8 Billion Lives
Be born

Where you could be born / Africa / Middle Africa

Born in Chad

About 1 in 161 people born in 2023 started life in Chad. A boy can expect to live 53 years and a girl 57, up from 33 and 37 in 1950. Fewer than half of people live in cities, and 52% have basic drinking water.

1 in 161
odds of being born here
819,100 births · Ranked 37th of 230
53 / 57
years of life, boys / girls
Was 33 / 37 in 1950
$1,660
income per person a year
2021 dollars · Ranked 182nd of 203 · extrapolated
26%
live in a city
Most live in villages

Life and health

Life lasts about 20 years longer than in 1950. Child deaths fell from 332 in every 1,000 births to 100.

How long a life lasts

GirlsBoys

0204060195019852023

Years a baby born that year could expect to live.

Children who die before age 5
0100200300400195019852023

In every 1,000 births.

Life expectancy at birth53.2 years for boys, 57.0 for girlsUN WPP 2024
Children who die before age 599.7 in every 1,000 birthsUN WPP 2024
Deaths a year213,000UN WPP 2024
Doctors per 1,000 people0.1World Bank WDI
Children immunized against measles63%World Bank WDI
Adults living with HIV1.0%World Bank WDI
New tuberculosis cases a year120 per 100,000 peopleWorld Bank WDI
Malaria cases a year205 per 1,000 people at riskWorld Bank WDI

Family

Women had 6.1 children on average in 1950. Now it is 6.1.

Children per woman
02468195019852023

Average over a lifetime.

Children per woman6.12UN WPP 2024
Average age of mothers at birth29.2 yearsUN WPP 2024

Money and work

If every 100 coins of income were shared out, the richest fifth would hold 45 and the poorest fifth 7.

Who gets the income
Share of all income by fifth of the population, 2022
7%Poorest fifth
11%Second
16%Middle
21%Fourth
45%Richest fifth
Income per personabout $1,660 a year (2021 dollars, adjusted for prices)World Bank PIP, scaled between survey years Extrapolated
Share of income going to the richest fifth / poorest fifth45% / 7% (2022)World Bank PIP
Unemployment1.1% of the workforce (2023)World Bank WDI
Price rises10.8% a year (2023)World Bank WDI
Growth in output per person-0.7% (2023)World Bank WDI
Jobs in farming72% of jobsWorld Bank WDI
Self-employed92% of jobs (2025)World Bank WDI
Secondary school enrolment24% (can pass 100 when older students are counted)World Bank WDI

Daily life

The largest city is N'Djamena, with 1.4 million people.

26%
live in cities
12%
have electricity at home
52%
have basic drinking water
Largest cities
People living there
N'Djamena1.4 million
Moundou196,124
Abéché139,983
Sarh138,928
Kelo82,677
Languages
Share of people who can use each
Arabic17%
French13%
Arabic, French is official.

Cities and regions

Every state, province and large city with a page.

Largest regions

N’Djaména1.4 million
Logone Occidental213,409
Tandjilé175,292
Ouadaï161,933
Moyen-Chari161,734
Mayo-Kebbi Est148,429
Logone Oriental142,167
Mayo-Kebbi Ouest120,530
Guéra111,578
Mandoul108,505

Sourced: GeoNames Population of each state, province or region.

Large cities

Sourced: GeoNames Cities with a page: a million people or more.

All 22 regions
  • N’Djaména1.4 million
  • Logone Occidental213,409
  • Tandjilé175,292
  • Ouadaï161,933
  • Moyen-Chari161,734
  • Mayo-Kebbi Est148,429
  • Logone Oriental142,167
  • Mayo-Kebbi Ouest120,530
  • Guéra111,578
  • Mandoul108,505
  • Hadjer-Lamis94,440
  • Wadi Fira81,512
  • Salamat74,691
  • Batha67,808
  • Sila58,941
  • Chari-Baguirmi54,709
  • Lac51,389
  • Kanem50,681
  • Borkou44,011
  • Barh el Gazel35,100
  • Ennedi-Est29,793
  • Ennedi-Ouest17,240

People on the move

About 1.4% as many people born here live abroad as live here. The most common destinations are Sudan, Nigeria, Cameroon.

Where people born here live abroad
By country of residence, 2024
Sudan179,139
Nigeria33,524
Cameroon30,917
Residents born abroad6.3% (2024)World Bank WDI
People born here who live abroadequal to 1.4% of the people who live hereUN DESA migrant stock
Where they go mostSudan (179,139), Nigeria (33,524), Cameroon (30,917)UN DESA migrant stock
Money sent home from abroadabout $724,057 a year (1994)World Bank WDI

Safety nets

6% of older people receive a pension. Help for someone who loses a job reaches 0%.

6%
of older people receive a pension (2022)
0%
of unemployed people receive a benefit (2022)

Events in the data

The game draws real events from these records, so a life lived here can meet them.

Reported COVID-19 deaths, 2020 to 2024194Our World in Data, from WHO
Deaths in organized violence11,403 between 1989 and 2024UCDP

Now live it.

Born in Chad, to a family drawn from these numbers. Every life replays exactly from its seed.

Be born in Chad

Elsewhere in Africa

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How to read the sources. Every figure is sourced to a named dataset, shown beside it. A figure marked "Extrapolated" is estimated by a model because no survey covers the year. UN figures are for 2023, the latest year of UN estimates; other figures are the latest year their dataset has. Rank 1 is the highest figure among 230 countries and territories. All sources and licences