Sudan
Republic of the Sudan conventional short form: Sudan local long form: Jumhuriyat as-Sudan local short form: As-Sudan former: Anglo-Egyptian Sudan
transitional - ruling military junta took power in 1989Independence 1 January 1956 (from Egypt and UK)
Sudan as the 2001 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 116 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.
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Introduction
1 fieldBackground
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.
Geography
Northern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Egypt and Eritrea
18 fieldsLand boundaries
total: 7,687 km border countries: Central African Republic 1,165 km, Chad 1,360 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 628 km, Egypt 1,273 km, Eritrea 605 km, Ethiopia 1,606 km, Kenya 232 km, Libya 383 km, Uganda 435 km
Natural resources
petroleum; small reserves of iron ore, copper, chromium ore, zinc, tungsten, mica, silver, gold, hydropower
Land use
arable land: 5% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 46% forests and woodland: 19% other: 30% (1993 est.)
Environment - current issues
- inadequate supplies of potable water;
- wildlife populations threatened by excessive hunting;
- soil erosion;
- desertification
Environment - international agreements
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
People
18 fieldsPer 1,000 population(2001 est.)
Age structure
0-14 years: 44.62% (male 8,227,011; female 7,870,783) 15-64 years: 53.29% (male 9,619,218; female 9,608,469) 65 years and over: 2.09% (male 425,898; female 328,994) (2001 est.)
Sex ratio
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: 1.29 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2001 est.)
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 56.94 years male: 55.85 years female: 58.08 years (2001 est.)
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
Transitional - ruling military junta took power in 1989; President Lt. Gen. Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR (since 16 October 1993)
19 fieldsPresidential electionpercent of vote
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 - ruling military junta took power in 1989;
- government is dominated by members of Sudan's National Islamic Front (NIF), a fundamentalist political organization, which uses the National Congress Party (NCP) as its legal front
Administrative divisions
26 states (wilayat, singular - wilayah); A'ali an Nil, Al Bahr al Ahmar, Al Buhayrat, Al Jazirah, Al Khartum, Al Qadarif, Al Wahdah, An Nil al Abyad, An Nil al Azraq, Ash Shamaliyah, Bahr al Jabal, Gharb al Istiwa'iyah, Gharb Bahr al Ghazal, Gharb Darfur, Gharb Kurdufan, Janub Darfur, Janub Kurdufan, Junqali, Kassala, Nahr an Nil, Shamal Bahr al Ghazal, Shamal Darfur, Shamal Kurdufan, Sharq al Istiwa'iyah, Sinnar, Warab
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 partially suspended 12 December 1999 by President BASHIR
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
Executive branch
chief of state: President Lt. Gen. Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR (since 16 October 1993); First Vice President Ali Uthman Muhammad TAHA (since 17 February 1998), Second Vice President Moses MACHAR (since 12 February 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Lt. Gen. Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR (since 16 October 1993); First Vice President Ali Uthman Muhammad TAHA (since 17 February 1998), Second Vice President Moses MACHAR (since 12 February 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president; note - the National Congress Party (front for the National Islamic Front or NIF) dominates BASHIR's cabinet elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 13-23 December 2000 (next to be held NA 2005) election results: Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR reelected president; percent of vote - Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR 86.5%, Ja'afar Muhammed NUMAYRI 9.6%, three other candidates received less than a combined 4% of the vote note: BASHIR assumed supreme executive power in 1989 and retained it through several transitional governments in the early and mid-90s before being popularly elected for the first time in March 1996
Legislative branch
- unicameral National Assembly (400 seats; 275 elected by popular vote, 125 elected by a supra assembly of interest groups known as the National Congress) elections: last held 13-23 December 2000 (next to be held NA) election results: NA;
- few parties participated in the 2000 elections note: on 12 December 1999, BASHIR dismissed the National Assembly during an internal power struggle between the president and speaker of the National Assembly Hasan al-TURABI
Political parties and leaders
- the government allows political "associations" under a 1998 law revised in 2000;
- to obtain government approval parties must accept the constitution and refrain from advocating or using violence against the regime;
- approved parties include the National Congress Party or NCP [Ibrahim Ahmed UMAR], Popular National Congress [Hassan al-TURABI], and a handful of minor pro-government parties
Political pressure groups and leaders
- National Congress Party [Ibrahim Ahmed UMAR] (front for the National Islamic Front or NIF);
- Popular National Congress [Hassan al-TURABI];
- Umma [Sadiq al-MAHDI];
- Democratic Unionist Party [Muhammed Uthman AL-MIRGHANI];
- National Democratic Alliance [Muhammed Uthman AL-MIRGHANI, chairman];
- Sudan People's Liberation Army [Dr. John GARANG]
International organization participation
ABEDA, ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer)
Diplomatic representation in the US
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
Diplomatic representation from the US
- 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, from where they make periodic visits to Khartoum;
- the US Embassy in Khartoum is 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;
- 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
Flag description
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 instability, adverse weather, weak world agricultural prices, a drop in remittances from abroad, and counterproductive economic policies.
