Sudan

Location

• north-eastern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Egypt and Eritrea
• the Nile is Sudan's primary water source; its major tributaries, the White Nile and the Blue Nile, meet at Khartoum to form the River Nile, which flows northward through Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea

Population

Notable Population Centers

City	Population	Note
Khartoum	1,974,647	Capital
Omdurman	1,849,659
Khartoum North	1,012,211
Nyala	565,734
Port Sudan	489,725
Kassala	401,477
El Obeid	393,311
Al Qadarif	363,945
Kosti	345,068
Wad Medani	332,714

Size

• 718,719 square miles
• 1,861,484 square kilometers
• slightly less than one-fifth the size of the US

History

Long referred to as Nubia, modern-day Sudan was the site of the Kingdom of Kerma (ca. 2500-1500 B.C.) until it was absorbed into the New Kingdom of Egypt. By the 11th century B.C., the Kingdom of Kush gained independence from Egypt; it lasted in various forms until the middle of the 4th century A.D. After the fall of Kush, the Nubians formed three Christian kingdoms of Nobatia, Makuria, and Alodia, with the latter two enduring until around 1500. Between the 14th and 15th centuries, Arab nomads settled much of Sudan, leading to extensive Islamization between the 16th and 19th centuries. Following Egyptian occupation early in the 19th century, an agreement in 1899 set up a joint British-Egyptian government in Sudan, but it was effectively a British colony. Military regimes favoring Islamic-oriented governments have dominated national politics since Sudan gained independence from Anglo-Egyptian co-rule in 1956. During most of the second half of the 20th century, Sudan was embroiled in two prolonged civil wars rooted in northern domination of the largely non-Muslim, non-Arab southern portion of the country. The first civil war ended in 1972, but another broke out in 1983. Peace talks gained momentum in 2002-04, and the final North/South Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005 granted the southern rebels autonomy for six years, followed by a referendum on independence for Southern Sudan. South Sudan became independent in 2011, but Sudan and South Sudan have yet to fully implement security and economic agreements to normalize relations between the two countries. Sudan has also faced conflict in Darfur, Southern Kordofan, and Blue Nile starting in 2003.In 2019, after months of nationwide protests, the 30-year reign of President Omar Hassan Ahmad al-BASHIR ended when the military forced him out. Economist and former international civil servant Abdalla HAMDOUK al-Kinani was selected to serve as the prime minister of a transitional government as the country prepared for elections in 2022. In late 2021, however, the Sudanese military ousted HAMDOUK and his government and replaced civilian members of the Sovereign Council (Sudan’s collective Head of State) with individuals selected by the military. HAMDOUK was briefly reinstated but resigned in January 2022. General Abd-al-Fatah al-BURHAN Abd-al-Rahman, the Chair of Sudan’s Sovereign Council and Commander-in-Chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces, currently serves as de facto head of state and government. He presides over a Sovereign Council consisting of military leaders, former armed opposition group representatives, and military-appointed civilians. A cabinet of acting ministers handles day-to-day administration. 

Climate

hot and dry; arid desert; rainy season varies by region (April to November)

Terrain

generally flat, featureless plain; desert dominates the north

Languages

Arabic (official), English (official), Nubian, Ta Bedawie, Furmajor-language sample(s): كتاب حقائق العالم، المصدر الذي لا يمكن الاستغناء عنه للمعلومات الأساسية (Arabic)The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information. (English)

