Factbook dossier
Background
Chad emerged from a collection of powerful states that controlled the Sahelian belt starting around the 9 th century. These states focused on controlling trans-Saharan trade routes and profited mostly from the slave trade. The Kanem-Bornu Empire, centered around the Lake Chad Basin, existed between the 9 th and 19 th centuries, and at its peak, the empire controlled territory stretching from southern Chad to southern Libya and included portions of modern-day Algeria, Cameroon, Niger, Nigeria, and Sudan. The Sudanese warlord Rabih AZ-ZUBAYR used an army comprised largely of slaves to conquer the Kanem-Bornu Empire in the late 19 th century. In southeastern Chad, the Bagirmi and Ouaddai (Wadai) kingdoms emerged in the 15 th and 16 th centuries and lasted until the arrival of the French in the 19 th and 20 th centuries. France began moving into the region in the late 1880s and defeated the Bagirmi kingdom in 1897, Rabih AZ-ZUBAYR in 1900, and the Ouddai kingdom in 1909. In the arid regions of northern Chad and southern Libya, an Islamic order called the Sanusiyya (Sanusi) relied heavily on the trans-Saharan slave trade and had upwards of 3 million followers by the 1880s. The French defeated the Sanusiyya in 1910 after years of intermittent war. By 1910, France had incorporated the northern arid region, the Lake Chad Basin, and southeastern Chad into French Equatorial Africa. Chad achieved its independence in 1960 and then saw three decades of instability, oppressive rule, civil war, and a Libyan invasion. With the help of the French military and several African countries, Chad…
Location
Central Africa, south of Libya
Area
total : 1.284 million sq km land: 1,259,200 sq km water: 24,800 sq km
Natural resources
petroleum, uranium, natron, kaolin, fish (Lake Chad), gold, limestone, sand and gravel, salt
Natural hazards
hot, dry, dusty harmattan winds occur in north; periodic droughts; locust plagues
Population
total: 19,674,004 (2025 est.) male: 9,756,129 female: 9,917,875
Ethnic groups
Sara (Ngambaye/Sara/Madjingaye/Mbaye) 30.5%, Kanembu/Bornu/Buduma 9.8%, Arab 9.7%, Wadai/Maba/Masalit/Mimi 7%, Gorane 5.8%, Masa/Musseye/Musgum 4.9%, Bulala/Medogo/Kuka 3.7%, Marba/Lele/Mesme 3.5%, Mundang 2.7%, Bidiyo/Migaama/Kenga/Dangleat 2.5%, Dadjo/Kibet/Muro 2.4%, Tupuri/Kera 2%, Gabri/Kabalaye/Nanchere/Somrai 2%, Fulani/Fulbe/Bodore 1.8%, Karo/Zime/Peve 1.3%, Baguirmi/Barma 1.2%, Zaghawa/Bideyat/Kobe 1.1%, Tama/Assongori/Mararit 1.1%, Mesmedje/Massalat/Kadjakse 0.8%, other 4.6%, unspecified 1.7% (2014-15 est.)
Languages
French (official), Arabic (official), Sara (in south), more than 120 languages and dialects major-language sample(s): The World Factbook, une source indispensable d'informations de base. (French) كتاب حقائق العالم، المصدر الذي لا يمكن الاستغناء عنه للمعلومات الأساسية (Arabic) The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Religions
Muslim 52.1%, Protestant 23.9%, Roman Catholic 20%, animist 0.3%, other Christian 0.2%, none 2.8%, unspecified 0.7% (2014-15 est.)
Environmental issues
inadequate supplies of potable water; soil and water pollution from improper waste disposal in rural areas and poor farming practices; desertification
Government type
presidential republic
Capital
name: N'Djamena geographic coordinates: 12 06 N, 15 02 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) etymology: said to derive its name from a local word meaning "place of rest"
Executive branch
chief of state: President Mahamat Idriss D BY (since 6 May 2024) head of government: Prime Minister Allamaye HALINA (since 23 May 2024) cabinet: Council of Ministers election/appointment process: president directly elected by absolute-majority popular vote in 2 rounds, if needed, for a 5-year term (no term limits) most recent election date: 6 May 2024 election results: 2024: Mahamat Idriss D BY elected president; percent of vote - Mahamat Idriss D BY (MPS) 61%, Succes MASRA (Transformers) 18.5%, Albert PADACKE 16.9%, other 3.6% expected date of next election: TBD
Legislative branch
legislature name: Parliament legislative structure: bicameral
Real GDP (purchasing power parity)
$52.895 billion (2024 est.) $51.03 billion (2023 est.) $49.012 billion (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars
Real GDP per capita
$2,600 (2024 est.) $2,600 (2023 est.) $2,700 (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
8.9% (2024 est.) 10.8% (2023 est.) 5.8% (2022 est.) note: annual % change based on consumer prices
Exports - partners
UAE 26%, China 19%, Germany 17%, Netherlands 13%, France 10% (2023) note: top five export partners based on percentage share of exports
Imports - partners
China 28%, UAE 23%, Turkey 10%, France 9%, India 5% (2023) note: top five import partners based on percentage share of imports
Military and security forces
Chadian National Army (Armee Nationale du Tchad, ANT): Ground Forces (l'Armee de Terre, AdT), Chadian Air Force (l'Armee de l'Air Tchadienne, AAT), Chadian National Gendarmerie; General Direction of the Security Services of State Institutions (Direction Generale des Services de Securite des Institutions de l'Etat, GDSSIE) Ministry of Public Security and Immigration: National Nomadic Guard of Chad (GNNT) (2025) note 1: the GDSSIE is the presidential guard force and is considered to be Chad's elite military unit; it is reportedly a division-sized force with infantry, armor, and special forces/anti-terrorism regiments (known as the Special Anti-Terrorist Group or SATG, aka Division of Special Anti-Terrorist Groups or DGSAT); it reports directly to the president note 2: the Chadian National Police are under the Ministry of Public Security and Immigration; border security duties are shared by the ANT, Customs (Ministry of Public Security and Immigration), the National Gendarmerie, and the GNNT
Military expenditures
3% of GDP (2024 est.) 2.9% of GDP (2023 est.) 2.6% of GDP (2022 est.) 2.5% of GDP (2021 est.) 2.9% of GDP (2020 est.)