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

Geographic coordinates: 15 00 N, 30 00 E

Map reference: Africa

Area
Total: 2,505,810 km²
Land: 2.376 million km²
Water: 129,810 km²
Comparative: slightly more than one-quarter the size of the US

Land boundaries
Total: 7,687 km
Border countries: (9) 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 (April to October)

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

Elevation
Extremes lowest point: Red Sea 0 m
Extremes highest point: Kinyeti 3,187 m

Natural resources: petroleum; small reserves of iron ore, copper, chromium ore, zinc, tungsten, mica, silver, gold

Land use
Arable land: 5%
Permanent crops: 0%
Permanent pastures: 46%
Forests and woodland: 19%
Other: 30% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 19,460 km² (1993 est.)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: dust storms

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


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Population: 34,475,690 (July 1999 est.)
Growth rate: 2.71% (1999 est.)
Below poverty line: NA%

Nationality
Noun: Sudanese (singular and plural)
Adjective: Sudanese

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

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

Religions: Sunni Muslim 70% (in north), indigenous beliefs 25%, Christian 5% (mostly in south and Khartoum)

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 45% (male 7,941,909; female 7,614,225)
15-64 years: 53% (male 9,094,712; female 9,061,194)
65 years and over: 2% (male 423,389; female 340,261) (1999 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate: 2.71% (1999 est.)

Birth rate: 39.34 births/1000 population (1999 est.)

Death rate: 10.6 deaths/1000 population (1999 est.)

Net migration rate: -1.68 migrant(s)/1000 population (1999 est.)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: inadequate supplies of potable water; wildlife populations threatened by excessive hunting; soil erosion; desertification
International agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
Under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.24 male(s)/female
Total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (1999 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 70.94 deaths/1000 live births (1999 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 56.4 years
Male: 55.41 years
Female: 57.44 years (1999 est.)

Total fertility rate: 5.58 children born/woman (1999 est.)

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
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 46.1%
Male: 57.7%
Female: 34.6% (1995 est.)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name
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 type: transitional_previously ruling military junta; presidential and National Assembly elections held in March 1996; new constitution drafted by Presidential Committee, went into effect on 30 June 1998 after being approved in nationwide referendum

Capital: Khartoum

Administrative divisions: 26 states (wilayat, singular_wilayah; A'ali an Nil, Al Bahr al Ahmar, Al Buhayrat, Al Jazirah, Al Khartum, Al Qadarif, Al Wahdah, An Nil al Abyad, An Nil al Azraq, Ash Shamaliyah, Bahr al Jabal, Gharb al Istiwa'iyah, Gharb Bahr al Ghazal, Gharb Darfur, Gharb Kurdufan, Janub Darfur, Janub Kurdufan, Junqali, Kassala, Nahr an Nil, Shamal Bahr al Ghazal, Shamal Darfur, Shamal Kurdufan, Sharq al Istiwa'iyah, Sinnar, Warab

Dependent areas

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

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

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: NA years of age; universal, but noncompulsory

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Lt. General Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR (since 16 October 1993); First Vice President Ali Uthman Muhammad TAHA (since 17 February 1998), Second Vice President (Police) Maj. General George KONGOR AROP (since NA February 1994); note_the president is both the chief of state and head of government
Head of government: President Lt. General Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR (since 16 October 1993); First Vice President Ali Uthman Muhammad TAHA (since 17 February 1998), Second Vice President (Police) Maj. General George KONGOR AROP (since NA February 1994); note_the president is both the chief of state and head of government
Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president; note_President al-BASHIR's government is dominated by members of Sudan's National Islamic Front (NIF), a fundamentalist political organization formed from the Muslim Brotherhood in 1986; in 1998, the NIF created the National Congress as its legal front; the National Congress/NIF dominates much of Khartoum's overall domestic and foreign policies; President al-BASHIR named a new cabinet on 20 April 1996 which includes members of the National Islamic Front, serving and retired military officers, and civilian technocrats; on 8 March 1998, he reshuffled the cabinet and brought in several former rebel and opposition members as ministers
Elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 6-17 March 1996 (next to be held NA 2001)
Election results: Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR elected president; percent of vote_Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR 75.7%; note_about forty other candidates ran for president
Note: al-BASHIR, as chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council for National Salvation (RCC), assumed power on 30 June 1989 and served concurrently as chief of state, chairman of the RCC, prime minister, and minister of defense until 16 October 1993 when he was appointed president by the RCC; upon its dissolution on 16 October 1993, the RCC's executive and legislative powers were devolved to the president and the Transitional National Assembly (TNA), Sudan's appointed legislative body, which has since been replaced by the National Assembly which was elected in March 1996

Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (400 seats; 275 elected by popular vote, 125 elected by a supraassembly of interest groups known as the National Congress)
Elections: last held 6-17 March 1996 (next to be held NA 2001)
Election results: NA; the March 1996 elections were held on a nonparty basis; parties are banned in the new National Assembly

