Chad Geography 2021, CIA World Factbook

Central Africa, south of Libya

Area

total: 1.284 million sq km

land: 1,259,200 sq km

water: 24,800 sq km

Area - comparative

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

Land boundaries

total: 6,406 km

border countries (6): Cameroon 1116 km, Central African Republic 1556 km, Libya 1050 km, Niger 1196 km, Nigeria 85 km, Sudan 1403 km

Terrain

broad, arid plains in center, desert in north, mountains in northwest, lowlands in south

Elevation

highest point: Emi Koussi 3,445 m

lowest point: Djourab 160 m

mean elevation: 543 m

Natural resources

petroleum, uranium, natron, kaolin, fish (Lake Chad), gold, limestone, sand and gravel, salt

agricultural land: 39.6% (2018 est.)

arable land: 3.9% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 0% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 35.7% (2018 est.)

forest: 9.1% (2018 est.)

other: 51.3% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land

300 sq km (2012)

Total renewable water resources

45.7 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

Population distribution

the population is unevenly distributed due to contrasts in climate and physical geography; the highest density is found in the southwest, particularly around Lake Chad and points south; the dry Saharan zone to the north is the least densely populated as shown in this population distribution map

Natural hazards

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

Environment - international agreements

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified: Marine Dumping-London Convention

Geography - note

note 1: Chad is the largest of Africa's 16 landlocked countries

note 2: not long ago - geologically speaking - what is today the Sahara was green savannah teeming with wildlife; during the African Humid Period, roughly 11,000 to 5,000 years ago, a vibrant animal community, including elephants, giraffes, hippos, and antelope lived there; the last remnant of the "Green Sahara" exists in the Lakes of Ounianga (oo-nee-ahn-ga) in northern Chad, a series of 18 interconnected freshwater, saline, and hypersaline lakes now protected as a World Heritage site

note 3: Lake Chad, the most significant water body in the Sahel, is a remnant of a former inland sea, paleolake Mega-Chad; at its greatest extent, sometime before 5000 B.C., Lake Mega-Chad was the largest of four Saharan paleolakes that existed during the African Humid Period; it covered an area of about 400,000 sq km (150,000 sq mi), roughly the size of today's Caspian Sea

NOTE: The information regarding Chad on this page is re-published from the 2021 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Chad 2021 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Chad 2021 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.

Chad Geography - 2021

Location

Geographic coordinates

Map references