Chad Economy Overview

Currency

Central African CFA Franc (XAF)

Working hours

40 hours/week

Public/bank holidays

13 public holidays

Capital

N’Djamena

Languages

French and Arabic

Population

~19 million

Minimum hourly salary

303 CFA

Tax year

1st Jan – 31st Dec

Date format

DD/MM/YYYY

Misclassification penalties

Significant penalties and retroactive tax liabilities if employees are misclassified as independent contractors.

Fun fact

Chad is often referred to as the “Babel Tower of the World” due to its remarkable cultural diversity. The country is home to over 200 ethnic groups, each with its own unique traditions and languages, resulting in more than 100 languages spoken nationwide.

The Republic of Chad is a large semi-desert country in the northern part of Central Africa. It shares borders with Libya, Sudan, the Central African Republic, Cameroon, Nigeria, and Niger which cut it off from the ocean and sea-based trade routes. Once part of French Equatorial Africa, the country achieved independence in 1960. Since that time, the population and economy of this landlocked country have both grown impressively.

In 2000, the GDP of Chad was worth just $2.14 billion. By the end of 2024, this number had risen to $18.67 billion, an increase of nearly nine times thanks in large part to the country’s reliance on oil exports. The country’s population in 2000 was 8.36 million and at the end of 2024, it had more than doubled to 18.44 million. Growth in both the economy and the population is expected for the coming years and that indicates increased opportunities for international investment.

In this article, we’ll guide you through the Chadian economy and labor force as well as methods for entering this market or hiring workers in the country.

Overview of Chad’s Economy

Chad, along with five other regional countries, uses the Central African CFA franc (XAF) which is currently worth around 0.0016 USD. In 2024, the Chadian GDP reached $18.67 billion (11.89 trillion XAF)and is expected to grow by at least 3.8% in 2025 to reach $19.65 billion. While Chad had a predominantly agriculture-based economy in the past, it became a petroleum producer in 2003 and economic growth followed immediately. At the same time, the country’s GDP is intimately tied to global oil prices and rises and falls with the price of this commodity. 

Sector
Contribution to GDP
Employment Share
Key Aspects
Industry
52.7%
9.7%
Driven by oil production; hydrocarbon extraction is the country’s economic backbone.
Services
26.2%
21.4%
Centered in urban areas; includes transport, telecom, government, and informal trade.
Agriculture
22.6%
68.9%
Dominant employer; focused on subsistence farming and livestock, vulnerable to climate shocks.

The country’s total labor force was estimated by the World Bank as 6.208 million in 2023. Chad’s agricultural output includes cotton, grains, peanuts, sesame, and potatoes,  as well as livestoc,k including cattle, sheep, goats, and camels. Mining produces limited amounts of gold and sodium carbonate. However, hydrocarbons remain the country’s most valuable resource.

Chad exports crude petroleum, gold, oil seeds, insect resins, and cotton to its main partners Germany, China, the UAE, Taiwan, and France. It imports vaccines, jewelry, electrical generation equipment, radios, and medications from China, UAE, the US, France, and Belgium. 

Chad has a very low per capita income of just $1,040, making it a low-income country, according to the World Bank. Hiring employees in this country can be very affordable for foreign employers. The minimum wage, instituted in 2011, is only 303 XAF/hour (around 0.48 USD) for agricultural workers and 355 XAF/hour (around 0.56 USD) for other workers. Employers pay the equivalent of an additional 16.5% of all employees’ salaries toward social security schemes but even with these contributions, Chadians are highly affordable workers.

Taxes

Employer tax: 16.5%

Social Security (Caisse Nationale de Prévoyance Sociale (CNPS))

16.5% 

Employer tax: 3.5%

Social Security (Caisse Nationale de Prévoyance Sociale (CNPS))

3.5%

Gross Income (XAF)

Up to 800,000

800,001 to 6,000,000

6,000,001 to 7,500,00

7,5000,001 to 9,000,000 

9,000,001 to 12,000,000

More than 12,000,000

Tax Rate

0%

10.5%

15%

20%

25%

30%

Overview of Chad’s Business Regulation

Chad has started to shift its focus from hydrocarbons to a more diversified economy. Part of this shift involves attracting foreign businesses to set up in the country. If you’re interested in this opportunity, you should know about the following business regulations:

Registration and Compliance

If you want to set up an entity in Chad, the most common business forms to use include a limited liability company (LLC), a public limited company (PLC), or a trading company for import and export activities. Both LLCs and trading companies require only one shareholder and one director who can be of any nationality and a minimum paid-in share capital of around 2000 USD. For a PLC, only one shareholder and one director of any nationality are required, but the minimum paid-in share capital rises to around 20,000 USD. These companies can be 100% foreign-owned.

Setting up an entity in Chad can be quite challenging. The World Bank gives the country a score of 52.5% which ranks it as the 186th country in the world for ease of starting a business. This is largely due to the number of procedural steps to follow (eight) and the time it takes to complete registration (at least 58 days).

Chad’s corporate income tax (CIT) rate is relatively high at 35%. There are also new tax reduction initiatives in place for investments of over 100 million XAF (157,000 USD) in rural areas and of over 250 million XAF (392,500 USD) in some industries. VAT in Chad is generally 18% but only 9% on some local products. Employers also pay 16.5% of employee salaries in social security contributions, 1.2% for apprentice tax, and 7.5% for payroll tax. 

In 2022, Chad began a new Special Economic Zone (SEZ) regime to attract foreign investment. Companies that set up in SEZs can take advantage of a full tax exemption for their first ten years and then pay just 10% CIT for their next ten years. They also receive an export tax reduction of 3.4% for their first ten years and are exempt from paying customs duties on raw materials, goods, and equipment.

Employment Laws

Chadians work 40-hour work weeks divided into five eight-hour days or six days, working six hours and 40 minutes. If they work more, they can’t do more than 11 hours a day or 96 hours of overtime for the entire year. Overtime is paid at the rate of 120% of normal wages for the first eight hours per week and 125% for subsequent hours. Workers get 24 working days of annual leave, increasing to 26 after ten years, 28 after 20 years, and 30 after 25 years of service.

They also get four paid public holidays per year and another seven or more unpaid holidays. Maternity leave in Chad is 14 weeks and mothers are paid 50% of their normal wages by social security. Fathers are entitled to one full day of paternity leave upon the birth of a child. Terminated employees receive between 15 days and two months of notice and between 25% to 35% of a month’s salary for each year worked based on seniority.

Intellectual Property

Trademarks in Chad can be registered for ten years and renewed for ten-year periods and patents are protected for 20 years. Copyrights in Tunisia last for the length of the producer’s life and another 50 years.

What Are the Benefits of Doing Business in Chad?

Doing business in Africa can be both challenging and rewarding and Chad. The benefits of doing business in Chad include: 

  • Untapped natural resources, especially gold
  • Strategic location in Central Africa with access to regional markets
  • Opportunities in agriculture
  • Affordable workforce
  • Special economic zones offering tax reductions and exemptions
  • 100% foreign ownership of companies possible

What Are the Downsides of Doing Business in Chad?

While doing business in Chad can offer a lot of rewards, it can also present challenges, including the following:

  • Political instability since the disputed 2024 election
  • Instability in neighboring countries
  • Limited infrastructure
  • Regulatory complexities and a long time to register businesses
  • Logistical complexity due to lack of seaports.

International Expansion into Chad

There are several routes you can take into the Chadian market and several types of service providers that can help you start doing business in the country. These include:

Chad Employer of Record (EOR)

Employers of Record can manage HR for your workers, including payroll, employee benefits, and leaves. They also hire employees on your behalf when you don’t have an entity in Chad.

Recruitment Agency

You can find skilled and local talent through local recruitment agencies. These service providers dip into their pre-vetted talent pools and use their knowledge of the local employment industry to help you source the talent you need for your business.

Chad Professional Employer Organization (PEO)

Professional Employment Organizations can manage HR for employees on your behalf if you already own an entity in Chad. They also help maintain compliance with Chad’s complicated employment and tax laws.

LEARN MORE

Subsidiary Incorporation

Foreign investors can set up LLCs, PLCs, and trading companies in Chad that they can own outright. While this can take time and involve complicated bureaucracy, the benefits include the ability to legally hire staff, enter into contracts, and trade in the country.

The steps involved in registering an LLC include:

  • Opening a bank account and depositing capital
  • Checking for uniqueness and choosing a company name
  • Notarizing the company’s deeds and articles of association
  • Officially registering the company and registering with Social Security 
  • Announcing the company’s founding formally in a newspaper
  • Obtaining a tax identification number
  • Making a company seal

Branch Office / Representative Office Registration

You can set up a branch office that is 100% owned by your company registered outside of Chad. However, branches pay 40% CIT which can be prohibitively expensive. It’s also possible to set up a representative office that will pay no tax but can only be used to promote its parent company and perform market research.

Staffing Agency

If you need to hire workers for short-term projects or seasonal work, you can collaborate with agencies that offer temporary staffing solutions.

Business Opportunities in Chad

Doing business in Chad presents a mix of challenges and high-reward opportunities. While infrastructure gaps and regulatory hurdles persist, the country’s key industries—oil, agriculture, and services—offer significant untapped potential for growth-focused investors.

For those willing to engage strategically and build local partnerships, Chad can serve as a valuable entry point into the Central African market.

Business Opportunity
Reason for Opportunity
Oilfield Services & Equipment
Oil is Chad’s largest GDP contributor; local demand for drilling, transport, and maintenance services remains high.
Agricultural Processing
Agriculture employs nearly 70% of the population; value-added processing (e.g., cotton, sesame, livestock products) is underdeveloped.
Logistics & Transport Solutions
Chad’s landlocked position creates ongoing demand for efficient transport, storage, and customs-handling services.
Solar Energy Infrastructure
Low electrification rates and abundant sunlight make solar power a practical, scalable solution in rural and urban areas.
Telecommunications Expansion
Mobile and internet penetration is still low; growing consumer base and urbanization open the door for digital service providers.

While the business environment in Chad comes with challenges—such as limited infrastructure and bureaucratic delays—these opportunities highlight sectors where demand far outweighs current supply. Investors and entrepreneurs willing to navigate the local landscape with strong local partnerships can tap into a market that’s underserved, fast-evolving, and strategically located at the crossroads of Central Africa.

To learn more about expansion into Chad, get in touch with Remote People’s local business expansion experts.