Costs in Chad

Chad has no single national cost-of-living authority or reliable current household basket. Practical estimates combine household surveys such as ECOSIT5 with market, sector and humanitarian data from sources including the World Bank, WHO, ITU, UNICEF and WFP. These sources show strong differences between N'Djamena and the provinces, urban and rural areas, seasons, and communities affected by conflict, flooding, displacement or refugee and returnee movements. Inflation reached 5.7% in 2024, while food prices rose by 8.5% and transport costs by 15%. Extreme poverty was estimated at 39.4% in 2024, with projections of 40.4% for 2025 and 40.6% for 2026. Housing costs are mainly set through private, family, community and customary arrangements rather than a strong nationwide rental system. Indicative 2022 figures for N'Djamena put a room in an outer area at about 30,000 to 150,000 CFAF per month, a dwelling with one living room and one bedroom plus water and electricity at about 150,000 to 250,000 CFAF, and an urban studio or modern apartment at around 300,000 CFAF. Rents outside the capital were indicated at roughly 25,000 to 100,000 CFAF, while sought-after N'Djamena areas reached about 400,000 CFAF in 2024. These figures are old and indicative, not a national rent list. Deposits, agency fees, security, water supply and electricity access can change the real housing cost substantially. Refugee, returnee and internally displaced households may use shelter pathways involving CNARR and humanitarian partners, with access depending on status and vulnerability. Utilities require a separate check. SNE provides electricity, STE provides water, PIE refers to independent electricity producers, and CGE are community water committees. Electricity access was only about 12% in 2023. Basic drinking-water access was reported at 43% and sanitation at 10%, although those figures come from older 2017 UNICEF and JMP data. Generators, solar systems, wells, water vendors and bornes fontaines, or public water points, can therefore be part of the budget. A 2024 government circular made household water supplied through STE, CGE and bornes fontaines free and covered electricity up to 300 kWh per month per household, with specified treatment of some old debts. The measure expressly ran only until 31 December 2024 and should not be treated as a permanent 2026 entitlement. Food spending depends on market access, production, season, security and flooding. Common staples and products include sorghum, millet, maize, rice, pasta, oil, fish and livestock. The World Bank's Real Time Food Prices data cover 73 markets, but they do not create one national household food budget. In June to August 2025, about 3.3 million people faced severe food insecurity. WFP uses market-based cash or food baskets in relevant areas, including eastern Chad, and school meals reached more than 125,000 children in 2025 in targeted programmes. These are targeted or crisis-related measures, not a general food-price subsidy or universal allowance. Transport costs include buses, minibuses, taxis and mototaxis in urban and interurban travel. Rural households may also rely on carts, donkeys or walking. No current nationwide fare table or dependable national timetable is available. Distance can dominate the cost: 18.7% of primary pupils were reported to travel at least 2 kilometres to school, while the average distance to the nearest hospital was about 188 kilometres. A 2024 tax and fee reduction for transport providers did not guarantee a household fare and was time-limited. Fuel, distance, vehicle availability and the season therefore need separate treatment in a budget. Health costs are split among public and private health centres, district and provincial hospitals, pharmacies and humanitarian primary-care services. A household may need to pay for consultation, medicines, transport and referral even when vaccination, nutrition or crisis services receive partner support. WHO data reported total health spending of about USD 29.73 per person and out-of-pocket spending of 39.15%; a World Bank sector profile found that households financed more than 61% of current health spending and that health payments exceeding 10% of consumption pushed 9.3% of people into poverty. These figures use different years and methods. An older study estimated medicines at about 75% of treatment costs, rising to about 85% in rural areas. No current nationwide fee schedule supports one standard medical-cost estimate. Education costs remain relevant even though primary education has been formally free since 2006. Public, community and private schools operate alongside parent and community structures such as APE and AME. Households have been reported to finance about 28% of primary and 42% of lower-secondary education spending. Enrollment charges or contributions, notebooks, uniforms, shoes, textbooks and transport often create costs at the start of the school year. The PRET programme for 2025 to 2028 supports 25,000 vulnerable girls in 318 schools with about 40,000 CFAF per girl per school year, including scheduled payments in December 2025 and July 2026; it is not universal. WFP school feeding also depends on target groups and regions. There is no evidenced nationwide universal child or family allowance. Family support often works through extended families, neighbours, in-kind contributions, APE or AME structures and community groups such as GASPA. Targeted programmes can change the picture: PARCA and HCT support eligible households, including regular payments of 45,000 CFAF per quarter plus a 99,000 CFAF top-up from June to August in Bahr El Gazal under the stated 2025 to 2027 arrangements. HCT has also used 144,000 CFAF for three months in relevant programmes. TASDJIL birth registration is free at supported locations. Eligibility, payment dates and coverage depend on the programme and household situation. Communication is mainly mobile and prepaid. ARCEP regulates the sector, and Airtel and Moov Africa are the main named mobile providers. In 2024, Chad had about 14.8 million mobile cellular connections, 3.5 million mobile broadband connections, internet use of 12.6%, and no recorded 5G access in the cited data. Coverage figures included 2G at 86.9%, 3G at 84.5% and LTE or WiMAX at 60%. Official current tariff data were not sufficiently available for a dependable national price. A realistic communication budget includes voice or data bundles, a handset, charging and sometimes generator or solar costs. Mobile money can provide payment access but does not turn this topic into banking. Leisure spending has no reliable national price standard. Activities are often informal, community-based, religious, sporting or mobile, while formal venues and memberships are concentrated locally, especially in N'Djamena. Entry and membership fees vary, so leisure is usually planned as a flexible amount after essential food, housing, transport, health, education, utilities and communication costs. A useful household scenario records the number of people, location, housing standard, season, electricity and water access, school and health needs, displacement or refugee status, and a reserve for shocks. Banking, debt and tax questions require separate treatment; a tax measure affecting transport providers does not establish a household cost rule.