Judicial branch: Supreme Court; Special Revolutionary Courts

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation: ABEDA, ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Mahdi Ibrahim MAHAMMAD (recalled to Khartoum in August 1998)
In the us chancery: 2,210 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 338-8,565
In the us FAX: [1] (202) 667-2,406
From the us: US officials at the US Embassy in Khartoum were moved for security reasons in February 1996 and have been relocated to the US Embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Cairo, Egypt; they visit Khartoum monthly, but the Sudanese Government has not allowed such visits since August 1998; the US Embassy in Khartoum (located on Sharia Abdul Latif Avenue; mailing address_P.O. Box 699, Khartoum; APO AE 9,829; telephone_[249] (11) 774,611 or 774,700; FAX_[249] (11) 774,137) is kept open by local employees; the US Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya is located temporarily in the USAID Building at The Crescent, Parkland, Nairobi; mailing address_P.O. Box 30,137, Box 21A, Unit 64,100, APO AE 9,831; telephone_[254] (2) 751,613; FAX_[254] (2) 743,204; the US Embassy in Cairo, Egypt is located at (North Gate) 8, Kamel El-Din Salah Street, Garden City, Cairo; mailing address_Unit 64,900, APO AE 9,839-4,900; telephone_[20] (2) 3,557,371; FAX_[20] (2) 3,573,200

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 is buffeted by civil war, chronic political instability, adverse weather, high inflation, a drop in remittances from abroad, and counterproductive economic policies. The private sector's main areas of activity are agriculture and trading, with most private industrial investment predating 1980. Agriculture employs 80% of the work force. Industry mainly processes agricultural items. Sluggish economic performance over the past decade, attributable largely to declining annual rainfall, has kept per capita income at low levels. A large foreign debt and huge arrears continue to cause difficulties. In 1990 the International Monetary Fund took the unusual step of declaring Sudan noncooperative because of its nonpayment of arrears to the Fund. After Sudan backtracked on promised reforms in 1992-93, the IMF threatened to expel Sudan from the Fund. To avoid expulsion, Khartoum agreed to make payments on its arrears to the Fund, liberalize exchange rates, and reduce subsidies, measures it has partially implemented. The government's continued prosecution of the civil war and its growing international isolation continued to inhibit growth in the nonagricultural sectors of the economy during 1998. Hyperinflation has raised consumer prices above the reach of most. In 1998, a top priority was to develop potentially lucrative oilfields in southcentral Sudan; the government is working with foreign partners to exploit the oil sector.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: 6.1% (1998 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity: $930 (1998 est.)

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 33%
Industry: 17%
Services: 50% (1992 est.)

Agriculture products: cotton, groundnuts (peanuts), sorghum, millet, wheat, gum arabic, sesame; sheep

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

Industrial production growth rate: 5% (1996 est.)

Labor force: 11 million (1996 est.)
Note: labor shortages for almost all categories of skilled employment (1983 est.)
By occupation agriculture: 80%
By occupation industry and commerce: 10%
By occupation government: 6%

Unemployment rate: 30% (FY92/93 est.)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: NA%

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $482 million
Expenditures: $1.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $30 million (1996)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year
Note: prior to July 1995, Sudan had a fiscal year that began on 1 July and ended on 30 June; as a transition to their new fiscal year, a six-month budget was implemented for 1 July-31 December 1995; the new calendar year (1 January-31 December) fiscal year became effective 1 January 1996

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: $594 million (f.o.b., 1997)
Commodities: cotton 23%, sesame 22%, livestock/meat 13%, gum arabic 5% (1996)
Partners: Saudi Arabia 20%, UK 14%, China 11%, Italy 8% (1996)

Imports: $1.42 billion (f.o.b., 1997)
Commodities: foodstuffs, petroleum products, manufactured goods, machinery and equipment, medicines and chemicals, textiles (1996)
Partners: Saudi Arabia 10%, South Korea 7%, Germany 6%, Egypt 6% (1996)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $20.3 billion (1996 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: Sudanese pounds (£Sd) per US$1_1,819.70 (April 1998), 1,873.53 (2d Qtr 1998), 1,575.74 (1997), 1,250.79 (1996), 580.87 (1995), 289.61 (1994), 159.31 (1993)


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Electricity
Production: 1.315 billion kWh (1996)
Production by source fossil fuel: 27.76%
Production by source hydro: 72.24%
Production by source nuclear: 0%
Production by source other: 0% (1996)
Consumption: 1.315 billion kWh (1996)
Exports: 0 kWh (1996)
Imports: 0 kWh (1996)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones: 77,215 (1983 est.)

Telephone system: large, well-equipped system by African standards, but barely adequate and poorly maintained by modern standards
Domestic: consists of microwave radio relay, cable, radiotelephone communications, tropospheric scatter, and a domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations
International: satellite earth stations_1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 Arabsat

Broadcast media

Internet

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $550 million (FY98/99)
Percent of gdp: NA%

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: 63 (1998 est.)
With paved runways total: 12
With paved runways over 3047 m: 1
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 8
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 3 (1998 est.)
With unpaved runways total: 51
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 14
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 26
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 11 (1998 est.)

Heliports: 1 (1998 est.)

Pipelines: refined products 815 km

Railways
Total: 5,516 km
Narrow gauge: 4,800 km 1.067-m gauge; 716 km 1.6096-m gauge plantation line

Roadways

Waterways: 5,310 km navigable

Merchant marine
Total: 4 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 38,093 GRT/49,727 DWT
Ships by type: cargo 2, roll-on/roll-off cargo 2 (1998 est.)

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international: administrative boundary with Kenya does not coincide with international boundary; Egypt asserts its claim to the "Hala'ib Triangle," a barren area of 20,580 km² under partial Sudanese administration that is defined by an administrative boundary which supersedes the treaty boundary of 1899

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs