Editing Chad (section)

== Demographics ==

{{main|Demographics of Chad}}
[[File:Well of the Young Girls in the Ennedi Mountains - northeastern Chad 2015.jpg|thumb|[[Toubou people|Toubou]] nomads in the [[Ennedi Plateau|Ennedi Mountains]] ]]
Chad's national statistical agency projected the country's 2015 population between 13,630,252 and 13,679,203, with 13,670,084 as its medium projection; based on the medium projection, 3,212,470 people lived in urban areas and 10,457,614 people lived in rural areas.<ref name="INSEEDproj">{{Cite report |date=July 2014 |title=Projections demographiques 2009–2050 Tome 1: Niveau national |language=fr |url=http://www.inseedtchad.com/IMG/pdf/projections_demographiques_nationales.pdf |publisher=INSEED |page=7 |access-date=18 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222154146/http://www.inseedtchad.com/IMG/pdf/projections_demographiques_nationales.pdf |archive-date=22 December 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The country's population is young: an estimated 47% is under 15. The birth rate is estimated at 42.35 births per 1,000 people, and the mortality rate at 16.69. The life expectancy is 52 years.<ref>"[http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.LE00.IN Life expectancy at birth, total (years)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010232815/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.LE00.IN |date=10 October 2017 }}". October 2016. [[World Bank]]</ref> The agency assessed the population as at mid 2017 at 15,775,400, of whom just over 1.5 million were in N'Djaména.

Chad's population is unevenly distributed. Density is {{convert|0.1|/km2|abbr=on}} in the Saharan [[Borkou-Ennedi-Tibesti Region]] but {{convert|52.4|/km2|abbr=on}} in the [[Logone Occidental Region]]. In the capital, it is even higher.<ref name="UNHCHR"/> About half of the nation's population lives in the southern fifth of its territory, making this the most densely populated region.<ref>"[http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNADE389.pdf Chad Livelihood Profiles] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120504133937/http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNADE389.pdf |date=4 May 2012 }}" (PDF). March 2005. [[United States Agency for International Development]].</ref>

Urban life is concentrated in the capital, whose population is mostly engaged in commerce. The other major towns are [[Sarh]], [[Moundou]], [[Abéché]] and [[Doba, Chad|Doba]], which are considerably smaller but growing rapidly in population and economic activity.<ref name="EB"/> Since 2003, 230,000 [[Sudanese refugees in Chad|Sudanese refugees]] have fled to eastern Chad from war-ridden Darfur. With the 172,600 Chadians displaced by the civil war in the east, this has generated increased tensions among the region's communities.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://ec.europa.eu/echo/files/funding/decisions/2008/chad_gp_01000_en.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://ec.europa.eu/echo/files/funding/decisions/2008/chad_gp_01000_en.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live | title=COMMISSION DECISION of on the financing of a Global Plan for humanitarian operations from the budget of the European Union in CHAD | publisher=European Commission | year=2008}}</ref><ref>"[http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/fullMaps_Af.nsf/luFullMap/387875A9DF1816A78525725F005D5397/$File/chad_final.pdf?OpenElement Chad: Humanitarian Profile – 2006/2007] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070714031528/http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/fullMaps_Af.nsf/luFullMap/387875A9DF1816A78525725F005D5397/$File/chad_final.pdf?OpenElement |date=14 July 2007 }}" (PDF). 8 January 2007. [[Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs]].</ref>

[[Polygamy]] is common, with 39% of women living in such unions. This is sanctioned by law, which automatically permits polygamy unless spouses specify that this is unacceptable upon marriage.<ref>"[http://www.reproductiverights.org/pdf/chad.pdf Chad] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070614080601/http://www.reproductiverights.org/pdf/chad.pdf |date=14 June 2007 }}" (PDF). ''Women of the World: Laws and Policies Affecting Their Reproductive Lives – Francophone Africa''. [[Center for Reproductive Rights]]. 2000</ref> Although violence against women is prohibited, domestic violence is common. [[Female genital cutting|Female genital mutilation]] is also prohibited, but the practice is widespread and deeply rooted in tradition; 45% of Chadian women undergo the procedure, with the highest rates among [[Arab]]s, [[Hadjarai]], and Ouaddaians (90% or more). Lower percentages were reported among the [[Sara people|Sara]] (38%) and the [[Toubou]] (2%). Women lack equal opportunities in education and training, making it difficult for them to compete for the relatively few formal-sector jobs. Although property and inheritance laws based on the French code do not discriminate against women, local leaders adjudicate most inheritance cases in favour of men, according to traditional practice.<ref name="HRP"/>

