Sudan Online Business Education. Administration. Economy. Politics. Culture. Religion. Media

Sudan
Online Business Education. Economy. Politics. Culture. Religion. Media

Sudan

Capital City: Khartoum

Internet Links

Official Sites of Republic of the Sudan
Sudan Ministry Of Foreign Affairs

Botschaft der Republik Sudan

Embassy of the Republic of the Sudan

Map
Political Map of Sudan

Map of North Africa and the Middle East

Introduction

Sudan

Background: Military dictatorships favoring an Islamic-oriented
government 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). 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 war pits the Arab/Muslim majority in Khartoum against
the non-Muslim African rebels in the south. Since 1989, traditional
northern Muslim parties have made common cause with the southern rebels
and entered the war as a part of an anti-government alliance.

Geography Sudan

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 sq km water: 129,810 sq km land: 2.376 million
sq km

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: 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 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% permanent crops: 0% other: 93% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land: 19,500 sq km (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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea,
Nuclear Test Ban, 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

People Sudan

Population: 37,090,298 (July 2002 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 44.2% (male 8,385,554; female 8,023,847)
15-64 years: 53.6% (male 9,945,683; female 9,933,383) 65 years and over:
2.2% (male 447,214; female 354,617) (2002 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.73% (2002 est.)

Birth rate: 37.21 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Death rate: 9.81 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05
male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.26
male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2002 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 67.14 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: 58.5 years (2002 est.) male: Total fertility
rate: 5.22 children born/woman (2002 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.99% (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 186,000 (1998)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA

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: 46.1% male: 57.7% female: 34.6% (1995 est.)

Government Sudan

Country name: Republic of the Sudan conventional short form: 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 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 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: BASHIR assumed supreme executive power in 1989
and retained it through several transitional governments in the early
and mid-90s before being popularly elected for the first time in March
1996 election results: 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 less than a combined 4%
of the vote; election widely viewed as rigged; all popular opposition
parties boycotted elections because of a lack of guarantees for a free
and fair poll cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president;
note - the National Congress Party or NCP (formerly the National Islamic
Front or NIF) dominates BASHIR's cabinet head of government: 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: unicameral National Assembly (360 seats; 270
popularly elected, 90 elected by supra assembly of interest groups
known as National Congress; members serve four-year terms) 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

Political pressure groups and leaders: National Congress Party [Ibrahim
Ahmed UMAR]; Popular National Congress [Hassan al-TURABI]; Umma [Sadiq
al-MAHDI]; Democratic Unionist Party [Muhammed Uthman AL-MIRGHANI];
National Democratic Alliance [Muhammed Uthman AL-MIRGHANI, chairman];
Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army [Dr. John GARANG]

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, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent),
ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNU,
UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer)

Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
(vacant); Charge D'Affairs, Ad Interim
[1] (202) 338-8565 FAX: DC 20008

Diplomatic representation from the US: For security reasons, US officials
at the US Embassy in Khartoum were relocated in February 1996 to the
US Embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Cairo, Egypt, from where they make
regular visits to Khartoum; the US Embassy in Khartoum is located on
Sharia Abdul Latif Avenue; mailing address - P. O. Box 699, Khartoum;
APO AE 09829; telephone - [249] (11) 774611 or 774700; FAX - [249] (11)
774137; the US Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya is located in the Interim Office
Building on Mombasa Road, Nairobi; mailing address - P. O. Box 30137,
Box 21A, Unit 64100, APO AE 09831; telephone - [254] (2) 751613; FAX -
[254] (2) 743204; the US Embassy in Cairo, Egypt is located at (North
Gate) 8, Kamel El-Din Salah Street, Garden City, Cairo; mailing address -
Unit 64900, APO AE 09839-4900; telephone - [20] (2) 3557371; FAX - [20]
(2) 3573200

