Sudan

§1. Sudan Introduction

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.

§2. Sudan Geography

Location:
  Northern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Egypt and Eritrea

Geographic coordinates:
  15 00 N, 30 00 E

Map references:
  Africa

Area:
  total: 2,505,810 kmē
  land: 2.376 million kmē
  water: 129,810 kmē

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

Coastline:
  853 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 kmē (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

§3. Sudan People

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

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
  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.)

§4. Sudan Government

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

Capital:
  Khartoum

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

§5. Sudan Economy

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)

Currency code:
  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

§6. Sudan Communications

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)

§7. Sudan Transportation

Railways:
  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

Highways:
  total: 11,900 km
  paved: 4,320 km
  unpaved: 7,580 km (1996)

Waterways:
  5,310 km

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:
  61 (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.)

Heliports:
  1 (2000 est.)

§8. Sudan Military

Military branches:
  Army, Navy, Air Force, Popular Defense Force Militia

Military manpower - military age:
  18 years of age

Military manpower - availability:
  males age 15-49: 8,436,732 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
  males age 15-49: 5,194,862 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
  males: 398,294 (2001 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
  $550 million (FY98)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
  NA%

§9. Sudan Transnational Issues

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 kmē under partial Sudanese administration that is defined by an
  administrative boundary which supersedes the treaty boundary of 1899
