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 followed by a referendum on independence for Southern Sudan. The referendum was held in January 2011 and indicated overwhelming support for independence. South Sudan became independent on 9 July 2011. Since southern independence Sudan has been combating rebels from the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile states. 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 in December 2007. Peacekeeping troops have struggled 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.

north-eastern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Egypt and Eritrea

slightly less than one-fifth the size of the US

hot and dry; arid desert; rainy season varies by region (April to November)

generally flat, featureless plain; 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

dominated by the Nile and its tributaries

Sudanese Arab (approximately 70%), Fur, Beja, Nuba, Fallata

Arabic (official), English (official), Nubian, Ta Bedawie, Fur

Sunni Muslim, small Christian minority

31.7 births/1,000 population (2012 est.)

8.3 deaths/1,000 population (July 2012 est.)

-4.52 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2012 est.)

KHARTOUM (capital) 5.021 million (2009)

730 deaths/100,000 live births (2010)

4.17 children born/woman (2012 est.)

0.28 physicians/1,000 population (2008)

0.7 beds/1,000 population (2008)

urban: 55% of population

rural: 18% of population

total: 34% of population

urban: 45% of population

rural: 82% of population

total: 66% of population

Federal republic ruled by the National Congress Party the (NCP), which came to power by military coup in 1989; the CPA-mandated Government of National Unity, which since 2005 provided a percentage of leadership posts to the south Sudan-based Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), was disbanded following the secession of South Sudan.

17 states (wilayat, singular - wilayah); Al Bahr al Ahmar (Red Sea), Al Jazira (Gezira), Al Khartoum (Khartoum), Al Qadarif (Gedaref), An Nil al Abyad (White Nile), An Nil al Azraq (Blue Nile), Ash Shimaliyya (Northern), Gharb Darfur (Western Darfur), Janub Darfur (Southern Darfur), Janub Kurdufan (Southern Kordofan), Kassala, Nahr an Nil (River Nile), Sharq Darfur (Eastern Darfur), Shimal Darfur (Northern Darfur), Shimal Kurdufan (Northern Kordofan), Sinnar, Wasat Darfur (Central Darfur)

1 January 1956 (from Egypt and the UK)

Independence Day, 1 January (1956)

the Government of Sudan is in the process of drafting a new constitution to replace the Interim National Constitution ratified 5 July 2005

mixed legal system of Islamic law and English common law

accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; withdrew acceptance of ICCt jurisdiction in 2008

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]; Democratic Unionist Party-Original or DUPO; National Congress Party or NCP [Umar Hassan al-BASHIR]; Popular Congress Party or PCP [Hassan al-TURABI]; Umma Federal Party or UFP; Umma Renewal and Reform Party or URRP

Umma Party [SADIQ Siddiq al-Mahdi]; Popular Congress Party or PCP [Hassan al-TURABI]; Democratic Unionist Party [Muhammad Uthman al-MIRGHANI]; Darfur rebel groups including the Justice and Equality Movement or JEM [Jabril IBRAHIM and other factional leaders] and the Sudan Liberation Movement or SLM [various factional leaders]

ABEDA, ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AU, CAEU, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), 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 (NGOs), 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

Sudan is an extremely poor country that has had to deal with social conflict, civil war, and the July 2011 secession of South Sudan - the region of the country that had been responsible for about three-fourths of the former Sudan's total oil production. The oil sector had driven much of Sudan's GDP growth since it began exporting oil in 1999. For nearly a decade, the economy boomed on the back of increases in oil production, high oil prices, and significant inflows of foreign direct investment. Following South Sudan's secession, Sudan has struggled to maintain economic stability, because oil earnings now provide a far lower share of the country's need for hard currency and for budget revenues. Sudan is attempting to generate new sources of revenues, such as from gold mining, while carrying out an austerity program to reduce expenditures. Agricultural production continues to employ 80% of the work force. Sudan introduced a new currency, still called the Sudanese pound, following South Sudan's secession, but the value of the currency has fallen since its introduction. Khartoum formally devalued the currency in June when it passed austerity measures that included gradually repealing fuel subsidies. Sudan also faces rising inflation, which reached 47% on an annual basis in November. Ongoing conflicts in Southern Kordofan, Darfur, and the Blue Nile states, lack of basic infrastructure in large areas, and reliance by much of the population on subsistence agriculture ensure that much of the population will remain at or below the poverty line for years to come.

