Sudan

§1. Sudan Introduction

Background:
  Military regimes favoring Islamic-oriented governments have dominated
  national politics since independence from the UK 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 broke out again in 1983. The second
  war and famine-related effects resulted in more than 4 million people
  displaced and, according to rebel estimates, more than 2 million deaths
  over a period of two decades. Peace talks gained momentum in 2002-04 with
  the signing of several accords; a final Naivasha peace treaty of January
  2005 granted the southern rebels autonomy for six years, after which a
  referendum for independence is scheduled to be held. A separate conflict
  that broke out in the western region of Darfur in 2003 has resulted in at
  least 200,000 deaths and nearly 2 million displaced; as of late 2005,
  peacekeeping troops were struggling to stabilize the situation. Sudan also
  has faced large refugee influxes from neighboring countries, primarily
  Ethiopia and Chad, and armed conflict, poor transport infrastructure, and
  lack of government support have chronically obstructed the provision of
  humanitarian assistance to affected populations.

§2. Sudan Geography

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

Geographic coordinates:
  15 00 N, 30 00 E

Map references:
  Africa

Area:
  total: 2,505,810 km²
  land: 2.376 million km²
  water: 129,810 km²

Area - comparative:
  slightly more than one-quarter the size of the US

Land boundaries:
  total: 7,687 km
  border countries: 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:
  territorial sea: 12 nm
  contiguous zone: 18 nm
  continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation

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
  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: 6.78%
  permanent crops: 0.17%
  other: 93.05% (2005)

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

Natural hazards:
  dust storms and periodic persistent droughts

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

Environment - international agreements:
  party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol,
    Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer
    Protection
  signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

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

§3. Sudan People

Population:
  41,236,378 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 42.7% (male 8,993,483/female 8,614,022)
  15-64 years: 54.9% (male 11,327,679/female 11,297,798)
  65 years and over: 2.4% (male 536,754/female 466,642) (2006 est.)

Median age:
  total: 18.3 years
  male: 18.1 years
  female: 18.5 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:
  2.55% (2006 est.)

Birth rate:
  34.53 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate:
  8.97 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate:
  -0.02 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

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: 1.15 male(s)/female
  total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
  total: 61.05 deaths/1,000 live births
  male: 61.88 deaths/1,000 live births
  female: 60.18 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 58.92 years
  male: 57.69 years
  female: 60.21 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate:
  4.72 children born/woman (2006 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
  2.3% (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
  400,000 (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
  23,000 (2003 est.)

Major infectious diseases:
  degree of risk: very high
  food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A,
    and typhoid fever
  vectorborne diseases: malaria, dengue fever, African trypanosomiasis
    (sleeping sickness) are high risks in some locations
  water contact disease: schistosomiasis
  respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis (2005)

Nationality:
  noun: Sudanese (singular and plural)
  adjective: Sudanese

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

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

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

Literacy:
  definition: age 15 and over can read and write
  total population: 61.1%
  male: 71.8%
  female: 50.5% (2003 est.)

§4. Sudan Government

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:
  Government of National Unity (GNU) - the National Congress Party (NCP) and
  Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) formed a power-sharing government
  under the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA); the NCP, which came to
  power by military coup in 1989, is the majority partner; the agreement
  stipulates national elections for the 2008 - 2009 timeframe.

Capital:
  Khartoum

Administrative divisions:
  26 states (wilayat, singular - wilayah); A'ali an Nil (Upper Nile), Al Bahr
  al Ahmar (Red Sea), Al Buhayrat (Lakes), Al Jazirah (El Gezira), Al Khartum
  (Khartoum), Al Qadarif (Gedaref), Al Wahdah (Unity), An Nil al Abyad (White
  Nile), An Nil al Azraq (Blue Nile), Ash Shamaliyah (Northern), Bahr al
  Jabal (Bahr al Jabal), Gharb al Istiwa'iyah (Western Equatoria), Gharb Bahr
  al Ghazal (Western Bahr al Ghazal), Gharb Darfur (Western Darfur), Gharb
  Kurdufan (Western Kordofan), Janub Darfur (Southern Darfur), Janub Kurdufan
  (Southern Kordofan), Junqali (Jonglei), Kassala (Kassala), Nahr an Nil
  (Nile), Shamal Bahr al Ghazal (Northern Bahr al Ghazal), Shamal Darfur
  (Northern Darfur), Shamal Kurdufan (Northern Kordofan), Sharq al
  Istiwa'iyah (Eastern Equatoria), Sinnar (Sinnar), Warab (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; under the CPA, Interim National
  Constitution ratified 5 July 2005; Constitution of Southern Sudan signed
  December 2005

Legal system:
  based on English common law and Shari'a law; as of 20 January 1991, the now
  defunct Revolutionary Command Council imposed Shari'a law in the northern
  states; Shari'a law applies to all residents of the northern states
  regardless of their religion; some separate religious courts; accepts
  compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations; the southern legal system
  is still developing under the CPA following the civil war; Shari'a law will
  not apply to the southern states

