Sudan

Sudan 

Geography                 Economy                 Defense Forces
 

People                    Transportation          Government



Communications            History      	          Travel

GEOGRAPHY

Location

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

Area

Land Boundaries

Total 7,687 km, Central African Republic 1,165 km, Chad 1,360 km, Egypt 1,273 km, Eritrea 605 km, Ethiopia 1,606 km, Kenya 232 km, Libya 383 km, Uganda 435 km, Democratic Republic Congo 628 km

Coastline

853 km

Maritime Claims

International Disputes

Administrative boundary with Kenya does not coincide with international boundary; administrative boundary with Egypt does not coincide with international boundary creating the "Hala'ib Triangle," a barren area of 20,580 sq km, tensions over this disputed area began to escalate in 1992 and remain high

Climate

Tropical in south; arid desert in north; rainy season (April to October)

Terrain

Generally flat, featureless plain; mountains in east and west
lowest point: Red Sea 0 m
highest point: Kinyeti 3,187 m

Natural Resources

Land Use

Irrigated Land

18,900 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment

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

PEOPLE

Population

31,547,543 (July 1996 est.)
30,120,420 (July 1995 est.)

Age Structure

0-14 Years

46% (male 7,389,616; female 7,080,044) (July 1996 est.)
46% (male 7,124,892; female 6,801,001) (July 1995 est.)

15-64 Years

52% (male 8,219,080; female 8,172,544) (July 1996 est.)
52% (male 7,830,980; female 7,706,864) (July 1995 est.)

65 Years and Over

2% (male 387,961; female 298,298) (July 1996 est.)
2% (male 376,386; female 280,297) (July 1995 est.)

Population Growth Rate

3.48% (1996 est.)
2.35% (1995 est.)

Birth Rate

41.08 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
41.29 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death Rate

11.46 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
11.74 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Net Migration Rate

5.17 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.3 male(s)/female
all ages: 1.03 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant Mortality Rate

76 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
77.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Life Expectancy at Birth

Total Fertility Rate

5.89 children born/woman (1996 est.)
6 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Nationality

Ethnic Divisions

Religions

Languages

Arabic (official), Nubian, Ta Bedawie, diverse dialects of Nilotic, Nilo-Hamitic, Sudanic languages, English

Note: Program of Arabization in process

Literacy

Age 15 and over that can read and write (1995 est.)

Labor Force

8.9 million (1993 est.)

By occupation:

Note: Labor shortages for almost all categories of skilled employment (1983 est.)

GOVERNMENT

Names

Digraph

SU

Type

Transitional - previously ruling military junta; presidential and National Assembly elections held in March 1996; new constitution to be drafted by the National Assembly

Capital

Khartoum

Administrative Divisions

9 states (wilayat, singular - wilayat or wilayah*); A'ali an Nil, Al Wusta*, Al Istiwa'iyah*, Al Khartum, Ash Shamaliyah*, Ash Sharqiyah*, Bahr al Ghazal, Darfur, Kurdufan

Note: On 14 February 1994, the 9 states comprising Sudan were divided into 26 new states; the following spellings have been reported but not approved by the US Board on Geographic Names (Bahr Aljebal, Blue Nile, Bohayrat, East Equatoria, Gedarif, Gezira, Jungle, Kassala, Khartoum, North, North Bahr Alghazal, North Darfur, North Kordofan, Red Sea, River Nile, Sinnar, South Darfur, South Kordofan, Unity, Upper Nile, Warab, West Bahr Alghazal, West Darfur, West Kordofan, West Equatoria, White Nile)

Independence

1 January 1956 (from Egypt and U.K.)

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 to be drafted following national elections held in March 1996

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; the council is still studying criminal provisions under Islamic law; 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

NA years of age; universal, but noncompulsary

Executive Branch

Chief of State and Head of Government

President Lt. General Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR (since 16 October 1993) was elected to a five-year term by popular vote; election last held 6-17 March 1996 (next to be held NA 2001); results - President al-BASHIR won 75.7% of the vote and defeated about forty other candidates; First Vice President Major General al-Zubayr Muhammad SALIH (since 19 October 1993), Second Vice President (Police) Maj. General George KONGOR AROP (since NA February 1994)

note: al-BASHIR, as chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council for National Salvation (RCC), assumed power on 30 June 1989 and served concurrently as chief of state, chairman of the RCC, prime minister, and minister of defense until 16 October 1993 when he was appointed president by the RCC; upon its dissolution on 16 October 1993, the RCC's executive and legislative powers were devolved to the president and the Transitional National Assembly (TNA), Sudan's appointed legislative body, which has since been replaced by the National Assembly which was elected in March 1996

