Chad

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<p>Chad emerged from a collection of powerful states that controlled the Sahelian belt starting around the 9th 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 9th and 19th 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 19th century. In southeastern Chad, the Bagirmi and Ouaddai (Wadai) kingdoms emerged in the 15th and 16th centuries and lasted until the arrival of the French in the 19th and 20th 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.  </p> <p>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, Chadian leaders expelled Libyan forces during the 1987 "Toyota War," so named for the use of Toyota pickup trucks as fighting vehicles. In 1990, Chadian general Idriss DEBY led a rebellion against President Hissene HABRE. Under DEBY, Chad approved a constitution and held elections in 1996. Shortly after DEBY was killed during a rebel incursion in 2021, a group of military officials -- led by DEBY’s son, Mahamat Idriss DEBY -- took control of the government. The military officials dismissed the National Assembly, suspended the Constitution, and formed a Transitional Military Council (TMC), while pledging to hold democratic elections by October 2022. A national dialogue in August-October 2022 culminated in decisions to extend the transition for up to two years, dissolve the TMC, and appoint Mahamat DEBY as Transitional President; the transitional authorities held a constitutional referendum in December 2023 and claimed 86 percent of votes were in favor of the new constitution. The transitional authorities have announced plans to hold elections by October 2024.</p> <p>Chad has faced widespread poverty, an economy severely weakened by volatile international oil prices, terrorist-led insurgencies in the Lake Chad Basin, and several waves of rebellions in northern and eastern Chad. In 2015, the government imposed a state of emergency in the Lake Chad Basin following multiple attacks by the terrorist group Boko Haram, now known as ISIS-West Africa. The same year, Boko Haram conducted bombings in N'Djamena. In 2019, the Chadian government also declared a state of emergency in the Sila and Ouaddai regions bordering Sudan and in the Tibesti region bordering Niger, where rival ethnic groups are still fighting. The army has suffered heavy losses to Islamic terror groups in the Lake Chad Basin. </p>

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Central Africa, south of Libya

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15 00 N, 19 00 E

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Africa

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almost nine times the size of New York state; slightly more than three times the size of California

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0 km (landlocked)

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none (landlocked)

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tropical in south, desert in north

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broad, arid plains in center, desert in north, mountains in northwest, lowlands in south

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petroleum, uranium, natron, kaolin, fish (Lake Chad), gold, limestone, sand and gravel, salt

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300 sq km (2012)

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Lake Chad Basin, Nubian Aquifer System

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the population is unevenly distributed due to contrasts in climate and physical geography; the highest density is found in the southwest, particularly around Lake Chad and points south; the dry Saharan zone to the north is the least densely populated, as shown in this population distribution map

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hot, dry, dusty harmattan winds occur in north; periodic droughts; locust plagues

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<strong>note 1:</strong> Chad is the largest of Africa's 16 landlocked countries <br><br><strong>note 2:</strong> a wide variety of animals lived in modern-day Chad during the African Humid Period, including elephants, giraffes, hippos, and antelope; the last remnant of this "Green Sahara" exists in the Lakes of Ounianga in northern Chad, a series of 18 interconnected freshwater, saline, and hypersaline lakes  <br><br><strong>note 3:</strong> Lake Chad, the most significant water body in the Sahel, is a remnant of a former inland sea, paleolake Mega-Chad; at its greatest extent, sometime before 5000 B.C., Lake Mega-Chad was the largest of four Saharan paleolakes that existed during the African Humid Period; it covered an area of about 400,000 sq km (150,000 sq mi), roughly the size of today's Caspian Sea

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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&nbsp; 4.6%, unspecified 1.7% (2014-15 est.)

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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.)

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2.98% (2025 est.)

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38.62 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)

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8.75 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)

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-0.12 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)

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the population is unevenly distributed due to contrasts in climate and physical geography; the highest density is found in the southwest, particularly around Lake Chad and points south; the dry Saharan zone to the north is the least densely populated, as shown in this population distribution map

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1.592 million N'DJAMENA (capital) (2023)

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18.1 years (2014/15 est.)

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<strong>note:</strong> data represents median age at first birth among women 20-49

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748 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)

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5.13 children born/woman (2025 est.)

