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| Introduction | Sudan |
| Background: | Military regimes favoring Islamic-oriented governments have dominated national politics since independence from the UK in 1956. Sudan has been embroiled in a civil war for all but 10 years of this period (1972-82). The wars are rooted in northern economic, political, and social domination of non-Muslim, non-Arab southern Sudanese. Since 1983, the war and war- and famine-related effects have led to more than 2 million deaths and over 4 million people displaced. The ruling regime is a mixture of military elite and an Islamist party that came to power in a 1989 coup. Some northern opposition parties have made common cause with the southern rebels and entered the war as a part of an anti-government alliance. Peace talks gained momentum in 2002-03 with the signing of several accords, including a cease-fire agreement. |
| People | Sudan |
| Population: | 39,148,162 (July 2004 est.) |
| Age structure: | 0-14 years: 43.7% (male 8,730,609; female 8,358,569) 15-64 years: 54.1% (male 10,588,634; female 10,571,199) 65 years and over: 2.3% (male 490,869; female 408,282) (2004 est.) |
| Median age: | total: 17.9 years male: 17.7 years female: 18.1 years (2004 est.) |
| Population growth rate: | 2.64% (2004 est.) |
| Birth rate: | 35.79 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Death rate: | 9.37 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Net migration rate: | -0.02 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 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: 1.2 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
| Infant mortality rate: | total: 64.05 deaths/1,000 live births female: 63.26 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) male: 64.8 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 58.13 years male: 56.96 years female: 59.36 years (2004 est.) |
| Total fertility rate: | 4.97 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | 2.6% (2001 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | 450,000 (2001 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - deaths: | 23,000 (2001 est.) |
| Major infectious diseases: | typhoid fever, malaria, dengue fever, trypanosomiasis, schistosomiasis overall degree of risk: very high (2004) |
| 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: 61.1% male: 71.8% female: 50.5% (2003 est.) |
| Government | Sudan |
| Country name: | conventional long form: Republic of the Sudan conventional short form: Sudan local long form: Jumhuriyat as-Sudan former: Anglo-Egyptian Sudan local short form: As-Sudan |
| Government type: | 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 |
| 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 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) 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 or NCP (formerly the National Islamic Front or NIF) dominates al-BASHIR's cabinet 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 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 |
| Legislative branch: | unicameral National Assembly (360 seats; 270 popularly elected, 90 elected by supra assembly of interest groups known as National Congress; members serve four-year terms) elections: last held 13-22 December 2000 (next to be held NA December 2004) election results: NCP 355, others 5 |
| 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 or PNC [Hassan al-TURABI], and over 20 minor, pro-government parties |
| Political pressure groups and leaders: | 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 Party [Sadiq al-MAHDI] |
| International organization participation: | ABEDA, ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AU, CAEU, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAS, NAM, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) |
| Diplomatic representation in the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires, Ad Interim Khidir Haroun AHMED (since April 2001) FAX: [1] (202) 667-2406 telephone: [1] (202) 338-8565 chancery: 2210 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 |
| Diplomatic representation from the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Gerard M. GALLUCCI embassy: Sharia Abdul Latif Avenue, Khartoum mailing address: P. O. Box 699, Khartoum; APO AE 09829 telephone: [249] (11) 774611 or 774700 FAX: [249] (11) 774137 note: US Consul in Cairo is providing backup service for Khartoum (see http://usembassy.egnet.net/sudan.htm) |
| Flag description: | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black with a green isosceles triangle based on the hoist side |
| Communications | Sudan |
| Telephones - main lines in use: | 900,000 (2003) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular: | 650,000 (2003) |
| 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: country code - 249; 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 hosts: | NA |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs): | 2 (2002) |
| Internet users: | 300,000 (2003) |
| Transportation | Sudan |
| Railways: | total: 5,978 km narrow gauge: 4,595 km 1.067-m gauge; 1,400 km .600-m gauge for cotton plantations (2003) |
| Highways: | total: 11,900 km paved: 4,320 km unpaved: 7,580 km (1999 est.) |
| Waterways: | 4,068 km (1,723 km open year round on White and Blue Nile rivers) (2004) |
| Pipelines: | gas 156 km; oil 2,365 km; refined products 810 km (2004) |
| Ports and harbors: | Juba, Khartoum, Kusti, Malakal, Nimule, Port Sudan, Sawakin |
| Merchant marine: | total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 20,466 GRT/26,973 DWT by type: livestock carrier 1, roll on/roll off 2 registered in other countries: 4 (2003 est.) |
| Airports: | 63 (2003 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 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways: | total: 63 914 to 1,523 m: 33 under 914 m: 11 (2004 est.) 1,524 to 2,437 m: 17 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 |
| Heliports: | 2 (2003 est.) |
| Military | Sudan |
| Military branches: | Sudanese People's Armed Forces (SPAF), Navy, Air Force, Popular Defense Forces |
| Military manpower - military age and obligation: | 18-30 years of age for compulsory military service; conscript service obligation - 3 years (August 2004) |
| Military manpower - availability: | males age 15-49: 9,339,775 (2004 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service: | males age 15-49: 5,743,783 (2004 est.) |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually: | males: 442,242 (2004 est.) |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure: | $581 million (2001 est.) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP: | 2.5% (1999) |
| Transnational Issues | Sudan |
| Disputes - international: | the north-south civil war has affected Sudan's neighbors by drawing them into the fighting and by forcing them to provide shelter to refugees, to contend with infiltration by rebel groups, and to serve as mediators; Sudan has provided shelter to Ugandan refugees and cover to Lord's Resistance Army soldiers; 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 and currently effectively administers the "Hala'ib Triangle" north of the Treaty Line; Sudan has pledged to work with the Central African Republic to stem violent skirmishes over water and grazing among related pastoral populations along the border |
| Refugees and internally displaced persons: | refugees (country of origin): 108,251 (Eritrea), 5,023 (Chad), 7,983 (Uganda) IDPs: 4.367 million (internal conflict since 1980s; ongoing genocide) (2004) |
| This page was last updated on 16 December, 2004 |
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