===Largest cities, towns, and municipalities===
{| class="wikitable"  
|+ Cities of Chad
! rowspan="2"|Rank || rowspan="2"| City || colspan="2"| Population || rowspan="2"| Region
|- 
! 1993 Census<ref name="auto">{{cite web |url=http://www.inseed-td.net/index.php/blog-with-right-sidebar/document/send/7-documents-et-publications-demographique/20-indicateurs-globaux-issus-du-rgph2-97-dg-94-couleur-28mp-22 |title=INSEED-TCHAD – Document |publisher=Inseed-td.net |date=24 April 2018 |access-date=24 May 2020 |archive-date=28 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191228022216/http://www.inseed-td.net/index.php/blog-with-right-sidebar/document/send/7-documents-et-publications-demographique/20-indicateurs-globaux-issus-du-rgph2-97-dg-94-couleur-28mp-22 |url-status=dead }}</ref> || 2009 Census<ref name="auto"/>
|-
|align=right | 1. || [[N'Djamena]] || align=right | 530,965 || align=right | 951,418 || [[N'Djamena]]
|-
|align=right | 2. || [[Moundou]] || align=right | 99,530 || align=right | 137,251 || [[Logone Occidental (region)|Logone Occidental]]
|-
|align=right | 3. || [[Abéché]] || align=right | 54,628 || align=right | 97,963 || [[Ouaddaï Region|Ouaddaï]]
|-
|align=right | 4. || [[Sarh]] || align=right | 75,496 || align=right | 97,224 || [[Moyen-Chari Region|Moyen-Chari]]
|-
|align=right | 5. || [[Kélo]] || align=right | 31,319 || align=right | 57,859 || [[Tandjilé Region|Tandjilé]]
|-
|align=right | 6. || [[Am Timan]] || align=right | 21,269 || align=right | 52,270 || [[Salamat Region|Salamat]]
|-
|align=right | 7. || [[Doba, Chad|Doba]] || align=right | 17,920 || align=right | 49,647 || [[Logone Oriental Region|Logone Oriental]]
|-
|align=right | 8. || [[Pala, Chad|Pala]] || align=right | 26,116 || align=right | 49,461 || [[Mayo-Kebbi Ouest]]
|-
|align=right | 9. || [[Bongor]] || align=right | 20,448 || align=right | 44,578 || [[Mayo-Kebbi Est]]
|-
|align=right | 10. || [[Goz Beïda]] || align=right | 3,083 || align=right | 41,248 || [[Sila Region|Sila]]
|}
In the 2024 Global Hunger Index, Chad ranks 125th out of the 127 countries with sufficient data to calculate 2024 GHI scores, having a score of 36.4.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Global Hunger Index Scores by 2024 GHI Rank |url=https://www.globalhungerindex.org/ranking.html |access-date=2024-12-13 |website=Global Hunger Index (GHI) – peer-reviewed annual publication designed to comprehensively measure and track hunger at the global, regional, and country levels |language=en}}</ref>

=== Ethnic groups===
{{main|Ethnic groups in Chad}}
[[File:Danse fille mboum Tchad.jpg|thumb|Mboum girls dancing in Chad]]
The peoples of Chad carry significant ancestry from [[East Africa|Eastern]], [[Central Africa|Central]], [[West Africa|Western]], and [[North Africa|Northern Africa]].<ref>{{cite journal|date=1 December 2016|title=Chad Genetic Diversity Reveals an African History Marked by Multiple Holocene Eurasian Migrations|journal=The American Journal of Human Genetics |volume=99 |issue=6 |pages=1316–1324 |doi=10.1016/j.ajhg.2016.10.012 |pmid=27889059 |issn=0002-9297|last1=Haber|first1=Marc|last2=Mezzavilla|first2=Massimo|last3=Bergström|first3=Anders|last4=Prado-Martinez|first4=Javier|last5=Hallast|first5=Pille|last6=Saif-Ali|first6=Riyadh|last7=Al-Habori |first7=Molham |last8=Dedoussis|first8=George|last9=Zeggini|first9=Eleftheria|last10=Blue-Smith |first10=Jason |last11=Wells |first11=R. Spencer|last12=Xue|first12=Yali|last13=Zalloua|first13=Pierre A.|last14=Tyler-Smith |first14=Chris |pmc=5142112}}</ref>

Chad has more than 200 distinct ethnic groups,<ref name="BGN"/> which create diverse social structures. The colonial administration and independent governments have attempted to impose a national society, but for most Chadians the local or regional society remains the most important influence outside the immediate family. Nevertheless, Chad's people may be classified according to the geographical region in which they live.<ref name="Collelo"/><ref name="EB"/>

In the south live sedentary people such as the [[Sara people|Sara]], the nation's main ethnic group, whose essential [[Social group|social unit]] is the lineage. In the Sahel, sedentary peoples live side by side with nomadic ones, such as the Arabs, the country's second major ethnic group. The north is inhabited by nomads, mostly [[Toubous]].<ref name="Collelo"/><ref name="EB"/>

=== Languages ===
{{main|Languages of Chad}}
Chad's official languages are [[Arabic]] and [[French language|French]], but over 100 languages are spoken. The [[Chadic languages|Chadic branch]] of the [[Afroasiatic languages|Afroasiatic]] [[language family]] gets its name from Chad, and is represented by dozens of languages native to the country. Chad is also home to [[Central Sudanic languages|Central Sudanic]], [[Maban languages|Maban]], and several [[Niger–Congo languages|Niger-Congo]] languages.

Due to the important role played by itinerant Arab traders and settled merchants in local communities, [[Chadian Arabic]] has become a [[lingua franca]].<ref name="Collelo" />

=== Religion ===
{{main|Religion in Chad}}
Chad is a religiously diverse country. Various estimates, including from [[Pew Research Center|Pew Research]] in 2010, found that 52–58% of the population was Muslim, while 39–44% were Christian,<ref name="auto1"/> with 22% being Catholic and a further 17% being Protestant.<ref name="Pew Christians">{{cite web|url=http://www.pewforum.org/2011/12/19/table-christian-population-as-percentages-of-total-population-by-country/|title=Table: Christian Population as Percentages of Total Population by Country|date=19 December 2011|publisher=Pew Research Center|access-date=16 April 2018|archive-date=11 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170511124911/http://www.pewforum.org/2011/12/19/table-christian-population-as-percentages-of-total-population-by-country/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Pew Muslims">{{cite web|url=http://www.pewforum.org/2011/01/27/table-muslim-population-by-country/|title=Table: Muslim Population by Country|date=27 January 2011|publisher=Pew Research Center|access-date=16 April 2018|archive-date=6 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180406100706/http://www.pewforum.org/2011/01/27/table-muslim-population-by-country/|url-status=live}}</ref> According to a 2012 Pew Research survey, 48% of Muslim Chadians professed to be [[Sunni]], 21% [[Shia]], 4% [[Ahmadiyya|Ahmadi]]{{Citation needed|date=May 2024}} and 23% [[non-denominational Muslim]]. Islam is expressed in diverse ways; for example, 55% of Muslim Chadians belong to [[Sufism|Sufi]] [[tariqa|orders]]. Its most common expression is the [[Tijaniyah]], an order followed by the 35% of Chadian Muslims which incorporates some local African religious elements.<ref name="pew128">{{cite web | title=The World's Muslims: Unity and Diversity | url=http://www.pewforum.org/uploadedFiles/Topics/Religious_Affiliation/Muslim/the-worlds-muslims-full-report.pdf  | access-date=2 June 2014 | date=9 August 2012 | publisher=Pew Forum on Religious & Public life | pages=128–129 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024125551/http://www.pewforum.org/uploadedFiles/Topics/Religious_Affiliation/Muslim/the-worlds-muslims-full-report.pdf | archive-date=24 October 2012 | url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2020, the [[Association of Religion Data Archives|ARDA]] estimated the vast majority of Muslims Chadians to be Sunni belonging to the Sufi brotherhood Tijaniyah.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=2020 |title=Religious demographics (Chad) |url=https://www.thearda.com/world-religion/national-profiles?u=45c |access-date=2022-09-29 |website=[[Association of Religion Data Archives]] |archive-date=29 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220929005616/https://www.thearda.com/world-religion/national-profiles?u=45c |url-status=live }}</ref> A small minority of the country's Muslims (5–10%) hold more fundamentalist practices, which, in some cases, may be associated with Saudi-oriented [[Salafi movement]]s.<ref name=":3" /><ref name="US-DoS-IRFR-2006">"[https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2006/71293.htm Chad] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191223022124/https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2006/71293.htm |date=23 December 2019 }}". ''International Religious Freedom Report 2006''. 15 September 2006. Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, U.S. Department of State.</ref>
{{Pie chart
|thumb = left
|caption=Religion in Chad 
|label1 = [[Islam]]
|value1 = 55.1
|color1 = Green
|label2 = [[Christianity]]
|value2 = 41.1
|color2 = Blue
|label3 = [[Atheism|No Religion]]
|value3 = 2.4
|color3 = Gray
|label4 = [[Traditional African religions|Animism]]
|value4 = 4
|color4 = Red
|label5 = Others
|value5 = 0.1
|color5 = purple
}}
[[Roman Catholics]] represent the largest Christian denomination in the country.<ref name=":3" /> Most Protestants, including the Nigeria-based "Winners' Chapel", are affiliated with various evangelical Christian groups. Members of the [[Baháʼí Faith|Baháʼí]] and [[Jehovah's Witnesses]] religious communities also are present in the country. Both faiths were introduced after independence in 1960 and therefore are considered to be "new" religions in the country.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=2021 Report on International Religious Freedom: Chad |url=https://www.state.gov/reports/2021-report-on-international-religious-freedom/chad/ |access-date=2022-09-29 |website=United States Department of State |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="US-DoS-IRFR-2006" />

