Economy of Chad

Economy of Chad

A tailor in Chad
Currency	Central African CFA franc (XAF)
Fiscal year	Calendar year
Trade organisations	AU, AfCFTA, WTO
Statistics
GDP	$11.051 billion (nominal, 2018 est.) [1] $30.507 billion (PPP, 2018 est.) [1]
GDP growth	−3.0% (2017) 2.6% (2018) 3.0% (2019e) 5.5% (2020f) [2]
GDP per capita	$885 (nominal, 2018 est.) [1] $2,442 (PPP, 2018 est.) [1]
GDP by sector	agriculture: 52.7% industry: 6.7% services: 40.6% (2011 est.)
Inflation (CPI)	4.037% (2018 est.) [1]
Population below poverty line	66.2% (2019 est.)
Human Development Index	0.394 low (2022) [3] (189th) 0.251 low IHDI (2021) [4]
Labour force	7.300 million (2018)
Labour force by occupation	agriculture: 80% (subsistence farming, herding, and fishing); industry and services: 20% (2006 est.)
Main industries	oil, cotton textiles, meatpacking, brewing, natron (sodium carbonate), soap, cigarettes, construction materials
External
Exports	$1.695 billion (2018 est.)
Export goods	oil, cattle, cotton, gum arabic
Main export partners	United States 58.5%   India 13.3%   Japan 11.3%   China 4.1% (2015) [5]
Imports	$2.262 billion (2018 est.)
Import goods	machinery and transportation equipment, industrial goods, foodstuffs, textiles
Main import partners	France 16.5%   China 14.2%   Cameroon 11%   United States 6.4%   India 6%   Belgium 5.7%   Italy 4.8% (2015) [6]
FDI stock	$567 million (2019 est.)
Gross external debt	$3.569 billion (2019 est.)
Public finances
Foreign reserves	$147.7 million (2019 est.)
Revenues	$2.501 billion (2011 est.)
Expenses	$3.482 billion (2011 est.)
Economic aid	$238.3 million (recipient) note – $125 million committed by Taiwan (1997); $30 million committed by African Development Bank; ODA $150 million (2001 [update] )
All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars.

The economy of Chad suffers from the landlocked country's geographic remoteness, drought, lack of infrastructure, and political turmoil. About 80% of the population depends on subsistence agriculture, including livestock herding. ^[7] Of Africa's Francophone countries, Chad benefited least from the 50% devaluation of their currencies in January 1994. Financial aid from the World Bank, the African Development Bank, and other sources is directed mainly at improving agriculture, especially livestock production. Because of a lack of financing, the development of oil fields near Doba, originally due to finish in 2000, was delayed until 2003. It was finally developed and is now operated by ExxonMobil. Regarding gross domestic product, Chad ranks 147th globally with $11.051 billion as of 2018.

Agriculture

Main article: Agriculture in Chad

Chad produced in 2023:

• 878 thousand tons of sorghum;
• 782 thousand tons of groundnuts;
• 634 thousand tons of millet;
• 552 thousand tons of cereal;
• 469 thousand tonnes of yam (8th largest producer in the world); ^[8]
• 454 thousand tons of sugarcane;
• 354 thousand tons of maize;
• 288 thousand tons of cassava;
• 224 thousand tons of rice;
• 218 thousand tons of sweet potato;
• 210 thousand tons of sesame seed;
• 150 thousand tons of beans;
• 165 thousand 480-lb bales of cotton; ^[9]

In addition to smaller productions of other agricultural products. ^[10]

Macro-economic trend

The following table shows the leading economic indicators from 1980 to 2024. ^[11]

Year	GDP (in bn. US$ PPP)	GDP per capita (in US$ PPP)	GDP (in bn. US$ nominal)	GDP Growth (real)	Government debt (Percentage of GDP)
1980	2.3	498	1.0	-6.0%	n/a
1985	3.6	704	1.3	7.9%	n/a
1990	5.2	872	2.5	3.2%	n/a
1995	6.8	970	2.2	-0.8%	n/a
2000	8.4	1,005	2.1	-0.9%	49.9%
2005	18.9	1,875	9.1	8.3%	20.9%
2006	19.8	1,898	10.2	1.7%	19.0%
2007	21.2	1,957	12.0	3.9%	16.0%
2008	22.5	2,008	14.4	4.0%	14.6%
2009	23.3	2,011	13.0	2.9%	22.6%
2010	26.0	2,175	14.3	10.5%	22.5%
2011	26.9	2,174	16.2	1.3%	22.9%
2012	29.3	2,290	16.2	6.9%	22.1%
2013	31.4	2,379	16.9	5.6%	23.5%
2014	34.0	2,485	18.2	6.1%	29.4%
2015	34.7	2,462	14.5	1.4%	32.1%
2016	32.9	2,256	13.4	-6.3%	38.1%
2017	32.8	2,182	13.3	-2.0%	36.8%
2018	36.0	2,325	15.3	5.9%	33.3%
2019	39.3	2,462	14.9	6.6%	38.0%
2020	36.8	2,240	14.6	-2.1%	41.2%
2021	41.0	2,422	15.9	-0.9%	42.4%
2022	45.5	2,612	16.3	3.6%	34.5%
2023	49.4	2,758	17.6	4.9%	32.7%
2024	52.2	2,832	18.7	3.2%	31.5%