Suffrage:
  17 years of age; universal, but noncompulsory

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President Field Marshal Umar Hassan Ahmad al-BASHIR (since
    16 October 1993); First Vice President Salva KIIR (since 4 August 2005),
    Vice President Ali Osman TAHA (since 20 September 2005); note - the
    president is both the chief of state and head of government
  head of government: President Field Marshal Umar Hassan Ahmad al-BASHIR
    (since 16 October 1993); First Vice President Salva KIIR (since 4 August
    2005), Vice President Ali Osman TAHA (since 20 September 2005); note -
    the president is both the chief of state and head of government
  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
  elections: election last held 13-23 December 2000; next to be held no later
    than July 2009 under terms of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement
  election results: Field Marshall Umar Hassan Ahmad al-BASHIR reelected
    president; percent of vote - Umar Hassan 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
  note: al-BASHIR assumed power as chairman of Sudan's Revolutionary Command
    Council for National Salvation (RCC) in June 1989 and served concurrently
    as chief of state, chairman of the RCC, prime minister, and minister of
    defense until mid-October 1993 when he was appointed president by the
    RCC; he was elected president by popular vote for the first time in March
    1996

Legislative branch:
  bi-cameral body comprising the National Assembly and Council of States
  (replaced unicameral National Assembly of 360 seats); pending elections and
  National Election Law, the Presidency appointed 450 members to the National
  Assembly
  according to the provisions of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement: 52%
    NCP; 28% SPLM; 14% other Northerners; 6% other Southerners; 2
    representatives from every state constitute the Council of States; terms
    in each chamber are five years following the first elections
  elections: last held 13-22 December 2000 (next to be held 2008-2009
    timeframe)
  election results: NCP 355, others 5; note - replaced by appointments under
    the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement

Judicial branch:
  Constitutional Court of nine justices; National Supreme Court; National
  Courts of Appeal; other national courts; National Judicial Service
  Commission will undertake overall management of the National Judiciary

Political parties and leaders:
  political parties in the Government of National Unity include: National
    Congress Party or NCP [Ibrahim Ahmed OMAR]; Sudan People's Liberation
    Movement or SPLM [Salva Mayardit KIIR]; and elements of the National
    Democratic Alliance or NDA including factions of the Democratic Union
    Party [Muhammad Uthman al-MIRGHANI] and Umma Party [SADIQ Siddiq al-
    Mahdi]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
  Umma Party [Sadiq al-MAHDI]; Popular Congress Party or PCP [Hassan
  al-TURABI]

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

Diplomatic representation in the US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires, Ad Interim Khidir
    Haroun AHMED (since April 2001)
  chancery: 2210 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 338-8565
  FAX: [1] (202) 667-2406

Diplomatic representation from the US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Cameron HUME
  embassy: Sharia Ali Abdul Latif Avenue, Khartoum
  mailing address: P. O. Box 699, Khartoum; APO AE 09829
  telephone: [249] (11) 774611 or 774700
  FAX: [249] (11) 774137
  note: US Consul in Cairo is providing backup service for Khartoum; consular
    services are being established in Juba (southern Sudan)

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

§5. Sudan Economy

Economy - overview:
  Sudan has turned around a struggling economy with sound economic policies
  and infrastructure investments, but it still faces formidable economic
  problems, starting from its 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 sustain GDP growth at 8.6% in 2004.
  Agricultural production remains Sudan's most important sector, employing
  80% of the work force, contributing 39% of GDP, and accounting for most of
  GDP growth, but most farms remain rain-fed and susceptible to drought.
  Chronic instability - resulting from the long-standing civil war between
  the Muslim north and the Christian/pagan south, adverse weather, and weak
  world agricultural prices - ensure that much of the population will remain
  at or below the poverty line for years.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
  $84.93 billion (2005 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
  $22.27 billion (2005 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
  7.7% (2005 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
  $2,100 (2005 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
  agriculture: 38.7%
  industry: 20.3%
  services: 41% (2003 est.)

Labor force:
  11 million (1996 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
  agriculture 80%, industry and commerce 7%, government 13% (1998 est.)

Unemployment rate:
  18.7% (2002 est.)

Population below poverty line:
  40% (2004 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
  lowest 10%: NA%
  highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
  11% (2005 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
  15.4% of GDP (2005 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $6.182 billion
  expenditures: $5.753 billion; including capital expenditures of $304
    million (2005 est.)

Public debt:
  79% of GDP (2005 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.)

Electricity - production:
  3.165 billion kWh (2003)

Electricity - consumption:
  2.943 billion kWh (2003)

Electricity - exports:
  0 kWh (2003)

Electricity - imports:
  0 kWh (2003)

Oil - production:
  401,300 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - consumption:
  70,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - exports:
  275,000 bbl/day (2004)

Oil - imports:
  0 bbl/day (2004)

Oil - proved reserves:
  1.6 billion bbl (2005 est.)

