Background: Military regimes favoring Islamic-oriented governments have dominated national politics since independence from the UK in 1956. Sudan has been embroiled in a civil war for all but 10 years of this period (1972-82). The wars are rooted in northern economic political and social domination of non-Muslim non-Arab southern Sudanese. Since 1983 the war and war- and famine-related effects have led to more than 2 million deaths and over 4 million people displaced. The ruling regime is a mixture of military elite and an Islamist party that came to power in a 1989 coup. Some northern opposition parties have made common cause with the southern rebels and entered the war as a part of an anti-government alliance. Peace talks gained momentum in 2002-03 with the signing of several accords including a cease-fire agreement.

Geographic coordinates: 15 00 N 30 00 E

Map reference: Africa

Area
Total: 2,505,810 km²
Water: 129,810 km²
Land: 2.376 million 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 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
Extremes highest point: Kinyeti 3,187 m

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

Land use
Arable land: 7.03%
Permanent crops: 0.08%
Other: 92.89% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land: 19,500 km² (1998 est.)

Natural hazards: dust storms and periodic persistent droughts

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

Population: 38,114,160 (July 2003 est.)
Growth rate: 2.71% (2003 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
Note: program of 'Arabization' in process

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

Age structure
0-14 years: 44% (male 8,562,412; female 8,195,201)
15-64 years: 53.8% (male 10,260,581; female 10,246,045)
65 years and over: 2.2% (male 468,898; female 381,023) (2003 est.)

Median age
Total: 17.7 years
Male: 17.5 years
Female: 17.9 years (2002)

Population growth rate: 2.71% (2003 est.)

Birth rate: 36.48 births/1000 population (2003 est.)

Death rate: 9.59 deaths/1000 population (2003 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.24 migrant(s)/1000 population (2003 est.)

Environment
Current issues: inadequate supplies of potable water; wildlife populations threatened by excessive hunting; soil erosion; desertification; periodic drought
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

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.04 male/female
15-64 years: 1 male/female
65 years and over: 1.23 male/female
Total population: 1.03 male/female (2003 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 65.59 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 64.85 deaths/1000 live births (2003 est.)
Male: 66.3 deaths/1000 live births

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 57.73 years
Male: 56.59 years
Female: 58.93 years (2003 est.)

Total fertility rate: 5.1 children born/woman (2003 est.)

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: 2.6% (2001 est.)
People living with hivaids: 450,000 (2001 est.)
Deaths: 23,000 (2001 est.)

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 61.1%
Male: 71.8%
Female: 50.5% (2003 est.)

Country name
Conventional long form: Republic of the Sudan
Conventional short form: Sudan
Local short form: As-Sudan
Local long form: Jumhuriyat as-Sudan
Former: Anglo-Egyptian 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); 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

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

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 Lt. Gen. Umar Hassan Ahmad al-BASHIR (since 16 October 1993); First Vice President Ali Uthman Muhammad TAHA (since 17 February 1998), Second Vice President Moses MACHAR (since 12 February 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
Elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 13-23 December 2000 (next to be held NA 2005)
Note: Lt. Gen. al-BASHIR assumed supreme executive power in 1989 and retained it through several transitional governments in the early and mid-1990s before being popularly elected for the first time in March 1996
Election results: Lt. Gen. Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR reelected president; percent of vote - Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR 86.5%, Ja'afar Muhammed NUMAYRI 9.6%, three other candidates received a combined vote of 3.9%; election widely viewed as rigged; all popular opposition parties boycotted elections because of a lack of guarantees for a free and fair election
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
Head of government: President Lt. Gen. Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR (since 16 October 1993); First Vice President Ali Uthman Muhammad TAHA (since 17 February 1998), Second Vice President Moses MACHAR (since 12 February 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

Legislative branch
Elections: last held 13-22 December 2000 (next to be held NA December 2004)
Note: on 12 December 1999, BASHIR dismissed the National Assembly during an internal power struggle between the president and the speaker of the National Assembly Hassan al-TURABI
Election results: NCP 355, others 5

Judicial branch: Supreme Court; Special Revolutionary Courts

Political parties and leaders: the government allows political 'associations' under a 1998 law revised in 2000; to obtain government approval parties must accept the constitution and refrain from advocating or using violence against the regime; approved parties include the National Congress Party or NCP [Ibrahim Ahmed UMAR] Popular National Congress or PNC [Hassan al-TURABI] and over 20 minor pro-government parties

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

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge D'Affairs, Ad Interim Khidir Haroun AHMED (since April 2001)
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 338-8,565
In the us fax: [1] (202) 667-2,406
In the us chancery: 2,210 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,008
From the us: US Embassy in Khartoum is 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

