Chad

President: Idriss Déby (1990)
Prime Minister: Albert Pahimi Padacke (2016)
Land area: 486,178 sq mi (1,259,201 sq km); total area: 495,755 sq mi (1,284,000 sq km)
Population (2014): 11,412,107 (growth rate: 1.92%); birth rate: 37.29/1000; infant mortality rate: 90.3/1000; life expectancy: 49.44.

Capital and largest city (2011 est.): N’Djamena, 1.079
Monetary unit: CFA Franc
National name: République du Tchad
Languages: French, Arabic (both official); Sara; more than 120 languages and dialects
Ethnicity/race: Sara 27.7%, Arab 12.3%, Mayo-Kebbi 11.5%, Kanem-Bornou 9%, Ouaddai 8.7%, Hadjarai 6.7%, Tandjile 6.5%, Gorane 6.3%, Fitri-Batha 4.7%, other 6.4%, unknown 0.3% (1993 census)
National Holiday: Independence Day, August 11
Religions: Muslim 53.1%, Catholic 20.1%, Protestant 14.2%, animist 7.3%, other 0.5%, unknown 1.7%, atheist 3.1% (1993 census)
Literacy rate: 35.4% (2011 est.)
Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2013 est.):$28 billion; per capita $2,500. Real growth rate: 3.9%. Inflation: 4.5%. Unemployment: n.a. Arable land: 3.82%. Agriculture: cotton, sorghum, millet, peanuts, rice, potatoes, manioc (tapioca); cattle, sheep, goats, camels. Labor force: 4.293 million (2007); agriculture 80%; industry and services 20% (subsistence farming, herding, and fishing). Industries: oil, cotton textiles, meatpacking, beer brewing, natron (sodium carbonate), soap, cigarettes, construction materials. Natural resources: petroleum (unexploited but exploration underway), uranium, natron, kaolin, fish (Lake Chad), gold, limestone, sand and gravel, salt. Exports: $3.865 billion (2013 est.): cotton, cattle, gum arabic, oil. Imports: $2.701 billion (2013 est.): machinery and transportation equipment, industrial goods, foodstuffs, textiles. Major trading partners: U.S., Saudi Arabia, China, France, Cameroon (2012).
Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 29,900 (2012); mobile cellular: 4.2 million (2012). Broadcast media: 1 state-owned TV station; state-owned radio network, Radiodiffusion Nationale Tchadienne (RNT), operates national and regional stations; about 10 private radio stations; some stations rebroadcast programs from international broadcasters (2007). Internet hosts: 6 (2012) . Internet users: 168,100 (2009).
Transportation: Railways: 0 km. Highways: total: 40,000 km (2011). Waterways: Chari and Legone rivers are navigable only in the wet season (2012). Ports and harbors: none. Airports: 59 (2013).

Fun Facts

  • Chad is about 85% the size of Alaska
  • Some of the best camel racing in the world
  • Known as “The Babel Tower of the World
  • Its national symbols are the goat and the lion
  • Crude oil drives the Chadian economy
  • A musical instrument called the Kakaki signifies power
  • Blessed with gold and uranium reserves
  • Chad’s staple foods are grains