Introduction
How is the Military in Chad and how does it work to maintain Sucity and fight terrorism? In terms of Military and security forces, we have the Chadian National Army (Armee Nationale du Tchad, ANT): Ground Forces (l'Armee de Terre, AdT), Chadian Air Force (l'Armee de l'Air Tchadienne, AAT), Chadian National Gendarmerie; General Direction of the Security Services of State Institutions (Direction Generale des Services de Securite des Institutions de l'Etat, GDSSIE)
Ministry of Public Security and Immigration: National Nomadic Guard of Chad (GNNT) (2025).
Ministry of Public Security and Immigration: National Nomadic Guard of Chad (GNNT) (2025).
In Chad, the ANT has combat experience against insurgents and terrorist groups; it also has a tradition of involvement in domestic politics; over the past decade, the ANT has received foreign military assistance, particularly from France, which maintains a military base in N’Djamena; the ANT's operational focus is on counterterrorism and counterinsurgency operations; it is engaged with the Boko Haram and Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham in West Africa terrorist groups in the Lake Chad Basin area; in addition, the ANT conducts frequent operations against internal anti-government militias and armed dissident groups
a number of rebel groups operate in northern Chad, some from bases in southern Libya, including the FACT (Front pour le Changement et la Concorde au Tchad), the Military Command Council for the Salvation of the Republic le Conseil de Commandement Militaire pour le salut de la République or CCSMR), the Union of Forces for Democracy and Development (le Union des Forces pour la Démocratie et le Développement or UFDD), and the Union of Resistance Forces (le Union des Forces de la Résistance UFR); former Chadian President Idriss DEBY was killed in April 2021 during fighting in the northern part of the country between the FACT and the Chadian Army (2023)
a number of rebel groups operate in northern Chad, some from bases in southern Libya, including the FACT (Front pour le Changement et la Concorde au Tchad), the Military Command Council for the Salvation of the Republic le Conseil de Commandement Militaire pour le salut de la République or CCSMR), the Union of Forces for Democracy and Development (le Union des Forces pour la Démocratie et le Développement or UFDD), and the Union of Resistance Forces (le Union des Forces de la Résistance UFR); former Chadian President Idriss DEBY was killed in April 2021 during fighting in the northern part of the country between the FACT and the Chadian Army (2023)
Security and military information of Chad
| Military and security service personnel strengths | estimated 35-40,000 active Chadian National Army (2025) |
|---|---|
| Military equipment inventories and acquisitions | the ANT is armed with a mix of older, secondhand, and some more modern weapons and equipment from a wide variety of suppliers, including Brazil, China, France, Russia/former Soviet Union, Turkey, Ukraine, and the US (2024) |
| Military service age and obligation | 20 is the legal minimum age for compulsory military service for men with an 18-36 month service obligation (information varies); women are subject to 12 months of compulsory military or civic service at age 21; 18-35 for voluntary service (18-25 for officer recruits); soldiers released from active duty are in the reserves until the age of 50 (2023). |
| Military deployments | Chad has committed approximately 1,000-1,500 troops to the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) against Boko Haram and other terrorist groups operating in the general area of the Lake Chad Basin and along Nigeria's northeast border; national MNJTF troop contingents are deployed within their own territories, although cross‐border operations are conducted periodically (2024). |
| Military expenditures | |
| Military Expenditures 2024 | 3% of GDP (2024 est.) |
| Military Expenditures 2023 | 2.9% of GDP (2023 est.) |
| Military Expenditures 2022 | 2.6% of GDP (2022 est.) |
| Military Expenditures 2021 | 2.5% of GDP (2021 est.) |
| Military Expenditures 2020 | 2.9% of GDP (2020 est.) |
Terrorism
In Chad, the different Terrorist group(s) inlcude: Boko Haram; Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham - West Africa (ISIS-WA)
All Important Facts about Chad
Want to know more about Chad? Check all different factbooks for Chad below.
