Location:
Central Africa, south of Libya

Geographic coordinates:
15 00 N, 19 00 E

Map references:
Africa

Area:
total: 1.284 million sq km
[see also: Area - total country ranks ]
land: 1,259,200 sq km
[see also: Area - land country ranks ]
water: 24,800 sq km
[see also: Area - water country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 21

Area - comparative:
slightly more than three times the size of California

Land boundaries:
total: 6,406 km
border countries (6): Cameroon 1,116 km, Central African Republic 1,556 km, Libya 1,050 km, Niger 1,196 km, Nigeria 85 km, Sudan 1,403 km
[see also: Land boundaries country ranks ]

Coastline:
0 km (landlocked)
[see also: Coastline country ranks ]

Maritime claims:
none (landlocked)

Climate:
tropical in south, desert in north

Terrain:
broad, arid plains in center, desert in north, mountains in northwest, lowlands in south

Elevation:
mean elevation:
[see also: Mean Elevation country ranks ]
elevation extremes:
lowest point: Djourab 160 m
highest point: Emi Koussi 3,415 m

Natural resources:
petroleum, uranium, natron, kaolin, fish (Lake Chad), gold, limestone, sand and gravel, salt

Land use:
agricultural land: 39.6% arable land 3.9%; permanent crops 0%; permanent pasture 35.7%
[see also: Land use - agricultural land country ranks ]
forest: 9.1%
[see also: Land use - forest country ranks ]
other: 51.3% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - other country ranks ]

Irrigated land:
300 sq km (2012)
[see also: Irrigated land country ranks ]

Total renewable water resources:
43 cu km (2011)
[see also: Total renewable water resources country ranks ]

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
total: 0.88 cu km/yr (12%/12%/76%)
per capita: 84.81 cu m/yr (2005)

Natural hazards:
hot, dry, dusty harmattan winds occur in north; periodic droughts; locust plagues

Environment - current issues:
inadequate supplies of potable water; improper waste disposal in rural areas contributes to soil and water pollution; desertification

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping

Geography - note:
note 1: Chad is the largest of Africa's 16 landlocked countries
note 2: not long ago - geologically speaking - what is today the Sahara was green savannah teeming with wildlife; during the African Humid Period, roughly 11,000 to 5,000 years ago, a vibrant animal community, including elephants, giraffes, hippos, and antelope lived there; the last remnant of the "Green Sahara" exists in the Lakes of Ounianga (oo-nee-ahn-ga) in northern Chad, a series of 18 interconnected freshwater, saline, and hypersaline lakes now protected as a World Heritage site
note 3: Lake Chad, the most significant water body in the Sahel, is a remnant of a former inland sea, paleolake Mega-Chad; at its greatest extent, sometime before 5000 B.C., Lake Mega-Chad was the largest of four Saharan paleolakes that existed during the African Humid Period; it covered an area of about 400,000 sq km (150,000 sq mi), roughly the size of today's Caspian Sea