Africa :: Sudan
page last updated on May 18, 2010
Flag of Sudan
Location of Sudan
 
Map of Sudan
Introduction ::Sudan
Military regimes favoring Islamic-oriented governments have dominated national politics since independence from the UK in 1956. Sudan was embroiled in two prolonged civil wars during most of the remainder of the 20th century. These conflicts were rooted in northern economic, political, and social domination of largely non-Muslim, non-Arab southern Sudanese. The first civil war ended in 1972 but broke out again in 1983. The second war and famine-related effects resulted in more than four million people displaced and, according to rebel estimates, more than two million deaths over a period of two decades. Peace talks gained momentum in 2002-04 with the signing of several accords. The final North/South Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), signed in January 2005, granted the southern rebels autonomy for six years. After which, a referendum for independence is scheduled to be held. A separate conflict, which broke out in the western region of Darfur in 2003, has displaced nearly two million people and caused an estimated 200,000 to 400,000 deaths. The UN took command of the Darfur peacekeeping operation from the African Union on 31 December 2007. As of early 2009, peacekeeping troops were struggling to stabilize the situation, which has become increasingly regional in scope and has brought instability to eastern Chad. Sudan also has faced large refugee influxes from neighboring countries primarily Ethiopia and Chad. Armed conflict, poor transport infrastructure, and lack of government support have chronically obstructed the provision of humanitarian assistance to affected populations.
Geography ::Sudan
Northern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Egypt and Eritrea
15 00 N, 30 00 E
total: 2,505,813 sq km
country comparison to the world: 10
land: 2.376 million sq km
water: 129,813 sq km
slightly more than one-quarter the size of the US
total: 7,687 km
border countries: Central African Republic 1,165 km, Chad 1,360 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 628 km, Egypt 1,273 km, Eritrea 605 km, Ethiopia 1,606 km, Kenya 232 km, Libya 383 km, Uganda 435 km
853 km
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 18 nm
continental shelf: 200 m depth or to the depth of exploitation
Current Weather
tropical in south; arid desert in north; rainy season varies by region (April to November)
generally flat, featureless plain; mountains in far south, northeast and west; desert dominates the north
lowest point: Red Sea 0 m
highest point: Kinyeti 3,187 m
petroleum; small reserves of iron ore, copper, chromium ore, zinc, tungsten, mica, silver, gold, hydropower
arable land: 6.78%
permanent crops: 0.17%
other: 93.05% (2005)
18,630 sq km (2003)
154 cu km (1997)
total: 37.32 cu km/yr (3%/1%/97%)
per capita: 1,030 cu m/yr (2000)
dust storms and periodic persistent droughts
inadequate supplies of potable water; wildlife populations threatened by excessive hunting; soil erosion; desertification; periodic drought
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
largest country in Africa; dominated by the Nile and its tributaries
People ::Sudan
41,980,182 (July 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 29
0-14 years: 40.2% (male 8,622,902/female 8,255,839)
15-64 years: 57.2% (male 12,092,278/female 11,938,793)
65 years and over: 2.5% (male 547,444/female 522,926) (2010 est.)
total: 19.3 years
male: 19.1 years
female: 19.5 years (2010 est.)
2.154% (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 42
33.25 births/1,000 population (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 41
12.3 deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 29
0.59 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 57
urban population: 43% of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization: 4.3% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.05 male(s)/female
total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2010 est.)
total: 78.1 deaths/1,000 live births
country comparison to the world: 18
male: 78.1 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 78.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2010 est.)
total population: 52.52 years
country comparison to the world: 207
male: 51.56 years
female: 53.54 years (2010 est.)
4.37 children born/woman (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 38
1.4% (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 45
320,000 (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 22
25,000 (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 19
degree of risk: very high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: malaria, dengue fever, African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness)
water contact disease: schistosomiasis
respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis
animal contact disease: rabies
note: highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identified in this country; it poses a negligible risk with extremely rare cases possible among US citizens who have close contact with birds (2009)
noun: Sudanese (singular and plural)
adjective: Sudanese
black 52%, Arab 39%, Beja 6%, foreigners 2%, other 1%
Sunni Muslim 70% (in north), Christian 5% (mostly in south and Khartoum), indigenous beliefs 25%
Arabic (official), English (official), Nubian, Ta Bedawie, diverse dialects of Nilotic, Nilo-Hamitic, Sudanic languages
note: program of "Arabization" in process
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 61.1%
male: 71.8%
female: 50.5% (2003 est.)
