Sudan, Travellers information
Region / Country specific information - Sudan
Introduction Geography People Government Economy Communications Transportation Military Transnational Issues
| Sudan | Introduction | Top of Page |
| 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. |
| Sudan | Geography | Top of Page |
| 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 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 |
| 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 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 |
| Sudan | People | Top of Page |
| 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.) |
| Sudan | Government | Top of Page |
| 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 |
| Sudan | Economy | Top of Page |
| 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 |
| Sudan | Communications | Top of Page |
| 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) |
| Sudan | Transportation | Top of Page |
| 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.) |
| Sudan | Military | Top of Page |
| 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% |
| Sudan | Transnational Issues | Top of Page |
| 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 |
From the CIA World Factbook
Global Rescue is the premier provider of medical, security and evacuation services worldwide and is the only company that will come to you, wherever you are, and evacuate you to your home hospital of choice.
Additionally, Global Rescue places no restrictions on country of citizenship - all nationalities are eligible to sign-up! Travel medical insurance is also available, currently the limit is 90 days. (TIP: For Evac insurance - Click Multiple Trips and 365 days to get year long insurance.)
Ripcord Rescue Travel Insurance™ combines into a single integrated program the best evacuation and rescue with the premier travel insurance coverages designed for adventurers.
Led by special operations veterans, Stanford Medicine affiliated physicians, paramedics and other travel experts, Ripcord is perfect for adventure seekers, climbers, skiers, sports enthusiasts, hunters, international travelers, humanitarian efforts, expeditions and more.
Ripcord travel protection is now available for ALL nationalities, and travel is covered on motorcycles of all sizes! NOTE: Travel medical insurance currently has a limit of 90 days.
Member login
Announcements
Thinking about traveling? Not sure about the whole thing? Watch the HU Achievable Dream Video Trailers and then get ALL the information you need to get inspired and learn how to travel anywhere in the world!
Have YOU ever wondered who has ridden around the world? We did too - and now here's the list of Circumnavigators!
Check it out now, and add your information if we didn't find you.
Are you an Overland Adventure Traveller?
Does the smell of spices wafting through the air make you think of Zanzibar, a cacophony of honking horns is Cairo, or a swirl of brilliantly patterned clothing Guatemala? Then this is the site for you!
Hosted by Grant and Susan Johnson, RTW 1987-1998
Next HU Events
Be sure to join us for this huge milestone!
ALL Dates subject to change.
2025 Confirmed Events:
Virginia: April 24-27 2025
Queensland is back! May 2-4 2025
Germany Summer: May 29-June 1 2025
CanWest: July 10-13 2025
Switzerland: Date TBC
Ecuador: Date TBC
Romania: Date TBC
Austria: Sept. 11-14
California: September 18-21
France: September 19-21 2025
Germany Autumn: Oct 30-Nov 2 2025
Add yourself to the Updates List for each event!
Questions about an event? Ask here
Admin only DVD promo block 220 new.h
Books
All the best travel books and videos listed and often reviewed on HU's famous Books page. Check it out and get great travel books from all over the world.
NOTE: As an Amazon Affiliate we earn from qualifying purchases - thanks for your help supporting HU when you start from an HU Amazon link!