Middle Africa · UN member
Chad: Travel Guide & Requirements
Republic of Chad · جمهورية تشاد · République du Tchad
Chad is a country in Middle Africa with its capital in N'Djamena. It has a population of 21.0 million (#63 in the world) and covers 1,284,000 km². The official languages are Arabic and French. The currency is the Central African CFA franc (XAF, Fr).
Where is Chad? Map of Chad
Central Africa, south of Libya.
- Region
- Middle Africa
- Coordinates
- 15° N, 19° E
- Neighbours
- 6 — see list
- Coastline
- Landlocked
- Chad
- Neighbours
- Capital
- Largest cities
Map of Chad showing N'Djamena (capital) and the largest cities: Moundou, Abéché, Sarh, Kelo, Am Timan, Doba, Pala and Bongor.
Travel requirements
What you need to travel to Chad
- Passport
The UK government says that to enter Chad your passport must have an expiry date at least 6 months after the date you arrive.
- Visa or eTA
Depends on your passport: of 198 passports, 19 need no visa, 179 need an eVisa. Check yours or see Chad entry requirements for every passport.
- Return or onward ticket
The Government of Canada tells Canadian travellers, who need a visa for Chad, that they must also have a return or onward ticket.
- Proof of funds
No official requirement.
- Travel insurance
No official requirement. The UK government says medical facilities in Chad are poor and even in N'Djamena hospitals are stretched, and advises adequate travel health insurance and accessible funds to cover the cost of any medical treatment abro…
- Vaccinations
Chad's e-Visa platform says you must carry your proof of yellow fever vaccination for checking by the immigration services on arrival.
- Travel advice
Avoid travel — US and UK advice.
Entry rules: TravelRequirements.info — Entry Requirements Dataset (CC BY 4.0), each rule cited to an official government source. Always confirm with the airline and the official source before you travel.
Before you go
10 things to know before you travel to Chad
- Safety: Governments advise against travel to Chad: the US State Department rates Chad Level 4 (“Do Not Travel”), and the UK Foreign Office advises against all travel to parts of the country.
- Best time to go: December to January — when daytime highs in N'Djamena are around 34°C.
- Money: the Central African CFA franc (XAF) — 1 US dollar is about 584.5354 XAF.
- Plugs: type C, D, E and F, 220 V, 50 Hz — standard 220–240 V: devices from the US or Japan (110–120 V) need a converter unless they are dual voltage (100–240 V).
- Emergency numbers: Police 17, Ambulance 2251 / 4242, Fire 18.
- Language: Arabic and French are official.
- Driving: on the right — speed limits are 60 km/h in built-up areas and 110 km/h outside built-up areas.
- Time zone: UTC+1 in N'Djamena.
- Capital: N'Djamena. About 21.0 million people live in Chad.
- Chad is the 21st largest country in the world by area.
Key facts
Chad at a glance
Languages spoken: French (official), Arabic (official), Sara (in south), more than 120 languages and dialects
Geography & history
About Chad
Chad emerged from a collection of powerful states that controlled the Sahelian belt starting around the 9th century. These states focused on controlling trans-Saharan trade routes and profited mostly from the slave trade. The Kanem-Bornu Empire, centered around the Lake Chad Basin, existed between the 9th and 19th centuries, and at its peak, the empire controlled territory stretching from southern Chad to southern Libya and included portions of modern-day Algeria, Cameroon, Niger, Nigeria, and Sudan. The Sudanese warlord Rabih AZ-ZUBAYR used an army comprised largely of slaves to conquer the Kanem-Bornu Empire in the late 19th century. In southeastern Chad, the Bagirmi and Ouaddai (Wadai) k…
Read the full history
Chad emerged from a collection of powerful states that controlled the Sahelian belt starting around the 9th century. These states focused on controlling trans-Saharan trade routes and profited mostly from the slave trade. The Kanem-Bornu Empire, centered around the Lake Chad Basin, existed between the 9th and 19th centuries, and at its peak, the empire controlled territory stretching from southern Chad to southern Libya and included portions of modern-day Algeria, Cameroon, Niger, Nigeria, and Sudan. The Sudanese warlord Rabih AZ-ZUBAYR used an army comprised largely of slaves to conquer the Kanem-Bornu Empire in the late 19th century. In southeastern Chad, the Bagirmi and Ouaddai (Wadai) kingdoms emerged in the 15th and 16th centuries and lasted until the arrival of the French in the 19th and 20th centuries. France began moving into the region in the late 1880s and defeated the Bagirmi kingdom in 1897, Rabih AZ-ZUBAYR in 1900, and the Ouddai kingdom in 1909. In the arid regions of northern Chad and southern