MigrantoMigration trends in Chad
Africa
Chad takes in more people than it loses: 1.3M immigrants against 292.3K emigrants. Net balance +958.6K — 5% of the country's population
20.3M
Population
1.3M
Immigrants
292.3K
Emigrants
+958.6K
Inflow
1 in 16 residents of Chad was born abroad — and 1 in 70 people born in Chad lives abroad
#52 in the world by net migration gain
Top corridors
The largest migration flows in Chad
Where people come from
Key moments
How migration has changed since 1990
1990
69.1K immigrants · 330K emigrants
1995
- Cameroon replaced Sudan as the main destination for those leaving
- The exodus eased — the diaspora shrank by 34%
- Emigration to Sudan declined sharply — 110.4K fewer migrants there
2005
- A surge of arrivals — the foreign-born population jumped 248%
- Sudan overtook Cameroon as the largest source of new arrivals
- Sudan replaced Cameroon as the main destination for those leaving
- The country became a destination — more people arriving than leaving
Today
- A surge of arrivals — the foreign-born population jumped 136%
- An accelerating exodus — the diaspora grew by 40%
- Roughly 1 in 20 residents was now foreign-born
- Surge of immigrants from Sudan — 698.4K new arrivals
- Since 1990: 1.2M more foreign-born residents and roughly the same number of emigrants
Data source: International Migrant Stock 2024 (UN DESA, Population Division)
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