population, i.e. 368,066 people; they were 353,489 in the 1993 census, i.e. 5.7% of the country's total population. 20. Chad has several ethnic groups divided into twelve (12) language groups. About two hundred and sixteen (216) dialects are spoken in the country. The official languages are French and Arabic. 21. Freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Constitution. Various religions are practised in Chad: 58.4% of the population is Muslim, 18.5% is Catholic Christian, 16.1% is Catholic Christian and Protestant Christian, 4.0% is animist, 0.5% professed other religions and 2.4% no religion (source: RGPH2). 22. In 2003, Chad became an oil-exporting country, while its economy was mainly based on agricultural and livestock production. This considerably increased the State's financial resources. Notwithstanding, the country is still ranked among the poorest in the world (185th out of 187 according to the HDI/2015). 46.7% of the Chadian population live on less than one US dollar a day (ECOSIT III), despite the exploitation of oil and other mineral resources, in particular the Baoré cement plant in West Mayo-Kebbi. 23. To improve the living conditions of the population and combat poverty, the Government has identified a number of priority sectors. Such sectors include health and education, which receive a large portion of the resources generated by oil, for the construction of health and school infrastructure. 1.3.Political, administrative and legislative framework 24. In the early 1990s, Chad entered a new era that marked the beginning of its democratic process. The Constitution of 31 March 1996, revised by Constitutional Acts No. 008/PR/2005 of 15 July 2005 and No. 013/PR/ of 3 July 2013, established a semi-presidential regime. The President of the Republic, who holds executive power, is elected for a renewable term of five (5) years, with no limitation on the number of terms. The National Assembly holds legislative power. Judicial power is vested in the Supreme Court, the Courts of Appeal, the Tribunals and the Magistrates’ Courts. 25. In order to bring the Administration closer to the people and allow local authorities to take ownership of the development process, Chad opted in 1996 for a highly decentralized unitary State. The process of decentralizing and devolving State services to regions and departments is ongoing. The country has twenty-three (23) regions, including the city of N'Djaména, sixty-three (63) departments and two hundred and forty-nine (249) Sub-prefectures. 26. Despite this clear determination for decentralization, the civil service is still highly characterized by centralized State services; thus, decision-making bodies and most of the socioeconomic infrastructure are located in N'Djamena, the political capital. Page 10 sur 87