Polity · 1961 CE – present
Republic of Chad
République du Tchad · جُمْهُورِيَّة تشاد · Tchad
Also recorded as Chad
- Peak recorded area
- 1,271,910 km²
- 1900 CE
- Rulers on record
- 10
- from 1960 CE
- Data series
- 383
- 1961 CE–2025 CE
Overview
Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is 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, 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.
Lead section from Wikipedia, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article.
Territory
5 dated territorial extents on record from CShapes 2.0. Areas are measured off the recorded polygons; the line steps because each extent holds until the next one is recorded — nothing is interpolated. Cliopatria holds 2 further extents, measured on a different basis and deliberately not merged into this series.
The record
The best-attested series in each category; where several projects publish the same quantity, the one with the most observations is shown. Each row is the most recent value the record holds at or before the last complete year, shown with the year that value belongs to. Some statistical series also publish forward projections — the year column is the honest guide. Nothing on this page is interpolated or estimated by us.
People
6 of 58 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Population216 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 21Mpersons2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy165 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 55.43years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Net Migration141 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | -123.1Kpersons2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Population Growth141 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 2.63% annual2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Female140 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 57.39years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Male140 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 53.54years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
Economy
6 of 149 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| GDP per capita PPP200 obs · 1820 CE–2019 CE | 2,415int'l $ (inflation adj.)2019 CE · Gapminder |
| GDP Current Usd111 obs · 1960 CE–2025 CE | 21.5Bcurrent US$2025 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| GDP per capita73 obs · 1950 CE–2022 CE | 1,393.562011 int'l $2022 CE · Maddison Project Database 2023 |
| Agriculture % GDP66 obs · 1960 CE–2025 CE | 36.34% of GDP2025 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Industry % GDP66 obs · 1960 CE–2025 CE | 26.74% of GDP2025 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Services % GDP66 obs · 1960 CE–2025 CE | 33.89% of GDP2025 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
Military
6 of 37 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Military Expenditure % GDP80 obs · 1983 CE–2024 CE | 2.98% of GDP2024 CE · SIPRI Military Expenditure Database |
| CINC Score57 obs · 1960 CE–2016 CE | 0.0007CINC (share of world capability)2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Energy Consumption57 obs · 1960 CE–2016 CE | 3.5Mcoal-ton equivalents2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Iron Steel Production57 obs · 1960 CE–2016 CE | 0tons2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Personnel57 obs · 1960 CE–2016 CE | 30Kpersons2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Expenditure54 obs · 1960 CE–2016 CE | 269Mcurrent USD2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
Territory & resources
6 of 57 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Arable Land %126 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 4.21% of land area2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Forest Area %68 obs · 1990 CE–2023 CE | 3.16% of land area2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Agricultural Land %63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 39.98%2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Arable Land per capita Ha63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 0.2743hectares per person2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Fao Agricultural Land63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 50.3Mha2023 CE · FAOSTAT |
| Fao Arable Land63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 5.3Mha2023 CE · FAOSTAT |
Governance
6 of 29 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Electoral Democracy Index105 obs · 1920 CE–2024 CE | 0.204index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Liberal Democracy Index105 obs · 1920 CE–2024 CE | 0.054index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Participatory Democracy Index105 obs · 1920 CE–2024 CE | 0.12index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Regime Type105 obs · 1920 CE–2024 CE | 1RoW index (0-3)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Rule Of Law Index105 obs · 1920 CE–2024 CE | 0.016index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Polity253 obs · 1960 CE–2012 CE | -2index (-10 to 10)2012 CE · Clio-Infra |
Development
6 of 53 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Freedom Of Expression Index105 obs · 1920 CE–2024 CE | 0.48index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Mobile Subscriptions Per 10052 obs · 1960 CE–2023 CE | 70.19per_1002023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Primary Enrollment Gross %46 obs · 1971 CE–2024 CE | 88.46%2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Tech Commercial Vehicles43 obs · 1949 CE–1993 CE | 7count1993 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Tech Passenger Cars43 obs · 1949 CE–1993 CE | 9,000count1993 CE · CHAT (Comin-Hobijn) |
| Dpt Immunization %42 obs · 1983 CE–2024 CE | 68%2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
Rulers
10 on record with dated reigns. Reign years follow the house convention: BCE years are negative.
