Chad

The Christians of Chad are estimated at 35% of the population. Believers routinely suffer discrimination by the Muslim majority, especially in rural areas where Muslim herders try to seize land belonging to Christian communities. Christian converts from Islam are threatened to try to force them to return to Islam.

In August 2022, Muslim extremists attacked five villages in a Christian area of Leo Chiefdom. Hundreds of homes, many grain stores and five church buildings were burned down. Such attacks are sadly common.

In recent years an estimated 3,500-5,000 Islamic State West Africa Province fighters have made their base in the Lake Chad area, a region that also includes portions of Cameroon, Niger and Nigeria. In June 2022 a military coalition from those four countries said that more than 800 jihadists had been killed in anti-terrorism operations from 28 March to 4 June.

Christians also face persecution from followers of African Traditional Religion, who account for around one-sixth of the population and flourish in the south of Chad, where most of the Christians also live.

Chad has faced political turmoil since the death in April 2021 of President Idriss Déby while he was commanding government forces fighting against rebels. Déby had been president since 1990. He was immediately succeeded by a Transitional Military Council headed by his son Mahamat that was scheduled to remain in power for 18 months. This period was extended by two years on 30 September 2022, just as it was about to end. Protests in May 2022 had led to the arrests of opposition leaders.

Chad also suffers from natural disasters, including floods and droughts in different parts of the country. In July and August 2022 the heaviest rains for 32 years caused unprecedented flooding, affecting an estimated 340,000 people including many Christians.