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Central Africa

Chad

Central Africa, south of Libya.

Muslim population52.1%of the population

Population20.0 millionpeople (current)

CapitalN'DjamenaUTC+1

Currency606 = $1Cooperation Financiere en Afrique Centrale francs (XAF) (2024)

Country basics

Chad is a landlocked republic in north-central Africa, with the Sahara across its northern third.

Chad is a republic with N'Djamena as its capital and Arabic and French as official languages, and Lake Chad sits on its western border. The Central African CFA franc is the currency, and crude oil and livestock lead its exports.

Official name

Republic of Chad

Region

Africa · Middle Africa

Government

Presidential republic

Time zonesCheck the offset for your own city

UTC+01:00

Driving side

Right

Phone code

+235

Currency

Central African CFA franc (XAF, Fr)

Member of

UN; African Union

Website

https://www.primature.td

Faith and language

Religions

Muslim 52.1%, Protestant 23.9%, Roman Catholic 20%, animist 0.3%, other Christian 0.2%, none 2.8%, unspecified 0.7%

Languages

Arabic; French

People and cities

Population

20.0 million (current)

Median ageHalf the population is younger than this

16.9 years (2025)

Living in cities

24.4% (2023)

Largest cities

N'Djamena (capital) 1.592 million

Money and cost of living

Exchange rateYearly average; check today’s rate before you budget

606 Cooperation Financiere en Afrique Centrale francs (XAF) per US dollar (2024)

Income per personGDP per person, adjusted for local prices (2021 dollars)

$2,600 (2024)

InflationHow much prices rose over the year

8.9% (2024)

Unemployment

1.1% (2024)

Health and daily life

Life expectancy

60 years (2024)

Doctors

0.09 per 1,000 people (2023)

Hospital beds

0.4 per 1,000 people (2017)

Safe drinking water

52% of people (2022)

Electricity

11.7% of people (2022)

Internet users

13% of people (2023)

Literacy

30.6% of adults (2019)

Land and climate

Climate

Tropical in south, desert in north

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

1,284,000 sq km

Natural hazards

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

National holiday

Independence Day, 11 August (1960)