Editing Chad (section)

=== Ethnic groups===
{{main|Ethnic groups in Chad}}
[[File:Danse fille mboum Tchad.jpg|thumb|Mboum girls dancing in Chad]]
The peoples of Chad carry significant ancestry from [[East Africa|Eastern]], [[Central Africa|Central]], [[West Africa|Western]], and [[North Africa|Northern Africa]].<ref>{{cite journal|date=1 December 2016|title=Chad Genetic Diversity Reveals an African History Marked by Multiple Holocene Eurasian Migrations|journal=The American Journal of Human Genetics |volume=99 |issue=6 |pages=1316–1324 |doi=10.1016/j.ajhg.2016.10.012 |pmid=27889059 |issn=0002-9297|last1=Haber|first1=Marc|last2=Mezzavilla|first2=Massimo|last3=Bergström|first3=Anders|last4=Prado-Martinez|first4=Javier|last5=Hallast|first5=Pille|last6=Saif-Ali|first6=Riyadh|last7=Al-Habori |first7=Molham |last8=Dedoussis|first8=George|last9=Zeggini|first9=Eleftheria|last10=Blue-Smith |first10=Jason |last11=Wells |first11=R. Spencer|last12=Xue|first12=Yali|last13=Zalloua|first13=Pierre A.|last14=Tyler-Smith |first14=Chris |pmc=5142112}}</ref>

Chad has more than 200 distinct ethnic groups,<ref name="BGN"/> which create diverse social structures. The colonial administration and independent governments have attempted to impose a national society, but for most Chadians the local or regional society remains the most important influence outside the immediate family. Nevertheless, Chad's people may be classified according to the geographical region in which they live.<ref name="Collelo"/><ref name="EB"/>

In the south live sedentary people such as the [[Sara people|Sara]], the nation's main ethnic group, whose essential [[Social group|social unit]] is the lineage. In the Sahel, sedentary peoples live side by side with nomadic ones, such as the Arabs, the country's second major ethnic group. The north is inhabited by nomads, mostly [[Toubous]].<ref name="Collelo"/><ref name="EB"/>