6% of GDP (1991)
country comparison to the world: 42
Government ::Sudan
conventional long form: Republic of the Sudan
conventional short form: Sudan
local long form: Jumhuriyat as-Sudan
local short form: As-Sudan
former: Anglo-Egyptian Sudan
Government of National Unity (GNU) - the National Congress Party (NCP) and Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) formed a power-sharing government under the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA); the NCP, which came to power by military coup in 1989, is the majority partner; the agreement stipulated national elections in 2009, but these were subsequently rescheduled for April 2010
name: Khartoum
geographic coordinates: 15 36 N, 32 32 E
time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
25 states (wilayat, singular - wilayah); A'ali an Nil (Upper Nile), Al Bahr al Ahmar (Red Sea), Al Buhayrat (Lakes), Al Jazira (Gezira), Al Khartoum (Khartoum), Al Qadarif (Gedaref), Al Wahda (Unity), An Nil al Abyad (White Nile), An Nil al Azraq (Blue Nile), Ash Shimaliyya (Northern), Bahr al Jabal (Central Equatoria), Gharb al Istiwa'iyya (Western Equatoria), Gharb Bahr al Ghazal (Western Bahr el Ghazal), Gharb Darfur (Western Darfur), Janub Darfur (Southern Darfur), Janub Kurdufan (Southern Kordofan), Junqoley (Jonglei), Kassala (Kassala), Nahr an Nil (River Nile), Shimal Bahr al Ghazal (Northern Bahr el Ghazal), Shimal Darfur (Northern Darfur), Shimal Kurdufan (Northern Kordofan), Sharq al Istiwa'iyya (Eastern Equatoria), Sinnar (Sinnar), Warab (Warab)
1 January 1956 (from Egypt and the UK)
Independence Day, 1 January (1956)
Interim National Constitution ratified 5 July 2005
note: under the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, the Interim National Constitution was ratified 5 July 2005; Constitution of Southern Sudan was signed December 2005
based on English common law and Islamic law; as of 20 January 1991, the now defunct Revolutionary Command Council imposed Islamic law in the northern states; Islamic law applies to all residents of the northern states regardless of their religion; however, the CPA establishes some protections for non-Muslims in Khartoum; some separate religious courts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; the southern legal system is still developing under the CPA following the civil war; Islamic law will not apply to the southern states
17 years of age; universal
chief of state: President Umar Hassan Ahmad al-BASHIR (since 16 October 1993); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Umar Hassan Ahmad al-BASHIR (since 16 October 1993)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president; note - the National Congress Party or NCP (formerly the National Islamic Front or NIF) dominates al-BASHIR's cabinet
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elections: election on 11-15 April 2010; next to be held in 2015
election results: Umar Hassan Ahmad al-BASHIR reelected president; percent of vote - Umar Hassan Ahmad al-BASHIR 68.2%, Yasir ARMAN 21.7%, Abdullah Deng NHIAL 3.9%, others 6.2%
note: al-BASHIR assumed power as chairman of Sudan's Revolutionary Command Council for National Salvation (RCC) in June 1989 and served concurrently as chief of state, chairman of the RCC, prime minister, and minister of defense until mid-October 1993 when he was appointed president by the RCC; he was elected president by popular vote for the first time in March 1996
bicameral National Legislature consists of a Council of States (50 seats; members indirectly elected by state legislatures to serve six-year terms) and a National Assembly (450 seats; 60% from geographic constituencies, 25% from a women's list, and 15% from party lists; members to serve six-year terms)
elections: last held on 11-15 April 2010 (next to be held in 2016)
election results: Not available; prior to the 11-15 April 2010 election, members appointmented under the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement
Constitutional Court of nine justices; National Supreme Court; National Courts of Appeal; other national courts; National Judicial Service Commission will undertake overall management of the National Judiciary
Democratic Unionist Party or DUP [Hatim al-SIR]; National Congress Party or NCP [Umar Hassan al-BASHIR]; Popular Congress Party or PCP [Hassan al-TURABI]; Sudan People's Liberation Movement or SPLM [Salva KIIR]; elements of the National Democratic Alliance or NDA including factions of the Democratic Union Party [Muhammad Uthman al-MIRGHANI] and Umma Party
Umma Party [SADIQ Siddiq al-Mahdi]; Popular Congress Party or PCP [Hassan al-TURABI]; Darfur rebel groups including the Justice and Equality Movement or JEM [Khalil IBRAHIM] and the Sudan Liberation Movement or SLM [various factional leaders]
