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A Sahelian and landlocked country in Central Africa, Chad faces security challenges related to conflicts in neighboring countries, as well as the consequences of climate change, particularly the acceleration of desertification and the drying up of Lake Chad.

Due to the Sudanese crisis and the continuous arrival of new refugees and returnees, the Chadian government estimates that nearly 900,000 people could arrive in Chad by the end of 2024. Chad was already hosting around 450,000 refugees from Sudan, the Central African Republic, and Nigeria.

Poverty and vulnerability are widespread in Chad, with 44.8% of the population living below the national poverty line in 2022. Extreme poverty ($2.15/day per capita [2017 PPP]) increased by 2.6 percentage points between 2023 and 2024, reaching 36.5%. This increase means that 688,000 additional people have fallen into extreme poverty. Since mid-July, floods resulting from heavy rains have affected more than 1.496 million people (OCHA), destroyed over 259,332 hectares of crops (FAO), and caused the loss of more than 66,728 heads of livestock. This situation is particularly concerning as nearly 2.4 million Chadians were at risk of severe food insecurity in June 2024.

Å·ÃÀÈÕb´óƬ¡¯s Human Capital Index for Chad is 0.30, meaning that a child born today will be 70% less productive as an adult compared to a child who has received quality education and proper healthcare. Additionally, one in five Chadian children will not reach the age of five, and 40% suffer from stunted growth, with a risk of long-term consequences on their cognitive development. On average, between the ages of 4 and 18, Chadian children spend only five years in school.

With 856 deaths per 100,000 live births, Chad has one of the highest maternal mortality rates, a phenomenon aggravated by the high number of early pregnancies (164.5 births per 1,000 adolescent girls aged 15 to 19).

The country continues to face significant gender inequalities, the reduction of which is essential in the fight against poverty. Chad ranks 144^th out of 146 countries according to the 2024 Global Gender Gap Index of the World Economic Forum, which assesses gender gaps in various areas, including economic participation, education, health, and political empowerment.

Political Situation

The political transition that began in April 2021 following the death of President Idriss D¨¦by Itno on the frontline ended in March 2025 with the establishment of the Senate, the last institution provided for in the Constitution. Following the constitutional referendum of December 27, 2023, a presidential election was held on May 6, 2024. Following this election, Mahamat Idriss D¨¦by was elected with 61% of the vote, according to the Constitutional Council. Succ¨¨s Masra, an opponent of D¨¦by father and son before being appointed Prime Minister, came second with 18.54% of the vote. His party, Les Transformateurs, had lodged an appeal for annulment with the Constitutional Council, which rejected it. Another part of the opposition, several of whose candidates had been eliminated from the presidential race, called for a boycott of the elections.

Legislative and local elections were held on December 29, 2024. Boycotted by a large part of the opposition, including Les Transformateurs, these elections were won by a large majority by the ruling Mouvement Patriotique du Salut (MPS). 

The restored constitutional order remains largely dominated by President Mahamat Idriss D¨¦by's party, which holds all the levers of power.

Economic Situation

• A petroleum-producing country since 2003, Chad has become highly dependent on this resource, whereas its economy previously relied on agriculture.
• Chad¡¯s economy is estimated to have grown by 3.7% in 2024 (-1.4% per capita), driven mainly by the non-oil sector (+4.6%), while the oil sector growth was modest (+1.4%), reflecting a 4.2% increase in oil production. On the supply side, services are estimated to have contributed 3.0 pp to growth, followed by the non-oil industry with 0.8 pp. Agriculture contributed negatively (-0.2 pp) due to severe floods. Refugee-driven private consumption was the main demand driver, contributing 3.0 pp, followed by public consumption, boosted by spending on wages and elections.
• The food demand pressures led to higher prices, while floods caused food supply shortages. These factors collectively drove inflation to 5.7% in 2024.
• The current account deficit (CAD) is estimated to have risen to 1.8%of GDP in 2024 reflecting increased investment income transferred abroad and a deteriorating goods and services balance.
• The 2024 lean season was one of the worst in recent years. Flood damages and crop losses are expected to lead to a drop in production and household incomes, and as a result, the extreme poverty rate is expected to increase by 1.2 pp to 40.6% in 2025, which translates into an additional 0.5 million people in extreme poverty. Amid continued security restrictions, low social protection coverage, and the ongoing Sudan crisis, extreme poverty is projected to reach 40.9% in 2026.
• Downside risks to the outlook include lower-than-expected oil prices, regional conflicts, and natural catastrophes. The suspension of USAID support may affect external financing and assistance to Sudanese refugees. The proactive implementation of the National Development Plan presents an upside risk to the outlook.

