Kanem is one of the 18 regions of Chad, corresponding to the former prefecture of Kanem. Its capital is Mao and has a population of 13,277 (as of 1993). As in other Chadian regions, Mao is ruled by both a traditional Sultan and by central government officials. Moves toward decentralization have been stymied by the complex and sometimes tense relationships between traditional rulers in Chad and national authorities. Water is provided by a water tower, built by GTZ, a German NGO, in the late 1980's.On the border of the Sahara, Mao's geography is marked by sand dunes and sparse vegetation. A large majority of Mao's residents are Muslim. However, there are two churches (one Catholic and one Protestant) in Mao. Latitude : 14.120°N - Longitude : 15.310°E

 Subdivisions

The region of Kanem is divided into 2 departments: Kanem Mao Am Doback and

Barh El Gazel Moussoro Amsileb.

 Demography

The population of the region was 280,804 in 1993, of whom 269,846 were settled (rural: 239,104; urban: 30,742) and 10,956 were nomads. The principal ethnico-linguistic groups are the Daza (48,25 %), the Kanembu (40,54 %) and Arabs (4,97 %).