Chad Population
Chad had an estimated population of 21,003,705 in mid-2025 (World Bank), making it the 63rd most populous of 217 countries and territories, with 0.26% of everyone alive. The counter above projects that figure forward at the current growth rate of +3.41% a year.
Chad at a glance
How Chad's population is changing
Chad's population is growing fast: +3.41% a year, which works out to about +716,671 people per year, or +1,962 a day. Births (43.3 per 1,000) and deaths (11.1 per 1,000) alone would give +3.22% a year; net migration removes about 123,104 people a year (−0.59%). Roughly one in every 391 people on Earth lives in Chad.
Population of Chad since 1960
In 1960, Chad had 3,049,838 people. By 2025 that was 21,003,705 — 6.9× larger. The fastest growth came between 1994 and 2004, when the population rose by 46%.
| Year | Population | Change vs previous row |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 3,049,838 | — |
| 1970 | 3,727,828 | +22.2% |
| 1980 | 4,515,453 | +21.1% |
| 1990 | 5,982,833 | +32.5% |
| 2000 | 8,512,093 | +42.3% |
| 2010 | 12,312,575 | +44.6% |
| 2020 | 17,224,679 | +39.9% |
| 2025 | 21,003,705 | +21.9% |
Chad from 1800 to 2100
Modelled estimates put Chad at about 1,432,000 people in 1800; the UN estimates 21,003,701 in 2025 (15× 1800) and projects 69,546,606 for 2100 in its medium scenario. That is still 231% growth over the rest of this century.
| Year | Population | Kind |
|---|---|---|
| 1800 | 1,432,000 | modelled estimate |
| 1850 | 1,783,856 | modelled estimate |
| 1900 | 1,797,125 | modelled estimate |
| 1950 | 2,525,457 | UN estimate |
| 2000 | 8,512,092 | UN estimate |
| 2025 | 21,003,701 | UN projection |
| 2050 | 38,857,686 | UN projection |
| 2075 | 57,185,790 | UN projection |
| 2100 | 69,546,606 | UN projection |
Country live/base figures use World Bank estimates; this historical/future chart uses a separate UN series and need not match the World Bank base in overlapping years. Before 1950: HYDE 3.3 / Gapminder reconstructions via Our World in Data — historical modelling, not censuses. 1950–2023: UN World Population Prospects 2024. 2024–2100: UN medium projection. Open the time machine to see the whole map in any year.
Largest listed places in Chad
10 records sorted by displayed base population. Definitions vary (province/administrative unit, UN urban centre or GeoNames settlement); this is not a harmonised city ranking. Shares use World Bank 2025 country population 21,003,705. Dates and boundaries may differ. Overlapping entities are not summed.
| # | Place | Population | Definition | Share | Source / reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | N'Djamena | 1,934,909 | UN urban centre | 9.21% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 2 | Abéché | 443,793 | UN urban centre | 2.11% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 3 | Moundou | 281,943 | UN urban centre | 1.34% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 4 | Sarh | 276,978 | UN urban centre | 1.32% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 5 | Mongo | 223,205 | UN urban centre | 1.06% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 6 | Am Timan | 212,167 | UN urban centre | 1.01% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 7 | Koumra | 181,741 | UN urban centre | 0.87% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 8 | Doba | 176,643 | UN urban centre | 0.84% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 9 | Pala | 154,504 | UN urban centre | 0.74% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 10 | Bongor | 146,543 | UN urban centre | 0.70% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
How Chad compares
Chad has almost the same population as Kazakhstan (20,843,754).
| Rank | Country | Population | vs Chad | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #61 |  Zambia | 21,913,874 | +4% | compare → |
| #62 |  Sri Lanka | 21,756,000 | +4% | compare → |
| #64 |  Kazakhstan | 20,843,754 | −1% | compare → |
| #65 |  Chile | 19,859,921 | −5% | compare → |
Compare Chad with any country →
Same region (Sub-Saharan Africa): Nigeria, Ethiopia, DR Congo, Tanzania, South Africa, Kenya.
Explore around Chad
Land neighbours (5)
Sudan 51,662,147 · 2.5× the population · compare
Cameroon 29,879,337 · 1.4× the population · compare
Niger 27,917,831 · 1.3× the population · compare
Libya 7,458,555 · 2.8× smaller · compare
Central African Republic 5,513,282 · 3.8× smaller · compare
Chad's 5 neighbours together hold 122,431,152 people — 5.8× Chad's population. The most populous is Sudan (51,662,147).
In its region
Chad is the 20th most populous of the 48 economies in Sub-Saharan Africa, holding 1.6% of the region's 1,321,654,217 people.
Rankings featuring Chad
- Fastest-growing countries #6
- Highest birth rates #2
- Highest fertility rates #1
- Youngest populations (share aged 0–14) #4
- Least densely populated countries #18
Cities
N'Djamena, Abéché, Moundou, Sarh, Mongo, Am Timan, Koumra, Doba — all Chad's cities on the map.
World population history · The world when you were born · Chad when you were born · Time machine · Embed this live counter on your site
About these numbers
Population, growth, birth and death rates, migration, density, age structure, life expectancy, fertility and GDP per capita come from the World Bank Indicators API (latest available year shown beside each figure). The live counter applies the annual growth rate continuously from 1 July 2025 — a model, not a measurement. City populations are the latest census or official estimate held by GeoNames and are not projected. Sub-city units are folded into their parent city.
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Read this country carefully
This page is a structured reference entry. Its sources, geographic definition and reference dates determine what the figures mean; it is not independent reporting about the causes of change. Read the accompanying explanation before comparing different places or vintages.