150 Cool Facts About Chad

150 Interesting Facts About Chad

• The official name of the country is the Republic of Chad.
• Chad has two official languages: French and Arabic.
• Chad has ample reserves of gold and uranium.
• Chad is also known as “The Babel Tower of the World.“
• The country was a part of France’s until 1960.
• The design of the flag of Chad was based on the flag of France.
• The goat and lion are the national symbols of Chad.
• The country has also seen three decades of civil war.
• The country is named after Lake Chad. Surprisingly, the lake is the largest wetland in Chad and the second largest in Africa.
• It is also the world’s seventeenth largest lake.
• The Central African Franc (XAF) is the currency of Chad. It was introduced in 1945.
• Chad, by land area is world’s 21st largest country.
• The country is also called “The Dead Heart of Africa” because of its closeness to the deserts.
• In terms of area, it is the fifth largest country in Africa.
• Islam arrived in the country in 1085. More than 200 ethnic groups reside in Chad.
• America is one of Chad’s largest investors.
• 1971 – the University of Chad was founded.
• Bili bili (millet beer) and fruit juices are Chad’s traditional drinks.
• Chad’s landlocked location results in high transportation costs for imported goods.
• Majority of Chad’s fuel is supplied by one local refinery.
• A $4 billion pipeline linking Chad’s oilfields to terminals on the Atlantic coast was completed in 2003.
• Idriss Deby is Chad’s current president. He assumed office for the first time in 1990.
• It is common in Chad for men to have more than one wife.
• Chad attained its independence from France on August 11th, 1960.
• The country’s terrain is that of a shallow basin that rises gradually from the Lake Chad area in the west and is rimmed by mountains to the north, east, and south.
• Emi Koussi a dormant volcano that reaches 3,445 meters (11,302 ft) above sea level. It is the highest point in both Chad and the Sahara.
• Chad has several regions: a desert zone in the north, an arid Sahelian belt in the center and a more fertile Sudanian Savanna zone in the south.
• The Saharan Desert region covers roughly the northern third of Chad.
• Lakes of Ounianga are a series of lakes in the Sahara Desert, in North-Eastern Chad, occupying a basin in the mountains of West Tibesti and Ennedi East. It was added as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2012.
• The Guelta d’Archei is probably the most famous guelta in the Sahara. It is located in the Ennedi Plateau, in north-eastern Chad, south-east of the town of Fada. The Guelta d’Archei is inhabited by several kinds of animals, most notably the Nile crocodile. Caravans come at the Guelta d’Archei to replenish water supplies, wash and rest.
• The country (historically, the area surrounding Lake Chad) has been inhabited since at least 500 B.C.
• The Chadian and Libyan conflict took place between 1978 and 1987.
• People of Chad use Kakaki, a long metal trumpet in traditional ceremonial music. The instrument signifies power and is always played by men.
• The Sahara Desert covers much of northern Chad and occupies roughly 1/3rd of the country’s total area.
• Grains including millet, sorghum, and rice are staple foods of Chad.
• The country has seen long-lasting conflicts between Muslims and Christians.
• The Tibesti Mountains are home to some of the best camel racing in the world.
• Did you know?
• It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest and Niger to the west.
• As of 1 January 2017, the population of Chad was estimated to be 14,739,485 people.
• It is the 20th largest country in the world (and the fifth largest country in Africa) in terms of land area with 1,284,000 square kilometers (496,000 square miles).
• Chad takes its name from Lake Chad, which lies along the country’s western border. The word “tsade” means “large body of water” or “lake” in several local native languages.
• Lake Chad has shrunk by 90% since the 1960s, due to climate change, an increase in the population and unplanned irrigation. It is a vital source of water for 20 to 30 million people in the region.
•  Chad is the only country in the world whose name is composed of a single syllable with a single vowel.
• The UNESCO-listed Ennedi Massif: Natural and Cultural Landscape is a mountainous region home to unique natural sandstone formations and rock art dating back 7,000 years.
• The site is also home to a population of desert-adapted West African crocodiles, herds of Barbary sheep, as many as 525 plant species and at least 180 bird species.
• According to the UK Foreign Office, Chad is one of 17 countries deemed to be entirely unsafe for tourists to visit.
