Background: Military regimes favoring Islamic-oriented governments have dominated national politics since independence from Anglo-Egyptian co-rule 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 another broke out in 1983. 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 followed by a referendum on independence for Southern Sudan. The referendum was held in January 2011 and indicated overwhelming support for independence. South Sudan became independent on 9 July 2011. Sudan and South Sudan have yet to fully implement security and economic agreements signed in September 2012 relating to the normalization of relations between the two countries. The final disposition of the contested Abyei region has also to be decided. The 30-year reign of President Umar Hassan Ahmad al-BASHIR ended in his ouster in April 2019, and a Sovereignty Council, a joint civilian-military-executive body, holds power as of November 2019.

Geographic coordinates: 15 00 N, 30 00 E

Map reference: Africa

Area
Total: 1,861,484 km²
Land: 1,731,671 km²
Water: 129,813 km²
Rank: 17
Comparative: slightly less than one-fifth the size of the US

Land boundaries
Total: 6,819 km
Border countries: (7) Central African Republic 174 km; , Chad 1403 km; , Egypt 1276 km; , Eritrea 682 km; , Ethiopia 744 km; , Libya 382 km; , South Sudan 2,158 km: note: Sudan-South Sudan boundary represents 1 January 1956 alignment; final alignment pending negotiations and demarcation; final sovereignty status of Abyei region pending negotiations between Sudan and South Sudan

Coastline: 853 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Contiguous zone: 18 nm

Climate: hot and dry; arid desert; rainy season varies by region (April to November)

Terrain: generally flat, featureless plain; desert dominates the north

Elevation
Mean elevation: 568 m
Lowest point: Red Sea 0 m
Highest point: Jabal Marrah 3,042 m

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

Land use
Agricultural land: 100% (2011 est.)
Forest: 0% (2011 est.)
Other: 0% (2011 est.)

Irrigated land: 18,900 km² (2012)

Natural hazards: dust storms and periodic persistent droughts

Geography
Note: the Nile is Sudan's primary water source; its major tributaries, the White Nile and the Blue Nile, meet at Khartoum to form the River Nile which flows northward through Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea

Population
Distribution: with the exception of a ribbon of settlement that corresponds to the banks of the Nile, northern Sudan, which extends into the dry Sahara, is sparsely populated; more abundant vegetation and broader access to water increases population distribution in the south extending habitable range along nearly the entire border with South Sudan; sizeable areas of population are found around Khartoum, southeast between the Blue and White Nile Rivers, and througout South Darfur: 43,120,843 (July 2018 est.)
Rank: 33
Growth rate: 2.93% (2018 est.)
Growth rate rank: 9
Below poverty line: 46.5% (2009 est.)

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

Ethnic groups: unspecified Sudanese Arab (approximately 70%), Fur, Beja, Nuba, Fallata

Languages: Arabic (official), English (official), Nubian, Ta Bedawie, Fur

Religions: Sunni Muslim, small Christian minority

Age structure
0-14 years: 43.07% (male 9,434,634 /female 9,136,951)
15-24 years: 20.22% (male 4,459,335 /female 4,259,341)
25-54 years: 29.8% (male 6,236,954 /female 6,612,593)
55-64 years: 3.93% (male 876,614 /female 819,048)
65 years and over: 2.98% (male 688,391 /female 596,982) (2018 est.)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 81.6 (2015 est.)
Youth dependency ratio: 75.4 (2015 est.)
Elderly dependency ratio: 6.3 (2015 est.)
Potential support ratio: 15.9 (2015 est.)

Median age
Total: 17.9 years (2018 est.)
Male: 17.7 years
Female: 18.1 years
Rank: 214

Population growth rate: 2.93% (2018 est.)
Rank: 9

Birth rate: 34.2 births/1000 population (2018 est.)
Rank: 23

Death rate: 6.7 deaths/1000 population (2018 est.)
Rank: 139

Net migration rate: 1.9 migrant(s)/1000 population (2018 est.)
Rank: 52

Population distribution: with the exception of a ribbon of settlement that corresponds to the banks of the Nile, northern Sudan, which extends into the dry Sahara, is sparsely populated; more abundant vegetation and broader access to water increases population distribution in the south extending habitable range along nearly the entire border with South Sudan; sizeable areas of population are found around Khartoum, southeast between the Blue and White Nile Rivers, and througout South Darfur

