Definition of Youth

Chad does not have a national definition of youth available. However, the African Youth Charter, ratified by Chad, defines youth as including all those 15–35 years old.

TCD

Marriageable Age

  • Opposite Sex
  • Same Sex
  • Without parental consent
  • with parental consent
  • Male
  • 18
  • --
  • --
  • Female
  • 15
  • --
  • --



    • No data for marriageable age with parental consent. No specific legislation for same-sex marriage. Source: UNSD, ILGA

Candidacy Age

Criminal Responsibility

13
Minimum Age
Source:  Criminal Procedure Code of Chad
(1967)

Majority Age

18

Source: Criminal Procedure Code (1967) (Original in French)

Voting Age

18


Source:  Inter-Parliamentary Union

Situation of Young People

Youth Development Index

0.24
167 out of 170 countries.

Literacy Rates

52.75%
Both sexes (15-24) %
  • 55.30% Male (15-24) %
  • 50.17% Female (15-24) %

Net Enrolment Rate

Secondary School
10.54%
Both sexes %
  • 15.75%Male %
  • 5.27% Female %

Situation of Young People

Prevalence of HIV

0.5%
Male (15-24) %
0.9%
Female (15-24) %

Tobacco Use

Consumed any smokeless or smoking tobacco product at least once 30 days prior to the survey.
18.90%
Both sexes (13-15) %
  • 20.90% Male (13-15) %
  • 13.90% Female (13-15) %
  • Year: 2010
  • Source: WHO

Policy & Legislation

Is there a national youth policy?
No
Chad has no national youth policy. A national youth congress in 2011 demanded one, to no avail so far.

The National Office for the Promotion of Employment has developed initiatives to address youth unemployment, such as the PADE internship scheme (a support programme for non-experienced graduates). The costs are shared between the Office and the employers, and offer a first work placement to graduates who need to “complement their theoretical knowledge with practical experience”. In 2011 the Ministry of Social Action formulated a national policy on gender, which views the education of younger generations as a step to tackle gender and generational inequality. It considers measures, which are key to young people’s well-being, such as sexual health and combating the harmful practice of female genital mutilation. Chad is also party to the African Youth Charter.

Public Institutions

Is there a governmental authority
(ministry, department or office) that is primarily responsible for youth?
Yes
The Ministry of Youth and Sports is in charge of matters related to youth. Unfortunately the Ministry’s website is not currently available. The Ministry of National Education, Ministry of Public Function and Employment, the Ministry of Social Action, Family and National Solidarity are also active in the youth field.

Youth and Representation

Does the country have a national youth organisation / association (council, platform, body)?
Unclear
The National Youth Council of Chad is listed as a member of the Pan African Youth Union for Central Africa (UPJAC). However, no further information about the council can be found online and their website is currently being constructed. The UPJAC serves as an interlocutor with regional economic and political representative, UN agencies and other partners on issues related to African youth. It advocates for the implementation of African Youth Charter.

Budget & Spending

What is the budget allocated to the governmental authority (ministry, department or office) that is primarily responsible for youth and/or youth programming?
Unclear
Chad is part of the UN Education for All (EFA) initiative, which aims to provide quality, free, compulsory primary education for all children by 2015. The Ministry for Education´s 2004 report on the state of national education highlights some of the issues still faced by Chad.  Transport and infrastructure are necessary to increase access for rural areas and enrollment rates, school feeding programmes, teacher training, and health education will also be necessary steps. A national strategy to boost young girl´s participation has also been launched. According to the World Bank, Chad spent 11.80% of its government expenditure and 2.59% of its GDP on education provision in 2010.    
Total Expenditure on Education as a Percentage of Government Spending and GDP

  • % of GDP
  • % of gov. expenditure

Source: World Bank
Gaps indicate missing data from the original data source. (Accessed August 2013).

Additional Background

The National Development Plan 2013-2015 lists among its initiatives targeting youth (original in French, our translation):
  • The creation in 2011 of a Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises and Microcredit with a focus on encouraging youth entrepreneurship;
  • The recognition of youth and women as fringes of the population subject to marginalization, especially in rural areas;
  • The need to provide employment opportunities for the increasing number of young beyond low-skilled agricultural labour;
  • To integrate national cultural heritage within the development agenda, to foster a cultural and artistic dimension which could be particularly beneficial to younger generations;
In 2012 a forum on the “Implication of Youth in Chad´s Development Policies and Programmes” was organised by the Coordination of Chad Youth Networks. The forum called for greater participation of youth in the country´s development framework, and for the formulation of a national youth policy. Education  Despite improvement in school enrollment rates, the country's youth still suffers from low literacy rates  - in 2009 only 46,3% of people aged 15 – 24 could read and write).  According to Open Democracy, in 2012, only 9% of students successfully passed their high school leaving exams. The article points to the fact that “80% of community based schools and public schools are located in rural areas where they welcome 67% of the national student population. These schools remain seriously under-resourced in terms of both infrastructure and access”. In addition to demographic growth, which places pressure on Chad´s limited infrastructure, the country is host to refugees from Central African Republic (CAR) and West Darfur. According to UNHCR report:
The new refugees add to the sizeable Sudanese refugee population already living in 12 camps in eastern Chad and the Central African refugees in five camps in the south and brought the total number of Sudanese refugees to 348,528 and the total number of CAR refugees to some 74,131 by 31 August 2013.
UNCHR highlights the raising number of children and youths among the refugee population which calls for,
(...) focus on increasing access to education for out-of-school children, particularly girls, as well as improving the quality of education provided.