Sudan
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Sudan
Sudan is a nation is northern-Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Egypt to the north and Eritrea and Ethiopia to the southeast.
The Nile River flows through Sudan. Its main tributaries, the Blue Nile (originating in Ethiopia) and the White Nile (originating in Lake Victoria and its feeding rivers) converge at Khartoum, its capitol. Dominated by the Sahara Desert in the north, Sudan is a generally flat, featureless plain with mountains in far south, northeast and west.
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Sudan's major environmental issues include: inadequate supplies of potable water; wildlife populations threatened by excessive hunting; soil erosion; and, desertification. It is susceptible to dust storms and periodic persistent droughts.
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 four million people displaced and, according to rebel estimates, more than two million deaths over a period of two decades. 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 an independent tate on July 9, 2011.
A separate conflict, which broke out in the western region of Darfur in 2003, has displaced nearly two million people and caused an estimated 200,000 to 400,000 deaths. The UN took command of the Darfur peacekeeping operation from the African Union in December 2007. Peacekeeping troops have struggled to stabilize the situation, which has become increasingly regional in scope and has brought instability to eastern Chad. Sudan also has faced large refugee influxes from neighboring countries primarily Ethiopia and Chad. Armed conflict, poor transport infrastructure, and lack of government support have chronically obstructed the provision of humanitarian assistance to affected populations.
Geography
Location: Northern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Egypt and Eritrea
Geographic Coordinates: 15 00 N, 30 00 E
Area: 1,861,484 km2
Land Boundaries: 6,751 km. Border countries: Central African Republic 165 km, Chad 1,360 km, Egypt 1,275 km, Eritrea 605 km, Ethiopia 769 km, Libya 383 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
Natural Hazards: dust storms and periodic persistent droughts
Terrain: Generally flat, featureless plain; mountains in far south, northeast and west; desert dominates the north. Its lowest point is the Red Sea (0 metres) and its highest point is Kinyeti (3,187 metres)
Climate: Tropical in south; arid desert in north; rainy season varies by region (April to November)
Government
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 in 2009
Capital: Khartoum 5.021 million (2009)
Independence Date: 1 January 1956 (from Egypt and UK)
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; however, the CPA establishes some protections for non-Muslims in Khartoum; some separate religious courts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; the southern legal system is still developing under the CPA following the civil war; Islamic law will not apply to the southern states
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| At the top left, the capital city of Sudan, Khartoum, is located at the convergence of the Blue Nile and the White Nile. Although the Blue Nile is much shorter than the White Nile, it contributes about 80% of the flow of the river. The Dahlak Archipelago is seen off the Red Sea coast of Eritrea. Because of their isolation, the numerous coral reefs of the Dahlak Archipelago are some of the most pristine in the world. North of the Rift Valley, in central Ethiopia, are the Simien Mountains and Lake Tana. Lake Tana is the source of the Blue Nile. Photo courtesy of NASA. |
Suffrage: 17 years of age; universal
International Environmental Agreements
Sudan is party to international agreements on: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, and Wetlands.
People and Society
Population: 36,787,012 (45,047,502 includin the population of South Sudan (8,260,490); (July 2011 est.)
Age Structure:
0-14 years: 42.1% (male 9,696,726/female 9,286,894)15-64 years: 55.2% (male 12,282,082/female 12,571,424)65 years and over: 2.7% (male 613,817/female 596,559) (2011 est., including population of South Sudan)
Population Growth Rate: 2.484% (2011 est.)
Birth Rate: 36.12 births/1,000 population (2011 est.)
Death Rate: 11 deaths/1,000 population (July 2011 est.)
Net Migration Rate: -0.29 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2011 est.)
Life Expectancy at Birth: 55.42 years
Total Fertility Rate: 4.84 children born/woman (2011 est.)
Languages: Arabic (official), Nubian, Ta Bedawie, Fur, English; note: program of "Arabization" in process
Literacy (2003 est.): 61.1% (male: 71.8% - female: 50.5%)
Water
Total Renewable Water Resources: 154 cu km (1997)
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| Pyramids of the Kushite rulers at Meroe. |
Freshwater Withdrawal: Total: 37.32 cu km/yr (3% domestic, 1% industrial, 97% agricultural). Per capita: 1,030 cu m/yr (2000)
Access to improved water sources:
Agriculture
Agricultural Products: cotton, groundnuts (peanuts), sorghum, millet, wheat, gum arabic, sugarcane, cassava (tapioca), mangos, papaya, bananas, sweet potatoes, sesame; sheep and other livestock
Irrigated Land: 18,630 sq km (2008)
Resources
Natural Resources: petroleum; small reserves of iron ore, copper, chromium ore, zinc, tungsten, mica, silver, gold, hydropower.
