Map of Sudan | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024 | More stats

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Background: Military dictatorships promulgating an Islamic government have mostly run the country since independence from the UK in 1956. Over the past two decades a civil war pitting black Christians and animists in the south against the Arab-Muslims of the north has cost at least 1.5 million lives in war and famine-related deaths as well as the displacement of millions of others.


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Location

Geographic coordinates

Map reference

Area

Land boundaries: 7,697 km total; Central African Republic 1,165 km, Chad 1,360 km, Egypt 1,273 km, Ethiopia 2,221 km, Kenya 232 km, Libya 383 km, Uganda 435 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 628 km

Coastline: 853 km

Maritime claims
Contiguous zone: 18 nm
Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation
Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: tropical in south; arid desert in north; rainy season (April to October)

Terrain: generally flat, featureless plain; mountains in east and west

Elevation

Natural resources: modest reserves of crude oil, iron ore, copper, chromium ore, zinc, tungsten, mica, silver, crude oil

Land use: 5% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 24% meadows and pastures; 20% forest and woodland; 51% other; includes 1% irrigated

Irrigated land

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards

Geography
Note: largest country in Africa


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Population: 24,971,806 (July 1990), growth rate 2.9% (1990)

Nationality: noun--Sudanese (sing. and pl.; adjective--Sudanese

Ethnic groups: 52% black, 39% Arab, 6% Beja, 2% foreigners, 1% other

Languages: Arabic (official), Nubian, Ta Bedawie, diverse dialects of Nilotic, Nilo-Hamitic, and Sudanic languages, English; program of Arabization in process

Religions: 70% Sunni Muslim (in north), 20% indigenous beliefs, 5% Christian (mostly in south and Khartoum)

Demographic profile

Age structure

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate

Birth rate: 44 births/1000 population (1990)

Death rate: 14 deaths/1000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: - 2 migrants/1000 population (1990)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: dominated by the Nile and its tributaries; dust storms; desertification

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 107 deaths/1000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 51 years male, 55 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 6.5 children born/woman (1990)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy: 31% (1986)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name: conventional long form: Republic of the Sudan

Government type: military; civilian government suspended and martial law imposed after 30 June 1989 coup

Capital: Khartoum

Administrative divisions: 9 regions (aqalim, singular--iqlim; Aali an Nil, Al Awsat, Al Istiwai, Al Khartum, Ash Shamali, Ash Sharqi, Bahr al Ghazal, Darfur, Kurdufan

Dependent areas

Independence: 1 January 1956 (from Egypt and UK; formerly Anglo-Egyptian Sudan)

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

Legal system: based on English common law and Islamic law; in September 1983 then President Nimeiri declared the penal code would conform to Islamic law; some separate religious courts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: none

Executive branch: Chief of State and Head of Government--Revolutionary Command Council Chairman and Prime Minister Brig. Gen. Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR (since 30 June 1989; Deputy Chairman of the Command Council and Deputy Prime Minister Brig. Gen. al-Zubayr Muhammad SALIH (since 9 July 1989)

Legislative branch: Army, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Force

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, Special Revolutionary Courts

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, APC, Arab League, CCC, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, IDA, IDB--Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us: Ambassador Abdallah Ahmad ABDALLAH; Chancery at 2,210 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20,008; telephone (202) 338-8,565 through 8,570; there is a Sudanese Consulate General in New York; US--Ambassador James CHEEK; Embassy at Shar'ia Ali Abdul Latif, Khartoum (mailing address is P. O. Box 699, Khartoum, or APO New York 9,668; telephone 74,700 or 75,680, 74,611

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black with a green isosceles triangle based on the hoist side

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: Sudan, one of the world's poorest countries, is buffeted by civil war, chronic political instability, adverse weather, and counterproductive economic policies. The economy is dominated by governmental entities that account for more than 70% of new investment. The private sector's main areas of activity are agriculture and trading, with most private industrial investment predating 1980. The economy's base is agriculture, which employs 80% of the work force. Industry mainly processes agricultural items. A high foreign debt and arrearages of about $13 billion continue to cause difficulties. Since 1979 the International Monetary Fund has provided assistance and has forced Sudan to make economic reforms aimed at improving the performance of the economy.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate

Real gdp per capita

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Agriculture products: accounts for 35% of GNP and 80% of labor force; untapped potential for higher farm production; two-thirds of land area suitable for raising crops and livestock; major products--cotton, oilseeds, sorghum, millet, wheat, gum arabic, sheep; marginally self-sufficient in most foods

Industries: cotton ginning, textiles, cement, edible oils, sugar, soap distilling, shoes, petroleum refining

Industrial production growth rate: - 1.7% (FY89 est.)

Labor force:

Unemployment rate: NA

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget: revenues $514 million; expenditures $1.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $183 million (FY89 est.)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June

Inflation rate consumer prices

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports: $550 million (f.o.b., FY89 est.)
Commodities: cotton 43%, sesame, gum arabic, peanuts
Partners: Western Europe 46%, Saudi Arabia 14%, Eastern Europe 9%, Japan 9%, US 3% (FY88)

Imports: $1.2 billion (c.i.f., FY89 est.)
Commodities: petroleum products, manufactured goods, machinery and equipment, medicines and chemicals
Partners: Western Europe 32%, Africa and Asia 15%, US 13%, Eastern Europe 3% (FY88)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $11.6 billion (December 1989 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: official rate--Sudanese pounds (LSd) per US$1--4.5004 (fixed rate since 1987), 2.8121 (1987), 2.5000 (1986), 2.2883 (1985; note--commercial exchange rate is set daily, 12.2 (March 1990)


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Electricity
Capacity: 606,000 kW capacity; 900 million kWh produced, 37 kWh per capita (1989)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones

Telephone system

Broadcast media

Internet

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Percent of gdp: 7.2% of GDP, or $610 million (1989 est)

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 78 total, 68 usable; 8 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 4 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 31 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Heliports

Pipelines: refined products, 815 km

Railways

Roadways

Waterways: 5,310 km navigable

Merchant marine: 10 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 91,107 GRT/122,222 DWT; includes 8 cargo, 2 roll-on/roll-off cargo

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international: international boundary and Administrative Boundary with Kenya; international boundary and Administrative Boundary with Egypt

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs