Location:
Central Africa, south of Libya
Geographic coordinates:
15 00 N, 19 00 E
Map references:
Africa
Area: Area - comparative: Land boundaries: Coastline: Maritime claims: Climate: Terrain: Elevation: Natural resources: Land use: Irrigated land: Population - distribution: Natural hazards: Environment - current issues: Environment - international agreements: Geography - note:
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: 22
almost nine times the size of New York state; slightly more than three times the size of California
total: 6,406 km
[see also: Land boundaries - total country ranks ]
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
0 km (landlocked)
[see also: Coastline country ranks ]
none (landlocked)
tropical in south, desert in north
More Climate Details
broad, arid plains in center, desert in north, mountains in northwest, lowlands in south
mean elevation: 543 m
[see also: Elevation - mean elevation country ranks ]
elevation extremes: lowest point: Djourab 160 m
highest point: Emi Koussi 3,445 m
petroleum, uranium, natron, kaolin, fish (Lake Chad), gold, limestone, sand and gravel, salt
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 ]
300 sq km (2012)
[see also: Irrigated land country ranks ]
the population is unevenly distributed due to contrasts in climate and physical geography; the highest density is found in the southwest, particularly around Lake Chad and points south; the dry Saharan zone to the north is the least densely populated
hot, dry, dusty harmattan winds occur in north; periodic droughts; locust plagues
inadequate supplies of potable water; improper waste disposal in rural areas contributes to soil and water pollution; desertification
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping
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