Chad — Country Profile
Population, GDP, natural resources, leaders and history of Chad: the Magna Factbook country file, with its Magna Power score (--/100, ranked #-- of 195).
Last updated: October 2026
Chad is in Central Africa, south of Libya. It covers 1.284 million sq km. Terrain: broad, arid plains in center, desert in north, mountains in northwest, lowlands in south. Climate: tropical in south, desert in north.
| 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% (2024 est.) |
| Unemployment | 1.1% (2024 est.) |
| 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 years (2025 est.) |
| 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 |
Chad’s GDP is $52.895 billion (2024 est.) in purchasing-power-parity terms. At official exchange rates it stands at $20.626 billion (2024 est.). Real GDP grew 3.7% (2024 est.). See where Chad ranks among all 195 countries by GDP.
POWER --/100 — The Magna Power score is our 0–100 composite of structural national power — nine components, 135 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.
- What our model rewards: unemployment near 1.1% — work for whoever wants it
- What drags it down: fertility of 5.1 children per woman — far above replacement, a cradle overflowing faster than schools can keep up; a median age of 17 — a nation of children, its workforce still in the classroom
Oil, Uranium, Gold, Salt.
Energy is the physical base of economic power — what a country can generate, move and burn decides what it can build, sell and defend.
| Electricity access | 11.7% (2022 est.) |
|---|---|
| Installed capacity mix (CIA) | fossil fuels: 94.3% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); solar: 0.8% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); wind: 2.3% of total installed capacity (2023 est.) |
| Energy consumption per capita (CIA) | 1.502 million Btu/person (2023 est.) |
Sources: CIA World Factbook, Energy section; Our World in Data (IEA/Ember), 2024.
Trade shows what the world buys from a country and what the country must buy from the world — the balance between the two is a direct measure of economic leverage.
| Exports | $5.799 billion (2024 est.) |
|---|---|
| Imports | $3.557 billion (2024 est.) |
| Trade balance (calculated) | Surplus of $2.2 billion (2024), calculated from the CIA export and import figures above. |
| Key industries | oil, cotton textiles, brewing, natron (sodium carbonate), soap, cigarettes, construction materials |
Source: CIA World Factbook, Economy section.
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) |
Major airports
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. |
POWER --/100 Ranked #-- of 195 countries in the Magna Country Rankings. Full ranking breakdown for Chad.
This profile covers the population, economy, natural resources, leaders, and history of Chad — with the Bureau’s live national-power score of --/100, ranking #-- of 195 countries.
What is Chad's power score?
Chad has a Magna Power score of --/100. The score measures structural power — the proven capacity to shape events — across nine components.