Sudan

• tropical in south;
• arid desert in north;
• rainy season varies by region (April to November)

• generally flat, featureless plain;
• mountains in far south, northeast and west;
• desert dominates the north

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

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:

44% (male 8,562,412; female 8,195,201)

15-64 years:

53.8% (male 10,260,581; female 10,246,045)

65 years and over:

2.2% (male 468,898; female 381,023) (2003 est.)

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

1.23 male(s)/female

total population:

1.03 male(s)/female (2003 est.)

noun:

Sudanese (singular and plural)

adjective:

Sudanese

conventional long form:

Republic of the Sudan

conventional short form:

Sudan

local short form:

As-Sudan

local long form:

Jumhuriyat as-Sudan

former:

Anglo-Egyptian Sudan

• authoritarian regime - ruling military junta took power in 1989;
• government is run by an alliance of the military and the National Congress Party (NCP), formerly the National Islamic Front (NIF), which espouses an Islamist platform

• 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 state:

President Lt. Gen. Umar Hassan 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

elections:

president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 13-23 December 2000 (next to be held NA 2005)

note: Lt. Gen. al-BASHIR assumed supreme executive power in 1989 and retained it through several transitional governments in the early and mid-1990s before being popularly elected for the first time in March 1996

election results:

Lt. Gen. 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 a combined vote of 3.9%; election widely viewed as rigged; all popular opposition parties boycotted elections because of a lack of guarantees for a free and fair election

cabinet:

• Council of Ministers appointed by the president;
• note - the National Congress Party or NCP (formerly the National Islamic Front or NIF) dominates al-BASHIR's cabinet

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

• 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 or PNC [Hassan al-TURABI], and over 20 minor, pro-government parties

• Democratic Unionist Party [Muhammed Uthman AL-MIRGHANI];
• National Congress Party [Ibrahim Ahmed UMAR];
• National Democratic Alliance [Muhammed Uthman AL-MIRGHANI, chairman];
• Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army [Dr. John GARANG];
• Umma [Sadiq al-MAHDI]

chief of mission:

Ambassador (vacant); Charge D'Affairs, Ad Interim Khidir Haroun AHMED (since April 2001)

telephone:

[1] (202) 338-8565

FAX:

[1] (202) 667-2406

chancery:

2210 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

• 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

lowest 10%:

NA%

highest 10%:

NA%

total:

5,978 km

narrow gauge:

4,578 km 1.067-m gauge; 1,400 km 0.600-m gauge plantation line (2002)

total:

11,900 km

paved:

4,320 km

unpaved:

7,580 km (1999 est.)

total:

4 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 29,854 GRT/39,084 DWT

ships by type:

cargo 1, livestock carrier 1, roll on/roll off 2 (2002 est.)

• the north-south civil war has drawn Sudan's neighbors into the fighting, sheltering refugees, and infiltration by rebel groups - Kenya and Uganda have acted as mediators;
• Sudan accuses Eritrea of supporting Sudanese rebel groups;
• efforts to demarcate the porous boundary with Ethiopia have been delayed by fighting in Sudan;
• Kenya's administrative boundary still extends into the Sudan, creating the "Ilemi triangle";
• Egypt and Sudan retain claims to administer the triangular areas that extend north and south of the 1899 Treaty boundary along the 22nd Parallel, but have withdrawn their military presence;
• Egypt is economically developing the "Hala'ib triangle"