Chad Environment - 2023

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Environment - current issues

inadequate supplies of potable water; improper waste disposal in rural areas and poor farming practices contribute to soil and water pollution; desertification

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

Climate

tropical in south, desert in north

Land use

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.)

Urbanization

urban population: 24.4% of total population (2023)

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

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

Food insecurity

widespread lack of access: due to civil insecurity and shortfall in cereal production - according to the latest analysis, about 1.86 million people are projected to experience acute food insecurity during the June to August 2023 lean season period; this would be an improvement compared to the previous year, mostly due to the higher year-on-year cereal output in 2022 after the below average 2021 production; acute food insecurity is underpinned by persisting insecurity in the Lac and Tibesti regions, which had displaced over 380 000 people by April 2023; furthermore, elevated food prices due to high fuel costs and localized crop losses during the 2022 floods are aggravating food insecurity (2023)

Revenue from forest resources

3.81% of GDP (2018 est.)

Revenue from coal

0% of GDP (2018 est.)

Air pollutants

particulate matter emissions: 53.01 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions: 1.02 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions: 30.69 megatons (2020 est.)

Waste and recycling

municipal solid waste generated annually: 1,358,851 tons (2010 est.)

Major lakes (area sq km)

fresh water lake(s): Lake Chad (endorheic lake shared with Niger, Nigeria, and Cameroon) - 10,360-25,900 sq km
note - area varies by season and year to year

Major watersheds (area sq km)

Atlantic Ocean drainage: Niger (2,261,741 sq km)
Internal (endorheic basin) drainage: Lake Chad (2,497,738 sq km)

Major aquifers

Lake Chad Basin, Nubian Aquifer System

Total water withdrawal

municipal: 100 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

industrial: 100 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

agricultural: 670 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

Total renewable water resources

45.7 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

NOTE: The information regarding Chad on this page is re-published from the 2023 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Chad 2023 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Chad 2023 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.