People
The inhabitants of Chad are called Chadians. The country has a population of 12.83 million people with an annual growth rate of 3.27 percent. Approximately 48 percent of the population works with 80 percent working as farmers that raise livestock and a variety of crops. The life expectancy of a Chadian is 51 years of age. The child mortality rate is 93/1000. The literacy rate is very low with only around 40 percent of people being literate. Within Chad there are over 200 distinct ethnic groups.
Language
There are 134 individual languages in Chad. The two main languages are French and Arabic, with Arabic being the most common language spoken. Of the other languages, approximately 131 are living and 3 are extinct. All of these languages are indigenous. Each language reflects the cultural ethnicity of the tribes and clans living in Chad. Many of the small agriculture communities do not speak Arabic or French, they only know the language of their ethnic group. Most of Chad's ethnically and linguistically diverse population lives in the south,
Religion
The main religion of Chad is Muslim, with 54% of the population practicing it. The second largest religion in Chad is Christianity, with 34% of the population practicing it. The indigenous beliefs, primarily animism, make up the remainder of the religions. The indigenous people practice most of these beliefs.