Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa, bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon to the southwest, Nigeria to the southwest (at Lake Chad), and Niger to the west.
Chad has a population of 19 million, of which 1.6 million live in the capital and largest city of N'Djamena. It is home to over 200 ethnic and linguistic groups. Chad ranks among the poorest and most corrupt countries and is one of the world's least developed countries.
Chad has several regions: the Sahara desert in the north, an arid zone in the centre known as the Sahel, and a more fertile Sudanian Savanna zone in the south. Lake Chad, after which the country is named, is the second-largest wetland in Africa.
Chad's official languages are Arabic and French with most education and state documents being in French. Since 2003 crude oil has become the country's primary source of export earnings.
Topography of Chad
Read also: Arabic, French, and Chad's Tongues
History
Beginning in the 7th millennium BC, human populations moved into the Chadian basin in great numbers. By the end of the 1st millennium AD, a series of states and empires had risen and fallen in Chad's Sahelian strip, each focused on controlling the trans-Saharan trade routes that passed through the region.
The earliest of these was the legendary Sao, known from artifacts and oral histories. The Sao fell to the Kanem Empire, the first and longest-lasting of the empires that developed in Chad's Sahelian strip by the end of the 1st millennium AD. Two other states in the region, Sultanate of Bagirmi and Wadai Empire, emerged in the 16th and 17th centuries.
France conquered the territory by 1920 and incorporated it as part of French Equatorial Africa. The French primarily viewed the colony as an unimportant source of untrained labour and raw cotton; France introduced large-scale cotton production in 1929. Chad obtained independence in 1960 under the leadership of François Tombalbaye.
Resentment towards his policies in the Muslim north culminated in the eruption of a long-lasting civil war in 1965. The rebel commanders then fought amongst themselves until Hissène Habré defeated his rivals. Habré consolidated his dictatorship through a power system that relied on corruption and violence with thousands of people estimated to have been killed under his rule.
The Chadian-Libyan conflict erupted in 1978 by the Libyan invasion which stopped in 1987 with a French military intervention (Operation Épervier). Hissène Habré was overthrown in turn in 1990 by his general Idriss Déby.
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Déby attempted to reconcile the rebel groups and reintroduced multiparty politics. Chadians approved a new constitution by referendum, and in 1996, Déby easily won a competitive presidential election. He won a second term five years later.
Oil exploitation began in Chad in 2003, bringing with it hopes that Chad would, at last, have some chances of peace and prosperity. Instead, internal dissent worsened, and a new civil war broke out.
In 2006 and in 2008 rebel forces attempted to take the capital by force, but failed on both occasions. Chad is one of the leading partners in a West African coalition in the fight against Boko Haram and other Islamist militants.
Chad's army announced the death of Déby on 20 April 2021, following an incursion in the northern region by the FACT group, during which the president was killed amid fighting on the front lines. Déby's son, Mahamat Déby, has been named interim president by a Transitional Council of military officers.
Geography and Climate
Chad is a large landlocked country spanning north-central Africa. It covers an area of 1,284,000 square kilometres, lying between latitudes 7° and 24°N, and 13° and 24°E, and is the twentieth-largest country in the world.
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Chad is bounded to the north by Libya, to the east by Sudan, to the west by Niger, Nigeria and Cameroon, and to the south by the Central African Republic. The dominant physical structure is a wide basin bounded to the north and east by the Ennedi Plateau and Tibesti Mountains, which include Emi Koussi, a dormant volcano that reaches 3,414 metres above sea level.
Chad is home to six terrestrial ecoregions: East Sudanian savanna, Sahelian Acacia savanna, Lake Chad flooded savanna, East Saharan montane xeric woodlands, South Saharan steppe and woodlands, and Tibesti-Jebel Uweinat montane xeric woodlands. The region's tall grasses and extensive marshes make it favourable for birds, reptiles, and large mammals.
Each year a tropical weather system known as the intertropical front crosses Chad from south to north, bringing a wet season that lasts from May to October in the south, and from June to September in the Sahel. Variations in local rainfall create three major geographical zones. The Sahara lies in the country's northern third.
The Sahara gives way to a Sahelian belt in Chad's centre; precipitation there varies from 300 to 600 mm per year. In the Sahel, a steppe of thorny bushes (mostly acacias) gradually gives way to the south to East Sudanian savanna in Chad's Sudanese zone. Chad's animal and plant life correspond to the three climatic zones.
In the Saharan region, the only flora is the date-palm groves of the oasis. Palms and acacia trees grow in the Sahelian region. The southern, or Sudanic, zone consists of broad grasslands or prairies suitable for grazing.
Map of Lake Chad
Elephants, lions, buffalo, hippopotamuses, rhinoceroses, giraffes, antelopes, leopards, cheetahs, hyenas, and many species of snakes are found here, although most large carnivore populations have been drastically reduced since the early 20th century. Elephant poaching, particularly in the south of the country in areas such as Zakouma National Park, is a severe problem.
In Chad forest cover is around 3% of the total land area, equivalent to 4,313,000 hectares of forest in 2020, down from 6,730,000 hectares in 1990. Extensive deforestation has resulted in loss of trees such as acacias, baobab, dates and palm trees. This has also caused loss of natural habitat for wild animals; one of the main reasons for this is also hunting and livestock farming by increasing human settlements.
Demographics
Chad's national statistical agency projected the country's 2015 population between 13,630,252 and 13,679,203, with 13,670,084 as its medium projection; based on the medium projection, 3,212,470 people lived in urban areas and 10,457,614 people lived in rural areas. The country's population is young: an estimated 47% is under 15. Chad's population is unevenly distributed.
