Sudan

presidential republic

name: Khartoum geographic coordinates: 15 36 N, 32 32 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) etymology: the name derives from the Arabic words ras (head or end) and al-khurtum (elephant's trunk), referring to the narrow strip of land between the Blue and White Niles where the city is located

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 capacity election/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 Agreement election results: NA expected date of next election: supposed to be held in 2022 or 2023, but the methodology for elections has still not been defined note 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 2022 note 2: Sovereign Council currently consists of 5 generals

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

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 implemented judge selection and term of office: National Supreme Court and Constitutional Court judges selected by the Supreme Judicial Council subordinate courts: Court of Appeal; other national courts; public courts; district, town, and rural courts

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 2019 note: amended 2020 to incorporate the Juba Agreement for Peace in Sudan; the military suspended several provisions of the Constitutional Declaration in October 2021

ABEDA, ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AU (suspended), CAEU, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNHRC, UNIDO, UNOOSA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)

1% of GDP (2021 est.) 1% of GDP (2020 est.) 2.4% of GDP (2019 est.) 2% of GDP (2018 est.) 3.6% of GDP (2017 est.) note: many defense expenditures are probably off-budget

Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF): Ground Force (Sudanese Army), Sudanese Navy, Sudanese Air Force; Rapid Support Forces (RSF); Border Guards Ministry of Interior: Sudan Police Forces (SPF), Central Reserve Police (CRP) (2025) note 1: the RSF is a semi-autonomous paramilitary force formed in 2013 to fight armed rebel groups in Sudan, with Mohammed Hamdan DAGALO (aka Hemeti) as its commander; it was initially placed under the National Intelligence and Security Service, then came under the direct command of former president Omar al-BASHIR, who boosted the RSF as his own personal security force; as a result, the RSF was better funded and equipped than the regular armed forces; the RSF has since recruited from all parts of Sudan beyond its original Darfuri Arab groups but remains under the personal patronage and control of DAGALO note 2: the Central Reserve Police (aka Abu Tira) is a combat-trained paramilitary force note 3: the October 2020 peace agreement provided for the establishment of a Joint Security Keeping Forces (JSKF) tasked with securing the Darfur region in the place of the UN African Union Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID), a joint African Union-UN peacekeeping force that operated in the war-torn region from 2007-December 2020; the force was intended to include the SAF, RSF, police, intelligence, and representatives from armed groups involved in peace negotiations; while the first 2,000 members of the JSKF completed training in September 2022, the status of the force since the start of the civil war is not available note 4: there are also numerous armed militias operating in Sudan

18-33 years of age for compulsory or voluntary military service for men and women; service obligation 12-24 months (2025) note: official implementation of compulsory service is reportedly uneven; both the SAF and the RSF have been accused of engaging in forced recruitment of men and boys during the ongoing conflict

the primary responsibilities of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) are border control, external defense, and internal security; SAF operations have traditionally been supported by militia and paramilitary forces, particularly the Rapid Support Forces (RSF); in the Spring of 2023, fighting broke out between the SAF and the RSF, particularly around the capital Khartoum and in the western region of Darfur, amid disputes over an internationally-backed plan for a transition towards civilian rule; fighting subsequently spread and continued into 2025 with reports of atrocities, ethnic cleansing, food insecurity, heavy civilian casualties, and millions of internally displaced persons; each side is supported by allied militias and both reportedly have received foreign support the Sudanese military has been a dominant force in the ruling of the country since its independence in 1956; in addition, the military has a large role in the country's economy, reportedly controlling over 200 commercial companies, including businesses involved in gold mining, rubber production, agriculture, and meat exports the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) has operated in the disputed Abyei region along the border between Sudan and South Sudan since 2011; UNISFA's mission includes ensuring security, protecting civilians, strengthening the capacity of the Abyei Police Service, de-mining, monitoring/verifying the redeployment of armed forces from the area, and facilitating the flow of humanitarian aid; as of 2025, UNISFA had approximately 3,800 personnel assigned (2025)

$94.42 billion (2024 est.) $109.147 billion (2023 est.) $154.672 billion (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars

$1,900 (2024 est.) $2,200 (2023 est.) $3,100 (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars

-13.5% (2024 est.) -29.4% (2023 est.) -1% (2022 est.) note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency

138.8% (2022 est.) 359.1% (2021 est.) 163.3% (2020 est.) note: annual % change based on consumer prices

99.5% of GDP (2016 est.)

$5.908 billion (2022 est.) $6.664 billion (2021 est.) $5.065 billion (2020 est.) note: balance of payments - exports of goods and services in current dollars

$11.575 billion (2022 est.) $10.271 billion (2021 est.) $10.52 billion (2020 est.) note: balance of payments - imports of goods and services in current dollars

11.45% (2023 est.) 7.6% (2022 est.) 11.1% (2021 est.) note: % of labor force seeking employment

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

oil, cotton ginning, textiles, cement, edible oils, sugar, soap distilling, shoes, petroleum refining, pharmaceuticals, armaments, automobile/light truck assembly, milling

sugarcane, sorghum, milk, onions, groundnuts, sesame seeds, goat milk, bananas, mangoes/guavas, millet (2023) note: top ten agricultural products based on tonnage

total: 50,467,278 (2024 est.) male: 25,335,092 female: 25,132,186

2.54% (2025 est.)

0-14 years: 40.1% (male 10,278,453/female 9,949,343) 15-64 years: 56.7% (male 14,211,514/female 14,390,486) 65 years and over: 3.2% (2024 est.) (male 845,125/female 792,357)

32.95 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)

6 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)

-1.55 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)

total population: 67.8 years (2024 est.) male: 65.5 years female: 70.2 years

urban population: 36.3% of total population (2023) rate of urbanization: 3.43% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Sudanese Arab (approximately 70%), Fur, Beja, Nuba, Ingessana, Uduk, Fallata, Masalit, Dajo, Gimir, Tunjur, Berti; there are over 500 ethnic groups

Arabic (official), English (official), Nubian, Ta Bedawie, Fur major-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)

Sunni Muslim, small Christian minority

petroleum; small reserves of iron ore, copper, chromium ore, zinc, tungsten, mica, silver, gold; hydropower

Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS); al-Qa ida; Harakat Sawa d Misr note: details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in the Terrorism reference guide

tier rating: Tier 3 Sudan does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so; therefore, Sudan remained on Tier 3; for more details, go to: https://www.state.gov/reports/2025-trafficking-in-persons-report/sudan

refugees: 837,988 (2024 est.) IDPs: 11,559,970 (2024 est.)

45 (2025)

total: 7,251 km (2014) narrow gauge: 5,851 km (2014) 1.067-m gauge 1,400 km 0.600-m gauge for cotton plantations

total: 14 (2023) by type: other 14

total subscriptions: 34.7 million (2022 est.) subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 74 (2022 est.)

percent of population: 26% (2020 est.)