Other statistics

GDP: purchasing power parity – $28.62 billion (2017 est.)

GDP – real growth rate: -3.1% (2017 est.)

GDP – per capita: $2,300 (2017 est.)

Gross national saving: 15.5% of GDP (2017 est.)

GDP – composition by sector:
agriculture: 52.3% (2017 est.)
industry: 14.7% (2017 est.)
services: 33.1% (2017 est.)

Population below poverty line:: 46.7% (2011 est.)

Distribution of family income – Gini index: 43.3 (2011 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): -0.9% (2017 est.)

Labor force: 5.654 million (2017 est.)

Labor force – by occupation: agriculture 80%, industry and services 20% (2006 est.)

Budget:
revenues: 1.337 billion (2017 est.)
expenditures: 1.481 billion (2017 est.)

Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-): -1.5% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Public debt: 52.5% of GDP (2017 est.)

Industries: oil, cotton textiles, brewing, natron (sodium carbonate), soap, cigarettes, construction materials

Industrial production growth rate: -4% (2017 est.)

electrification: total population: 4% (2013)

electrification: urban areas: 14% (2013)

electrification: rural areas: 1% (2013)

Electricity – production: 224.3 million kWh (2016 est.)

Electricity – production by source:
fossil fuel: ~98%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other renewable: ~3% (2017)

Electricity – consumption: 208.6 million kWh (2016 est.)

Electricity – exports: 0 kWh (2016 est.)

Electricity – imports: 0 kWh (2016 est.)

Agriculture – products: cotton, sorghum, millet, peanuts, sesame, corn, rice, potatoes, onions, cassava (manioc, tapioca), cattle, sheep, goats, camels

Exports: $2.464 billion (2017 est.)

Exports – commodities: oil, livestock, cotton, sesame, gum arabic, shea butter

Exports – partners: US 38.7%, China 16.6%, Netherlands 15.7%, UAE 12.2%, India 6.3% (2017)

Imports: $2.16 billion (2017 est.)

Imports – commodities: machinery and transportation equipment, industrial goods, foodstuffs, textiles

Imports – partners: China 19.9%, Cameroon 17.2%, France 17%, US 5.4%, India 4.9%, Senegal 4.5% (2017)

Debt – external: $1.724 billion (31 December 2017 est.)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $22.9 million (31 December 2017 est.)

See also

• Chad
• Economy of Africa
• Petroleum industry in Chad
• United Nations Economic Commission for Africa

References

1. "World Economic Outlook Database, October 2019". IMF.org. International Monetary Fund . Retrieved 6 December 2019.
2. "Global Economic Prospects, January 2020: Slow Growth, Policy Challenges" (PDF). openknowledge.worldbank.org. World Bank. p. 147. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 October 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
3. "Human Development Index (HDI)". hdr.undp.org. HDRO (Human Development Report Office) United Nations Development Programme . Retrieved 27 March 2024.
4. "Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index (IHDI)". hdr.undp.org. HDRO (Human Development Report Office) United Nations Development Programme . Retrieved 22 November 2022.
5. "Export Partners of Chad". CIA World Factbook. 2015. Archived from the original on 13 June 2007. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
6. "Import Partners of Chad". CIA World Factbook. 2015. Archived from the original on 13 June 2007. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
7. "Chad - Agricultural Sectors". International Trade Administration. 7 September 2020. Retrieved 17 March 2025.
8. "Yam production and top producing countries". 17 March 2025.
9. "Chad Production". ipad.fas.usda.gov. Retrieved 17 March 2025.
10. "FAOSTAT". www.fao.org. Retrieved 17 March 2025.
11. "Report for Selected Countries and Subjects". IMF. Retrieved 25 January 2025.

General

•  This article incorporates public domain material from The World Factbook. CIA.

External links

• Chad latest trade data on ITC Trade Map
• World Bank – Chad-Cameroon Pipeline Project