Cabinet

Cabinet was appointed by the president; note - on 30 October 1993, President al-BASHIR announced a new, predominantly civilian cabinet, consisting of 20 federal ministers, most of whom retained their previous cabinet positions; on 9 February 1995, he abolished three ministries and redivided their portfolios to create several new ministries; these changes increased National Islamic Front presence at the ministerial level and consolidated its control over the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; President al-BASHIR's government is dominated by members of Sudan's National Islamic Front, a fundamentalist political organization formed from the Muslim Brotherhood in 1986; front leader Hasan al-TURABI dominates much of Khartoum's overall domestic and foreign policies; President al-BASHIR is expected to name a new cabinet following the elections held in March 1996

Legislative Branch

Unicameral

Judicial Branch

Supreme Court, Special Revolutionary Courts

Political Parties and Leaders

None; banned following 30 June 1989 coup

Other Political or Pressure Groups

National Islamic Front, Hasan al-TURABI

Member of

ABEDA, ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGADD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer)

National Anthem

Flag

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

ECONOMY

Overview

Sudan is buffeted by civil war, chronic political instability, adverse weather, high inflation, a drop in remittances from abroad, and counterproductive economic policies. The private sector's main areas of activity are agriculture and trading, with most private industrial investment predating 1980. Agriculture employs 80% of the work force. Industry mainly processes agricultural items. Sluggish economic performance over the past decade, attributable largely to declining annual rainfall, has reduced levels of per capita income and consumption. A large foreign debt and huge arrearages continue to cause difficulties. In 1990 the International Monetary Fund took the unusual step of declaring Sudan noncooperative because of its nonpayment of arrearages to the Fund. After Sudan backtracked on promised reforms in 1992-93, the IMF threatened to expel Sudan from the Fund. To avoid expulsion, Khartoum agreed to make payments on its arrears to the Fund, liberalize exchange rates, and reduce subsidies, measures it has partially implemented. The government's continued prosecution of the civil war and its growing international isolation continued to inhibit growth in the nonagricultural sectors of the economy during 1995. Agricultural production in 1995, while fairly good, was not up to the bumper crop level of 1994.

National Product

GDP - purchasing power parity - $25 billion (1995 est.); $23.7 billion (1994 est.)

National Product Real Growth Rate

0% (1995 est.)
7% (1994 est.)

National Product Per Capita

$800 (1995 est.)
$870 (1994 est.)

Inflation Rate (consumer Prices)

66% (1995 est.)
112% (FY93/94 est.)

Unemployment Rate

30% (FY92/93 est.)

Budget

Exports

$535 million (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
$419 million (f.o.b., FY93/94)

Commodities:

Partners:

Imports

$1.7 billion (c.i.f., FY93/94)

Commodities:

Partners:

External Debt

$18 billion (yearend 1995 est.)
$17 billion (June 1993 est.)

Industrial Production

Growth rate 6.8% (FY92/93 est.); accounts for 11% of GDP

Electricity

Industries

Agriculture

Accounts for 33% of GDP; major products - cotton, oilseeds, sorghum, millet, wheat, gum arabic, sheep; marginally self-sufficient in most foods

Economic Aid

Currency

1 Sudanese pound (£Sd) = 100 piastres

Exchange Rates

Official rate - Sudanese pounds (£Sd) per US$1 - official rate: 750.0 (November 1995), 277.8 (1994), 153.8 (1993), 69.4 (1992), 5.4288 (1991), 4.5004 (1990); market rate: 571.02 (August 1995), 289.61 (1994), 159.31 (1993), 97.43 (1992), 6.96 (1991)

Note: the market rate is a unified exchange rate determined by a committee of local bankers, without official intervention, and is quoted uniformly by all commercial banks

Fiscal Year

1 July - 30 June

TRANSPORTATION

Railroads

Highways

Inland Waterways

5,310 km navigable

Pipelines

Refined products 815 km

Ports

Juba, Khartoum, Kusti, Malakal, Nimule, Port Sudan, Sawakin

Merchant Marine

Airports

COMMUNICATIONS

Telephone System

77,215 telephones (1983 est.); large, well-equipped system by African standards, but barely adequate and poorly maintained by modern standards

Radio

Television

DEFENSE FORCES

Branches

Army, Navy, Air Force, Popular Defense Force Militia

Manpower Availability

Males age 15-49 7,152,884; males fit for military service 4,399,445; males reach military age (18) annually 329,460 (1995 est.)

Defense Expenditures

Exchange rate conversion - $600 million, 7.3% of GDP (FY93/94 est.)

History
World Atlas

Last modified: 16 december 1997