Urbanization
Urban population: 34.9% of total population
Note: (2015-20 est.)
Rate of urbanization: 3.17% annual rate of change

Major urban areas
Population: 5.678 million KHARTOUM (capital), 878,000 Nyala (2019)

Environment
Current issues: water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water; water scarcity and periodic drought; wildlife populations threatened by excessive hunting; soil erosion; desertification; deforestation; loss of biodiversity
International agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 0.94 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.15 male(s)/female
Total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2018 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 44.2 deaths/1000 live births (2018 est.)
Male: 49.2 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 38.8 deaths/1000 live births
Rank: 40

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 65.8 years (2018 est.)
Male: 63.7 years
Female: 68.1 years
Rank: 177

Total fertility rate: 4.85 children born/woman (2018 est.)
Rank: 17

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 12.2% (2014)

Drinking water source
Urban: 34% of population
Rural: 49.8% of population
Total: 44.5% of population (2012 est.)

Current health expenditure: 5.7% (2016)

Physicians density: 0.41 physicians/1000 population (2015)

Hospital bed density: 0.8 beds/1000 population (2013)

Sanitation facility access
Urban: 56.1% of population (2012 est.)
Rural: 86.6% of population (2012 est.)
Total: 76.4% of population (2012 est.)

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.2% (2018 est.)
Adult prevalence rate rank: 112
People living with hivaids: 59,000 (2018 est.)
People living with hivaids rank: 58
Deaths: 2,900 (2018 est.)
Deaths rank: 37

Major infectious diseases
Degree of risk: very high (2016)
Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever (2016)
Vectorborne diseases: malaria, dengue fever, and Rift Valley fever (2016)
Water contact diseases: schistosomiasis (2016)
Animal contact diseases: rabies (2016)
Respiratory diseases: meningococcal meningitis (2016)

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 6.6% (2014)
Rank: 166

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 33.5% (2014)
Rank: 5

Education expenditures: 2.2% of GDP (2009)
Rank: 166

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 75.9%
Male: 83.3%
Female: 68.6% (2015)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 8 years
Male: 8 years
Female: 7 years (2015)

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, Democratic Republic of the Sudan
Etymology: the name Sudan derives from the Arabic bilad-as-sudan meaning Land of the Black [peoples]

Government type: presidential republic

Capital
Name: Khartoum
Geographic coordinates: 15 36 N, 32 32 E
Time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time): etymology: several explanations of the name exist; two of the more plausible are that it is derived from Arabic 'al-jartum' meaning 'elephant's trunk' or 'hose,' and likely referring to the narrow strip of land extending between the Blue and White Niles; alternatively, the name could derive from the Dinka words 'khar-tuom,' indicating a 'place where rivers meet'

Administrative divisions: 18 states (wilayat, singular - wilayah); Blue Nile, Central Darfur, East Darfur, Gedaref, Gezira, Kassala, Khartoum, North Darfur, North Kordofan, Northern, Red Sea, River Nile, Sennar, South Darfur, South Kordofan, West Darfur, West Kordofan, White Nile

Independence: 1 January 1956 (from Egypt and the UK)

National holiday: Independence Day, 1 January (1956)

Constitution
History: previous 1973, 1998; 2005 (interim constitution, which was suspended in April 2019); latest initial draft completed by Transitional Military Council in May 2019; revised draft known as the Draft Constitutional Charter for the 2019 Transitional Period, was signed by the Council and opposition coalition on 4 August 2019
Amendments: NA (2017)

Legal system: mixed legal system of Islamic law and English common law

International law organization participation: accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; withdrew acceptance of ICCt jurisdiction in 2008

Citizenship
Citizenship by birth: no
Citizenship by descent only: the father must be a citizen of Sudan
Dual citizenship recognized: no
Residency requirement for naturalization: 10 years

Suffrage: 17 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: president (vacant); note - as of August 2019, the ruling military council and civilian opposition alliance have signed a power-sharing deal as the Sovereignty Council, consisting of 6 civilians and 5 generals; chairmanship of the Council will rotate for a period of 3 years until elections can be held; Chairman of the Sovereignty Council - General Abd-al-Fatah al-BURHAN Abd-al-Rahman
Head of government: 

president (vacant); note - on 4 August 2019, the ruling military council and civilian opposition alliance signed a power-sharing deal as the Sovereignty Council, consisting of 6 civilians and 5 generals; chairmanship of the Council is currently led by the military, but intended to transition to civilian leadership in May 2021 until elections can be held

