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General Information Area: 1,284,000 sq km (495,800 sq miles). Population: 7,557,000 (official estimate 1999). Population Density: 5.9 per sq km. Capital: N’Djamena. Population: 530,965 (1993). GEOGRAPHY: Chad is situated in central Africa, bounded by Libya to the north, Niger, Nigeria and Cameroon to the west, the Central African Republic to the south, and Sudan to the east. The topography ranges from equatorial forests to the driest of deserts. In the northeast lies Ennedi, and to the north the volcanic Tibesti range, largely sheer cliffs, ravines and canyons set among Saharan sand dunes. Government: Republic. Gained independence from France in 1960. Head of State: President Idriss Déby since 2001. Head of Government: Prime Minister Haroun Kabadi since 2002. Language: The official languages are French and Arabic. Other widely spoken languages include Sara (in the south). The territory’s boundaries enclose a small but highly diverse population. Religion: Fifty per cent Muslim, 30 per cent Christian, 20 per cent Animist. Time: GMT + 1. Electricity: 220/380 volts AC, 50Hz. Communications:   Telephone Country code: 235. It may be necessary to go through the operator. Mobile telephone GSM 900 network covers the N'Djaména area. Network operators include Celtel Tchad (website: www.msi-cellular.com) and Liberits. Fax Services are available in large hotels in main cities. Internet Limited facilities are available in N'Djaména. Telegram Available in major post offices in N’Djaména, Sarh, Moundou and Abéché. Post Airmail takes about one week. Post office hours: Mon-Fri 0700-1130 and 1530-1830, Sat 0730-1100. Press Newspapers are printed in French and generally have a low circulation. Dailies include Le Progrès and Info-Tchad. BBC World Service and Voice of America frequencies: From time to time these change. BBC (website: www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice): MHz 17.83 15.40 11.77 7.160 Voice of America (website: www.voa.gov): MHz 15.58 11.98 6.035 0.909 From www.columbusguides.com, Copyright © 2004 Highbury Columbus Travel Publishing Terms and Conditions apply.