|
| Background: |
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. |
| Location: |
Northern
Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between
Egypt and Eritrea |
| Geographic
coordinates: |
15
00 N, 30 00 E |
| Area: |
total:
2,505,810 sq km
land: 2.376 million sq km
water: 129,810 sq km |
| Area
- comparative: |
slightly
more than one-quarter the size of the US |
| Land
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 |
| Maritime
claims: |
contiguous
zone: 18 NM
continental shelf: 200-m
depth or to the depth of exploitation
territorial sea: 12 NM |
| Climate: |
tropical
in south; arid desert in north; rainy
season (April to October) |
| Terrain: |
generally
flat, featureless plain; mountains in east
and west |
| Elevation
extremes: |
lowest
point: Red Sea 0 m
highest point: Kinyeti 3,187
m |
| 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.) |
| Irrigated
land: |
19,460
sq km (1993 est.) |
| Natural
hazards: |
dust
storms |
| 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 |
| Geography
- note: |
largest
country in Africa; dominated by the Nile
and its tributaries |
| Population: |
36,080,373
(July 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.) |
| Population
growth rate: |
2.79%
(2001 est.) |
| Birth
rate: |
37.89
births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Death
rate: |
10.04
deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Net
migration rate: |
0.04
migrant(s)/1,000 population (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.) |
| Infant
mortality rate: |
68.67
deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
| Life
expectancy at birth: |
total
population: 56.94 years
male: 55.85 years
female: 58.08 years (2001
est.) |
| Total
fertility rate: |
5.35
children born/woman (2001 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- adult prevalence rate: |
0.99%
(1999 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- people living with HIV/AIDS: |
NA |
| Nationality: |
noun:
Sudanese (singular and plural)
adjective: Sudanese |
| Ethnic
groups: |
black
52%, Arab 39%, Beja 6%, foreigners 2%,
other 1% |
| Religions: |
Sunni
Muslim 70% (in north), indigenous beliefs
25%, Christian 5% (mostly in south and
Khartoum) |
| 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.) |
| 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 |
| Independence: |
1
January 1956 (from Egypt and UK) |
| National
holiday: |
Independence
Day, 1 January (1956) |
| 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 |
| Suffrage: |
17
years of age; universal, but noncompulsory |
| 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 |
| Judicial
branch: |
Supreme
Court; Special Revolutionary Courts |
| 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
FAX: [1] (202) 667-2406 |
| 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
- 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. |
| GDP: |
purchasing
power parity - $35.7 billion (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- real growth rate: |
7%
(2000 est.) |
| GDP
- per capita: |
purchasing
power parity - $1,000 (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- composition by sector: |
agriculture:
39%
industry: 17%
services: 44% (1998 est.) |
| Population
below poverty line: |
NA% |
| Household
income or consumption by percentage share: |
lowest
10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
| Inflation
rate (consumer prices): |
10%
(2000 est.) |
| Labor
force: |
11
million (1996 est.) |
| Labor
force - by occupation: |
agriculture
80%, industry and commerce 10%, government
6%, unemployed 4% (1996 est.) |
| Unemployment
rate: |
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 |
| Industrial
production growth rate: |
5%
(1996 est.) |
| Electricity
- production: |
1.76
billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- production by source: |
fossil
fuel: 42.05%
hydro: 57.95%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1999) |
| Electricity
- consumption: |
1.637
billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- exports: |
0
kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- imports: |
0
kWh (1999) |
| Agriculture
- products: |
cotton,
groundnuts (peanuts), sorghum, millet,
wheat, gum arabic, sugarcane, cassara,
mangos, papaya, bananas, sweet potatoes,
sesame; sheep, livestock |
| Exports: |
$1.7
billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
| Exports
- commodities: |
oil
and petroleum products, cotton, sesame,
livestock, groundnuts, gum arabic, sugar |
| Exports
- partners: |
Saudi
Arabia 16%, Italy 10%, Germany 5%, France
3%, Thailand 3% (1999) |
| Imports: |
$1.2
billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
| Imports
- commodities: |
foodstuffs,
manufactured goods, machinery and
transport equipment, medicines and
chemicals, textiles |
| Imports
- partners: |
China
14.7%, Libya 14.7%, Saudi Arabia 8.9%, UK
8.7%, France 6.7% (1999) |
| Debt
- external: |
$24.9
billion (2000 est.) |
| Economic
aid - recipient: |
$187
million (1997) |
| Currency: |
Sudanese
dinar (SDD) |
| 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) |
| Fiscal
year: |
calendar
year |
| Telephones
- main lines in use: |
400,000
(2000) |
| Telephones
- mobile cellular: |
20,000
(2000) |
| Telephone
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) |
| Radio
broadcast stations: |
AM
12, FM 1, shortwave 1 (1998) |
| Radios: |
7.55
million (1997) |
| Television
broadcast stations: |
3
(1997) |
| Televisions: |
2.38
million (1997) |
| Internet
country code: |
.sd |
| Internet
Service Providers (ISPs): |
1
(2000) |
| Internet
users: |
10,000
(2000) |
| Railways: |
total:
5,311 km
narrow gauge: 4,595 km
1.067-m gauge; 1,400 km 0.600-m gauge
plantation line
note: the 1.067-m line from
Khartoum to Port Sudan carries over
two-thirds of Sudan's rail traffic; the
0.600-m gauge system serves Sudan's cotton
plantations with over 120 collecting
stations (2001) |
| Highways: |
total:
11,900 km
paved: 4,320 km
unpaved: 7,580 km (1996) |
| Pipelines: |
refined
products 815 km |
| Ports
and harbors: |
Juba,
Khartoum, Kusti, Malakal, Nimule, Port
Sudan, Sawakin |
| 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.) |
| Disputes
- 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 |
|