Cabinet: Transitional Cabinet appointed by the prime minister from a list of candidates from the Forces of Freedom and Change and confirmed by the Sovereignty Council, except the ministers of defense and Interior, who are nominated by the military component of the Sovereignty Council (2019)
Electionsappointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed; last held on 13-16 April 2015 (next to be held in 2022 at the end of the transitional period); prime minister typically appointed by the president; note - the position of prime minister was reinstated in December 2016 as a result of the 2015-16 national dialogue process, and President al-BASHIR appointed BAKRI Hassan Salih to the position on 2 March 2017; on 21 August 2019, the Forces for Freedom and Change, the civilian opposition alliance, named Abdallah HANDOUK as prime minister of Sudan for the transitional period
Election results: Umar Hassan Ahmad al-BASHIR reelected president; percent of vote - Umar Hassan Ahmad al-BASHIR (NCP) 94.1%, other (15 candidates) 5.9%

Legislative branch
Description: according to the August 2019 Constitutional Decree, which established Sudans transitional government, the Transitional Legislative Council (TLC) will serve as the national legislature during the transitional period until elections can be held in 2022; as of early December 2019, the TLC had not been established
Elections:
Election results:

Judicial branch
Highest courts: National Supreme Court (consists of 70 judges organized into panels of 3 judges and includes 4 circuits that operate outside the capital); Constitutional Court (consists of 9 justices including the court president); note - the Constitutional Court resides outside the national judiciary
Judge selection and term of office: National Supreme Court and Constitutional Court judges selected by the Supreme Judicial Council, which replaced the National Judicial Service Commission upon enactment of the Draft Constitutional Charter for the 2019 Transitional Period
Subordinate courts: Court of Appeal; other national courts; public courts; district, town, and rural courts

Political parties and leaders: Democratic Unionist Party or DUP [Jalal al-DIGAIR]Democratic Unionist Party [Muhammad Uthman al-MIRGHANI]Federal Umma Party [Dr. Ahmed Babikir NAHAR]Muslim Brotherhood or MBNational Congress Party or NCP (in November 2019, Sudan's transitional government approved a law to 'dismantle' the regime of former President Omar al-Bashir, including the dissolution of his political party, the NCP) National Umma Party or NUP [Saddiq al-MAHDI]Popular Congress Party or PCP [Hassan al-TURABI]Reform Movement Now [Dr. Ghazi Salahuddin al-ATABANI]Sudan National Front [Ali Mahmud HASANAYN]Sudanese Communist Party or SCP [Mohammed Moktar Al-KHATEEB]Sudanese Congress Party or SCoP [Ibrahim Al-SHEIKH]Umma Party for Reform and DevelopmentUnionist Movement Party or UMP

International organization participation: ABEDA, ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AU, CAEU, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)

Diplomatic representation
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 chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge dAffaires Steven KOUTSIS (since November 2016)
From the us telephone: [249] 18,702-2000
From the us embassy: P. O. Box 699, Kilo 10, Soba, Khartoum
From the us mailing address: P.O. Box 699, Kilo 10, Soba, Khartoum; APO AE 9,829
From the us FAX: [249] 18,702-2,547

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black with a green isosceles triangle based on the hoist side; colors and design based on the Arab Revolt flag of World War I, but the meanings of the colors are expressed as follows: red signifies the struggle for freedom, white is the color of peace, light, and love, black represents the people of Sudan (in Arabic 'Sudan' means black), green is the color of Islam, agriculture, and prosperity

National symbols: secretary bird; national colors: red, white, black, green

National anthem
Name: Nahnu Djundulla Djundulwatan (We Are the Army of God and of Our Land)
Lyricsmusic: Sayed Ahmad Muhammad SALIH/Ahmad MURJAN: note: adopted 1956; originally served as the anthem of the Sudanese military