Libya, an Islamic order called the Sanusiyya (Sanusi) relied heavily on the trans-Saharan slave trade and had upwards of 3 million followers by the 1880s. The French defeated the Sanusiyya in 1910 after years of intermittent war. By 1910, France had incorporated the northern arid region, the Lake Chad Basin, and southeastern Chad into French Equatorial Africa. Chad achieved its independence in 1960 and then saw three decades of instability, oppressive rule, civil war, and a Libyan invasion. With the help of the French military and several African countries, Chadian leaders expelled Libyan forces during the 1987 "Toyota War," so named for the use of Toyota pickup trucks as fighting vehicles. In 1990, Chadian general Idriss DEBY led a rebellion against President Hissene HABRE. Under DEBY, Chad approved a constitution and held elections in 1996. Shortly after DEBY was killed during a rebel incursion in 2021, a group of military officials -- led by DEBY’s son, Mahamat Idriss DEBY -- took control of the government. The military officials dismissed the National Assembly, suspended the Constitution, and formed a Transitional Military Council (TMC), while pledging to hold democratic elections by October 2022. A national dialogue in August-October 2022 culminated in decisions to extend the transition for up to two years, dissolve the TMC, and appoint Mahamat DEBY as Transitional President; the transitional authorities held a constitutional referendum in December 2023 and claimed 86 percent of votes were in favor of the new constitution. The transitional authorities have announced plans to hold elections by October 2024. Chad has faced widespread poverty, an economy severely weakened by volatile international oil prices, terrorist-led insurgencies in the Lake Chad Basin, and several waves of rebellions in northern and eastern Chad. In 2015, the government imposed a state of emergency in the Lake Chad Basin following multiple attacks by the terrorist group Boko Haram, now known as ISIS-West Africa. The same year, Boko Haram conducted bombings in N'Djamena. In 2019, the Chadian government also declared a state of emergency in the Sila and Ouaddai regions bordering Sudan and in the Tibesti region bordering Niger, where rival ethnic groups are still fighting. The army has suffered heavy losses to Islamic terror groups in the Lake Chad Basin.
Location
Central Africa, south of Libya
Climate
tropical in south, desert in north
Terrain
broad, arid plains in center, desert in north, mountains in northwest, lowlands in south
Highest point
Emi Koussi 3,445 m
Natural resources
petroleum, uranium, natron, kaolin, fish (Lake Chad), gold, limestone, sand and gravel, salt
Natural hazards
hot, dry, dusty harmattan winds occur in north; periodic droughts; locust plagues
National symbols
goat (north), lion (south)
Driving
Speed limits & road rules in Chad
The default speed limits in Chad are 60 km/h in built-up areas and 110 km/h outside built-up areas. The legal alcohol limit for drivers is 0.8‰. Posted signs always take priority over these defaults.
- 6060 km/hBuilt-up areasTowns and cities
- 110110 km/hOutside built-up areasCountry roads
- International Driving PermitNot a party to the IDP conventionsCheck with the embassy whether your licence is accepted
- Driving sideDrive on the rightOvertake on the left
- Alcohol limit0.8‰ blood alcohol (0.08% BAC)
- Seat beltsRequired by law
- Child seatsNo national child-restraint law
- Motorcycle helmetsRequired for riders
- Road deaths (2021)26.4 per 100,000 peopleHigher than most countries (median 12.4)
Speed limits: OpenStreetMap wiki — Default speed limits (CC BY-SA 2.0). Road-safety laws: WHO Global Health Observatory. Compare speed limits and alcohol limits by country. Defaults for cars; local signs, weather and vehicle type can lower them.
Safety
Is Chad safe to visit?
Governments advise against travel to Chad: the US State Department rates Chad Level 4 (“Do Not Travel”), and the UK Foreign Office advises against all travel to parts of the country.
US State Department
UK Foreign Office (FCDO)Latest update: Updated information about health risks you’ll face in Chad (‘Health’ page).
Updated 6 Aug 2026 · Full travel advice
Sources: US Department of State travel advisories (public domain) and UK FCDO foreign travel advice (contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0). Checked daily. Advice can change quickly — always read the official page before you travel.
Weather
Best time to visit Chad
The best time to visit Chad is December to January, when daytime highs in N'Djamena are around 34°C. September and November are also a good time to go. April is the warmest month (42°C by day), January the coldest (15°C at night), and August the wettest with about 192 mm of rain.
