Basic Information About Chad:

Population: The population of the Republic of Chad is 14,687,514.

GDP:  $29.5 billion (2016)

Climate: Chad usually has a hot and tropical climate.  The southern rainy season runs May-October and the central rains from June-September. The north has very little rain all year. The dry season is often windy, and cooler during the evenings.

People: There are over 200 ethnic groups in Chad.  The country lies at ethnic crossroads where the Arab Africans and black Africans meet. The Arabs and their sub groups ARE dominant in the north of the country and the south has a majority of black Africans who are of the Pagan or Kirdi tribes. The Arab Africans are desert dwelling and acclimatized to living in hot and dry conditions. Most of them are Muslim. The southern black Africans are peasant farmers tilling fertile land, forever reliant on the rains, are mostly Christian or Animist. They are in the majority and hold most of the government and civil service posts. The people of Chad are friendly and relaxed but deeply respect their traditional beliefs and customs and expect you to do the same. Dress is informal but conservative in Muslim areas. Women are strictly segregated in respect to Muslim laws. It is suggested that as a gesture of respect you do not use the left hand to offer or accept anything. 

Religion: Muslims are largely concentrated in northern and eastern Chad, and animists and Christians live primarily in southern Chad and Guéra. Islam was brought in the course of the Muslim conquest of the Sudan region, in the case of Chad complete in the 11th century with the conversion of the Kanem-Bornu Empire.

Capital: Most residents of Chad live in the capital city, N’Djamena, or the Logone Occidental Region just south of the capital.

Language: Chad has two official languages, French and Modern Standard Arabic, and over 120 indigenous languages. A vernacular version of Arabic, Chadian Arabic, is the lingua franca.

Currency: The currency used in Chad is called the Central African CFA Franc.

Time Zone: UTC+01:00