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2.51 (2025 est.)

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0.09 physicians/1,000 population (2023)

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0.4 beds/1,000 population (2017 est.)

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6.1% (2016)

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18.2% (2022 est.)

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72.6% (2019 est.)

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inadequate supplies of potable water; soil and water pollution from improper waste disposal in rural areas and poor farming practices; desertification

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tropical in south, desert in north

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41.2 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

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45.7 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

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<strong>note:</strong> the only country whose name is composed of a single syllable with a single vowel

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presidential republic

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23 provinces; Barh-El-Gazel, Batha, Borkou, Chari-Baguirmi, Ennedi-Est, Ennedi-Ouest, Guera, Hadjer-Lamis, Kanem, Lac, Logone Occidental, Logone Oriental, Mandoul, Mayo-Kebbi-Est, Mayo-Kebbi-Ouest, Moyen-Chari, N'Djamena, Ouaddai, Salamat, Sila, Tandjile, Tibesti, Wadi-Fira

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mixed system of civil and customary law

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has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

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18 years of age; universal

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<strong>note:</strong> the initial term of the National Assembly was previously established as five years; however the term length will be changed to six years in accordance with constitutional amendments adopted by a joint session of parliament and promulgated by the President of the Republic in October 2025; the date from which the new term is to apply will be decided at a later stage; if the new term of six years is applied to the National Assembly elected in 2024, the next elections will be held in 2030

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<strong>note:</strong> 46 of the Senate's 69 seats are determined by election, and the remaining 23 seats are appointed by the President

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Chadian Convention for Peace and Development or CTPD<br>Federation Action for the Republic or FAR<br>National Rally for Development and Progress or Viva-RNDP<br>National Union for Democracy and Renewal or UNDR<br>Party for Unity and Reconstruction or PUR<br>Patriotic Salvation Movement or MPS <br>Rally for Democracy and Progress or RDP<br>Rally of Chadian Nationalists/Awakening or RNDT/Le Reveil<br>Social Democratic Party for a Change-over of Power or PDSA<br>Union for Democracy and the Republic or UDR<br>Union for Renewal and Democracy or URD<br>Transformers

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<strong>note 1: </strong> 19 additional parties each contributed one member<br><strong><br>note 2: </strong> on 5 October 2021, Interim President Mahamat Idriss DEBY appointed 93 members to the interim National Transitional Council (NTC); 30% of the NTC members were retained from parties previously represented in the National Assembly

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ACP, AfDB, AU, BDEAC, CEMAC, EITI (compliant country), FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LCBC, MIGA, MNJTF, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOCI, UNOOSA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

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11 August 1960 (from France)

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Independence Day, 11 August (1960)

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<strong>description:</strong> three equal vertical bands of blue (left side), gold, and red<br><br><strong>meaning:</strong> combines the blue and red French (former colonial) colors with the red and yellow Pan-African colors; blue stands for the sky, hope, and the south of the country; gold for the sun and the desert in the north; red for progress, unity, and sacrifice

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<strong>note:</strong> almost identical to the flag of Romania, but with a darker shade of blue; also similar to the flags of Andorra and Moldova, both of which have a national coat of arms centered in the yellow band; design based on France's flag

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goat (north), lion (south)

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blue, yellow, red

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<p>oil-dependent economy challenged by market fluctuations, regional instability, refugee influx, and climate vulnerability; high levels of extreme poverty and food insecurity; recent growth driven by oil and agricultural recovery; debt-restructuring agreement under G20 Common Framework</p>

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<b>note:</b> data in 2021 dollars

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<b>note:</b> annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency

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<b>note:</b> data in 2021 dollars

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$20.626 billion (2024 est.)

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<b>note:</b> data in current dollars at official exchange rate

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<b>note:</b> annual % change based on consumer prices

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<b>note:</b> figures may not total 100% due to non-allocated consumption not captured in sector-reported data

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<strong>note:</strong> figures may not total 100% due to rounding or gaps in data collection

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sorghum, groundnuts, millet, beef, cereals, yams, sugarcane, maize, cassava, milk (2023)

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<b>note:</b> top ten agricultural products based on tonnage

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oil, cotton textiles, brewing, natron (sodium carbonate), soap, cigarettes, construction materials

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5.1% (2024 est.)