Last Updated: Apr 01, 2025

World Bank Action in Chad

Å·ÃÀÈÕb´óƬ's action in Chad is guided by a new partnership framework. The Country Engagement Note (CEN) supports the country's second five-year development plan. The CEN implementation period covers 2023-2024.

This new partnership framework was developed in close consultation with Chadian authorities and through broad consultations with the government, civil society, private sector stakeholders, and development partners.

Aligned with the government's objectives outlined in the country's five-year development plan (2022-2027), which focuses on improving governance, increasing production capacity, developing human capital, and reducing inequalities, the CEN was approved by the Executive Directors on November 29, 2022. It aims to:

1. promote peacebuilding and advance decentralization;
2. improve governance and transparency, specifically in debt management, public finances, and oil sector governance;
3. expand access to basic services and infrastructure, particularly in border, peripheral, and conflict-affected areas.

A new national partnership framework for Chad for fiscal year FY25 to FY29 is expected to be submitted to the Board for approval during FY2025. Å·ÃÀÈÕb´óƬ finances 23 operations through the  (Å·ÃÀÈÕb´óƬ): 12 national projects with a commitment of $1.49 billion and 11 regional projects totaling $939 million, amounting to a total of $2.51 billion.

On April 28, 2020, to help the government respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Bank released $16.9 million in emergency funding. The institution also provided support for food security and livelihoods. These interventions are valued at $21.7 million.

Following the food insecurity emergency declaration in June 2022, the World Bank also mobilized $50 million through the crisis response mechanism to:

1. support agricultural production by providing seeds and small agricultural equipment to farmers;
2. acquire therapeutic foods;
3. screen and treat cases of acute malnutrition (moderate and severe);
4. strengthen health promotion and prevention activities.

, the World Bank's private sector development arm, has invested in mobile telecommunications (Moov Africa and Airtel), healthcare (Providence Clinic), microfinance, and industries and services. In collaboration with the World Bank, IFC assists the Chadian government in implementing the reforms needed to improve the business climate.

IFC strongly supports the development of agricultural sectors such as cotton and is exploring opportunities to strengthen those of gum arabic, sesame, and livestock. To facilitate market access, in addition to investments in telecommunications, IFC is exploring ways to strengthen the transportation sector. Furthermore, IFC provides advisory services and technical assistance to improve access to financing in Chad.

Last Updated: Apr 01, 2025

Human Capital

By mobilizing all sectors of society, the Women's Empowerment and Demographic Dividend Project in the Sahel aims to enable young girls, adolescent girls, and women living in difficult conditions to thrive and reach their full economic potential by giving them access to quality education and adequate reproductive, maternal, and child health services:

• More than 13,000 vulnerable young girls have received support (school kits, housing, tuition fees, tutoring...);
• In the three regions of Lac, Kanem, and Salamat, the number of girls accessing secondary education has increased by 23%, while the dropout rate has been halved;
• 397 safe school spaces have been created (targeting thousands of adolescent girls);
• 168 women have received training in renewable energy, and 112 others in the operation and maintenance of heavy agricultural machinery.

In the area of social protection, the Refugees and Host Communities Support Project (PARCA) improves refugees' and host communities' access to basic social services, livelihoods, social safety nets, and also strengthens national refugee management systems. In line with its development objective, PARCA, which covers 7 provinces (Ennedi Est, Wadi Fira, Ouadda?, Lac, Moyen-Chari, Mandoul, and Logone Oriental), has enabled:

• 85,300 beneficiaries, of whom 51% are women and 66% are refugees, to have better access to community structures (with the construction and equipment of 15 schools, 6 health centers, and 2 health posts);
• 96,500 beneficiaries, 97% of whom are women, to benefit from social protection programs (cash transfers and human capital support measures);
• 45,200 households to benefit from adaptive cash transfers during the COVID-19 health crisis and the influx of Cameroonian refugees into Chad;
• 29,200 beneficiaries, organized into village savings and loan associations (VSLAs), to receive training and grants to develop income-generating activities as part of economic inclusion measures.

Last Updated: Apr 01, 2025

Å·ÃÀÈÕb´óƬ is an active member of the Committee of Technical and Financial Partners (CPTF), which brings together most of the bilateral and multilateral development and humanitarian organizations present in Chad, with the aim of strengthening the coordination of interventions in the spirit of the Paris Declaration and the Accra and Busan conferences on aid effectiveness.

Last Updated: Apr 01, 2025