A small proportion of the population continues to practice indigenous religions. [[Animism]] includes a variety of ancestor and place-oriented religions whose expression is highly specific. [[Christianity in Africa|Christianity]] arrived in Chad with the French and American missionaries; as with Chadian Islam, it [[syncretism|syncretises]] aspects of pre-Christian religious beliefs.<ref name="Collelo" />

{{bar box
|title=[[Religion in Chad]] ([[Pew Research Center|Pew Research]])<ref name=cia/><ref name=pew>[http://www.globalreligiousfutures.org/countries/chad/religious_demography#/?affiliations_religion_id=0&affiliations_year=2010 Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project: Chad] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131216202531/http://www.globalreligiousfutures.org/countries/chad/religious_demography#/?affiliations_religion_id=0&affiliations_year=2010 |date=16 December 2013 }}. [[Pew Research Center]]. 2010.</ref>
|titlebar=#ddd
|left1=religion
|right1=percent
|float=right
|bars=
{{bar percent|[[Islam in Chad|Islam]]|green|57}}
{{bar percent|[[Christianity in Chad|Christianity]]|blue|39}}
{{bar percent|[[Irreligion|None]]|black|2}}
{{bar percent|[[African traditional religion|Folk]]|red|1}}
{{bar percent|[[Freedom of religion in Chad|Other]]|gray|1}}
}}
Muslims are largely concentrated in northern and eastern Chad, and animists and Christians live primarily in southern Chad and [[Guéra Region|Guéra]].<ref name="EB" /> Many Muslims also reside in southern Chad but the Christian presence in the north is minimal.<ref name=":4" /> The constitution provides for a secular state and guarantees religious freedom; different religious communities generally co-exist without problems.<ref name=":3" /><ref name="US-DoS-IRFR-2006" />

Chad is home to foreign missionaries representing both [[Christians|Christian]] and Islamic groups. Itinerant [[Muslim]] preachers, primarily from [[Sudan]], [[Saudi Arabia]], and [[Pakistan]], also visit. Saudi Arabian funding generally supports social and educational projects and extensive mosque construction.<ref name="US-DoS-IRFR-2006"/>

=== Education ===
[[Education in Chad|Educators]] face considerable challenges due to the nation's dispersed population and a certain degree of reluctance on the part of parents to send their children to school. Although attendance is compulsory, only 68 percent of boys attend primary school, and more than half of the population is illiterate. [[List of universities in Chad|Higher education]] is provided at the [[University of N'Djamena]].<ref name="EB"/><ref name="BGN"/> At 33 percent, Chad has one of the lowest literacy rates of [[Sub-Saharan Africa]].<ref>{{cite web| title= 50 Things You Didn't Know About Africa| work= [[World Bank]]| url= http://www.saylor.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/polsc325-4.1-50-Things-you-didnt-know-about-Africa.pdf| access-date= 7 May 2012| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130725192911/http://www.saylor.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/polsc325-4.1-50-Things-you-didnt-know-about-Africa.pdf| archive-date= 25 July 2013| url-status= dead}}</ref>

In 2013, the [[U.S. Department of Labor]]'s Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dol.gov/ilab/reports/child-labor/chad.htm|title=Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor – Chad|access-date=29 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150425132848/http://www.dol.gov/ilab/reports/child-labor/chad.htm|archive-date=25 April 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> in Chad reported that school attendance of children aged 5 to 14 was as low as 39%. This can also be related to the issue of [[child labor]] as the report also stated that 53% of children aged 5 to 14 were working, and that 30% of children aged 7 to 14 combined work and school. A more recent DOL [[List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor|report]] listed cattle herding as a major agricultural activity that employed underage children.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dol.gov/ilab/reports/child-labor/list-of-goods/|title=List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor|access-date=29 June 2015|archive-date=10 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150610003351/http://www.dol.gov/ilab/reports/child-labor/list-of-goods/|url-status=dead}}</ref>