ABEDA, ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AU, CAEU, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Akec Khoc ACIEW Khoc
chancery: 2210 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 338-8565
FAX: [1] (202) 667-2406
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Robert E. WHITEHEAD
embassy: Sharia Ali Abdul Latif Street, Khartoum
mailing address: P.O. Box 699, Khartoum; APO AE 09829
telephone: [249] (183) 774700 through 704
FAX: [249] (183) 774137
three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black with a green isosceles triangle based on the hoist side; colors and design based on the Arab Revolt flag of World War I, but the meanings of the colors are expressed as follows: red signifies the struggle for freedom, white is the color of peace, light, and love, black represents Sudan itself (in Arabic 'Sudan' means black), green is the color of Islam, agriculture, and prosperity
Economy ::Sudan
Until the second half of 2008, Sudan's economy boomed on the back of increases in oil production, high oil prices, and large inflows of foreign direct investment. GDP growth registered more than 10% per year in 2006 and 2007. From 1997 to date, Sudan has been working with the IMF to implement macroeconomic reforms including a managed float of the exchange rate. Sudan began exporting crude oil in the last quarter of 1999. Agricultural production remains important because it employs 80% of the work force and contributes a third of GDP. The Darfur conflict, the aftermath of two decades of civil war in the south, the lack of basic infrastructure in large areas, and a reliance by much of the population on subsistence agriculture ensure much of the population will remain at or below the poverty line for years despite rapid rises in average per capita income. In January 2007, the government introduced a new currency, the Sudanese Pound, at an initial exchange rate of $1.00 equals 2 Sudanese Pounds.
$92.81 billion (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 71
$89.41 billion (2008 est.)
$83.87 billion (2007 est.)
note: data are in 2009 US dollars
$54.93 billion (2009 est.)
3.8% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 44
6.6% (2008 est.)
10.2% (2007 est.)
$2,300 (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 181
$2,200 (2008 est.)
$2,100 (2007 est.)
note: data are in 2009 US dollars
agriculture: 32.6%
industry: 29.2%
services: 38.2% (2009 est.)
11.92 million (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 42
agriculture: 80%
industry: 7%
services: 13% (1998 est.)
18.7% (2002 est.)
country comparison to the world: 163
40% (2004 est.)
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
20.6% of GDP (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 83
revenues: $9.046 billion
expenditures: $10.83 billion (2009 est.)
104.5% of GDP (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 9
100% of GDP (2008 est.)
12.3% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 203
14.3% (2008 est.)
$NA (31 December 2008)
$5.549 billion (31 December 2007)
$NA (31 December 2008)
$4.068 billion (31 December 2007)
$NA (31 December 2008)
$8.659 billion (31 December 2007)
$NA
cotton, groundnuts (peanuts), sorghum, millet, wheat, gum arabic, sugarcane, cassava (tapioca), mangos, papaya, bananas, sweet potatoes, sesame; sheep, livestock
oil, cotton ginning, textiles, cement, edible oils, sugar, soap distilling, shoes, petroleum refining, pharmaceuticals, armaments, automobile/light truck assembly
2.1% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 50
4.341 billion kWh (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 116
3.438 billion kWh (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 121
0 kWh (2008 est.)
0 kWh (2008 est.)
480,200 bbl/day (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 33
86,000 bbl/day (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 82
303,800 bbl/day (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 40
11,400 bbl/day (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 136
5 billion bbl (1 January 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 24
0 cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 129
0 cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 134
0 cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 112
0 cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 132
84.95 billion cu m (1 January 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 57
-$2.739 billion (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 158
-$1.314 billion (2008 est.)
$8.464 billion (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 85
$11.67 billion (2008 est.)
oil and petroleum products; cotton, sesame, livestock, groundnuts, gum arabic, sugar
China 48%, Japan 32.2%, Indonesia 5.3% (2008)
$6.823 billion (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 99
$8.229 billion (2008 est.)
