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:
none (landlocked)
Climate: Terrain: Elevation extremes:
Natural resources: Land use:
Irrigated land: Total renewable water resources: Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
Natural hazards: Environment - current issues: Environment - international agreements:
Geography - note:
total:
1.284 million sq km
country comparison to the world: 21
land:
1,259,200 sq km
water:
24,800 sq km
slightly more than three times the size of California
total:
6,406 km
border countries:
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 ]
0 km (landlocked)
[see also: Coastline country ranks ]
tropical in south, desert in north
More Climate Details
broad, arid plains in center, desert in north, mountains in northwest, lowlands in south
lowest point:
Djourab 160 m
highest point:
Emi Koussi 3,415 m
petroleum, uranium, natron, kaolin, fish (Lake Chad), gold, limestone, sand and gravel, salt
arable land:
3.82%
permanent crops:
0.02%
other:
96.16% (2011)
302.7 sq km (2003)
[see also: Irrigated land country ranks ]
43 cu km (2011)
[see also: Total renewable water resources country ranks ]
total:
0.88 cu km/yr (12%/12%/76%)
per capita:
84.81 cu m/yr (2005)
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 largest of Africa's 16 landlocked countries
note 2:
not long ago - geologically speaking - what is today the Sahara was green savanah 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), i.e., roughly the size of today's Caspian Sea