Chad
No Region Pop . ( 2009 ) Capital Departments
1 Batha 488,458 Ati Batha Est , Batha Ouest , Fitri
22 Chari-Baguirmi 578,425 Massenya Baguirmi , Chari , Loug Chari
23 Hadjer-Lamis 566,858 Massakory Dababa , Dagana , Haraze Al Biar
5 Wadi Fira 508,383 Biltine Biltine , Dar Tama , Kobé
2 Bahr el Gazel 257,267 Moussoro Barh El Gazel Nord , Barh El Gazel Sud
3 Borkou 93,584 Faya-Largeau Borkou , Borkou Yala
8 Ennedi-Est 107,302 Am-Djarass Am-Djarass , Wadi Hawar
12 Ennedi-Ouest 60,617 Fada Fada , Mourtcha
9 Guéra 538,359 Mongo Abtouyour , Barh Signaka , Guéra , Mangalmé
13 Kanem 333,387 Mao Kanem , Nord Kanem , Wadi Bissam
14 Lac 433,790 Bol Mamdi , Wayi
11 Logone Occidental 689,044 Moundou Dodjé , Guéni , Lac Wey , Ngourkosso
7 Logone Oriental 779,339 Doba La Nya , La Nya Pendé , La Pendé , Kouh-Est , Kouh-Ouest , Monts de Lam
15 Mandoul 628,065 Koumra Barh Sara , Mandoul Occidental , Mandoul Oriental
6 Mayo-Kebbi Est 774,782 Bongor Kabbia , Mayo-Boneye , Mayo-Lémié , Mont d'Illi
10 Mayo-Kebbi Ouest 564,470 Pala Lac Léré , Mayo-Dallah
19 Moyen-Chari 588,008 Sarh Barh Kôh , Grande Sido , Lac Iro
4 Ouaddaï 721,166 Abéché Abdi , Assoungha , Ouara
17 Salamat 302,301 Am Timan Aboudeïa , Barh Azoum , Haraze-Mangueigne
18 Sila 387,461 Goz Beïda Djourf Al Ahmar , Kimiti
Chad (/tʃæd/ (listen); Arabic: تشاد Tshād, Arabic pronunciation: [tʃaːd]; French: Tchad, pronounced [tʃa(d)]), officially known as the Republic of Chad (Arabic: جمهورية تشاد Jumhūriyyat Tshād; French: République du Tchad), is a landlocked country in north-central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon to the south-west, Nigeria to the southwest (at Lake Chad), and Niger to the west. Chad has several regions: a desert zone in the north, an arid Sahelian belt in the centre and a more fertile Sudanian Savanna zone in the south. Lake Chad, after which the country is named, is the largest wetland in Chad and the second-largest in Africa. The capital N'Djamena is the largest city. Chad's official languages are Arabic and French. Chad is home to over 200 different ethnic and linguistic groups. The most popular religion of Chad is Islam (at 55%), followed by Christianity (at 40%). Beginning in the 7th millennium BC, human populations moved into the Chadian basin in great numbers. By the end of the 1st millennium AD, a series of states and empires had risen and fallen in Chad's Sahelian strip, each focused on controlling the trans-Saharan trade routes that passed through the region. France conquered the territory by 1920 and incorporated it as part of French Equatorial Africa. In 1960, Chad obtained independence under the leadership of François Tombalbaye.