foodstuffs, manufactured goods, refinery and transport equipment, medicines and chemicals, textiles, wheat
China 20.3%, Saudi Arabia 8.5%, UAE 6.3%, Egypt 5.6%, India 5.1%, Italy 4.1% (2008)
$769 million (31 December 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 114
$1.399 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
$36.27 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 56
$33.72 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
Sudanese pounds (SDG) per US dollar - 2.34 (2009), 2.1 (2008), 2.06 (2007), 2.172 (2006), 2.4361 (2005)
note: in January 2007 Sudan redenominated its currency by transforming 100 units of Sudanese dinar into one unit of Sudanese pound
Communications ::Sudan
356,100 (2008)
country comparison to the world: 110
11.186 million (2008)
country comparison to the world: 55
general assessment: well-equipped system by regional standards and being upgraded; cellular communications started in 1996 and have expanded substantially with wide coverage of most major cities
domestic: consists of microwave radio relay, cable, fiber optic, radiotelephone communications, tropospheric scatter, and a domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations
international: country code - 249; linked to international submarine cable Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG); satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean), 1 Arabsat (2000)
AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 1 (1998)
3 (1997)
.sd
48 (2009)
country comparison to the world: 207
4.2 million (2008)
country comparison to the world: 48
Transportation ::Sudan
121 (2009)
country comparison to the world: 49
total: 19
over 3,047 m: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 9
1,524 to 2,437 m: 5
under 914 m: 2 (2009)
total: 102
1,524 to 2,437 m: 18
914 to 1,523 m: 56
under 914 m: 28 (2009)
4 (2009)
gas 156 km; oil 4,070 km; refined products 1,613 km (2009)
total: 5,978 km
country comparison to the world: 30
narrow gauge: 4,578 km 1.067-m gauge; 1,400 km 0.600-m gauge for cotton plantations (2008)
total: 11,900 km
country comparison to the world: 132
paved: 4,320 km
unpaved: 7,580 km (2000)
4,068 km (1,723 km open year round on White and Blue Nile rivers) (2008)
country comparison to the world: 25
total: 3
country comparison to the world: 139
by type: cargo 2, carrier 1 (2008)
Port Sudan
Military ::Sudan
Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF): Land Forces, Navy (includes Marines), Sudanese Air Force (Sikakh al-Jawwiya as-Sudaniya), Popular Defense Forces; Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA): Popular Army, Air Force (2009)
18-33 years of age for male and female compulsory and voluntary military service; 12-24 month service obligation (2009)
males age 16-49: 10,264,087
females age 16-49: 9,894,457 (2010 est.)
males age 16-49: 6,094,209
females age 16-49: 6,213,984 (2010 est.)
male: 506,742
female: 487,434 (2010 est.)
3% of GDP (2005 est.)
country comparison to the world: 48
Transnational Issues ::Sudan
the effects of Sudan's almost constant ethnic and rebel militia fighting since the mid-20th century have penetrated all of the neighboring states; as of 2006, Chad, Ethiopia, Kenya, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Uganda provided shelter for over half a million Sudanese refugees, which includes 240,000 Darfur residents driven from their homes by Janjawid armed militia and the Sudanese military forces; Sudan, in turn, hosted about 116,000 Eritreans, 20,000 Chadians, and smaller numbers of Ethiopians, Ugandans, Central Africans, and Congolese as refugees; in February 2006, Sudan and DROC signed an agreement to repatriate 13,300 Sudanese and 6,800 Congolese; Sudan accuses Eritrea of supporting Sudanese rebel groups; efforts to demarcate the porous boundary with Ethiopia proceed slowly due to civil and ethnic fighting in eastern Sudan; the boundary that separates Kenya and Sudan's sovereignty is unclear in the "Ilemi Triangle," which Kenya has administered since colonial times; Sudan claims but Egypt de facto administers security and economic development of Halaib region north of the 22nd parallel boundary; periodic violent skirmishes with Sudanese residents over water and grazing rights persist among related pastoral populations along the border with the Central African Republic
refugees (country of origin): 157,220 (Eritrea); 25,023 (Chad); 11,009 (Ethiopia); 7,895 (Uganda); 5,023 (Central African Republic)
IDPs: 5.3 - 6.2 million (civil war 1983-2005; ongoing conflict in Darfur region) (2007)
current situation: Sudan is a source country for men, women, and children trafficked internally for the purposes of forced labor and sexual exploitation; Sudan is also a transit and destination country for Ethiopian women trafficked abroad for domestic servitude; Sudanese women and girls are trafficked within the country as well as possibly to Middle Eastern countries for domestic servitude; the terrorist rebel organization, Lord's Resistance Army, continues to harbor small numbers of Sudanese and Ugandan children in the southern part of the country for use as cooks, porters, and combatants; some of these children are also trafficked across borders into Uganda or the Democratic Republic of the Congo; militia groups in Darfur, some of which are linked to the government, abduct women for short periods of forced labor and to perpetrate sexual violence; during the two decades-long north-south civil war, thousands of Dinka women and children were abducted and subsequently enslaved by members of the Missiriya and Rezeigat tribes; while there have been no known new abductions of Dinka by members of Baggara tribes in the last few years, inter-tribal abductions continue in southern Sudan
tier rating: Tier 3 - Sudan does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so; combating human trafficking through law enforcement or prevention measures was not a priority for the government in 2007 (2008)