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.

Land boundaries:

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

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

Geography
Note: largest country in Africa

Population: 24,476,290 (July 1989), growth rate 2.7% (1989)

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)

Birth rate: 44 births/1000 population (1989)

Death rate: 14 deaths/1000 population (1989)

Net migration rate: - 3 migrants/1000 population (1989)

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

Infant mortality rate: 98 deaths/1000 live births (1989)

Life expectancy at birth: 51 years male, 55 years female (1989)

Total fertility rate: 6.5 children born/woman (1989)

Literacy: 31% (1986)

Country name: conventional long form: Republic of the Sudan

Government type: republic

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

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 10 October 1985

Legal system: based on English common law and Islamic law; in September 1983 President Nimeiri declared the penal code would conform to Islamic law; however, alternatives to these laws are under review by the Constituent Assembly; some separate religious courts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage: universal adult

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. Zubayr MUHAMMAD (since 9 July 1989)

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

International organization participation: 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 Hasan Al-Amin BASHIR; 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 G. Norman ANDERSON; 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

Economy overview: The economy is dominated by governmental entities that contribute more than 70% to 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 nearly 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.

Agriculture products: cotton, sorghum, millet, wheat, sesame, peanuts, beans, barley, gum arabic; not self-sufficient in food production

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

Industrial production growth rate: 3.6% (FY88)

Labor force:

Unemployment rate: NA

Budget: revenues $867 million; expenditures $1.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $331 million (FY88 est.)

Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June

Exports: $502 million (f.o.b., FY88 est.)
Commodities: cotton 44%, sesame, gum arabic, peanuts
Partners: Western Europe 36%, Saudi Arabia 20%, Eastern Europe 10%, Japan 5%, US 5%

Imports: $1.3 billion (c.i.f., FY88 est.)
Commodities: petroleum products, manufactured goods, machinery and equipment, medicines and chemicals
Partners: Western Europe 38%, US 14%, Africa and Asia 12%, Eastern Europe 3%

Debt external: $8.6 billion (December 1988 est.)

Exchange rates: official rate - Sudanese pounds (LSd) per US$1 - 4.5005 (fixed rate since 1987), 2.8121 (1987), 2.5000 (1986), 2.2883 (1985; commercial exchange rate - set daily, 12.1 (February 1989)

Electricity
Capacity: 606,000 kW capacity; 1,259 million kWh produced, 50 kWh per capita (1988)

Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $134.4 million, 5.5% of central government budget (FY86)

Airports: 79 total, 69 usable; 8 with permanent-surface runways; 4 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 31 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Pipelines: refined products, 815 km

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

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