55 Interesting Facts About Chad: History, Flag, Map & More

Located in north-central Africa, the Republic of Chad is the fifth largest country in Africa, bordered by land on all sides.

The capital of Chad is N’Djamena, a city that is also the headquarters of the Lake Chad Basin Commission. There are two official languages in Chad, Modern Standard Arabic and French, but more than 100 languages are spoken in the country.

Being a landlocked country, Chad is bordered by Sudan in the east, Nigeria and Cameroon in the southwest, Libya in the north, Niger in the west, and the Central African Republic in the south. It is named after Lake Chad, the second-largest African lake, which has reduced in size by 95% since 1963.

The freshwater lake is one of the major tourist attractions in one of the most poverty-stricken and politically corrupt countries.

Nearly one-third of the total area of Chad is occupied by the Sahara Desert, the world’s largest hot desert.

Forbes ranked this country as the seventh poorest in 2008. Although Chad has quite large reserves of uranium and gold, the corruption in the nation has ensured that the mining industry does not receive as much attention as needed.

If you liked this article on facts about Chad, be sure to check out interesting facts about Bhutan and interesting facts about Kuwait.

Chad Culture Facts

Chad has two national symbols, the lion and the goat. The lion symbolizes the southern part of the country, while the goat is representative of northern Chad.

These symbols can be seen on the coat of arms where you can see them on opposite sides, separated by a blue and yellow shield with a red sun rising above it. The national motto of Chad is 'Unité, Travail, Progrès' which can be translated into Unity, Work, and Progress.

Due to its linguistic and cultural diversity, Chad is called the 'Babel Tower of the Modern World'. The country has more than two hundred ethnic groups.

More than a hundred languages are spoken in Chad. Although Modern Standard Arabic and French are the official languages, a large chunk of the population can speak more than two languages.

The local people use a special musical instrument called the kakari when a traditional ceremony takes place. The long metal trumpet is symbolic of power, and anyone who can master the instrument is automatically respected in society.

The flag of Chad is similar to that of Romania, but it has a lighter shade of blue compared to Romania’s. Chad’s flag contains vertical stripes of three colors—red, yellow, and blue.

The red stands for the unity of the country, the yellow stands for the sun, and the blue symbolizes hope and rejuvenation. Since Chad was a French colony till 1960, the Chad flag was designed based on the flag of France.

Chad Food Facts

The staple food of Chad consists of various grains such as millet and sorghum. Almost all people have a daily dish that is made up of grains. Boule, made from millet or sorghum, is a popular dish in the nation. It bears a resemblance to porridge.

A huge part of the population takes an active part in subsistence farming, and this is the reason grains form the staple food of Chad. The semi-arid nature of the field allows for subsistence farming.

The cuisine of Chad has evolved from the traditional cooking practices that take place in the Sahara region. Near Lake Chad in the northern part of Chad, people regularly consume fish such as Nile perch and tilapia. As you move downwards, you are more likely to find meat dishes made of chicken and mutton being served.

The use of spices is greater in the south than in the north. Also, the legal drinking age in the country is 18 years.

What is Chad famous for?

Living in the Tibesti Mountains, the Toubou tribe of people has some of the world's best camel racers. Sometimes competitions are held to crown the village champions. People come from all over the world to the Tibesti Mountains to take part in camel racing. The name Tibesti has the meaning ‘the place where mountain people live.’

Chad is one of the most corrupt countries and one of the poorest nations in the world. Due to this corruption, a large part of the population lives below the poverty line.

Despite having ample reserves of uranium and gold, Chad suffers from internal conflict and poor infrastructure. Lack of access to water bodies causes landlocked countries to further suffer economically.

Since 2003, crude oil has been the main source of the economy for Chad. Before that, cotton brought wealth to the country. The billions of dollars made from the crude oil industry are used to purchase weapons instead of being used for investment in the country.

The country ranked third from the bottom in the United Nations’ HDI (Human Development Index) in 2020. It is one of the least developed nations in the world.

Chad has given the world some popular football players like Leger Djime and Yaya Karim, but the nation has never been able to qualify for the FIFA World Championships.

The poor state of the country can be attributed to the grim, but an interesting fact is that there is only one doctor in Chad for every 23,600 people.

The country has three climatic regions. The Sahara Desert covers a third of the area in the north. It is the largest desert in Africa with extremely high temperatures and very low population density.

The central region of the country is covered by the Sahel belt. This is a place of transition between tropical and desert climates. The south part of Chad is a tropical climate area where farmers grow their crops and the population is higher than in the Sahara Desert.

The terrain of Chad is that of a shallow basin that rises from the Lake Chad region in the west and is bordered by mountains in the other three directions.

Historical Facts About Chad

The history of Chad tells us why, despite having vast reserves of natural resources, the country's economy has suffered so much.

During the early 20th century, France colonized Chad, which came under French Equatorial Africa in the year 1913. The nation gained independence in 1960 when François Tombalbaye took the mantle of leadership.

He became the president of the nation. The nation of Chad has been plagued by war and instability ever since it became independent. The wars arose mainly due to tensions between the largely Christian and animist south and the predominantly Arab-Muslim in the north.

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