Chapter 21
Economic overview: Subsistence agriculture, together with forestry, remains the backbone of the economy of the Central African Republic (CAR), with more than 70% of the population living in outlying areas. The agricultural sector generates half of GDP. Timber has accounted for about 13% of export earnings and the diamond industry for nearly 80%. Important constraints to economic development include the CAR's landlocked position, a poor transportation system, a largely unskilled work force, and a legacy of misdirected macroeconomic policies. A major plus is the large forest reserves, which the government is moving to protect from overexploitation. The 50% devaluation of the currencies of 14 Francophone African nations on 12 January 1994 had mixed effects on the CAR's economy. While diamond, timber, coffee, and cotton exports increased - leading GDP to increase by 5.5% - inflation rose to 45%, fueled by the rising prices of imports on which the economy depends; inflation dropped back rapidly in 1995. The CAR's poor resource base and primitive infrastructure will keep it dependent on multilateral donors and France for the foreseeable future.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $2.5 billion (1995 est.)
GDP real growth rate: 4.1% (1995 est.)
GDP per capita: $800 (1995 est.)
GDP composition by sector: agriculture: 50% industry: 14% services: 36% (1993)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 45% (1994 est.)
Labor force: 775,413 (1986 est.) by occupation: agriculture 85%, commerce and services 9%, industry 3%, government 3% note: about 64,000 salaried workers (1985)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Industries: diamond mining, sawmills, breweries, textiles, footwear, assembly of bicycles and motorcycles
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricity: capacity: 40,000 kW production: 100 million kWh consumption per capita: 29 kWh (1993)
Agriculture: cotton, coffee, tobacco, manioc (tapioca), yams, millet, corn, bananas; timber
Exports: $154 million (f.o.b., 1994 est.) commodities: diamonds, timber, cotton, coffee, tobacco partners: France, Belgium, Italy, Japan, US, Spain, Iran
Imports: $215 million (f.o.b., 1994 est.) commodities: food, textiles, petroleum products, machinery, electrical equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, consumer goods, industrial products partners: France, other EC countries, Japan, Algeria, Cameroon, Namibia
External debt: $904.3 million (1993 est.)
Economic aid: recipient: ODA, $NA
Currency: 1 Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates: CFA francs (CFAF) per US$1 - 500.56 (January 1996), 499.15 (1995), 555.20 (1994), 283.16 (1993), 264.69 (1992), 282.11 (1991) note: beginning 12 January 1994, the CFA franc was devalued to CFAF 100 per French franc from CFAF 50 at which it had been fixed since 1948
Fiscal year: calendar year
Transportation --------------
Railways: 0 km
Highways: total: 23,738 km paved: 427 km unpaved: 23,311 km (1991 est.)
Waterways: 800 km; traditional trade carried on by means of shallow-draft dugouts; Oubangui is the most important river
Ports: Bangui, Nola
Airports: total: 48 with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1 with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 2 with paved runways under 914 m: 11 with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1 with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 9 with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 24 (1995 est.)
Communications --------------
Telephones: 16,867 (1992 est.)
Telephone system: fair system domestic: network consists principally of microwave radio relay and low-capacity, low-powered radiotelephone communication international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0
Radios: NA
Television broadcast stations: 1 (1987 est.)
Televisions: 7,500 (1993 est.)
Defense -------
Branches: Central African Army (includes Republican Guard), Air Force, National Gendarmerie, Police Force
Manpower availability: males age 15-49: 737,330 males fit for military service: 384,134 (1996 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $30 million, 2.3% of GDP (1994)
======================================================================
@Chad ----
Map ---
Location: 15 00 N, 19 00 E -- Central Africa, south of Libya
Flag ----
Description: three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, and red; similar to the flag of Romania; also similar to the flag of Andorra, which has a national coat of arms featuring a quartered shield centered in the yellow band; design was based on the flag of France
Geography ---------
Location: Central Africa, south of Libya
Geographic coordinates: 15 00 N, 19 00 E
Map references: Africa
Area: total area: 1.284 million sq km land area: 1,259,200 sq km comparative area: slightly more than three times the size of California
Land boundaries: total: 5,968 km border countries: Cameroon 1,094 km, Central African Republic 1,197 km, Libya 1,055 km, Niger 1,175 km, Nigeria 87 km, Sudan 1,360 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none (landlocked)
International disputes: the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled in February 1994 that the 100,000 sq km Aozou Strip between Chad and Libya belongs to Chad and that Libya must withdraw from it by 31 May 1994; Libya has withdrawn some of its forces in response to the ICJ ruling, but still maintains part of the airfield and a small military presence at the airfield's water supply located in Chad; demarcation of international boundaries in vicinity of Lake Chad, the lack of which has led to border incidents in the past, is completed and awaiting ratification by Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria
Climate: tropical in south, desert in north
Terrain: broad, arid plains in center, desert in north, mountains in northwest, lowlands in south lowest point: Djourab Depression 175 m highest point: Emi Koussi 3,415 m
Natural resources: petroleum (unexploited but exploration under way), uranium, natron, kaolin, fish (Lake Chad)
Land use: arable land: 2% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 36% forest and woodland: 11% other: 51%
Irrigated land: 100 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: inadequate supplies of potable water; improper waste disposal in rural areas contributes to soil and water pollution; desertification natural hazards: hot, dry, dusty harmattan winds occur in north; periodic droughts; locust plagues international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Desertification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping
Geographic note: landlocked; Lake Chad is the most significant water body in the Sahel
People ------
Population: 6,976,845 (July 1996 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 44% (male 1,543,688; female 1,535,729) 15-64 years: 53% (male 1,807,361; female 1,881,930) 65 years and over: 3% (male 91,998; female 116,139) (July 1996 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.68% (1996 est.)