- François TombalbayePresident of Chad1960 CE – 1975 CE
- Goukouni OueddeiPresident of Chad1979 CE – 1982 CE
- Lol Mahamat ChouaPresident of Chad1979 CE
- Wadal Abdelkader KamougueVice President of Chad1979 CE – 1982 CE
- Hissène HabréPresident of Chad1982 CE – 1990 CE
- Idriss DébyHead of State1990 CE – 2021 CE
- Albert Pahimi PadackéHead of Government2016 CE – 2018 CE
- Idriss DébyHead of Government2018 CE – 2021 CE
- Djimadoum TirainaVice President of Chad2021 CE –
- Mahamat DébyPresident of Chad2021 CE –
Country profile
From the CIA World Factbook 2024. Long entries are trimmed at a sentence boundary.
- Location
- Central Africa, south of Libya
- Government type
- presidential republic
- Executive branch
- chief of state: President Mahamat Idriss DÉBY (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)
- 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/Bodor…
- Natural resources
- petroleum, uranium, natron, kaolin, fish (Lake Chad), gold, limestone, sand and gravel, salt
- Economy
- 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
Language & currency
- Official & national languages
- Arabic, French
- Currency
- Cooperation Financiere en Afrique Centrale francs (XAF)
Memberships
- United NationsUNInternational organisation · member1960 CE –
- 4-member Defense Pact (1960)Military alliance · member1960 CE – 1978 CE
- 14-member Defense Pact (1961)Military alliance · member1961 CE – 1964 CE
- Central African Republic–Chad–Congo Defense Pact (1968)Military alliance · member1968 CE – 1968 CE
- Chad–Libya Non-Aggression Pact (1980)Historical alliance · member1980 CE – 1982 CE
- 11-member Defense Pact (2000)Military alliance · member2000 CE –
- African UnionAUInternational organisation · founding member2002 CE –
- Chad–Sudan Non-Aggression Pact (2008)Historical alliance · member2008 CE –
Sources
Every figure above comes from one of these. Nothing on this page is estimated, interpolated or model-generated.
CHAT (Comin-Hobijn)2009 (FinalCHAT_72909)
Comin, D. & Hobijn, B. (2009). The CHAT Dataset. NBER Working Paper 15319.
NBER research data, freely downloadable
CIA World Factbook 2024
Clio-Infra2017 datasets
Clio-Infra project (2017). Reconstructions of global inequality and well-being. International Institute of Social History.
Academic use, attribution
Correlates of War NMC v6.0v6.0
Singer, J.D. (1987). National Material Capabilities Data (NMC), v6.0. Correlates of War Project.
Free academic use, citation
CShapes 2.02.0
Schvitz, G. et al. (2022). Mapping the International System, 1886-2019: The CShapes 2.0 Dataset. Journal of Conflict Resolution 66(1).
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
FAOSTAT2024 release
FAO (2024). FAOSTAT Statistical Database. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome.
CC BY 4.0
Gapminderv14 / systema globalis
Gapminder Foundation. Gapminder systema globalis dataset.
CC BY 4.0
Maddison Project Database 20232023
Bolt, J. & van Zanden, J.L. (2024). Maddison Project Database 2023. University of Groningen GGDC.
CC BY 4.0
SIPRI Military Expenditure Database2024
SIPRI (2024). Military Expenditure Database.
Free for non-commercial use, attribution
UN World Population Prospects 20242024
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2024). World Population Prospects 2024.
CC BY 3.0 IGO
V-Dem v15v15
Coppedge, M. et al. (2025). V-Dem Country-Year Dataset v15. Varieties of Democracy Project.
Free academic/non-commercial use, attribution
Wikipedia contributors. Article lead sections, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
World Bank World Development Indicators2024 release
World Bank (2024). World Development Indicators. Washington, DC.
CC BY 4.0
Republic of Chad is one of the polities with a sourced record deep enough to publish.