Chad
Chad is a landlocked country in north-central Africa. The capital is N'Djamena. With a population of about 17-million, Chad's economy is heavily dependent on oil exports, which account for the majority of government revenue, alongside agriculture and livestock herding. The currency is the CFA franc, shared with several other francophone African nations. Chad operates under a presidential republic system, though it has experienced prolonged periods of authoritarian rule and political instability. The country is a member of the African Union and the Economic Community of Central African States. Chad has significant strategic importance in the Sahel region, serving as a key partner in international counterterrorism efforts against militant groups operating across the Sahel and Lake Chad basin. The nation has maintained close historical ties with France, its former colonial power, though recent geopolitical shifts have seen growing interest from other international actors including Russia and China. Since independence in 1960, Chad has faced recurring internal conflicts, coups and cross-border tensions, alongside challenges related to poverty, food insecurity and climate change affecting the Lake Chad region.
Chad Updates
Central Africa’s shifting alliances between armies and armed groups
By: ISS, Institute for Security Studies 17th July 2026 State security forces, militias and vigilante groups increasingly overlap, making insecurity more profitable and conflict harder to resolve. Across... →
ICC official says breakthrough made in Darfur investigations
By: Reuters 9th July 2026 A "breakthrough" has been made in the investigation into crimes committed during Sudan's war in the Darfur region allowing prosecutors to link them... →
ISWAP’s next frontier: Darak in northern Cameroon
By: ISS, Institute for Security Studies 15th June 2026 Located on the borders of Cameroon, Nigeria and Chad, Darak is valuable to local and national economies – and to violent extremists. For over a... →
Crackdown on Chad’s opposition threatens a return to one-party rule
By: ISS, Institute for Security Studies 28th May 2026 Rather than learning from Chad’s history of coups and deadly conflicts, current leaders seem determined to repeat the cycle. Just two weeks after... →
100-million African children are not in school. What’s driving the trend and how to reverse it
14th May 2026 Many countries across Africa have embraced universal basic education policies in recent decades. But recent data has revealed that more than... →
African champions chart the way on the Global Compact for Migration
By: ISS, Institute for Security Studies 5th May 2026 Seventeen African nations are pioneering global migration management, but will others follow their lead? Over 80% of people migrating in Africa... →
Internet shutdowns won’t solve Central Africa’s political crises
By: ISS, Institute for Security Studies 28th April 2026 Silencing the internet during unrest buys governments time but corrodes the trust and economic foundations that stability requires. In Gabon,... →
Middle East conflict and aid drop push more African nations to IMF
By: Reuters 16th April 2026 The economic fallout from the Middle East war and a collapse in foreign aid are pushing more African countries to the International Monetary Fund,... →
Citi sees three sovereign debt defaults in Africa in coming two years
By: Reuters 16th April 2026 Senegal, Mozambique and Malawi could default on their debts in the next two years, Citi's Chief Africa Economist David Cowan said on Thursday, as... →
Africa is losing health workers when it can least afford to – a pattern rooted in colonial history
13th April 2026 Africa has a challenge to retain the health workers it needs. The World Health Organization estimates a global shortfall of 11-million health... →
