Sudan

Military dictatorships promulgating an Islamic government have mostly run the country since independence from the UK in 1956. Over the past two decades, a civil war pitting black Christians and animists in the south against the Arab-Muslims of the north has cost at least 1.5 million lives in war and famine-related deaths, as well as the displacement of millions of others.

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

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

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

0-14 years:

45% (male 8,064,592; female 7,712,839)

15-64 years:

53% (male 9,300,886; female 9,290,340)

65 years and over:

2% (male 406,034; female 305,123) (2000 est.)

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

1.33 male(s)/female

total population:

1.03 male(s)/female (2000 est.)

noun:

Sudanese (singular and plural)

adjective:

Sudanese

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

• 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

• 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 partially suspended 12 December 1999 by President BASHIR

• 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

chief of mission:

Ambassador Mahdi Ibrahim MAHAMMAD (recalled to Khartoum in August 1998)

chancery:

2210 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 338-8565

FAX:

[1] (202) 667-2406

• US officials at the US Embassy in Khartoum were moved for security reasons in February 1996 and have been relocated to the US Embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Cairo, Egypt;
• the US Embassy in Khartoum (located on Sharia Abdul Latif Avenue; mailing address - P. O. Box 699, Khartoum; APO AE 09829; telephone - [249] (11) 774611 or 774700; FAX - [249] (11) 774137) is kept open by local employees;
• the US Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya is located in the Interim Office Building on Mombasa Road, Nairobi;
• mailing address - P. O. Box 30137, Box 21A, Unit 64100, APO AE 09831;
• telephone - [254] (2) 751613;
• FAX - [254] (2) 743204;
• the US Embassy in Cairo, Egypt is located at (North Gate) 8, Kamel El-Din Salah Street, Garden City, Cairo;
• mailing address - Unit 64900, APO AE 09839-4900;
• telephone - [20] (2) 3557371;
• FAX - [20] (2) 3573200

lowest 10%:

NA%

highest 10%:

NA%

• Sudanese dinars (SD) per US$1 - 230.2 (1999), 172.2 (1998), 148.8 (1997), 118.2 (1996);
• (old currency) Sudanese pounds per US$1 - 2,526.34 (2d Qtr 1999), 2,008.02 (1998), 1,575.74 (1997), 1,250.79 (1996), 580.87 (1995)

total:

5,311 km

narrow gauge:

4,595 km 1.067-m gauge; 716 km 1.6096-m gauge plantation line

note: the main line linking Khartoum to Port Sudan carries over two-thirds of Sudan's rail traffic

total:

11,900 km

paved:

4,320 km

unpaved:

7,580 km (1996 est.)

total:

4 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 38,093 GRT/49,727 DWT

ships by type:

cargo 2, roll-on/roll-off 2 (1999 est.)

• administrative boundary with Kenya does not coincide with international boundary;
• Egypt asserts its claim to the "Hala'ib Triangle," a barren area of 20,580 sq km under partial Sudanese administration that is defined by an administrative boundary which supersedes the treaty boundary of 1899 [Country Listing] [ The World Factbook Home]