32 fieldsTrading partnersexports left, imports right
Electricity
Economy - overview
Sudan is buffeted by civil war, chronic instability, adverse weather, weak world agricultural prices, a drop in remittances from abroad, and counterproductive economic policies. The private sector's main areas of activity are agriculture (which employs 80% of the work force), trading, and light industry which is mostly processing of agricultural goods.
Most of the 1990s were characterized by sluggish economic growth as the IMF suspended lending, declared Sudan a non-cooperative state, and threatened to expel Sudan from the IMF. Starting in 1997, Sudan began implementing IMF macroeconomic reforms which have successfully stabilized inflation at 10% or less.
Sudan continues to have limited international credit resources as over 75% of Sudan's debt of $24.9 billion is in arrears and Khartoum's continued prosecution of the civil war works to isolate Sudan. In 1999, Sudan began exporting oil and in 1999-2000 had recorded its first trade surpluses.
Current oil production stands at 185,000 barrels per day, of which about 70% is exported and the rest refined for domestic consumption. Despite its many infrastructure problems, Sudan's increased oil production, the return of regular rainfall, and recent investments in irrigation schemes should allow the country to achieve economic growth of 6% in 2001.
Labor force - by occupation
agriculture 80%, industry and commerce 10%, government 6%, unemployed 4% (1996 est.)
Budget
revenues: $1.2 billion expenditures: $1.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)
Industries
cotton ginning, textiles, cement, edible oils, sugar, soap distilling, shoes, petroleum refining, pharmaceuticals, armaments
Agriculture - products
cotton, groundnuts (peanuts), sorghum, millet, wheat, gum arabic, sugarcane, cassara, mangos, papaya, bananas, sweet potatoes, sesame; sheep, livestock
Exports - commodities
oil and petroleum products, cotton, sesame, livestock, groundnuts, gum arabic, sugar
Imports - commodities
foodstuffs, manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment, medicines and chemicals, textiles
Exchange rates
Sudanese dinars per US dollar - 257.44 (January 2001), 257.12 (2000), 252.55 (1999), 200.80 (1998), 157.57 (1997), 125.08 (1996)
Communications
10 fieldsTelephone system
- general assessment:
- large, well-equipped system by regional standards and being upgraded;
- cellular communications started in 1996 and have expanded substantially 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 (2000)
Transportation
10 fieldsRailways
- 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
Merchant marine
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 (2000 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 (2000 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways
total: 49 1,524 to 2,437 m: 15 914 to 1,523 m: 25 under 914 m: 9 (2000 est.)
Military
Army, Navy, Air Force, Popular Defense Force Militia
7 fieldsTransnational Issues
1 fieldDisputes - international
- 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
Cite this entry
Central Intelligence Agency. “Sudan.” The World Factbook 2001. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/sudan/2001.