Chad

Chad (French: Tchad, Arabic: تشاد‎ Tshād), officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west. Due to its distance from the sea and its largely desert climate, the country is sometimes referred to as the "Dead Heart of Africa". Chad is divided into three major geographical regions: a desert zone in the north, an arid Sahelian belt in the centre and a more fertile Sudanese savanna zone in the south. Lake Chad, after which the country is named, is the largest wetland in Chad and the second largest in Africa. Chad's highest peak is the Emi Koussi in the Sahara, and N'Djamena,(formerly Fort-Lamy), the capital, is the largest city. Chad is home to over 200 different ethnic and linguistic groups. Arabic and French are the official languages.
==Religion in Chad==
According to the 1993 census, 54% of the people of Chad are Muslims, 20% are Roman Catholics, 14% are Protestants, 10% follow traditional African beliefs and 3% are atheists. Less than 0.1% are Buddhists. Chad is an officially secular state with a constitution that guarantees religious freedom. There are relatively few tensions between different religious groups.
Chad's Christians are mostly concentrated in the south of the country and its Muslims in the north and east. Most of Chad's Muslims practice a form of Sufism which is very open to elements from indigenous African religions. However, there is a small minority of more conservative Muslims, influenced by Saudi Arabian Wahabism.
The country is home to both Chistian missionaries and Muslim missionaries from Sudan, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabian funding supports social and educational projects and the building of new mosques.
==References==
*http://www.thedhamma.com/buddhists_in_the_world.htm
*The Complete Book of Buddha's Lists -- Explained. David N. Snyder, Ph.D., 2006.
*http://www.thedhamma.com/
==External links==
* Wikipedia article about Chad.
* Wikivoyage article about Chad.
Category:Buddhism by location
Category:Muslim-Majority Countries
Category:Religion in Africa
Category:Countries