• More than 100 different languages and dialects are spoken in Chad. Additionally, one of its official languages, Arabic, is also spoken in various forms.
• Zakouma National Park in Chad is home to the “Big Five” game animals of rhino, lion, leopard, elephant and buffalo. Rhinos were introduced to the park in 2018, making Zakouma the closest “Big Five” destination to Europe.
• In 2002, French scientists discovered a human skull thought to be 6-7 million years old. Named Toumaï, it is believed to be the oldest fossil from a member of the human family.
• In 2020, Chad was named the world’s hungriest country, one of three countries suffering from alarming levels of hunger.
• The best time to visit the Lake Chad is between August and December. During this time, the water level in the lake is at its highest and visitors have a chance of sighting a crocodile or hippo.
• The Ounianga Lakes in northern Chad. Image credit – David Stanley
• The only television station in the country—Tele-Tchad—is state owned. Radio is the main source of media coverage.
• There were more than 250,000 Sudanese refugees in Chad during 2011, as estimated by the UN.
• Sadly, Chad is one of the poorest and most corrupt countries in the world.
• Crude oil has been the primary source of the country’s economy since 2003. Earlier, cotton played a significant role in bringing wealth to the nation.
• Chad is home to some of the most important African Archaeological sites dating back earlier than 200 BC. These sites are mainly in the Borkou-Ennedi-Tibesti Region.
• More than two thirds of young women will have been married in Chad before they turn 18.
• The people of Chad are called Chadian.
• The country’s highest peak – Emi Koussi, at 3,415 meters – lies in northern Chad.
• Zakouma National Park is Chad’s first national park and has been nominated by the Chadian government to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• The Nile perch, one of the largest freshwater fish, is native to Lake Chad. It can reach a maximum length of up to 2 meters and weigh up to 200 kg.
• Albert Pahimi Padacké became the Prime Minister of Chad on February 15th, 2016.
• About 87% of Chad’s rural population lives below the poverty line. 
• There were more than 400,000 severely food-insecure people living in the rural regions of Chad in 2015.
• In the 7th millennium BC, ecological conditions in the northern half of Chadian territory favored human settlement, and the region experienced a strong population increase.
• Some of the most important African archaeological sites are found in Chad, mainly in the Borkou-Ennedi-Tibesti Region; some date to earlier than 2000 BC.
• The Sao fell to the Kanem Empire, the first and longest-lasting of the empires that developed in Chad’s Sahelian strip by the end of the 1st millennium AD.
• Two other states in the region, Baguirmi and Wadai Empire emerged in the 16th and 17th centuries.
• N’Djamena is the capital and largest city of Chad. It was founded as Fort-Lamy by French commander Émile Gentil on May 29, 1900, and named after Amédée-François Lamy, an army officer who had been killed in the Battle of Kousséri a few days earlier.
• Lake Chad is located in the sahelian zone, a region just south of the Sahara Desert. It was the seventh largest lake in the world and the fourth largest in Africa. It has shrunk dramatically during the last few decades and is now down to less than 10 percent of its former size, due to increased water use and low rainfall. The country is named after this lake.
• Since independence, Chad has been plagued by instability and war, which principally stems from tensions between the largely Arab-Muslim north and the predominantly Christian and animist south.
• Chad is rich in gold and uranium and is an oil-exporting country, but suffers from poor infrastructure, bouts of internal conflict and severe poverty.
• As such, Chad is one of the world’s least developed countries. In 2020, it was ranked as the third-least developed nation in the UN’s Human Development Index (HDI).
• Chad has one of the world’s lowest life expectancies. As of 2020, it had the third-lowest life expectancy at just 54.0 years.
• Chad is the largest of the 16 landlocked countries in Africa. It is also the 21st largest nation in the world. The other fifteen landlocked countries in Africa are: Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Botswana, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Malawi, Mali, Niger, Rwanda, Swaziland, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Zambia and South Sudan (newly established).
• The country has never been able to make it to the FIFA World Championships. However, they have had some popular soccer players.
• For every 23,600 people in Chad, there is only one Chadian doctor available.
• Chad has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world. 1,100 mothers die per 100,000 births.
• The lake has drastically reduced in size in recent times. In the 1960s, it covered an area of 25,000 square kilometers, which has reduced to 1,350 kilometers today.
