Batha ( ar, البطحة) is one of the 23 regions of

Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Repub ...

, located in the centre of the country. It is composed of what was formerly

Batha Prefecture Batha Prefecture ( ar, ﺇﻗﻠﻴﻢ البطحاء) was one of the 14 prefectures of Chad. Located in the center of the country, Batha covered an area of 88,800 square kilometers and had a population of 288,458 in 1993. Its capital was Ati, Ch ...

with some slight boundary adjustments. The capital of the region is Ati.

Geography

The region borders

Borkou Region The Borkou region ( ar, بركو) is a region of Chad which was created in 2008 from the Borkou department of the former Borkou-Ennedi-Tibesti region. Its capital is Faya-Largeau. Geography Borkou is located in the Sahara Desert, and contai ...

to the north, Wadi Fira Region and

Ouaddaï Region Ouaddaï ( ar, وداي) is a region of Chad, located in the south-east of the country, with its capital at Abéché. Prior to 2002 it was known as Ouaddaï Prefecture; in 2008 the southern portions of Ouaddaï (the Sila Department and Djour ...

to the east,

Sila Region Sila or Dar Sila is a region of Chad, located in the south-east of the country. It was created in 2008 from the departments of Sila and Djourf Al Ahmar which were previously part of Ouaddaï Region. The capital of the region is Goz Beïda. G ...

to the south-east,

Guéra Region Guéra or Guera may refer to: * Guéra Prefecture, a former first-level administrative division of Chad until 1999 * Guéra Region, a first-level administrative division of Chad since 2002 * Guéra Department, a second level administrative divis ...

to the south, Hadjer-Lamis Region to the south-west, and Bahr el Gazel Region to the west. The terrain is generally savannah grassland, merging into the

Sahara Desert , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...

in the sparsely populated north of the region.

Lake Fitri Lake Fitri is located in the center of Chad about 300 km east of N’Djamena. The normal size of the lake is about . The size of this lake can triple in wetter years. This freshwater lake is shallow and is fed by seasonal rainfall and run-off ...

is located in the south-west of the region.

Settlements

Ati is the capital of the region; other major settlements include

Am Sack Am Sack is a sub-prefecture of Batha Region in Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to ...

Assinet Assinet is a sub-prefecture of Batha Region in Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to ...

Djédaa Djédaa ( ar, جيدا) is a town in the Batha Region of central Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is border ...

Haraze Djombo Kibit Haraze Djombo Kibit is a sub-prefecture of Batha Region in Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by ...

Hidjelidjé Hidjelidjé is a sub-prefecture of Batha Region in Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya ...

Oum Hadjer Oum Hadjer ( ar, أم هاجر) is a small city in Chad, and the capital of Batha Est Department. It straddles the ephemeral Batha River, lies on the main road between Khartoum and N'Djamena N'Djamena ( ) is the capital city, capital and larg ...

and Yao.

Demographics

As per the Chadian census of 2009, the population of the region was 527,031, 51.9% female. The average size of household as of 2009 is 5.1 in rural households and 5.4 in urban areas. The number of households was 103,261: 89,991 in rural areas and 13,270 in urban areas. The number of nomads in the region was 37,419, 9.6% of the population. There were 526,008 people residing in private households. There were 221,810 people above 18 years of age: 98,651 male and 123,159 female. The sex ratio was 0.93 (93 females per 100 males). The main ethnolinguistic groups are

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Wester ...

groups such as the

Baggara The Baggāra ( ar, البَقَّارَة "heifer herder") or Chadian Arabs are a nomadic confederation of people of mixed Arab and Arabized indigenous African ancestry, inhabiting a portion of the Sahel mainly between Lake Chad and the Nile riv ...

, who predominantly speak

Chadian Arabic Chadian Arabic ( ar, لهجة تشادية), also known as Shuwa Arabic, Baggara Arabic, Western Sudanic Arabic, or West Sudanic Arabic (WSA), is a variety of Arabic and the first language of 1.6 million people, both town dwellers and nomadic c ...

(33.62%), Dar Daju Daju (percentage not known), Lisi groups such as the Bilala (18.11%) and Naba-Kuka (15.71%), the Masalit (5.73%) and the Masmaje (5.61%).

Economy

As of 2015, internet and telephone were limited and post was the primary mode of communication. In 2016

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

was discovered in the region, and many people from all over Chad, and some from as far away as

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesSudan, began flocking here. However, the Chadian army moved to prevent anyone from getting into the region.

Administration

As a part of decentralisation in February 2003, Chad was administratively split into regions, departments, municipalities and rural communities. The

prefectures A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...

which were originally 14 in number were re-designated in 23 regions. The regions are administered by Governors appointed by the President. The Prefects, who originally held the responsibility of the 14 prefects, still retained the titles and were responsible for the administration of smaller departments in each region. The members of local assemblies are elected every six years, while the executive organs are elected every three years. As of 2016, there are 23 regions in Chad, which are divided based on population and administrative convenience.

Subdivisions

The region of Batha is divided into three

departments Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

Batha Est Batha Est (or Batha East, ar, البطحة الشرقية) is one of the three departments which make up the Batha Region in Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at th ...

Batha Ouest Batha Ouest ( ar, البطحة الغربية) or Batha West is one of the three departments which make up the region of Batha in Chad. The capital is Ati. sub-prefectures Batha Ouest is divided into three sub-prefectures: * Ati * Djedda * Ko ...

and Fitri.

References

External links

{{Authority control Regions of Chad