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

Economy Sudan

Economy - overview: Sudan has turned around a struggling economy with
sound economic policies and infrastructure investments, but it still faces
formidable economic problems. Starting in 1997 Sudan began implementing
IMF macroeconomic reforms that have successfully stabilized inflation.
In 1999 Sudan began exporting crude oil and in the last quarter of
1999 recorded its first trade surplus, along with monetary policy, has
stabilized the exchange rate. Current oil production stands at 220,000
barrels per day, of which some 70% is exported and the rest refined
mostly for domestic consumption. Increased oil production, revived light
industry, and expanded export processing zones should maintain GDP growth
at 5% 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. Sudan is also
constrained by its limited access to international credit; most of Sudan's
$24.9 billion debt remains in arrears. The civil war, chronic instability,
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 - $49.3 billion (2001 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 5.5% (2001 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $1,360 (2001 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 43% industry: 17% services:
40% (1999 est.)

Population below poverty line: NA%

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 10% (2001 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.)

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

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: 1.97 billion kWh (2000)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 49.24% hydro: 50.76%
other: 0% (2000) nuclear: 0%

Electricity - consumption: 1,832.1 million kWh (2000)

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2000)

Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2000)

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

Exports: $2.1 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)

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

Exports - partners: Japan 25%, China 19%, Saudi Arabia 14%, Germany 4%,
(2000)

Imports: $1.6 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)

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

Imports - partners: China 12%, Saudi Arabia 10%, UK 10%, Germany 7%
(2000)

Debt - external: $24.9 billion (2000 est.)

Economic aid - recipient: $187 million (1997)

Currency: Sudanese dinar (SDD)

Currency code: SDD

Exchange rates: Sudanese dinars per US dollar - 261.44 (January 2002),
258.70 (2001), 257.12 (2000), 252.55 (1999), 200.80 (1998), 157.57 (1997)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Communications Sudan

Telephones - main lines in use: 400,000 (2000)

Telephones - 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)

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

Radios: 7.55 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations: 3 (1997)

Televisions: 2.38 million (1997)

Internet country code: .sd

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 2 (2002)

Internet users: 50,000 (2002)

Transportation Sudan

Railways: total: 5,995 km narrow gauge: 4,595 km 1.067-m gauge; 1,400
km 0.600-m gauge plantation line note: the 1.067-m line from Khartoum to
Port Sudan carries over two-thirds of Sudan's rail traffic; the 0.600-m
gauge system serves Sudan's cotton plantations with over 120 collecting
stations (2001)

Highways: total: 11,900 km paved: 4,320 km unpaved: 7,580 km (1996)

Waterways: 5,310 km

Pipelines: refined products 815 km

Ports and harbors: Juba, Khartoum, Kusti, Malakal, Nimule, Port Sudan,
Sawakin

Merchant marine: total: 4 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 39,545
GRT/51,195 DWT ships by type: cargo 2, roll on/roll off 2 (2002 est.)

Airports: 65 (2001)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 12 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047
m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 (2001)

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 53 under 914 m: 11 (2001)
1,524 to 2,437 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 26

Heliports: 1 (2001)

Military Sudan

Military branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Popular Defense Force Militia

Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age (2002 est.)

Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 8,739,982 (2002 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 5,380,917
(2002 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 398,294
(2002 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $581 million (2001 est.)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 2.5% (1999)

Transnational Issues Sudan

Disputes - international: Sudan agrees in 2002 to demarcate whole
boundary with Ethiopia; Egypt and Sudan each claim to administer
triangular areas which extend north and south of the 1899 Treaty boundary
along the 22nd Parallel (the north "Hala'ib Triangle" is the largest
with 20,580 sq km); in 2001, the two states agreed to discuss an "area
of integration" and withdraw military forces in the overlapping areas;
since colonial times, Kenya's administrative boundary has extended beyond
its treaty boundary into Sudan creating the "Ilemi Triangle"

This page was last updated on 1 January 2002

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