Sudan
ruling military junta - Revolutionary Command Council - dissolved onIndependence 1 January 1956 (from Egypt and UK)
Sudan as the 1994 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 122 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.
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Geography
Northern Africa, along the Red Sea, between Egypt and Eritrea
24 fieldstotal area
2,505,810 sq km
land area
2.376 million sq km
comparative area
slightly more than one-quarter the size of the US
contiguous zone
18 nm
continental shelf
200-m depth or to depth of exploitation
territorial sea
12 nm
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, the dispute over this area escalated in 1993, this area continues to be in dispute
Natural resources
small reserves of petroleum, iron ore, copper, chromium ore, zinc, tungsten, mica, silver
arable land
5%
permanent crops
0%
meadows and pastures
24%
forest and woodland
20%
other
51%
current issues
- contaminated water supplies present human health risks;
- wildlife populations threatened by excessive hunting;
- soil erosion;
- desertification
natural hazards
dust storms
international agreements
party to - Climate Change, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity
People
23 fieldsPer 1,000 population(1994 est.)
total population
54.27 years
male
53.4 years
female
55.19 years (1994 est.)
noun
Sudanese (singular and plural)
adjective
Sudanese
Languages
Arabic (official), Nubian, Ta Bedawie, diverse dialects of Nilotic, Nilo-Hamitic, Sudanic languages, English
note
program of Arabization in process
total population
27%
male
43%
female
12%
by occupation
agriculture 80%, industry and commerce 10%, government 6%
note
labor shortages for almost all categories of skilled employment (1983 est.); 52% of population of working age (1985)
Government
Ruling military junta - Revolutionary Command Council - dissolved on
32 fieldsconventional 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
Type
ruling military junta - Revolutionary Command Council - dissolved on 16 October 1993 and government civilianized
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
Constitution
12 April 1973, suspended following coup of 6 April 1985; interim constitution of 10 October 1985 suspended following coup of 30 June 1989
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 six northern states regardless of their religion;
- some separate religious courts;
- accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Chief of State and Head of Government
- President Lt. General Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR (since 16 October 1993);
- prior to 16 October 1993, BASHIR served concurrently as Chief of State, Chairman of the RCC, Prime Minister, and Minister of Defence (since 30 June 1989);
- Vice President Major General al-Zubayr Muhammad SALIH (since 19 October 1993);
- note - 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
cabinet
- Cabinet;
- appointed by the president;
- note - on 30 October 1993 President BASHIR announced a new, predominantly civilian cabinet, consisting of 20 federal ministers, most of whom retained their previous cabinet positions
note
Lt. Gen. 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 controls Khartoum's overall domestic and foreign policies
Legislative branch
- appointed 300-member Transitional National Assembly;
- officially assumes all legislative authority for Sudan until the eventual, unspecified resumption of national elections
Member of
ABEDA, ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IGADD, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
chief of mission
Ambassador Ahmad SULAYMAN
chancery
2210 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
chief of mission
Ambassador Donald K. PETTERSON
embassy
Shar'ia Ali Abdul Latif, Khartoum
mailing address
P. O. Box 699, Khartoum, or APO AE 09829
Flag
three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black with a green isosceles triangle based on the hoist side
Economy
Sudan is buffeted by civil war, chronic political instability, adverse | weather, high inflation, a drop in remittances from abroad, and | counterproductive economic policies.
25 fieldsOverview
Sudan is buffeted by civil war, chronic political instability, adverse weather, high inflation, a drop in remittances from abroad, and counterproductive economic policies. The economy is dominated by governmental entities that account for more than 70% of new investment. The private sector's main areas of activity are agriculture and trading, with most private industrial investment predating 1980.
The economy's base is agriculture, which 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. The government implemented a comprehensive economic reform program in 1992 that included slashing the fiscal deficit, liberalizing foreign exchange regulations, and lifting most price controls, but it had backtracked on most reforms by mid-1993 because of its fear of generating a domestic backlash.
The government's failure to pursue economic reform, its continued prosecution of the civil war, and its growing international isolation have led to a further deterioration of the non-agricultural sectors of the economy during 1993. Agriculture, on the other hand, after several disappointing years, enjoyed favorable growing conditions in 1993, and its strong performance produced an overall growth rate in GNP of about 7%.
revenues
$374.4 million
expenditures
$1.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $214 million (1993 est.)
commodities
cotton 52%, sesame, gum arabic, peanuts
partners
Western Europe 46%, Saudi Arabia 14%, Eastern Europe 9%, Japan 9%, US 3% (FY88)
commodities
foodstuffs, petroleum products, manufactured goods, machinery and equipment, medicines and chemicals, textiles
partners
Western Europe 32%, Africa and Asia 15%, US 13%, Eastern Europe 3% (FY88)
capacity
610,000 kW
production
905 million kWh
consumption per capita
40 kWh (1991)
Industries
cotton ginning, textiles, cement, edible oils, sugar, soap distilling, shoes, petroleum refining
Agriculture
- accounts for 35% of GDP and 80% of labor force;
- water shortages;
- two-thirds of land area suitable for raising crops and livestock;
- major products - cotton, oilseeds, sorghum, millet, wheat, gum arabic, sheep;
- marginally self-sufficient in most foods
recipient
- US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $1.5 billion;
- Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $5.1 billion;
- OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $3.1 billion;
- Communist countries (1970-89), $588 million
Exchange rates
- official rate - Sudanese pounds (#Sd) per US$1 - 215 (January 1994), 333.3 (December 1993), 90.1 (March 1992), 5.4288 (1991), 4.5004 (fixed rate since 1987);
- note - the commercial rate is 300 (January 1994)
Communications
15 fieldsNetworkskm
total
20,703 km
paved
bituminous treated 2,000 km
unpaved
- gravel 4,000 km;
- improved earth 2,304 km;
- unimproved earth 12,399 km
Merchant marine
10 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 89,842 GRT/122,379 DWT, cargo 8, roll-on/roll-off cargo 2
total
70
usable
58
with permanent-surface runways
9
with runways over 3,659 m
0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m
7
with runways 1,220-2,439 m
29
Telecommunications
- large, well-equipped system by African standards, but barely adequate and poorly maintained by modern standards;
- consists of microwave radio relay, cable, radio communications, troposcatter, and a domestic satellite system with 14 stations;
- broadcast stations - 11 AM, 3 TV;
- satellite earth stations for international traffic - 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT and 1 ARABSAT
Defense Forces
Army, Navy, Air Force
3 fieldsManpower availability
- males age 15-49 6,640,123;
- fit for military service 4,080,715;
- reach military age (18) annually 305,885 (1994 est.)
Cite this entry
Central Intelligence Agency. “Sudan.” The World Factbook 1994. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/sudan/1994.