$80.43 billion (2012 est.)

$90.61 billion (2011 est.)

$94.87 billion (2010 est.)

$51.58 billion (2012 est.)

11.92 million (2007 est.)

26% of GDP (2012 est.)

8.8% of GDP (2012 est.)

-10.8% of GDP (2012 est.)

89.3% of GDP (2012 est.)

89.2% of GDP (2011 est.)

$7.847 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

$9.272 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$12.83 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

$15.6 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$10.97 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

$13.99 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

cotton, groundnuts (peanuts), sorghum, millet, wheat, gum arabic, sugarcane, cassava (tapioca), mangoes, papaya, bananas, sweet potatoes, sesame; sheep and other livestock

-$3.575 billion (2012 est.)

$208.1 million (2011 est.)

$4.548 billion (2012 est.)

$9.694 billion (2011 est.)

gold; oil and petroleum products; cotton, sesame, livestock, groundnuts, gum arabic, sugar

Macau 65.2%, UAE 15.5% (2011)

$6.645 billion (2012 est.)

$8.205 billion (2011 est.)

foodstuffs, manufactured goods, refinery and transport equipment, medicines and chemicals, textiles, wheat

Macau 21.5%, UAE 10.1%, Saudi Arabia 6.9%, India 6.7%, Egypt 5.8%, Germany 4.8% (2011)

$297.9 million (31 December 2012 est.)

$295 million (31 December 2011 est.)

$39.7 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

$38.62 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

Sudanese pounds (SDG) per US dollar -

6.509 billion kWh (2009 est.)

4.611 billion kWh (2009 est.)

2.338 million kW (2009 est.)

30.7% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

66.3% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

3% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

120,000 bbl/day (2012 est.)

370,700 bbl/day (2009 est.)

0 bbl/day (2009 est.)

5 billion bbl (1 January 2012 est.)

85,890 bbl/day (2008 est.)

95,450 bbl/day (2011 est.)

14,950 bbl/day (2008 est.)

24,820 bbl/day (2008 est.)

84.95 billion cu m (1 January 2012 est.)

13.79 million Mt (2010 est.)

25.056 million (2011)

the Sudanese Government directly controls TV and radio, requiring that both media reflect government policies; TV has a permanent military censor; a private radio station is in operation (2007)

gas 156 km; oil 4,070 km; refined products 1,613 km (2010)

4,068 km (1,723 km open year round on White and Blue Nile rivers) (2011)

Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF): Land Forces, Navy (includes Marines), Sudanese Air Force (Sikakh al-Jawwiya as-Sudaniya), Popular Defense Forces (2011)

18-33 years of age for male and female compulsory and voluntary military service; 1-2 year service obligation; a requirement that completion of national service was mandatory before entering public or private sector employment has been cancelled (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; Chad wishes to be a helpful mediator in resolving the Darfur conflict, and in 2010 established a joint border monitoring force with Sudan, which has helped to reduce cross-border banditry and violence; as of 2006, Chad, Ethiopia, Kenya, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Uganda provided shelter for over a half million Sudanese refugees, which include 240,000 Darfur residents driven from their homes by Janjawid armed militia and Sudanese military forces; as of January 2011, Sudan, in turn, hosted about 138,700 Eritreans, 43,000 Chadians, and smaller numbers of Ethiopians; 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; 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; South Sudan-Sudan boundary represents 1 January 1956 alignment, final alignment pending negotiations and demarcation; final sovereignty status of Abyei Area pending negotiations between South Sudan and Sudan