Meat, fish and cotton processing are the chief industries, and it is a regional market for livestock, salt, dates, and grains.

[5] N'Djamena was founded as Fort-Lamy by French commander Émile Gentil on 29 May 1900, and named after Amédée-François Lamy, an army officer who had been killed in the Battle of Kousséri about a month earlier.

[8] On 21 January 1942, a lone German Heinkel He 111 of the Sonderkommando Blaich successfully bombed the airfield at Fort-Lamy, destroying oil supplies and ten aircraft.

[10] The city was occupied by Libya during the 1980–81 Libyan intervention as part of the Chadian–Libyan conflict,[11] and the associated Transitional Government of National Unity.

In these years, almost all of the population fled the town, seeking refuge on the opposite bank of the Chari River in Cameroon, next to the city of Kousséri.

[13] The period of turmoil in the city was started by the abortive coup attempted by the northerner Prime Minister Hissène Habré against the southerner President Félix Malloum: while Malloum and the national army loyal to him were defeated, the intervention in the battle of other northern factions rival to that of Habré complicated the situation.

A temporary truce was reached in 1979 through international mediation, establishing the warlord Goukouni Oueddei as head of a government of national unity with his rival Habré as Defense Minister.

The intense rivalry between Goukouni and Habré caused the eruption of new clashes in the city in 1980; N'Djamena found itself divided into sectors controlled by the various warlords.

The tug-of-war reached a conclusion after many months only when Goukouni asked for the intervention of the Libyans, whose tanks overwhelmed Habré's defenses in the capital.

This opened the door to Habré, who marched on N'Djamena, occupying the city with little resistance in 1982 and installing himself as the new president.

On 13 April 2006, a rebel United Front for Democratic Change attack on the city was defeated[17] in the Battle of N'Djamena.

Despite the fact that the city receives on average approximately 510 mm (20 in) of rainfall annually, due to the area's very high evapotranspiration, N'Djamena still falls into the semi-arid climate category.

[24] Attractions in the city include the Chad National Museum, the Al-Mouna Cultural Center, Our Lady of Peace Cathedral, and several mosques.

N'Djamena International Airport Hassan Djamous (IATA code NDJ) is located on the outskirts of the city.