- Jan34°C15°C
- Feb37°C19°C
- Mar40°C22°C
- Apr42°C26°C
- May41°C28°C
- Jun38°C26°C
- Jul35°C24°C
- Aug31°C23°C
- Sep32°C23°C
- Oct36°C22°C
- Nov37°C19°C
- Dec34°C16°C
Best time Good Less ideal
Before you go
Plugs, voltage & emergency numbers in Chad
Plugs & sockets
- Type C (Europlug)two round pins
- Type Dthree large round pins in a triangle
- Type Etwo round pins and a hole for the socket's earth pin
- Type F (Schuko)two round pins with earth clips on the sides
220 V, 50 Hz · Standard 220–240 V: devices from the US or Japan (110–120 V) need a converter unless they are dual voltage (100–240 V).
Emergency numbers
Save the local numbers before you travel — 112 or 911 may not connect here. All countries →
Sources: Wikipedia — Mains electricity by country and List of emergency telephone numbers (CC BY-SA 4.0).
National parks
6 national parks in Chad
- 19,918 km² protected
- oldest from 1961
Largest: Aouk National Park · Siniaka-Minia National Park · Goz Beïda National Park
Currency · 26 October 2026
Central African CFA franc exchange rates today
Chad uses the Central African CFA franc (XAF, Fr). One US dollar buys 584.5354 XAF; over the last 30 days the XAF has lost 1.5% against the dollar.
What other currencies cost in XAF
Currency converter
Daily reference rates from the open-source currency-api (CC0), 26 Oct 2026. Banks and exchange offices add a margin.
World rankings
Where Chad ranks
How Chad compares with the rest of the world — open any card for the full ranking.
Airports
Airports in Chad
47 airports and airfields — 1 large, 4 medium and 42 small, plus 0 heliports. 1 have scheduled passenger flights.
Borders
Neighbouring countries
Chad borders 6 countries along 6,406 km of land borders. It is landlocked.
Military
Chadian armed forces
Chad ranks #97 of 145 in the Global Firepower military strength ranking, with a defence budget of $649 million (2025).
People
Population & society
Religion
Largest cities: N'djamena (1.6 million)
Economy
Economy
Main industries
oil, cotton textiles, brewing, natron (sodium carbonate), soap, cigarettes, construction materials
Export partners
UAE 26%, China 19%, Germany 17%, Netherlands 13%, France 10% (2023)
Top exports
crude petroleum, gold, oil seeds, gum resins, cotton (2023)
Travel tools
Handy before every trip to Chad
Next public holiday
All Saints' Day — Sunday, 1 November 2026. Then Republic Day (28 Nov).
Chadian passport
Ranked #162: 23 countries visa-free, 26 with visa on arrival, 2 with an eTA and 42 with an eVisa.
Chadian passport photo
Exact size, head position and background for Chad's passport and visa photos — make one free with AI checks.
Calling Chad
Dial +235 before the local number. Internet domain .td.
Climate footprint
2.8 million tonnes of CO₂ in 2024 — 0.14 t per person.
Entry requirements
Visa rules for every passport visiting Chad: visa-free stays, eVisas, visas on arrival and documents to bring.
News
Latest travel news about Chad
Chad Still Not Issuing Tourist Visas to US Citizens in 2026
Chad's president ordered a suspension of visas for US citizens in June 2025, and the country is not routinely issuing them. Niger, Mali and Burkina F…
Guinea-Bissau Travellers Holding Nigerian Passports Get 24 Visa-Free Entries
Nigerian passport holders can enter 24 destinations without arranging a visa in advance, according to the IziVisa Passport Ranking Index, which ranks…
Benin Travellers May Get Faster Border Checks as Digital ID Pilot Phase Ends
Benin, Ghana and Rwanda have completed the first phase of a cross-border digital identity pilot, testing verification against home-country records. T…
Frequently asked questions about Chad
What do I need to travel to Chad?
How long must my passport be valid for Chad?
Where is Chad?
What is Chad known for?
What is the capital of Chad?
What language is spoken in Chad?
What currency does Chad use?
What is the calling code of Chad?
Which countries border Chad?
How strong is the Chadian passport?
What is the speed limit in Chad?
Is Chad safe to visit?
When is the best time to visit Chad?
What plug type does Chad use?
How many airports does Chad have?
Sources: CIA World Factbook (public domain); World Bank Open Data (CC BY 4.0); names, languages and currencies: mledoze/countries (ODbL); flag: flag-icons (MIT); coat of arms: Wikimedia Commons (file page); exchange rates: Daily reference rates from the open-source currency-api (CC0); airports: OurAirports.