Geography Quiz Arcade

Capital of Chad: N'Djamena — Facts & 5-Question Quiz

The capital of Chad is N'Djamena. Chad sits in Africa, has a population of 17,723,315, and uses the XAF. Official languages include French, Arabic.

Quick facts

  • Capital: N'Djamena
  • Continent: Africa
  • Population: ~17,723,315
  • Area: 1,284,000 km²
  • Population density: 13.8 people per km²
  • Official languages: French, Arabic
  • Currency: XAF
  • ISO code: TD

How big is Chad?

By population, Chad ranks 69th in the world, holding roughly 0.22% of all people on Earth. By land area it ranks 20th.

Those two numbers rarely match, and the gap between them is the interesting part. Chad has 13.8 people per square kilometre, which is about 4.3 times below the world average of 59.4. It is more spacious than its population alone would suggest.

Within Africa, Chad is the 23th most populous country of 54.

Countries of a similar size

The two countries closest to Chad in population are Guatemala (17,843,908) and Somalia (17,597,511).

By land area, its closest counterparts are Peru (1,285,216 km²) and Niger (1,267,000 km²).

Comparisons like these are worth more than raw figures when you are trying to remember them. A number on its own is hard to hold; a number next to a country you already have a feel for is much easier.

Language and currency

French is spoken officially in 30 countries in this dataset, including Belgium, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi and Cameroon, and 24 others.

The XAF is not unique to Chad — it is also used by Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo and Equatorial Guinea, and 1 other. Shared currencies usually mark a monetary union or a long-standing peg, and they are a useful shortcut in quizzes: get one country's currency and you often get several.

How to remember Chad

N'Djamena sits right on the border with Cameroon, where the Chari and Logone rivers meet. Its flag is almost a twin of Romania's: same three stripes in the same order, with Chad's blue just a shade darker. If a quiz shows blue-gold-red, check the shade.

The flag of Chad: blue, gold and red

🇹🇩 The flag is three vertical stripes of blue, gold (yellow) and red. Blue stands for the sky, hope and the south of the country, gold for the sun and the desert in the north, and red for progress, unity and sacrifice.

Region and neighbours

Chad is a large landlocked country in north-central Africa, stretching from the Sahara Desert in the north to tropical savanna in the south. It shares land borders with 6 countries: Libya, Sudan, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Nigeria and Niger. Chad is landlocked, with no coast on the open ocean.

Three facts about Chad

  1. The country is named after Lake Chad, which has shrunk dramatically since the 1960s.
  2. The highest point in Chad, Emi Koussi in the Tibesti Mountains, is also the highest point in the Sahara Desert.
  3. N'Djamena was founded by the French in 1910 under the name Fort-Lamy.

Sources: Wikipedia: Chad, Wikipedia: Flag of Chad, Wikipedia: N'Djamena, CIA World Factbook.

Quiz yourself on Chad

Chad capital quiz

  1. What is the capital of Chad 🇹🇩?

    • Pretoria
    • Khartoum
    • N'Djamena
    • Gaborone
    Show answer

    N'Djamena

  2. What is the capital of Somalia 🇸🇴?

    • Windhoek
    • Antananarivo
    • Maputo
    • Mogadishu
    Show answer

    Mogadishu

  3. What is the capital of Senegal 🇸🇳?

    • Tunis
    • Dodoma
    • Tripoli
    • Dakar
    Show answer

    Dakar

  4. What is the capital of Zimbabwe 🇿🇼?

    • Bamako
    • Mbabane
    • Harare
    • Tunis
    Show answer

    Harare

  5. What is the capital of Zambia 🇿🇲?

    • Kampala
    • Lusaka
    • Monrovia
    • Maputo
    Show answer

    Lusaka

Chad capital quiz tip

N'Djamena was called Fort-Lamy until it was renamed in 1975, so older atlases and quiz books may still use the colonial name.

Chad in Africa

The largest countries by population sharing this continent are Nigeria, Ethiopia, Egypt and Democratic Republic of the Congo.

If you are learning capitals region by region — far more effective than working alphabetically — Africa is the block Chad belongs to, and its neighbours are the ones worth learning alongside it.

Try the Country to Capital Quiz, or the harder reverse direction. There is also a full country profile for Chad.

Frequently asked questions

What is the capital of Chad?

The capital of Chad is N'Djamena.

What is the population of Chad?

About 17,723,315, making it the 69th most populous country in the world.

How big is Chad?

1,284,000 square kilometres, ranking 20th by land area, at a density of 13.8 people per square kilometre.

What currency does Chad use?

The XAF, shared with 5 other countries.

What are the colours of the Chad flag?

The flag of Chad is three vertical stripes of blue, gold (yellow) and red. Blue stands for the sky, hope and the south of the country, gold for the sun and the desert in the north, and red for progress, unity and sacrifice.

Which countries border Chad?

Chad shares land borders with Libya, Sudan, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Nigeria and Niger.

How can I remember the capital of Chad?

N'Djamena sits right on the border with Cameroon, where the Chari and Logone rivers meet. Its flag is almost a twin of Romania's: same three stripes in the same order, with Chad's blue just a shade darker. If a quiz shows blue-gold-red, check the shade.

More capitals to learn

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