What is the capital of Chad?

The capital of Chad is N’Djamena. It is also the country’s largest city and its principal political, economic, and commercial center.

N’Djamena stands in southwestern Chad on the Chari River, close to the border with Cameroon and within the wider Lake Chad region. This position has made it a longstanding crossroads for trade, movement, and cultural exchange between the Sahel and Central Africa.

French forces founded the settlement in 1900 as a military post called Fort-Lamy. The name commemorated Amédée-François Lamy, a French officer killed during the Battle of Kousséri. In 1973, during a period of nationalist change, the city was renamed N’Djamena, a name connected with local Chadian heritage.

The city’s river location provides important water resources in an otherwise semi-arid environment. Its name is sometimes written with different apostrophe or accent conventions, but “N’Djamena” is the standard English form. Niamey, Bangui, and Khartoum are capitals of Niger, the Central African Republic, and Sudan respectively.