• The lake is an important source of water for millions of people in the four (Niger, Chad, Cameroon, and Nigeria.) neighboring countries. The lake was once the center of Africa’s lucrative salt trade.
• Lakes of Ounianga are a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Chad. The Lakes of Ounianga comprises a total of 18 lakes. These lakes feature different colors (blue, green, red) that vary due to the differences in their chemical compositions.
• Presently, Chad is home to at least 20,000 Nigerian refugees, 100,000 Central African Republic refugees and 360,000 Sudanese refugees.
• Only 1/3rd of the country’s adult population is literate. 
• UNICEF estimates that 147,000 children in Chad currently suffer from Severe Acute Malnutrition.
• Chad is located in Central Africa and is bordered by Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Libya, Niger, Nigeria and Sudan.
• Chad and the surrounding region has been inhabited for approximately 9,000 years, since around 7000 BC.
• Chad is a landlocked country: a country surrounded by land with no access to the sea. There are currently 45 such countries and five partially recognised states. Generally, landlocked countries suffer economically due to the drawbacks caused by a lack of access to the sea.
• Chad is the largest of Africa’s 16 landlocked countries.
• By total surface area, Chad is Africa’s fifth-largest country and the world’s 20th largest.
• Chad was colonised by France during the early 20th century and became a colony within French Equatorial Africa in 1913.
• Chad gained independence from France in 1960 with Francois (later Ngarta) Tombalbaye as president.
• Parts of Chad made up the Kanem Empire (c.700-1380) and its successor the Bornu Empire (1380s-1893).
• Chad’s flag is vertically striped with the colours blue, yellow and red. The blue stripe is said to stand for hope and the sky, yellow is for the sun and red is for the unity of the nation.
• Chad’s flag is almost identical to that of Romania’s. The only difference is that Romania’s has a darker shade of blue. Chad’s is also similar to Andorra’s and Moldova’s, both of which have a national coat of arms centred in the yellow stripe.
• Chad has one of the world’s highest fertility rates. In 2020, Chad had the fifth-highest fertility rate of 5.7 children per woman.
• Chad is part-home to the world’s largest hot desert (excluding the Arctic and Antarctic deserts). The Sahara Desert, with a total area of 8,600,000sq km (3,320,000sq mi), covers much of North Africa.
• The UNESCO-listed Lakes of Ounianga are a series of 18 lakes in the Sahara Desert of Chad that survive despite receiving less than 2mm rainfall per year.
• Chad is home to the Gerewol festival, a beauty pageant where the men of a polygamous tribe called the Wodaabe battle it out to be selected as partners by unmarried women.
• Aloba Arch is the name of a natural arch located in Chad. Large natural arches are somewhat rare outside the southern and western regions of China and the Colorado Plateau of the southwest United States. Aloba Arch’s span is considered to be the 8th longest known natural arch, and the longest outside of China and Utah. Due in part to its location as well as being only recently recognized for its size, estimates based on photography yield an approximate span of 76.2 meters (250 feet).
• Chad is home to about 134 species of mammals, 509 species of birds (354 species of residents and 155 migrants), and over 1,600 species of plants.
• Chad has 4 national parks and 18 other protected areas.
• Since 2003 crude oil has become the country’s primary source of export earnings, superseding the traditional cotton industry.
• The design of the flag of Chad is the same as that of the flag of Romania, although with a darker blue.
• Zakouma National Park is found in the south of Chad. Created in 1963, it was Chad’s first national park, and has an area of almost 3,000 square kilometres (1,200 sq mi). The park has witnessed a significant reduction in the number of wildlife, especially elephants that were hunted for their ivory. Currently, the park is under the protection of armed guards who protect it mainly from the Sudanese hunters. The fauna of the Park includes 44 species of large mammals, and many species of birds.
• France conquered the territory by 1920 and incorporated it as part of French Equatorial Africa.
• In 1960, Chad obtained independence under the leadership of François Tombalbaye.
• Since independence, Chad has suffered instability and violence, stemming mostly from tensions between the mainly Arab-Muslim north and the predominantly Christian and animist south.
• Chad is one of the poorest and most corrupt countries in the world; most inhabitants live in poverty as subsistence herders and farmers.

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