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Chad

Chad is a country in Africa that is home to 18,523,000 people. It is also home to 123 living indigenous languages. It was also home to 4 indigenous languages that are now extinct. In addition, 6 living non-indigenous languages are established within the country. Two of these, French and Standard Arabic, are the official languages of the country. In formal education, 1 indigenous language is used as a language of instruction.

  • Country Location

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  • Demographics

    18,523,000

    people

    123

    living indigenous languages

    22%
    literate
  • Indigenous Language Vitality Count

    1. 7
    2. 85
    3. 31
    4. 4

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Ethnologue Country Digests

Explore all 129 languages used in Chad with Ethnologue: Languages of Chad—a downloadable PDF document that provides detailed analysis presented in formats not available in the online version of Ethnologue. It includes:

  • Comprehensive country overview.
  • Statistical summaries by language status, size, and family.
  • Alphabetical listing of languages in the country, with in-depth descriptions.
  • Full-color language map(s) for visual reference.
  • Listings by population, status, family, and region.
  • Indexes of ISO 639 codes and alternate language names.

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The indigenous languages of Chad belong to the following families.

Chad has adopted the following international conventions which speak to indigenous language rights.

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