Energy
| Energy in Sudan | |||||
| Production | Consumption | Exports | Imports | Reserves | |
| Electricity | 4.341 billion kWh (2007) | 3.438 billion kWh (2007) | 0 kWh (2008) | 0 kWh (2008) | |
| Oil | 486,700 bbl/day (2009 est.) | 84,000 bbl/day (2009 est.) | 303,800 bbl/day (2007 est.) | 11,400 bbl/day (2007 est.) | 6.8 billion bbl (1 January 2010 est.) |
| Natural Gas | 0 cu m (2008 est.) | 0 cu m (2008 est.) | 0 cu m (2008 est.) | 0 cu m (2008 est.) | 84.95 billion cu m (1 January 2010 est.) |
| Source: CIA Factbook | |||||
Health
Major Infectious Diseases: Degree of risk: very high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fevervectorborne diseases: malaria, dengue fever, African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness)water contact disease: schistosomiasisrespiratory disease: meningococcal meningitisanimal contact disease: rabiesnote: highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identified in this country; it poses a negligible risk with extremely rare cases possible among US citizens who have close contact with birds (2009)
Conflict
International Disputes: the effects of Sudan's almost constant ethnic and rebel militia fighting since the mid-20th century have penetrated all of the neighboring states; as of 2006, Chad, Ethiopia, Kenya, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Uganda provided shelter for over half a million Sudanese refugees, which includes 240,000 Darfur residents driven from their homes by Janjawid armed militia and the Sudanese military forces; as of January 2011, Sudan, in turn, hosted about 138,700 Eritreans, 43,000 Chadians, and smaller numbers of Ethiopians; Sudan accuses Eritrea of supporting Sudanese rebel groups; efforts to demarcate the porous boundary with Ethiopia proceed slowly due to civil and ethnic fighting in eastern Sudan; Sudan claims but Egypt de facto administers security and economic development of 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
Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons: Refugees (country of origin): 162,000 (Eritrea); 43,000 (Chad); 11,009 (Ethiopia). IDPs: more than 4 million (civil war 1983-2005; ongoing conflict in Darfur region) (2007)
Economy
Since 1997, Sudan has been working with the IMF to implement macroeconomic reforms including a managed float of the exchange rate and a large reserve of foreign exchange. A new currency, the Sudanese Pound, was introduced in January 2007 at an initial exchange rate of $1.00 equals 2 Sudanese Pounds. Sudan began exporting crude oil in the last quarter of 1999 and the economy boomed on the back of increases in oil production, high oil prices, and significant inflows of foreign direct investment until the second half of 2008. The Darfur conflict, the aftermath of two decades of civil war in the south, the lack of basic infrastructure in large areas, and a reliance by much of the population on subsistence agriculture ensure much of the population will remain at or below the poverty line for years to come despite rapid rises in average per capita income. Sudan's real GDP expanded by 5.2% during 2010, an improvement over 2009's 4.2% growth but significantly below the more than 10% per year growth experienced prior to the global financial crisis in 2006 and 2007. While the oil sector continues to drive growth, services and utilities play an increasingly important role in the economy with agriculture production remaining important as it employs 80% of the work force and contributes a third of GDP. In the lead up to the referendum on southern secession, which took place in January 2011, Sudan saw its currency depreciate considerably on the black market with the Central Bank's official rate also losing value as the Sudanese people started to hoard foreign currency. The Central Bank of Sudan intervened heavily in the currency market to defend the value of the pound and the Sudanese government introduced a number of measures to restrain excess local demand for hard currency, but uncertainty about the secession has meant that foreign exchange remains in heavy demand.
GDP (Purchasing Power Parity): $100 billion (2010 est.)
GDP (Official Exchange Rate): $68.44 billion (2010 est.)
GDP- real growth rate: 5.1% (2010 est.)
GDP- per capita (PPP): $2,300 (2010 est.)
GDP- composition by sector:
agriculture: 32.1%
industry: 29%
services: 38.9% (2010 est.)
Population Below Poverty Line: 40% (2004 est.)
Industries: oil, cotton ginning, textiles, cement, edible oils, sugar, soap distilling, shoes, petroleum refining, pharmaceuticals, armaments, automobile/light truck assembly
Exports: oil and petroleum products; cotton, sesame, livestock, groundnuts, gum arabic, sugar
Export Partners: China 60.3%, Japan 14%, Indonesia 8.6%, India 4.9% (2009)
Imports: foodstuffs, manufactured goods, refinery and transport equipment, medicines and chemicals, textiles, wheat
Import Partners: China 22.1%, Egypt 7.3%, Saudi Arabia 6.9%, India 5.8%, UAE 5% (2009)
Currency: Sudanese pounds (SDG)
Ports and Terminals: Port Sudan
Further Reading
Citation
Central Intelligence Agency (Lead Author);Peter Saundry (Contributing Author);CIA World Factbook (Content Source);Lakhdar Boukerrou (Topic Editor) "Sudan". In: Encyclopedia of Earth. Eds. Cutler J. Cleveland (Washington, D.C.: Environmental Information Coalition, National Council for Science and the Environment). [First published in the Encyclopedia of Earth June 2, 2009; Last revised Date December 31, 2011; Retrieved February 10, 2012 <http://www.eoearth.org/article/Sudan>
The Author
The Central Intelligence Agency was created in 1947 with the signing of the National Security Act by President Harry S. Truman. The act also created a Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) to serve as head of the United States intelligence community; act as the principal adviser to the President for intelligence matters related to the national security; and serve as head of the Central Intelligence Agency. The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 amended the National Securit ... (Full Bio)
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