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Communications

Broadcast media (Radio) [time series]

broadcast stations: AM 11, FM 0, shortwave 0 radios: NA

Telecommunication systems (Telephone system) [time series]

NA telephones; large, well-equipped system by African standards, but barely adequate and poorly maintained by modern standards local: NA intercity: consists of microwave radio relay, cable, radio communications, troposcatter, and a domestic satellite system with 14 stations international: 1 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 ARABSAT earth station

Broadcast media (Television) [time series]

broadcast stations: 3 televisions: NA

Defense Forces

Military and security forces (Branches) [time series]

Army, Navy, Air Force, Popular Defense Force Militia

Military expenditures (Defense expenditures) [time series]

exchange rate conversion - $600 million, 7.3% of GDP (FY93/94 est.) SURINAME

Manpower availability [time series]

males age 15-49 6,806,588; males fit for military service 4,185,206; males reach military age (18) annually 313,958 (1995 est.)

Economy

Agricultural products (Agriculture) [time series]

accounts for 35% of GDP; major products - cotton, oilseeds, sorghum, millet, wheat, gum arabic, sheep; marginally self-sufficient in most foods

Budget [time series]

revenues: $493 million expenditures: $1.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $225 million (1994 est.)

Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]

1 Sudanese pound (#Sd) = 100 piastres

Economic aid [time series]

recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $1.5 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $5.1 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $3.1 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $588 million

Electricity [time series]

capacity: 500,000 kW production: 1.3 billion kWh consumption per capita: 42 kWh (1993)

Exchange rates [time series]

official rate - Sudanese pounds (#Sd) per US$1 - 434.8 (January 1995), 277.8 (1994), 153.8 (1993), 69.4 (1992), 5.4288 (1991), 4.5004 (1990); note - the commercial rate is 300 Sudanese pounds per US$1

Exports [time series]

$419 million (f.o.b., FY93/94) commodities: gum arabic 29%, livestock/meat 24%, cotton 13%, sesame, peanuts partners: Western Europe 46%, Saudi Arabia 14%, Eastern Europe 9%, Japan 9%, US 3% (FY87/88)

Debt - external (External debt) [time series]

$17 billion (June 1993 est.)

Fiscal year [time series]

1 July - 30 June

Imports [time series]

$1.7 billion (c.i.f., FY93/94) commodities: foodstuffs, petroleum products, manufactured goods, machinery and equipment, medicines and chemicals, textiles partners: Western Europe 32%, Africa and Asia 15%, US 13%, Eastern Europe 3% (FY87/88)

Industrial production growth rate (Industrial production) [time series]

growth rate 6.8% (FY92/93 est.); accounts for 11% of GDP

Industries [time series]

cotton ginning, textiles, cement, edible oils, sugar, soap distilling, shoes, petroleum refining

Inflation rate (consumer prices) [time series]

112% (FY93/94 est.)

Real GDP (purchasing power parity) (National product) [time series]

GDP - purchasing power parity - $23.7 billion (1994 est.)

Real GDP per capita (National product per capita) [time series]

$870 (1994 est.)

Real GDP growth rate (National product real growth rate) [time series]

7% (1994 est.)

Economic overview (Overview) [time series]

Sudan is buffeted by civil war, chronic political instability, adverse weather, high inflation, a drop in remittances from abroad, and counterproductive economic policies. Governmental entities account for more than 70% of new investment. The private sector's main areas of activity are agriculture and trading, with most private industrial investment predating 1980. Agriculture employs 80% of the work force. Industry mainly processes agricultural items. Sluggish economic performance over the past decade, attributable largely to declining annual rainfall, has reduced levels of per capita income and consumption. A large foreign debt and huge arrearages continue to cause difficulties. In 1990 the International Monetary Fund took the unusual step of declaring Sudan noncooperative because of its nonpayment of arrearages to the Fund. After Sudan backtracked on promised reforms in 1992-93, the IMF threatened to expel Sudan from the Fund. To avoid expulsion, Khartoum agreed to make payments on its arrears to the Fund, liberalize exchange rates, and reduce subsidies. These measures have been partially implemented. The government's continued prosecution of the civil war and its growing international isolation led to a further deterioration of the nonagricultural sectors of the economy during 1994. Agriculture, on the other hand, after several disappointing years, enjoyed a bumper fall harvest in 1994; its strong performance produced an overall growth rate in GDP of perhaps 7%.

Unemployment rate [time series]

30% (FY92/93 est.)