Natural gas - production:
  0 m³ (2003 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
  0 m³ (2003 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves:
  84.95 billion m³ (2005)

Current account balance:
  $-658 million (2005 est.)

Exports:
  $6.989 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

Exports - commodities:
  oil and petroleum products; cotton, sesame, livestock, groundnuts, gum
  arabic, sugar

Exports - partners:
  China 66.9%, Japan 10.7%, Saudi Arabia 4.4% (2004)

Imports:
  $5.028 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

Imports - commodities:
  foodstuffs, manufactured goods, refinery and transport equipment, medicines
  and chemicals, textiles, wheat

Imports - partners:
  China 13%, Saudi Arabia 11.5%, UAE 5.9%, Egypt 5.1%, India 4.8%, Germany
  4.5%, Australia 4.1%, Japan 4% (2004)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
  $2.52 billion (2005 est.)

Debt - external:
  $18.15 billion (2005 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
  $172 million (2001)

Currency (code):
  Sudanese dinar (SDD)

Exchange rates:
  Sudanese dinars per US dollar - 243.61 (2005), 257.91 (2004), 260.98
  (2003), 263.31 (2002), 258.7 (2001)

Fiscal year:
  calendar year

§6. Sudan Communications

Telephones - main lines in use:
  1,028,900 (2004)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
  1,048,600 (2004)

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: country code - 249; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat
    (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 Arabsat (2000)

Radio broadcast stations:
  AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 1 (1998)

Television broadcast stations:
  3 (1997)

Internet country code:
  .sd

Internet hosts:
  1 (2005)

Internet users:
  1.14 million (2005)

§7. Sudan Transportation

Airports:
  86 (2005)

Airports - with paved runways:
  total: 14
  over 3,047 m: 1
  2,438 to 3,047 m: 9
  1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 (2005)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
  total: 72
  over 3,047 m: 1
  1,524 to 2,437 m: 18
  914 to 1,523 m: 37
  under 914 m: 16 (2005)

Heliports:
  1 (2005)

Pipelines:
  gas 156 km; oil 2,365 km; refined products 810 km (2004)

Railways:
  total: 5,995 km
  narrow gauge: 4,595 km 1.067-m gauge; 1,400 km .600-m gauge for cotton
    plantations (2004)

Roadways:
  total: 11,900 km
  paved: 4,320 km
  unpaved: 7,580 km (1999)

Waterways:
  4,068 km (1,723 km open year round on White and Blue Nile rivers) (2005)

Merchant marine:
  total: 2 ships (1000 GRT or over) 11,326 GRT/14,068 DWT
  by type: cargo 1, livestock carrier 1
  registered in other countries: 2 (Panama 1, Saudi Arabia 1) (2005)

Ports and terminals:
  Port Sudan

§8. Sudan Military

Military branches:
  Sudanese People's Armed Forces (SPAF): Army, Navy, Air Force, Popular
    Defense Force

Military service age and obligation:
  18-30 years of age for compulsory military service; conscript service
  obligation - three years (August 2004)

Manpower available for military service:
  males age 18-49: 8,291,695 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
  males age 18-49: 5,427,474 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually:
  males: 442,915 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
  $587 million (2001 est.) (2004)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
  3% (1999) (2004)

§9. Sudan Transnational Issues

Disputes - international:
  the effects of Sudan's almost constant ethnic and rebel militia fighting
  since the mid-twentieth century have penetrated all of its border states
  that provide shelter for fleeing refugees and cover to disparate domestic
  and foreign conflicting elements; since 2003, Janjawid armed militia and
  Sudanese military have driven about 200,000 Darfur region refugees into
  eastern Chad; large numbers of Sudanese refugees have also fled to Uganda,
  Ethiopia, Kenya, the Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic
  of the Congo; southern Sudan provides shelter to Ugandans seeking periodic
  protection from soldiers of the Lord's Resistance Army; Sudan accuses
  Eritrea of supporting Sudanese rebel groups; efforts to demarcate the
  porous boundary with Ethiopia have been delayed by civil and ethnic
  fighting in Sudan; Kenya's administrative boundary extends into the
  southern Sudan, creating the "Ilemi Triangle"; Egypt and Sudan retain
  claims to administer 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"
  north of the Treaty Line; periodic violent skirmishes with Sudanese
  residents over water and grazing rights persist among related pastoral
  populations from the Central African Republic along the border

Refugees and internally displaced persons:
  refugees (country of origin): 110,927 (Eritrea) 5,023 (Chad) 7,983 (Uganda)
    14,812 (Ethiopia)
  IDPs: 5,300,000 - 6,200,000 (internal conflict since 1980s; ongoing
    genocide) (2005)


<Factbook 2006>