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<b>note:</b> annual % change in industrial value added based on constant local currency

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6.6 million (2024 est.)

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<b>note:</b> number of people ages 15 or older who are employed or seeking work

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<b>note:</b> % of labor force seeking employment

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<b>note:</b> % of labor force ages 15-24 seeking employment

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44.8% (2022 est.)

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<b>note:</b> % of population with income below national poverty line

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<b>note:</b> index (0-100) of income distribution; higher values represent greater inequality

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<b>note:</b> % share of income accruing to lowest and highest 10% of population

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<strong>note:</strong> personal transfers and compensation between resident and non-resident individuals/households/entities

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<b>note:</b> central government revenues and expenses (excluding grants/extrabudgetary units/social security funds) converted to US dollars at average official exchange rate for year indicated

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<strong>note: </strong>GDP expenditure basis - exports of goods and services in current dollars

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UAE 26%, China 19%, Germany 17%, Netherlands 13%, France 10% (2023)

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<b>note:</b> top five export partners based on percentage share of exports

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crude petroleum, gold, oil seeds, gum resins, cotton (2023)

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<b>note:</b> top five export commodities based on value in dollars

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<strong>note: </strong>GDP expenditure basis - imports of goods and services in current dollars

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China 28%, UAE 23%, Turkey 10%, France 9%, India 5% (2023)

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<b>note:</b> top five import partners based on percentage share of imports

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jewelry, broadcasting equipment, packaged medicine, cars, refined petroleum (2023)

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<strong>note:</strong> top five import commodities based on value in dollars

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<b>note:</b> holdings of gold (year-end prices)/foreign exchange/special drawing rights in current dollars

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<b>note:</b> present value of external debt in current US dollars

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1 state-owned TV station; 2 privately-owned TV stations; state-owned radio network, Radiodiffusion Nationale Tchadienne (RNT), operates national and regional stations; over 10 private radio stations; some stations rebroadcast programs from international broadcasters (2017)

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.td

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TT

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44 (2025)

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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)<br><br>Ministry of Public Security and Immigration: National Nomadic Guard of Chad (GNNT) (2025)

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<strong>note 1:</strong> 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<br><br><strong>note 2:</strong> 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

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estimated 35-40,000 active Chadian National Army personnel (2025)

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<strong>note: </strong> in 2021, Chad pledged to increase the size of the military to 60,000

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the ANT has a mix of older, secondhand, and some more modern armaments from a variety of suppliers, including Brazil, China, France, Russia/former Soviet Union, T&uuml;rkiye, Ukraine, and the UAE (2025)

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18-25 for voluntary service; men subject to 18-36 months of compulsory service at age 20; women are subject to 12 months of compulsory military or civic service at age 21 (2025)

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<strong>note:</strong> Chad has committed approximately 1,000-1,500 troops to the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) against Boko Haram and other terrorist groups operating in the general area of the Lake Chad Basin and along Nigeria's northeast border; national MNJTF troop contingents are deployed within their own territories, although cross‐border operations are conducted periodically

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internal security is the primary focus of the Chadian National Army, and it is actively engaged in counterinsurgency operations against multiple terrorist and rebel groups; the terrorist groups Boko Haram and Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham in West Africa operate in the Lake Chad Basin area; meanwhile, a number of anti-government militias operate in northern Chad, some from bases in southern Libya, including the FACT (Front pour le Changement et la Concorde au Tchad), the Military Command Council for the Salvation of the Republic (le Conseil de Commandement Militaire pour le salut de la République or CCSMR), the Union of Forces for Democracy and Development (le Union des Forces pour la Démocratie et le Développement or UFDD), and the Union of Resistance Forces (le Union des Forces de la Résistance UFR); former Chadian President Idriss DEBY<strong> </strong>was killed in April 2021 during fighting between the FACT and government forces (2025)

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Boko Haram; Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham - West Africa (ISIS-WA)

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<strong>note:</strong> details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in the Terrorism reference guide