Birth rate: 44.25 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Death rate: 17.44 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female all ages: 0.97 male(s)/female (1996 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 120.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 47.55 years male: 45.18 years female: 50.01 years (1996 est.)
Total fertility rate: 5.84 children born/woman (1996 est.)
Nationality: noun: Chadian(s) adjective: Chadian
Ethnic divisions: nonindigenous 150,000, of whom 1,000 are French north and center: Muslims (Arabs, Toubou, Hadjerai, Fulbe, Kotoko, Kanembou, Baguirmi, Boulala, Zaghawa, and Maba) south: non-Muslims (Sara, Ngambaye, Mbaye, Goulaye, Moundang, Moussei, Massa)
Religions: Muslim 50%, Christian 25%, indigenous beliefs (mostly animism) 25%
Languages: French (official), Arabic (official), Sara and Sango (in south), more than 100 different languages and dialects
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write in French or Arabic (1995 est.) total population: 48.1% male: 62.1% female: 34.7%
Government ----------
Name of country: conventional long form: Republic of Chad conventional short form: Chad local long form: Republique du Tchad local short form: Tchad
Data code: CD
Type of government: republic
Capital: N'Djamena
Administrative divisions: 14 prefectures (prefectures, singular - prefecture); Batha, Biltine, Borkou-Ennedi-Tibesti, Chari-Baguirmi, Guera, Kanem, Lac, Logone Occidental, Logone Oriental, Mayo-Kebbi, Moyen-Chari, Ouaddai, Salamat, Tandjile
Independence: 11 August 1960 (from France)
National holiday: Independence Day, 11 August (1960)
Constitution: 31 March 1995, passed by referendum
Legal system: based on French civil law system and Chadian customary law; does not accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: NA years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Lt. Gen. Idriss DEBY (since 4 December 1990, after seizing power on 3 December 1990); note - transitional government's mandate was scheduled to expire in May 1996; the first round of presidential elections was scheduled for 2 June 1996, with a runoff on 23 June if necessary head of government: Prime Minister Djimasta KOIBLA (since 9 April 1995) elected by the Sovereign National Conference cabinet: Council of State appointed by the president on recommendation of the prime minister
Legislative branch: unicameral Higher Transitional Council (Conseil Superieur de Transition: popular elections to the former National Consultative Council (Conceil National Consultatif) were last held 8 July 1990; this body was disbanded on 3 December 1990 by President DEBY and on 8 March 1991 replaced with the Provisional Council of the Republic having 30 members whom he appointed; this body, in turn, was replaced on 6 April 1993 by a 57-member Higher Transitional Council (Conseil Superieur de Transition) elected by a specially convened Sovereign National Conference; popular elections, formerly scheduled for April 1995, were initially postponed by mutual agreement of the parties concerned until at least May 1996 and subsequently postponed until after the rainy season (as late as October 1996); note - the name of the anticipated new legislative body has not been announced
Judicial branch: Court of Appeal
Political parties and leaders: Patriotic Salvation Movement (MPS), former dissident group, Idriss DEBY, chairman note: President DEBY, who promised political pluralism, a new constitution, and free elections by April 1994, subsequently twice postponed these initiatives; there are numerous dissident groups and at least 45 opposition political parties
Other political or pressure groups: NA
International organization participation: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, CEEAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, UDEAC, UN, UNAMIR, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Mahamat Saleh AHMAT chancery: 2002 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 462-4009 FAX: [1] (202) 265-1937
US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Laurence E. POPE II embassy: Avenue Felix Eboue, N'Djamena mailing address: B. P. 413, N'Djamena telephone: [235] (51) 70-09, (51) 90-52, (51) 92-33 FAX: [235] (51) 56-54