Density is 0.1/km2 in the Saharan Borkou-Ennedi-Tibesti Region but 52.4/km2 in the Logone Occidental Region. Urban life is concentrated in the capital, whose population is mostly engaged in commerce. The other major towns are Sarh, Moundou, Abéché and Doba, which are considerably smaller but growing rapidly in population and economic activity.
Since 2003, 230,000 Sudanese refugees have fled to eastern Chad from war-ridden Darfur. Polygamy is common, with 39% of women living in such unions. This is sanctioned by law, which automatically permits polygamy unless spouses specify that this is unacceptable upon marriage.
Although violence against women is prohibited, domestic violence is common. Female genital mutilation is also prohibited, but the practice is widespread and deeply rooted in tradition; 45% of Chadian women undergo the procedure, with the highest rates among Arabs, Hadjarai, and Ouaddaians (90% or more). Women lack equal opportunities in education and training, making it difficult for them to compete for the relatively few formal-sector jobs.
Chad has more than 200 distinct ethnic groups, which create diverse social structures. In the south live sedentary people such as the Sara, the nation's main ethnic group, whose essential 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.
Chad's official languages are Arabic and French, with over a 100 regional languages being spoken in the country. Chad is a religiously diverse country. Various estimates, including from Pew Research in 2010, found that 52-58% of the population was Muslim, while 39-44% were Christian, with 22% being Catholic and a further 17% being Protestant.
According to a 2012 Pew Research survey, 48% of Muslim Chadians professed to be Sunni, 21% Shia, 4% Ahmadi and 23% non-denominational Muslim. Catholics represent the largest Christian denomination in the country.
The most underrated Country in the world “CHAD” 🇹🇩
Although attendance is compulsory, only 68 percent of boys attend primary school, and more than half of the population is illiterate. Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor in Chad reported that school attendance of children aged 5 to 14 was as low as 39%.
Political Situation
Chad's constitution provides for a strong executive branch headed by a president who dominates the political system. The president has the power to appoint the prime minister and the cabinet.
The death of longtime president Idriss Déby Itno in 2021 triggered a military coup that installed his son, Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno, as a transitional president, after which the junta announced that it would oversee an 18-month transition period. In 2022, Déby organized the Sovereign Inclusive National Dialogue (DNIS), which extended the transition period by two years.
A new constitution was approved in a flawed referendum process in 2023, and Mahamat Déby consolidated his hold on power through similarly undemocratic elections in 2024. Opposition to his continued rule has generated protests by political and civil society activists, who in turn have faced violence, imprisonment, torture, and intimidation at the hands of security forces.
On October 3, 2025, the Chadian Parliament (National Assembly and Senate) approved amendments to the constitution that extends the President’s term from five years to seven years without limit. The new constitution was promulgated by the head of state on October 8, 2025.
Economy
Chad’s economic performance has been marked by volatility and modest growth, driven by its heavy reliance on oil. The sector represents around 15% of GDP, contributes 41% of government revenues, and accounts for 76% of exports.
Agriculture, accounting for roughly 40% of GDP and supporting much of the population, has been repeatedly affected by droughts, floods, conflict and displacement. The labor market is largely informal (about 88% of jobs) and agriculture based.
Chad continues to be affected by conflicts and violent groups in neighboring countries, straining stability and public finances. In 2025, military spending rose 11.6% from the previous year, reaching 23% of domestic revenues.
Chad’s economy is expected to grow by 3.4% in 2025 (-0.1% per capita), mainly driven by non-oil sector growth (+4.2%). Oil GDP growth is estimated at -0.7% due to a decline in oil production. The current account deficit (CAD) is expected to widen to 2.5% of GDP in 2025 due to a deteriorating trade balance.
After reaching 5.7% in 2024, inflation is projected to ease to 4.1% in 2025. The poverty rate is expected to rise by 0.8 pp to 45.4%, with 9.5 million people living in extreme poverty.
GDP growth is projected to average 3.9% (1.2% per capita) over 2026-2027. Over the medium term, non-oil GDP growth is expected to average 4.2%. After four years above the target, inflation is projected to moderate to around 3.1% in the medium term.
Humanitarian Issues
Chad faces security challenges related to conflicts in neighboring countries, as well as the consequences of climate change, particularly the acceleration of desertification and the drying up of Lake Chad.
Due to the Sudanese crisis and the continuous arrival of new refugees and returnees, the Chadian government estimates that nearly 900,000 people could arrive by the end of 2025. Chad was already hosting around 450,000 refugees from Sudan, the Central African Republic, and Nigeria.
Poverty and vulnerability are widespread in Chad, with 44.8% of the population living below the national poverty line in 2022. Extreme poverty ($2.15/day per capita (2017 PPP)) increased by 2.6 percentage points between 2023 and 2024, reaching 36.5%.
With 856 deaths per 100,000 live births, Chad has one of the highest maternal mortality rates, a phenomenon aggravated by the high number of early pregnancies (164.5 births per 1,000 adolescent girls aged 15 to 19).
Chad is host to more than 1.2 million refugees - one of the largest and fastest-growing refugee populations in Africa. Serious funding shortfalls and resources redirected to the refugee crisis in the East mean that internally displaced people in Lake Chad - where over 220,000 are located - and most refugees from Cameroon, Central African Republic and Nigeria have not received any assistance for months.
The World Food Programme focuses on life-saving emergency activities and strengthening the country’s long-term resilience. WFP plans to assist 2.5 million people throughout the country including refugees, IDPs, returnees and other vulnerable people. We assisted up to 1 million people with food, cash and nutrition support from June to August 2024, to help offset the impact of the lean season.
Key Indicators:
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Population Below Poverty Line (2022) | 44.8% |
| Extreme Poverty ($2.15/day, 2024) | 36.5% |
| Maternal Mortality Rate | 856 deaths per 100,000 live births |
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