Economy overview: Sudan has experienced protracted social conflict, civil war, and, in July 2011, the loss of three quarters of its oil production due to the secession of South Sudan. The oil sector had driven much of Sudan's GDP growth since 1999. For nearly a decade, the economy boomed on the back of rising oil production, high oil prices, and significant inflows of foreign direct investment. Since the economic shock of South Sudan's secession, Sudan has struggled to stabilize its economy and make up for the loss of foreign exchange earnings. The interruption of oil production in South Sudan in 2012 for over a year and the consequent loss of oil transit fees further exacerbated the fragile state of Sudan’s economy. Ongoing conflicts in Southern Kordofan, Darfur, and the Blue Nile states, lack of basic infrastructure in large areas, and reliance by much of the population on subsistence agriculture, keep close to half of the population at or below the poverty line.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Rank: 71

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 177

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 174

Gross national saving:
Rank: 149

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 77.3% (2017 est.)
Government consumption: 5.8% (2017 est.)
Investment in fixed capital: 18.4% (2017 est.)
Investment in inventories: 0.6% (2017 est.)
Exports of goods and services: 9.7% (2017 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -11.8% (2017 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 39.6% (2017 est.)
Industry: 2.6% (2017 est.)
Services: 57.8% (2017 est.)

Agriculture products: cotton, groundnuts (peanuts), sorghum, millet, wheat, gum Arabic, sugarcane, cassava (manioc, tapioca), mangoes, papaya, bananas, sweet potatoes, sesame seeds; animal feed, sheep and other livestock

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

Industrial production growth rate: 4.5% (2017 est.)
Rank: 66

Labor force: 11.92 million (2007 est.)
Rank: 49
By occupation agriculture: 80%
By occupation industry: 7%
By occupation services: 13% (1998 est.)

Unemployment rate:
Rank: 184

Population below poverty line: 46.5% (2009 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 2.7%
Highest 10: 26.7% (2009 est.)

Budget
Revenues: 8.48 billion (2017 est.)
Expenditures: 13.36 billion (2017 est.)
Surplus or deficit: -10.6% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 213

Taxes and other revenues: 18.5% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
Rank: 159

Public debt:
Rank: 10

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices:
Rank: 223

Commercial bank prime lending rate:
Rank: 63

Stock of narrow money:
Rank: 69

Stock of broad money:
Rank: 70

Stock of domestic credit:
Rank: 81

Market value of publicly traded shares: NA

Current account balance:
Rank: 182

Exports:
Rank: 117
Partners: UAE 55.5%, Egypt 14.7%, Saudi Arabia 8.8% (2017)
Commodities: gold; oil and petroleum products; cotton, sesame, livestock, peanuts, gum Arabic, sugar

Imports:
Rank: 110
Commodities: foodstuffs, manufactured goods, refinery and transport equipment, medicines, chemicals, textiles, wheat
Partners: UAE 12.7%, Egypt 10.6%, India 10.5%, Turkey 10.2%, Japan 7.6%, Saudi Arabia 6%, Germany 4.6% (2017)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
Rank: 177

Debt external:
Rank: 62

Stock of direct foreign investment at home: $25.47 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
Rank: 75

Exchange rates:

Electricity
Access population without electricity: 22 million (2017)
Access electrification total population: 45% (2017)
Access electrification urban areas: 71% (2017)
Access electrification rural areas: 31% (2017)
Production: 13.99 billion kWh (2016 est.)
Production rank: 89
Consumption: 12.12 billion kWh (2016 est.)
Consumption rank: 88
Exports: 0 kWh (2016 est.)
Exports rank: 203
Imports: 0 kWh (2016 est.)
Imports rank: 205
Installed generating capacity: 3.437 million kW (2016 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 96
Generation sources fossil fuels: 44% of total installed capacity (2016 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 162
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 188
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 51% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 39
Generation sources other renewable sources: 6% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 104

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 95,000 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 43
Crude oil exports: 19,540 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 50
Crude oil imports: 9,440 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 73
Crude oil proven reserves: 5 billion bbl (1 January 2018 est.)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 22

Refined petroleum
Products production: 94,830 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products production rank: 68
Products consumption: 112,000 bbl/day (2016 est.)
Products consumption rank: 75
Products exports: 8,541 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products exports rank: 85
Products imports: 24,340 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products imports rank: 108

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2017 est.)
Production rank: 201
Consumption: 0 m³ (2017 est.)
Consumption rank: 202
Exports: 0 m³ (2017 est.)
Exports rank: 190
Imports: 0 m³ (2017 est.)
Imports rank: 193
Proven reserves: 84.95 billion m³ (1 January 2018 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 55

