Chad People - 2021

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Population

17,414,108 (July 2021 est.)

Nationality

noun: Chadian(s)

adjective: Chadian

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/Bodore 1.8%, Karo/Zime/Peve 1.3%, Baguirmi/Barma 1.2%, Zaghawa/Bideyat/Kobe 1.1%, Tama/Assongori/Mararit 1.1%, Mesmedje/Massalat/Kadjakse 0.8%, other Chadian ethnicities 3.4%, Chadians of foreign ethnicities 0.9%, foreign nationals 0.3%, unspecified 1.7% (2014-15 est.)

Languages

French (official), Arabic (official), Sara (in south), more than 120 different languages and dialects

printed major-language sample:
The World Factbook, une source indispensable d'informations de base. (French)

كتاب حقائق العالم، المصدر الذي لا يمكن الاستغناء عنه للمعلومات الأساسية (Arabic)

The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

Religions

Muslim 52.1%, Protestant 23.9%, Roman Catholic 20%, animist 0.3%, other Christian 0.2%, none 2.8%, unspecified 0.7% (2014-15 est.)

Demographic profile

Despite the start of oil production in 2003, 40% of Chad’s population lives below the poverty line. The population will continue to grow rapidly because of the country’s very high fertility rate and large youth cohort – more than 65% of the populace is under the age of 25 – although the mortality rate is high and life expectancy is low. Chad has the world’s third highest maternal mortality rate. Among the primary risk factors are poverty, anemia, rural habitation, high fertility, poor education, and a lack of access to family planning and obstetric care. Impoverished, uneducated adolescents living in rural areas are most affected. To improve women’s reproductive health and reduce fertility, Chad will need to increase women’s educational attainment, job participation, and knowledge of and access to family planning. Only about a quarter of women are literate, less than 5% use contraceptives, and more than 40% undergo genital cutting.

As of October 2017, more than 320,000 refugees from Sudan and more than 75,000 from the Central African Republic strain Chad’s limited resources and create tensions in host communities. Thousands of new refugees fled to Chad in 2013 to escape worsening violence in the Darfur region of Sudan. The large refugee populations are hesitant to return to their home countries because of continued instability. Chad was relatively stable in 2012 in comparison to other states in the region, but past fighting between government forces and opposition groups and inter-communal violence have left nearly 60,000 of its citizens displaced in the eastern part of the country.

Age structure

0-14 years: 47.43% (male 4,050,505/female 3,954,413)

15-24 years: 19.77% (male 1,676,495/female 1,660,417)

25-54 years: 27.14% (male 2,208,181/female 2,371,490)

55-64 years: 3.24% (male 239,634/female 306,477)

65 years and over: 2.43% (male 176,658/female 233,087) (2020 est.)

Dependency ratios

total dependency ratio: 96

youth dependency ratio: 91.1

elderly dependency ratio: 4.9

potential support ratio: 20.4 (2020 est.)

Median age

total: 16.1 years

male: 15.6 years

female: 16.5 years (2020 est.)

Population growth rate

3.12% (2021 est.)

Birth rate

41.05 births/1,000 population (2021 est.)

Death rate

9.7 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.)

Net migration rate

-0.13 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 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

Urbanization

urban population: 23.8% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization: 4.1% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

total population growth rate v. urban population growth rate, 2000-2030

Major urban areas - population

1.476 million N'DJAMENA (capital) (2021)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.02 male(s)/female

15-24 years: 1.01 male(s)/female

25-54 years: 0.93 male(s)/female

55-64 years: 0.78 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female

total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2020 est.)

Mother's mean age at first birth

18.1 years (2014/15 est.)

note: median age at first birth among women 25-49

Maternal mortality rate

1,140 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)

Infant mortality rate

total: 67.02 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 72.83 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 60.97 deaths/1,000 live births (2021 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 58.73 years

male: 56.92 years

female: 60.6 years (2021 est.)

Total fertility rate

5.57 children born/woman (2021 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

8.1% (2019)

Drinking water source

improved: urban: 86.7% of population

rural: 46.6% of population

total: 55.7% of population

unimproved: urban: 13.3% of population

rural: 53.4% of population

total: 44.3% of population (2017 est.)

Current Health Expenditure

4.1% (2018)

Physicians density

0.04 physicians/1,000 population (2017)

Sanitation facility access

improved: urban: 56.5% of population

rural: 3.1% of population

total: 15.3% of population

unimproved: urban: 43.5% of population

rural: 96.9% of population

total: 84.7% of population (2017 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

1.1% (2020 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS

110,000 (2020 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths

3,000 (2020 est.)

Major infectious diseases

degree of risk: very high (2020)

food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases: malaria and dengue fever

water contact diseases: schistosomiasis

animal contact diseases: rabies

respiratory diseases: meningococcal meningitis

Obesity - adult prevalence rate

6.1% (2016)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

29.2% (2019)

Education expenditures

2.5% of GDP (2017)

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write French or Arabic

total population: 22.3%

male: 31.3%

female: 14% (2016)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

total: 7 years

male: 9 years

female: 6 years (2015)

Unemployment, youth ages 15-24

total: 1.5%

male: 2.4%

female: 0.7% (2018)

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.