While Chad had an average level of 89.7, Iraq, which had the second most polluted air for a country, averaged 80.1.
Pakistan, which had two of the five cities with the worst air in 2022, stood third in the country-wide ranking at 70.9, followed by Bahrain at 66.6.
Bangladesh's air quality improved from 2021, when it was tagged as the country with the worst air. It is ranked fifth in the latest report, with PM2.5 levels coming down to 65.8 from 76.9.
While Chad is at the bottom for nations and air quality, the city at the bottom is Pakistan's Lahore, where air quality worsened to 97.4 micrograms of PM2.5 particles per cubic meter from 86.5 in 2021, making it the most polluted city globally.
IQAir measures air quality levels based on the concentration of lung-damaging airborne particles known as PM2.5. Its annual survey is widely cited by researchers and government organizations.
Hotan, the only Chinese city in the top 20, followed Lahore with PM2.5 levels of 94.3, an improvement from 101.5 in 2021.
The next two cities in the rankings were Indian: Bhiwadi, on Delhi's outskirts had pollution levels at 92.7, and Delhi followed close behind at 92.6.
The IQAir study said one in 10 people globally were living in an area where air pollution poses a threat to health.
The U.S. Pacific territory Guam had cleaner air than any country, with a PM2.5 concentration of 1.3, while Canberra had the cleanest air for a capital city, with 2.8.
The index was prepared using data from more than 30,000 air quality monitors in more than 7,300 locations in 131 countries, territories and regions.