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 16.03 million Mt (2017 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 92

Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 143,280 (2017 est.)
Fixed lines rank: 130
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 28,644,139
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 77 (2017 est.)
Mobile cellular rank: 45

Telephone system
General assessment: well-equipped system by regional standards and being upgraded; cellular communications started in 1996 and have expanded substantially with wide coverage of most major cities; economic climate has not encouraged growth in telecoms, but some investment has been made to build mobile towers and expand LTE services (2018)
Domestic: consists of microwave radio relay, cable, fiber optic, radiotelephone communications, tropospheric scatter, and a domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations; teledensity fixed-line less than 1 per 100 and mobile-cellular 77 telephones per 100 persons (2018)
International: country code - 249; landing points for the EASSy, FALCON and SAS-1,-2, fiber-optic submarine cable systems linking Africa, the Middle East, Indian Ocean Islands and Asia; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2019)

Broadcast media: the Sudanese Government directly controls TV and radio, requiring that both media reflect government policies; TV has a permanent military censor; a private radio station is in operation (2019)

Internet
Country code: .sd
Users total: 10,284,260
Users percent of population: 28% (July 2016 est.)
Users rank: 47

Broadband fixed subscriptions
Total: 31,082 (2017 est.)
Rank: 140

Military expenditures:
Rank: 41

Military and security forces: Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF): Ground Force, Navy, Sudanese Air Force; Rapid Support Forces (paramilitary); Popular Defense Forces (paramilitary) (2019)

Military service age and obligation: 18-33 years of age for male and female compulsory or voluntary military service; 1-2 year service obligation (2013)

National air transport system
Number of registered air carriers: 6 (2015)
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 25 (2015)
Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 496,178 (2015)
Annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 13,161,592
Note: mt-km (2015)

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: ST (2016)

Airports: 74 (2013)
Rank: 71
With paved runways total: 16 (2013)
With paved runways over 3047 m: 2 (2013)
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 10 (2013)
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 2 (2013)
With paved runways under 914 m: 2 (2013)
With unpaved runways total: 58 (2013)
With unpaved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 1 (2013)
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 17 (2013)
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 28 (2013)
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 12 (2013)

Heliports: 6 (2013)

Pipelines: 156 km gas, 4,070 km oil, 1613 km refined products (2013)

Railways
Total: 7,251 km (2014)
Narrow gauge: 5,851 km
Note: 1.067-m gauge (2014): 1,400 km 0.600-m gauge for cotton plantations
Rank: 31

Waterways: 4,068 km
Note: (1723 km open year-round on White and Blue Nile Rivers) (2011)
Rank: 24

Merchant marine
Total: 18
By type: general cargo 1, other 17 (2018)
Rank: 140

Ports and terminals
Major seaport: Port Sudan

Disputes international: the effects of Sudan's ethnic and rebel militia fighting since the mid-20th century have penetrated all of the neighboring states; Chad wishes to be a helpful mediator in resolving the Darfur conflict, and in 2010 established a joint border monitoring force with Sudan, which has helped to reduce cross-border banditry and violence; as of early 2019, more than 590,000 Sudanese refugees are being hosted in the Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, and South Sudan; Sudan, in turn, is hosting more than 975,000 refugees and asylum seekers, including more than 845,000 from South Sudan; Sudan accuses South Sudan of supporting Sudanese rebel groups; Sudan claims but Egypt de facto administers security and economic development of the Halaib region north of the 22nd parallel boundary; periodic violent skirmishes with Sudanese residents over water and grazing rights persist among related pastoral populations along the border with the Central African Republic; South Sudan-Sudan boundary represents 1 January 1956 alignment, final alignment pending negotiations and demarcation; final sovereignty status of Abyei Area pending negotiations between South Sudan and Sudan

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Refugees: 811,452 (South Sudan) (refugees and asylum seekers), 121,156 (Eritrea) (refugees and asylum seekers), 93,502 (Syria) (refugees and asylum seekers), 14,272 (Ethiopia) (refugees and asylum seekers), 9,289 (Central African Republic) (2019)
IDPs: 2.072 million (civil war 1983-2005; ongoing conflict in Darfur region; government and rebel fighting along South Sudan border; inter-tribal clashes) (2018)