Religions

Sunni Muslim, small Christian minority

Government

presidential republic

• Constitution: history: previous 1973, 1998, 2005 (interim constitution, which was suspended in April 2019); latest initial draft completed by Transitional Military Council in May 2019; revised draft known as the "Draft Constitutional Charter for the 2019 Transitional Period," or “2019 Constitutional Declaration” was signed by the Council and opposition coalition on 4 August 2019note: amended 2020 to incorporate the Juba Agreement for Peace in Sudan; the military suspended several provisions of the Constitutional Declaration in October 2021
• Political Parties and Leaders: n/a
• Suffrage: 17 years of age; universal
• Legal System: mixed system of Islamic law and English common law
• Executive Branch: chief of state: Sovereign Council Chair and Commander-in-Chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces General Abd-al-Fattah al-BURHAN Abd-al-Rahman (since 11 November 2021)head of government: Sovereign Council Chair and Commander-in-Chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces General Abd-al-Fattah al-BURHAN Abd-al-Rahman (since 11 November 2021)cabinet: the military forced most members of the Council of Ministers out of office in 2021; a handful of ministers appointed by former armed opposition groups were allowed to retain their posts; at present, most of the members of the Council are appointed senior civil servants serving in an acting-minister capacityelection/appointment process: military members of the Sovereign Council are selected by the leadership of the security forces; representatives of former armed groups to the Sovereign Council are selected by the signatories of the Juba Peace Agreementelection results: NAexpected date of next election: supposed to be held in 2022 or 2023, but the methodology for elections has still not been definednote 1: the 2019 Constitutional Declaration established a collective chief of state of the "Sovereign Council," which was chaired by al-BURHAN; on 25 October 2021, al-BURHAN dissolved the Sovereign Council but reinstated it on 11 November 2021, replacing its civilian members (previously selected by the umbrella civilian coalition the Forces for Freedom and Change) with civilians of the military’s choosing, but then relieved the newly appointed civilian members of their duties on 6 July 2022note 2: Sovereign Council currently consists of 5 generals
• Judicial Branch: highest court(s): National Supreme Court (consists of 70 judges organized into panels of 3 judges and includes 4 circuits that operate outside the capital); a Constitutional Court was required in the 2019 Constitutional Declaration, but it has yet to be implementedjudge selection and term of office: National Supreme Court and Constitutional Court judges selected by the Supreme Judicial Councilsubordinate courts: Court of Appeal; other national courts; public courts; district, town, and rural courts
• Legislative Branch: note:  the Parliament of Sudan was dissolved after a coup in April 2019; the August 2019 Constitutional Declaration established Sudan's transitional government; a Transitional Legislative Council (TLC) was to have served as the national legislature during the transitional period until elections could be held, but the TLC has not been created

Demographic Profile

n/a

Economy

• low-income Sahel economy devastated by ongoing civil war; major impacts on rural income, basic commodity prices, industrial production, agricultural supply chain, communications and commerce; hyperinflation and currency depreciation worsening food access and humanitarian conditions
• Budget: revenues: $9.045 billion (2015 est.)expenditures: $9.103 billion (2015 est.)note: central government revenues and expenses (excluding grants/extrabudgetary units/social security funds) converted to US dollars at average official exchange rate for year indicated
• Credit Rating: n/a
• Natural Resources: petroleum; small reserves of iron ore, copper, chromium ore, zinc, tungsten, mica, silver, gold; hydropower
• Industries: oil, cotton ginning, textiles, cement, edible oils, sugar, soap distilling, shoes, petroleum refining, pharmaceuticals, armaments, automobile/light truck assembly, milling
• Agricultural Products: sugarcane, sorghum, milk, onions, groundnuts, sesame seeds, goat milk, bananas, mangoes/guavas, millet (2023)note: top ten agricultural products based on tonnage
• Land Use: agricultural land: 60.3% (2022 est.)arable land: 11.2% (2022 est.)permanent crops: 0.1% (2022 est.)permanent pasture: 49% (2022 est.)forest: 9.6% (2022 est.)other: 30% (2022 est.)
• Labor Force by Occupation: n/a
• Imports
• Imported Commodities: raw sugar, wheat flours, refined petroleum, garments, packaged medicine (2023)note: top five import commodities based on value in dollars
• Import Partners: China 21%, India 19%, Egypt 16%, UAE 14%, Saudi Arabia 7% (2023)note: top five import partners based on percentage share of imports
• Exports
• Exported Commodities: crude petroleum, gold, oil seeds, sheep and goats, ground nuts (2023)note: top five export commodities based on value in dollars
• Export Partners: UAE 21%, China 17%, Saudi Arabia 16%, Malaysia 9%, Egypt 8% (2023)note: top five export partners based on percentage share of exports