Demographics of Chad

There are more than 200 ethnic groups in Chad. Those in the north and east are generally Muslim; most southerners are Christians or animists[?]. Through their long religious and commercial relationships with Sudan and Egypt, many of the peoples in Chad's eastern and central regions have become more or less Arabized, speaking Arabic and engaging in many other Arab cultural practices as well. More than three-quarters of the Chadian population is rural.

Population: 8,424,504 (July 2000 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 48% (male 2,022,339; female 1,994,978)
15-64 years: 49% (male 1,964,216; female 2,204,902)
65 years and over: 3% (male 99,459; female 138,610) (2000 est.)

Population growth rate: 3.31% (2000 est.)

Birth rate: 48.81 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Death rate: 15.71 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.89 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female
total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2000 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 96.66 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 50.49 years
male: 48.5 years
female: 52.56 years (2000 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6.63 children born/woman (2000 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Chadian(s)
adjective: Chadian

Ethnic groups: Muslims, commonly referred to as "northerners" or "gorane" (Arabs, Toubou, Hadjerai, Fulbe, Kotoko, Kanembou, Baguirmi, Boulala, Zaghawa, and Maba); non-Muslims, commonly referred to as "southerners" (Sara, Ngambaye, Mbaye, Goulaye, Moundang, Moussei, Massa) including nonindigenous 150,000 (of whom 1,000 are French)
note: ethnicity and regional background more commonly used to identify Chadians than religious affiliation

Religions: Muslim 50%, Christian 25%, indigenous beliefs (mostly animism) 25%

Languages: French (official), Arabic (official), Sara and Sango (in south), more than 100 different languages and dialects

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write French or Arabic
total population: 48.1%
male: 62.1%
female: 34.7% (1995 est.)

See also : Chad