World Facts Index
 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 2008, peacekeeping troops were struggling to stabilize the situation,
which has become increasingly regional in scope, and has brought instability to
eastern Chad, and Sudanese incursions into the Central African Republic. 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 of Sudan
|
Location:
|
Northern Africa, bordering
the Red Sea, between Egypt and Eritrea |
|
Coordinates:
|
15 00 N, 30 00 E |
|
Area:
|
total: 2,505,810 sq
km
water: 129,810 sq km
land: 2.376 million sq km |
|
Area comparative:
|
slightly more than
one-quarter the size of the US |
|
Land boundaries:
|
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 |
|
Coastline:
|
853 km |
|
Maritime claims:
|
contiguous zone: 18
NM
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
territorial sea: 12 NM |
|
Climate:
|
tropical in south; arid
desert in north; rainy season varies by region (April to November) |
|
Terrain:
|
generally flat, featureless
plain; mountains in far south, northeast and west; desert dominates the
north |
|
Elevation extremes:
|
lowest point: Red
Sea 0 m
highest point: Kinyeti 3,187 m |
|
Natural resources:
|
petroleum; small reserves
of iron ore, copper, chromium ore, zinc, tungsten, mica, silver, gold,
hydropower |
|
Natural hazards:
|
dust storms and periodic
persistent droughts |
|
Environment current issues:
|
inadequate supplies of
potable water; wildlife populations threatened by excessive hunting;
soil erosion; desertification; periodic drought |
|
Geography - note:
|
largest country in Africa;
dominated by the Nile and its tributaries
|
Population of Sudan
|
Population:
|
40,218,456 (July 2008 est.) |
|
Age structure:
|
0-14 years: 42.7% (male 8,993,483/female 8,614,022)
15-64 years: 54.9% (male 11,327,679/female 11,297,798)
65 years and over: 2.4% (male 536,754/female 466,642) |
|
Median age:
|
18.3 years |
|
Growth rate:
|
2.55% |
|
Infant mortality:
|
61.05 deaths/1,000 live births |
|
Life expectancy at birth:
|
total population: 58.92 years
male: 57.69 years
female: 60.21 years |
|
Fertility rate:
|
4.72 children born/woman |
|
Nationality:
|
noun: Sudanese (singular and plural)
adjective: Sudanese |
|
Ethnic groups:
|
black 52%, Arab 39%, Beja 6%, foreigners
2%, other 1% |
|
Religions:
|
Sunni Muslim 70% (in north), indigenous
beliefs 25%, Christian 5% (mostly in south and Khartoum) |
|
Languages:
|
Arabic (official), Nubian, Ta Bedawie,
diverse dialects of Nilotic, Nilo-Hamitic, Sudanic languages, English
note: program of "Arabization" in process |
|
Literacy:
|
definition: age 15 and over can read
and write
total population: 61.1%
male: 71.8%
female: 50.5%
|
Government
|
Country name:
|
conventional long form: Republic of
the Sudan
local short form: As-Sudan
former: Anglo-Egyptian Sudan
local long form: Jumhuriyat as-Sudan |
|
Government type:
|
authoritarian regime - ruling military
junta took power in 1989; government is run by an alliance of the military and the
National Congress Party (NCP), formerly the National Islamic Front (NIF), which espouses
an Islamist platform |
|
Capital:
|
Khartoum |
|
Administrative divisions:
|
26 states (wilayat, singular - wilayah) |
|
Independence:
|
1 January 1956 (from Egypt and UK) |
|
National holiday:
|
Independence Day, 1 January (1956) |
|
Constitution:
|
12 April 1973; suspended following coup of 6 April 1985;
interim constitution of 10 October 1985 suspended following coup of 30 June 1989; new
constitution implemented on 30 June 1998 partially suspended 12 December 1999 by President
BASHIR; under the CPA, Interim National Constitution ratified 5 July 2005; Constitution of
Southern Sudan signed December 2005 |
|
Legal system:
|
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; some separate religious courts; accepts compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction, with reservations |
|
Suffrage:
|
17 years of age; universal, but
noncompulsory |
|
Executive branch:
|
chief of state: President Umar Hassan Ahmad
al-BASHIR (since 16 October 1993); First Vice President Salva KIIR (since 4
August 2005), Vice President Ali Osman TAHA (since 20 September 2005); 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); First Vice President Salva KIIR (since 4 August 2005), Vice President Ali
Osman TAHA (since 20 September 2005)
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 |
|
Legislative branch:
|
bi-cameral body comprising the National Assembly and
Council of States (replaced unicameral National Assembly of 360 seats); pending elections
and National Election Law, the Presidency appointed 450 members to the National Assembly
according to the provisions of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement: 52% NCP; 28% SPLM;
14% other Northerners; 6% other Southerners; 2 representatives from every state constitute
the Council of States; terms in each chamber are five years following the first elections |
|
Judicial branch:
|
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 |
Economy
Sudan's economy is booming 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.
|
GDP:
|
$80.98 billion (2007 est.) |
|
GDP growth rate:
|
7% |
|
GDP per capita:
|
$2,100 |
|
GDP composition by sector:
|
agriculture: 38.7%
industry: 20.3%
services: 41% |
|
Inflation rate:
|
9% |
|
Labor force - by occupation:
|
agriculture: 80%
industry: 7%
services: 13% |
|
Budget:
|
revenues: $6.182 billion
expenditures: $5.753 billion |
|
Electricity production by source:
|
fossil fuel: 52.1%
hydro: 47.9%
other: 0% |
|
Industries:
|
oil, cotton ginning, textiles, cement,
edible oils, sugar, soap distilling, shoes, petroleum refining, pharmaceuticals,
armaments, automobile/light truck assembly |
|
Agriculture:
|
cotton, groundnuts (peanuts), sorghum,
millet, wheat, gum arabic, sugarcane, cassava (tapioca), mangos, papaya, bananas, sweet
potatoes, sesame; sheep, livestock |
|
Exports:
|
oil and petroleum products; cotton, sesame,
livestock, groundnuts, gum arabic, sugar |
|
Export partners:
|
China 46.7%, Japan 32.7%, Saudi Arabia 3.9% |
|
Imports:
|
foodstuffs, manufactured goods, refinery
and transport equipment, medicines and chemicals, textiles, wheat |
|
Import partners:
|
China 20.6%, Saudi Arabia 8.6%, Germany 4.4%, UAE 4.4% |
|
Currency:
|
Sudanese dinar (SDD) |
SOURCES: The CIA World Factbook, U.S. Department of State, Area Handbook of the US Library of Congress
Copyright 2004 - 2008 worldfacts.us |