CIA - The World Factbook

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.

Northern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Egypt and Eritrea

slightly more than one-quarter the size of the US

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

petroleum; small reserves of iron ore, copper, chromium ore, zinc, tungsten, mica, silver, gold, hydropower

dust storms and periodic persistent droughts

inadequate supplies of potable water; wildlife populations threatened by excessive hunting; soil erosion; desertification; periodic drought

largest country in Africa; dominated by the Nile and its tributaries

41,980,182 (July 2010 est.)

33.25 births/1,000 population (2010 est.)

12.3 deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.)

0.59 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2010 est.)

4.37 children born/woman (2010 est.)

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

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

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

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

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)

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)

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

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.)

$89.41 billion (2008 est.)

$83.87 billion (2007 est.)

$54.93 billion (2009 est.)

11.92 million (2007 est.)

20.6% of GDP (2009 est.)

104.5% of GDP (2009 est.)

100% of GDP (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)

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

4.341 billion kWh (2007 est.)

3.438 billion kWh (2007 est.)

480,200 bbl/day (2008 est.)

86,000 bbl/day (2008 est.)

303,800 bbl/day (2007 est.)

11,400 bbl/day (2007 est.)

5 billion bbl (1 January 2009 est.)

84.95 billion cu m (1 January 2009 est.)

-$2.739 billion (2009 est.)

-$1.314 billion (2008 est.)

$8.464 billion (2009 est.)

$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.)

$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.)

$1.399 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

$36.27 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$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)

11.186 million (2008)

AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 1 (1998)

gas 156 km; oil 4,070 km; refined products 1,613 km (2009)

4,068 km (1,723 km open year round on White and Blue Nile rivers) (2008)

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)

3% of GDP (2005 est.)

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