sara languages comprise about fifteen languages spoken mainly in southern Chad; a few of them are also spoken in the north of the Central African Republic. ...

Literacy

Definition: age 15 and over can read and write French or Arabic

Total population: 47.5%

Male: 56%

Female: 39.3% (2003 est.)

References

This article contains material from the CIA World Factbook which, as a US government publication, is in the public domain. World Factbook 2005 cover The World Factbook is an annual publication by the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States with basic almanac-style information about the various countries of the world. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...