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

Economy overview: Sudan has turned around a struggling economy with sound economic policies and infrastructure investments but it still faces formidable economic problems notably the low level of per capita output. From 1997 to date Sudan has been implementing IMF macroeconomic reforms. In 1999 Sudan began exporting crude oil and in the last quarter of 1999 recorded its first trade surplus which along with monetary policy has stabilized the exchange rate. Increased oil production revived light industry and expanded export processing zones helped maintain GDP growth at 5.1% in 2002. Agriculture production remains Sudan's most important sector employing 80% of the work force and contributing 43% of GDP but most farms remain rain-fed and susceptible to drought. Chronic domestic instability lagging reforms adverse weather and weak world agricultural prices - but above all the low starting point - ensure that much of the population will remain at or below the poverty line for years.

Real gdp growth rate: 5.1% (2002 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $1400 (2002 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 43%
Industry: 17%
Services: 40% (1999 est.)

Agriculture products: cotton groundnuts (peanuts) sorghum millet wheat gum arabic sugarcane cassava (tapioca) mangos papaya bananas sweet potatoes sesame; sheep livestock

Industries: oil cotton ginning textiles cement edible oils sugar soap distilling shoes petroleum refining pharmaceuticals armaments automobile/light truck assembly

Industrial production growth rate: 8.5% (1999 est.)

Labor force: 11 million (1996 est.)
By occupation agriculture: 80%
By occupation industry and commerce: 7%
By occupation government: 13% (1998 est.)

Unemployment rate: 18.7% (2002 est.)

Population below poverty line: NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: NA%
Highest 10: NA%

Budget
Revenues: $1.6 billion
Expenditures: $1.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 9.2% (2002 est.)

Exports: $1.8 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Commodities: oil and petroleum products; cotton sesame livestock groundnuts gum arabic sugar
Partners: China 55.7% Japan 14% Saudi Arabia 4.9% (2002)

Imports: $1.5 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Commodities: foodstuffs manufactured goods refinery and transport equipment medicines and chemicals textiles wheat
Partners: China 19.7% Saudi Arabia 7.4% Germany 5.5% India 5.5% UK 5.4% Indonesia 4.7% Australia 4% (2002)

Debt external: $15.8 billion (2002 est.)

Exchange rates: Sudanese dinars per US dollar - 263.31 (2002) 258.7 (2001) 257.12 (2000) 252.55 (1999) 200.8 (1998)

Electricity
Production: 2.389 billion kWh (2001)
Production by source fossil fuel: 52.1%
Production by source hydro: 47.9%
Production by source other: 0% (2001)
Production by source nuclear: 0%
Consumption: 2.222 billion kWh (2001)
Exports: 0 kWh (2001)
Imports: 0 kWh (2001)

Natural gas
Proven reserves: 99.11 billion m³ (37,257)

Telephones
Main lines in use: 400,000 (2000)
Mobile cellular: 20,000 (2000)

Telephone system
General assessment: large, well-equipped system by regional standards and being upgraded; cellular communications started in 1996 and have expanded substantially
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 (2000)

Internet
Country code: .sd
Service providers isps: 2 (2002)
Users: 56,000 (2002)

Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $581 million (2001 est.)
Percent of gdp: 2.5% (1999)

Airports: 63 (2002)
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 (2002)
With unpaved runways total: 51
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 10 (2002)
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 17
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 24

Heliports: 2 (2002)

Pipelines: gas 156 km; oil 2,297 km; refined products 810 km (2003)

Railways
Total: 5,978 km
Narrow gauge: 4,578 km 1.067-m gauge; 1,400 km 0.600-m gauge plantation line (2002)

Waterways: 5,310 km

Merchant marine
Total: 4 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 29,854 GRT/39,084 DWT
Ships by type: cargo 1, livestock carrier 1, roll on/roll off 2 (2002 est.)

Disputes international: the north-south civil war has drawn Sudan's neighbors into the fighting sheltering refugees and infiltration by rebel groups - Kenya and Uganda have acted as mediators; Sudan accuses Eritrea of supporting Sudanese rebel groups; efforts to demarcate the porous boundary with Ethiopia have been delayed by fighting in Sudan; Kenya's administrative boundary still extends into the Sudan creating the 'Ilemi triangle'; Egypt and Sudan retain claims to administer the triangular areas that extend north and south of the 1899 Treaty boundary along the 22nd Parallel but have withdrawn their military presence; Egypt is economically developing the 'Hala'ib triangle'