Sub-Saharan Africa

A life that begins in Chad

One in every 148 babies in the world is born here: about 908,704 a year, 1.7 a minute.

Population: 21,003,705
Births a year: 908,704
Life expectancy: 55.3
Children who die before 5 (per 1,000): 97.3

Health and survival

Life expectancy, women (years)
57.2
World: 75.9
Life expectancy, men (years)
53.4
World: 71
Babies who die before 1 (per 1,000)
56.3
World: 27.8
Children who die before 5 (per 1,000)
97.3
World: 37.6
Mothers who die in childbirth (per 100,000 births)
748
World: 189
Adults living with HIV (%)
0.9
World: 0.7
Adults who smoke (%)
7
World: 20
Alcohol per adult (litres a year)
2.9
World: 4.6
Road deaths (per 100,000)
32.4
World: 17
Homicides (per 100,000)
≈ 5.2
World: 4.7

Family and school

Children per woman
6.03
World: 2.85
Women married before 18 (%)
61
World: 18
Children in primary school (%)
73
World: 89
Secondary school enrolment (%)
23
World: 81
Higher education enrolment (%)
4
World: 48
Children aged 7–14 who work (%)
55.9
World: 11.9

Money and work

Income per person (PPP)
$2,481
World: $21,797
Income inequality (Gini, 0–100)
37
World: 34
Living on under $3 a day (%)
39.5
World: 9.9
Unemployment (%)
1.1
World: 5.1
Jobs in farming (%)
72
World: 27
Women in the workforce (%)
47
World: 48
Health costs paid out of pocket (%)
52
World: 37

Home and connection

Living in cities (%)
28
World: 58
Access to electricity (%)
13
World: 92
Safe drinking water (%)
52
World: 91
Internet users (%)
13
World: 72

Peace and wellbeing

Life satisfaction (0–10)
4.39
World: 5.4
Deaths in armed conflict (per 100,000 a year)
0.64
World: 2.43
Refugees abroad (% of population)
0.07
World: 0.34

≈ Estimated from the region

From 1960 to 2050

How life here has changed, and where UN projections expect it to go. The dashed part is a projection.

Life expectancy

1960: 39.2 → 2026: 55 → 2050: 59.3

World

Children who die before 5 (per 1,000)

1960: 268 → 2026: 94 → 2050: 48

World

Children per woman

1960: 6.3 → 2026: 5.8 → 2050: 3.9

World

Living in cities (%)

1960: 7 → 2026: 29 → 2050: 52

World

Nobody chooses where they are born

In the game, the country is drawn by the real share of births: Chad comes up about once in every 148 lives.

Other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa

All 178 countries →

Sources: World Bank (WDI), UN World Population Prospects, Our World in Data, World Happiness Report, UCDP and PRIO. Updated 2026-10-18.