Population, GDP, natural resources, leaders and history of Chad: the Magna Factbook country file, with its Magna grade (MCC, ranked #172 of 195).
Chad is a presidential republic in Central Africa, south of Libya. The country's capital is N'Djamena; it covers 1.284 million sq km. Independence: 11 August 1960 (from France). Terrain: broad, arid plains in center, desert in north, mountains in northwest, lowlands in south. Climate: tropical in south, desert in north. Population: 19.7 million (2025 estimate). Population growth: +2.98% per year. Median age: 16.9 years. Life expectancy: 60 years (2024 est.). Languages: French (official), Arabic (official), Sara (in south), more than 120 languages and dialects Religions: Muslim 52.1%, Protestant 23.9%, Roman Catholic 20%, animist 0.3%, other Christian 0.2%, none 2.8%, unspecified 0.7% (2014-…
| Capital | N'Djamena |
|---|---|
| Population | 19,674,004 (2025 est.) |
| GDP (PPP) | $52.895 billion (2024 est.) |
| GDP per capita (PPP) | $2,600 (2024 est.) |
| Real GDP growth | 3.7% (2024 est.) |
| Inflation | 8.9% |
| Unemployment | 1.1% |
| Public debt | 52.4% of GDP (2016 est.) |
| Exports | $5.799 billion (2024 est.) |
| Imports | $3.557 billion (2024 est.) |
| Life expectancy | 60 years (2024 est.) |
| Median age | 16.9 |
| Urbanization | 24.4% of total population (2023) |
| Government | presidential republic |
| Independence | 11 August 1960 (from France) |
| Languages | French (official), Arabic (official), Sara (in south), more than 120 languages and dialects |
MCC · 38/100 — The Magna grade is our 0–100 composite of structural national power — five dimensions, 100+ indicators. It is the Bureau's own assessment, not a mirror of World Bank or CIA figures.
Momentum 0 — Quarterly momentum: the Bureau's read on the country's trajectory over the last quarter, from −10 (deteriorating fast) to +10 (accelerating).
Steadiness was the quarter's defining trait: no rupture, no windfall, no surprise strong enough to move the score.
The trajectory remains set by fundamentals that change over years, not quarters — and this quarter changed little.
Oil, Uranium, Gold, Salt.
Mahamat Idriss Déby — President. President Mahamat Idriss DÉBY (since 6 May 2024)
Chad maintains 31 embassies and 8 consulates abroad, hosts 28 foreign diplomatic missions, holds permanent missions to UN New York, AU Addis Ababa. The breadth of a diplomatic network is a direct measure of diplomatic power — it shows how far a country’s influence, alliances and interests reach.
| Embassies abroad | 31 |
|---|---|
| Consulates abroad | 8 |
| Foreign missions hosted | 28 |
| Multilateral missions | UN New York, AU Addis Ababa |
Source: Consular Affairs Center, Diplomatic and Consular Networks Database and Rankings, January 2026 (Zenodo, CC BY 4.0). https://zenodo.org/records/18109976
Transport networks are economic power made physical — ports, runways, railways and pipelines decide what a country can move, sell and defend.
| Sea access | Landlocked — no seacoast; exports move through transit corridors across neighbouring countries. |
|---|---|
| Airports (total) | 44 (registration prefix TT) |
| Pipelines | 582 km oil (2013) |
N'Djamena International Airport (NDJ) — N'Djamena.
Sources: OurAirports public-domain extract (2026-10-02); per-entry Wikipedia links included; CIA World Factbook via cia_factbook snapshot (2026-09-28); theodora.com CIA mirror (CIA World Factbook Transportation section), scraped 2026-10-02
| Political system | presidential republic |
|---|---|
| Next election | No election currently scheduled. |
MCC · 38 Ranked #172 of 195 countries in the Magna Country Rankings. Full ranking breakdown for Chad.
