Facts
about the Republic of the Sudan, its
People, Culture, Geography Politics
|
 |
| Geography |
| |
|
| Location: |
Northern
Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Egypt and Eritrea |
| Geographic
coordinates: |
15
00 N, 30 00 E |
| Area:
|
total:
2,505,810 sq km
land: 2.376 million sq km
water: 129,810 sq km |
| Area—comparative: |
slightly
more than one-quarter the size of the US |
| Land boundaries:
|
total:
7,687 km |
|
Coastline:
|
853
km |
|
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
|
|
Land use:
|
arable land:
5%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 46%
forests and woodland: 19%
other: 30% (1993 est.)
|
| Natural
hazards: |
dust
storms |
| Environment—current
issues: |
inadequate
supplies of potable water; wildlife populations threatened by excessive
hunting; soil erosion; desertification
|
| Geography—note: |
largest
country in Africa; dominated by the Nile and its tributaries |
| |
|
| People |
|
Population:
|
34,475,690
(July 1999 est.) |
| Age structure:
|
0-14 years:
45% (male 7,941,909; female 7,614,225)
15-64 years: 53% (male 9,094,712; female 9,061,194)
65 years and over: 2% (male 423,389; female 340,261) (1999 est.)
|
|
Population
growth rate:
|
2.71% (1999
est.) |
 |
|
Birth
rate:
|
39.34 births/1,000
population (1999 est.) |
| Death rate: |
10.6 deaths/1,000
population (1999 est.) |
| Net migration
rate: |
-1.68 migrant(s)/1,000
population (1999 est.) |
| Infant
mortality rate: |
70.94 deaths/1,000
live births (1999 est.) |
| Life expectancy
at birth: |
total
population: 56.4 years
male: 55.41 years
female: 57.44 years (1999 est.) |
| 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 |
| 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: |
transitional—previously
ruling military junta; presidential and National Assembly elections held
in March 1996; new constitution drafted by Presidential Committee, went
into effect on 30 June 1998 after being approved in nationwide referendum |
| Data code: |
SU |
 |
| Capital: |
Khartoum |
| Administrative
divisions: |
26 states |
| Independence: |
1 January
1956 (from Egypt and UK) |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Economy |
| 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 kept per capita income at low levels.
A large foreign debt and huge arrears continue to cause difficulties. In
1990 the International Monetary Fund took the unusual step of declaring
Sudan noncooperative because of its nonpayment of arrears 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 1998. Hyperinflation
has raised consumer prices above the reach of most. In 1998, a top priority
was to develop potentially lucrative oilfields in southcentral Sudan; the
government is working with foreign partners to exploit the oil sector. On
limited quantities Oil exportation started in July, 1999. |
| GDP: |
purchasing
power parity—$31.2 billion (1998 est.) |
| GDP—real
growth rate: |
6.1%
(1998 est.) |
| GDP—per
capita: |
purchasing
power parity—$930 (1998 est.) |
| GDP—composition
by sector: |
agriculture:
33%
industry: 17%
services: 50% (1992 est.)
|
| Inflation
rate (consumer prices): |
27%
(mid-1997 est.) |
| Labor force: |
11
million (1996 est.) |
| Labor force—by
occupation: |
agriculture
80%, industry and commerce 10%, government 6% |
| Unemployment
rate: |
30%
(FY92/93 est.) |
| Budget: |
revenues:
$482 million
expenditures: $1.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $30 million
(1996) |
|
Industries:
|
cotton
ginning, textiles, cement, edible oils, sugar, soap distilling, shoes, petroleum
refining |
|
Industrial
production growth rate:
|
5%
(1996 est.) |
|
Agriculture—products:
|
cotton,
groundnuts (peanuts), sorghum, millet, wheat, gum arabic, sesame; sheep
|
|
Exports:
|
$594
million (f.o.b., 1997) |
|
Exports—commodities:
|
cotton
23%, sesame 22%, livestock/meat 13%, gum arabic 5% (1996) Oil exportation
started in July 1999. |
|
Exports—partners:
|
Saudi
Arabia 20%, UK 14%, China 11%, Italy 8% (1996) |
|
Imports:
|
$1.42
billion (f.o.b., 1997) |
|
Imports—commodities:
|
foodstuffs,
petroleum products, manufactured goods, machinery and equipment, medicines
and chemicals, textiles (1996) |
| Imports—partners: |
Saudi
Arabia 10%, South Korea 7%, Germany 6%, Egypt 6% (1996) |
| Debt—external: |
$20.3
billion (1996 est.) |
| Currency: |
1
Sudanese pound (£Sd) = 100 piastres 10 Sudanese pound (£Sd) = 1 dinar |
| Exchange
rates: |
Sudanese
pounds (£Sd) per US$1—2,413.00 (December 1999), 1,819.70 (April 1998),
1,873.53 (2d Qtr 1998), 1,575.74 (1997), 1,250.79 (1996), 580.87 (1995),
289.61 (1994), 159.31 (1993) |
| Communications |
| Telephones: |
150,500
(1998 est.) |
| Telephone
system: |
large,
well-equipped system.
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 |
| Radio broadcast
stations: |
AM 11, FM
1, shortwave 1 (1998 est.) |
 |
| Radios:
|
6.75 million
(1998 est.) |
| Television
broadcast stations: |
3 (1997) |
| Televisions: |
350,000 (1999
est.) |
| Transportation |
| Railways: |
total: 5,516
km
narrow gauge: 4,800 km 1.067-m gauge; 716 km 1.6096-m gauge plantation
line
|
|
Highways:
|
total:
11,900 km
paved: 4,320 km
unpaved: 7,580 km (1996 est.) |
|
Waterways:
|
5,310
km navigable |
|
Pipelines:
|
refined
products 815 km |
| Ports and
harbors: |
Juba,
Khartoum, Kusti, Malakal, Nimule, Port Sudan, Sawakin |
| Airports: |
63 (1998 est.) |
 |
| 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 (1998 est.) |
| Airports—with
unpaved runways: |
total: 51
1,524 to 2,437 m: 14
914 to 1,523 m: 26
under 914 m: 11 (1998 est.) |
| Heliports: |
1 (1998 est.) |
| |
|
|
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| Last
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