Flag: three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, and red; similar to the flag of Romania; also similar to the flag of Andorra, which has a national coat of arms featuring a quartered shield centered in the yellow band; design was based on the flag of France
Economy -------
Economic overview: Climate, geographic remoteness, poor resource endowment, and lack of infrastructure make Chad one of the most underdeveloped countries in the world. Its economy is hobbled by political turmoil, drought, and food shortages. Consequently the economy has shown little progress in recent years in overcoming a severe setback brought on by civil war in the late 1980s. More than 80% of the work force is involved in subsistence farming and fishing. Cotton is the major cash crop, accounting for at least half of exports. Chad is highly dependent on foreign aid, especially food credits, given chronic shortages in several regions. Of all the Francophone countries in Africa, Chad has benefited the least from the 50% devaluation of their currencies on 12 January 1994. Despite an increase in external financial aid and favorable price increases for cotton - the primary source of foreign exchange - the corrupt and enfeebled government bureaucracy continues to postpone payment of public sector salaries and to dampen economic enterprise by neglecting payments to domestic suppliers. The devaluation resulted in stepped-up inflation of 41% in 1994; in contrast to other Francophone countries, Chad continued to suffer high inflation in 1995 because of the government's lack of financial discipline. Oil production in the Lake Chad area remains a distant prospect and the subsistence-driven economy probably will continue to limp along in the near term.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $3.3 billion (1995 est.)
GDP real growth rate: 4% (1994 est.)
GDP per capita: $600 (1995 est.)
GDP composition by sector: agriculture: 49% industry: 17% services: 34%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 41% (1994 est.)
Labor force: NA by occupation: agriculture 85% (subsistence farming, herding, and fishing)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues: $120 million expenditures: $363 million, including capital expenditures of $104 million (1992 est.)
Industries: cotton textiles, meat packing, beer brewing, natron (sodium carbonate), soap, cigarettes, construction materials
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricity: capacity: 40,000 kW production: 80 million kWh consumption per capita: 13 kWh (1993)
Agriculture: cotton, sorghum, millet, peanuts, rice, potatoes, manioc (tapioca); cattle, sheep, goats, camels
Exports: $132 million (f.o.b., 1993) commodities: cotton, cattle, textiles, fish partners: France, Nigeria, Cameroon, Zaire, Sudan, Central African Republic
Imports: $201 million (f.o.b., 1993) commodities: machinery and transportation equipment 39%, industrial goods 20%, petroleum products 13%, foodstuffs 9%; textiles; note - excludes military equipment partners: US, France, Nigeria, Cameroon, Italy, Germany
External debt: $757 million (December 1993 )
Economic aid: recipient: ODA, $NA
Currency: 1 Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (CFAF) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates: CFA Francs (CFAF) per US$1 - 500.56 (January 1996), 499.15 (1995), 555.20 (1994), 283.16 (1993), 264.69 (1992), 282.11 (1991) note: beginning 12 January 1994 the CFA franc was devalued to CFAF 100 per French franc from CFAF 50 at which it had been fixed since 1948
Fiscal year: calendar year
Transportation --------------
Railways: 0 km
Highways: total: 31,141 km paved: 32 km unpaved: 31,109 km (1987 est.)
Waterways: 2,000 km navigable
Ports: none
Airports: total: 47 with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 3 with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 11 with unpaved runways over 3 047 m: 1 with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 13 with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 18 (1995 est.)
Communications --------------
Telephones: 5,000 (1987 est.)
Telephone system: primitive system domestic: fair system of radiotelephone communication stations international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 6, FM 1, shortwave 0
Radios: NA
Television broadcast stations: 1 (1987 est.) note: limited TV service; many facilities are inoperative
Televisions: 7,000 (1991 est.)
