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. 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.

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

15 00 N, 30 00 E

Africa

slightly more than one-quarter the size of the US

853 km

hot and dry; arid desert; rainy season varies by region (April to November)

generally flat, featureless plain; desert dominates the north

petroleum; small reserves of iron ore, copper, chromium ore, zinc, tungsten, mica, silver, gold; hydropower

18,630 sq km (2008)

154 cu km (1997)

dust storms and periodic persistent droughts

inadequate supplies of potable water; wildlife populations threatened by excessive hunting; soil erosion; desertification; periodic drought

dominated by the Nile and its tributaries

Sudanese Arab (approximately 70%), Fur, Beja, Nuba, Fallata

Arabic (official), English (official), Nubian, Ta Bedawie, Fur

Sunni Muslim, small Christian minority

45,047,502

2.484% (2011 est.)

36.12 births/1,000 population (2011 est.)

11 deaths/1,000 population (July 2011 est.)

-0.29 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2011 est.)

KHARTOUM (capital) 5.021 million (2009)

750 deaths/100,000 live births (2008)

4.84 children born/woman (2011 est.)

7.3% of GDP (2009)

0.28 physicians/1,000 population (2008)

0.7 beds/1,000 population (2008)

urban: 64% of population

rural: 52% of population

total: 57% of population

urban: 36% of population

rural: 48% of population

total: 43% of population (2008)

urban: 55% of population

rural: 18% of population

total: 34% of population

urban: 45% of population

rural: 82% of population

total: 66% of population (2008)

1.1% (2009 est.)

260,000 (2009 est.)

12,000 (2009 est.)

31.7% (2006)

NA

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 stipulated national elections in 2009, but these were subsequently rescheduled; elections took place in April 2010 and the NCP was elected as the majority party; due to the CPA stipulations, there is also an autonomous government in Southern Sudan where SPLM holds the majority of positions.

15 states (wilayat, singular - wilayah); Al Bahr al Ahmar (Red Sea), Al Jazira (Gezira), Al Khartoum (Khartoum), Al Qadarif (Gedaref), An Nil al Abyad (White Nile), An Nil al Azraq (Blue Nile), Ash Shimaliyya (Northern), Gharb Darfur (Western Darfur), Janub Darfur (Southern Darfur), Janub Kurdufan (Southern Kordofan), Kassala, Nahr an Nil (River Nile), Shimal Darfur (Northern Darfur), Shimal Kurdufan (Northern Kordofan), Sinnar

1 January 1956 (from Egypt and the UK)

Independence Day, 1 January (1956)

Interim National Constitution ratified 5 July 2005

mixed legal system of Islamic law and English common law in the north, and primarily customary law in the south

accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; withdrew acceptance of ICCt jurisdiction in 2008

17 years of age; universal

bicameral National Legislature consists of a Council of States (50 seats; members indirectly elected by state legislatures to serve six-year terms) and a National Assembly (450 seats; 60% from geographic constituencies, 25% from a women's list, and 15% from party lists; members to serve six-year terms)

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

Democratic Unionist Party or DUP [Hatim al-SIR]; Democratic Unionist Party-Original or DUPO; National Congress Party or NCP [Umar Hassan al-BASHIR]; Popular Congress Party or PCP [Hassan al-TURABI]; Sudan People's Liberation Movement or SPLM [Malik AGGAR]; Sudan People's Liberation Movement-Democratic Change or SPLM-DC; Umma Federal Party or UFP; Umma Renewal and Reform Party or URRP

Umma Party [SADIQ Siddiq al-Mahdi]; Popular Congress Party or PCP [Hassan al-TURABI]; Darfur rebel groups including the Justice and Equality Movement or JEM [Khalil IBRAHIM] and the Sudan Liberation Movement or SLM [various factional leaders]

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

three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black with a green isosceles triangle based on the hoist side; colors and design based on the Arab Revolt flag of World War I, but the meanings of the colors are expressed as follows: red signifies the struggle for freedom, white is the color of peace, light, and love, black represents Sudan itself (in Arabic 'Sudan' means black), green is the color of Islam, agriculture, and prosperity

secretary bird

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.

$100 billion (2010 est.)

$95.18 billion (2009 est.)

$89.81 billion (2008 est.)

$68.44 billion (2010 est.)

5.1% (2010 est.)

6% (2009 est.)

6.8% (2008 est.)

$2,300 (2010 est.)

$2,200 (2009 est.)

$2,200 (2008 est.)

11.92 million (2007 est.)

18.7% (2002 est.)

40% (2004 est.)

21.2% of GDP (2010 est.)

16.5% of GDP (2010 est.)

-3% of GDP (2010 est.)

90.8% of GDP (2010 est.)

105.2% of GDP (2009 est.)

13% (2010 est.)

11.2% (2009 est.)

9.7% (31 December 2010 est.)

11% (31 December 2009 est.)

$7.875 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$7.19 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$14.53 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$12.63 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$12.99 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$11.22 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$NA

cotton, groundnuts (peanuts), sorghum, millet, wheat, gum arabic, sugarcane, cassava (tapioca), mangos, papaya, bananas, sweet potatoes, sesame; sheep and other livestock

oil, cotton ginning, textiles, cement, edible oils, sugar, soap distilling, shoes, petroleum refining, pharmaceuticals, armaments, automobile/light truck assembly

3.5% (2010 est.)

4.323 billion kWh (2008 est.)

3.787 billion kWh (2008 est.)

0 kWh (2009 est.)

0 kWh (2009 est.)

514,300 bbl/day (2010 est.)

98,000 bbl/day (2010 est.)

383,900 bbl/day (2009 est.)

11,820 bbl/day (2009 est.)

5 billion bbl (1 January 2011 est.)

0 cu m (2009 est.)

0 cu m (2009 est.)

0 cu m (2009 est.)

0 cu m (2009 est.)

84.95 billion cu m (1 January 2011 est.)

-$4.119 billion (2010 est.)

-$4.232 billion (2009 est.)

$11.4 billion (2010 est.)

$8.473 billion (2009 est.)

oil and petroleum products; cotton, sesame, livestock, groundnuts, gum arabic, sugar

China 68.3%, Japan 12.6%, India 5.8% (2010)

$8.839 billion (2010 est.)

$8.528 billion (2009 est.)

foodstuffs, manufactured goods, refinery and transport equipment, medicines and chemicals, textiles, wheat

China 21.7%, Egypt 8%, Saudi Arabia 7.7%, India 6.1%, UAE 5.7% (2010)

$2.063 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$897 million (31 December 2009 est.)

$37.7 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$35.72 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

Sudanese pounds (SDG) per US dollar -

2.36 (2010)

2.3 (2009)

2.1 (2008)

2.06 (2007)

2.172 (2006)

374,700 (2010)

17.654 million (2010)

the Sudanese Government directly controls TV and radio, requiring that both media reflect government policies; TV has a permanent military censor; a private radio station is in operation (2007)

.sd

70 (2010)

4.2 million (2008)

116 (2011)

5 (2010)

gas 156 km; oil 4,070 km; refined products 1,613 km (2010)

4,068 km (1,723 km open year round on White and Blue Nile rivers) (2008)

Port Sudan

Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF): Land Forces, Navy (includes Marines), Sudanese Air Force (Sikakh al-Jawwiya as-Sudaniya), Popular Defense Forces (2011)

18-33 years of age for male and female compulsory and voluntary military service; 1-2 year service obligation; a requirement that completion of national sevice was mandatory before entering public or private sector employment has been cancelled (2011)

3% of GDP (2005 est.)

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