Defense -------
Branches: Armed Forces (includes Ground Force, Air Force, and Gendarmerie), Republican Guard, Police
Manpower availability: males age 15-49: 1,562,052 males fit for military service: 809,210 males reach military age (20) annually: 63,254 (1996 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $74 million, 11.1% of GDP (1994)
======================================================================
@Chile -----
Map ---
Location: 30 00 S, 71 00 W -- Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean and South Pacific Ocean, between Argentina and Peru
Flag ----
Description: two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red; there is a blue square the same height as the white band at the hoist-side end of the white band; the square bears a white five-pointed star in the center; design was based on the US flag
Geography ---------
Location: Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean and South Pacific Ocean, between Argentina and Peru
Geographic coordinates: 30 00 S, 71 00 W
Map references: South America
Area: total area: 756,950 sq km land area: 748,800 sq km 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 border countries: 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 lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Cerro Aconcagua 6,962 m
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 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment: current issues: air pollution from industrial and vehicle emissions; water pollution from raw sewage; deforestation contributing to loss of biodiversity; soil erosion; desertification natural hazards: severe earthquakes; active volcanism; tsunamis international agreements: party to - Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Desertification, Law of the Sea
Geographic note: strategic location relative to sea lanes between Atlantic and Pacific Oceans (Strait of Magellan, Beagle Channel, Drake Passage); Atacama Desert is one of world's driest regions
People ------
Population: 14,333,258 (July 1996 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 29% (male 2,071,816; female 2,041,417) 15-64 years: 65% (male 4,599,173; female 4,651,030) 65 years and over: 6% (male 403,019; female 566,803) (July 1996 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.24% (1996 est.)
Birth rate: 18.09 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Death rate: 5.68 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female all ages: 0.97 male(s)/female (1996 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 13.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 74.49 years male: 71.26 years female: 77.72 years (1996 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.23 children born/woman (1996 est.)
Nationality: noun: Chilean(s) adjective: Chilean
Ethnic divisions: European and European-Indian 95%, Indian 3%, other 2%
Religions: Roman Catholic 89%, Protestant 11%, Jewish
Languages: Spanish
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.) total population: 95.2% male: 95.4% female: 95%
Government ----------
Name of country: conventional long form: Republic of Chile conventional short form: Chile local long form: Republica de Chile local short form: Chile
Data code: CI
Type of government: republic
Capital: Santiago
Administrative divisions: 13 regions (regiones, singular - region); Aisen del General Carlos Ibanez del Campo, Antofagasta, Araucania, Atacama, Bio-Bio, Coquimbo, Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins, Los Lagos, Magallanes y de la Antartica Chilena, Maule, Region Metropolitana, Tarapaca, Valparaiso note: the US does not recognize claims to Antarctica
Independence: 18 September 1810 (from Spain)
National holiday: Independence Day, 18 September (1810)
Constitution: 11 September 1980, effective 11 March 1981; amended 30 July 1989
Legal system: based on Code of 1857 derived from Spanish law and subsequent codes influenced by French and Austrian law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; does not accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Executive branch: chief of state and head of government: President Eduardo FREI Ruiz-Tagle (since 11 March 1994) elected for a four-year term by popular vote; election last held 11 December 1993 (next to be held NA December 1997); results - Eduardo FREI Ruiz-Tagle (PDC) 58%, Arturo ALESSANDRI 24.4%, other 17.6% cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president
Legislative branch: bicameral National Congress (Congreso Nacional) Senate (Senado): election last held 11 December 1993 (next to be held NA December 1997); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (46 total, 38 elected) Coalition of Parties for Democracy 21 (PDC 13, PS 4, PPD 3, PR 1), Union for the Progress of Chile 15 (RN 11, UDI 3, UCC 1), right-wing independents 10 Chamber of Deputies (Camara de Diputados): election last held 11 December 1993 (next to be held NA December 1997); results - Coalition of Parties for Democracy 53.95% (PDC 27.16%, PS 12.01%, PPD 11.82%, PR 2.96%), Union for the Progress of Chile 30.57% (RN 15.25%, UDI 12.13%, UCC 3.19%); seats - (120 total) Coalition of Parties for Democracy 70 (PDC 37, PPD 15, PR 2, PS 15, left-wing independent 1), Union for the Progress of Chile 47 (RN 30, UDI 15, UCC 2), right-wing independents 3
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Corte Suprema), judges are appointed by the president, the president of the Supreme Court is elected by the 17-member court
Political parties and leaders: Coalition of Parties for Democracy (CPD) consists mainly of: Christian Democratic Party (PDC), Alejandro FOXLEY; Socialist Party (PS), Camilo ESCALONA; Party for Democracy (PPD), Jorge SCHAULSOHN, Radical Party (PR); Union for the Progress of Chile (UPP) consists mainly of three parties: National Renewal (RN), Andres ALLAMAND; Independent Democratic Union (UDI), Jovino NOVOA; Center Center Union (UCCP), Francisco Javier ERRAZURIZ