Geography

Area [time series]

total area: 2,505,810 sq km land area: 2.376 million sq km comparative area: slightly more than one-quarter the size of the US

Climate [time series]

tropical in south; arid desert in north; rainy season (April to October)

Coastline [time series]

853 km

Environment - current issues (Environment) [time series]

current issues: inadequate supplies of potable water; wildlife populations threatened by excessive hunting; soil erosion; desertification natural hazards: dust storms international agreements: party to - Climate Change, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Desertification

Disputes - international (International disputes) [time series]

administrative boundary with Kenya does not coincide with international boundary; administrative boundary with Egypt does not coincide with international boundary creating the "Hala'ib Triangle," a barren area of 20,580 sq km, tensions over this disputed area began to escalate in 1992 and remain high

Irrigated land [time series]

18,900 sq km (1989 est.)

Land boundaries [time series]

total 7,687 km, Central African Republic 1,165 km, Chad 1,360 km, Egypt 1,273 km, Eritrea 605 km, Ethiopia 1,606 km, Kenya 232 km, Libya 383 km, Uganda 435 km, Zaire 628 km

Land use [time series]

arable land: 5% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 24% forest and woodland: 20% other: 51%

Location [time series]

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

Map references [time series]

Africa

Maritime claims [time series]

contiguous zone: 18 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation territorial sea: 12 nm

Natural resources [time series]

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

Note [time series]

largest country in Africa; dominated by the Nile and its tributaries

Terrain [time series]

generally flat, featureless plain; mountains in east and west

Government

Administrative divisions [time series]

9 states (wilayat, singular - wilayat or wilayah*); A'ali an Nil, Al Wusta*, Al Istiwa'iyah*, Al Khartum, Ash Shamaliyah*, Ash Sharqiyah*, Bahr al Ghazal, Darfur, Kurdufan note: on 14 February 1994, the 9 states comprising Sudan were divided into 26 new states; the new state boundary alignments are undetermined

Capital [time series]

Khartoum

Chief of State and Head of Government [time series]

President Lt. General Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR (since 16 October 1993); prior to 16 October 1993, BASHIR served concurrently as Chief of State, Chairman of the RCC, Prime Minister, and Minister of Defence (since 30 June 1989); First Vice President Major General al-Zubayr Muhammad SALIH (since 19 October 1993); Second Vice President (Police) Maj. General George KONGOR (since NA February 1994); note - upon its dissolution on 16 October 1993, the RCC's executive and legislative powers were devolved to the President and the Transitional National Assembly (TNA), Sudan's appointed legislative body cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the president; note - on 30 October 1993, President BASHIR announced a new, predominantly civilian cabinet, consisting of 20 federal ministers, most of whom retained their previous cabinet positions; on 9 February 1995, he abolished three ministries and redivided their portfolios to create several new ministries; these changes increased National Islamic Front presence at the ministerial level and consolidated its control over the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; President BASHIR's government is dominated by members of Sudan's National Islamic Front, a fundamentalist political organization formed from the Muslim Brotherhood in 1986; front leader Hasan al-TURABI controls Khartoum's overall domestic and foreign policies

Constitution [time series]

12 April 1973, suspended following coup of 6 April 1985; interim constitution of 10 October 1985 suspended following coup of 30 June 1989

Digraph [time series]

Diplomatic representation in the US (Diplomatic representation in US) [time series]

chief of mission: Ambassador Ahmad SULAYMAN chancery: 2210 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 338-8565 through 8570

Diplomatic representation in the US (FAX) [time series]

[1] (202) 667-2406

Diplomatic representation in the US (FAX) [time series]

Telex 22619 AMEMSD

Flag [time series]

three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black with a green isosceles triangle based on the hoist side

Independence [time series]

1 January 1956 (from Egypt and UK)

Judicial branch [time series]

Supreme Court, Special Revolutionary Courts

Legal system [time series]

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; the council is still studying criminal provisions under Islamic law; Islamic law applies to all residents of the northern states regardless of their religion; some separate religious courts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Legislative branch [time series]

appointed 300-member Transitional National Assembly; officially assumes all legislative authority for Sudan until the proposed 1995 resumption of national elections

International organization participation (Member of) [time series]

ABEDA, ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IGADD, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Country name (Names) [time series]

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

National holiday [time series]

Independence Day, 1 January (1956)

Political parties (Other political or pressure groups) [time series]

National Islamic Front, Hasan al-TURABI

Political parties (Political parties and leaders) [time series]

none; banned following 30 June 1989 coup

Suffrage [time series]

none

Government type (Type) [time series]

ruling military junta - Revolutionary Command Council (RCC) - dissolved on 16 October 1993 and government civilianized

Diplomatic representation from the US (US diplomatic representation) [time series]

chief of mission: Ambassador Donald K. PETTERSON embassy: Shar'ia Ali Abdul Latif, Khartoum mailing address: P. O. Box 699, Khartoum; APO AE 09829 telephone: 74700, 74611 (operator assistance required)

People

Age structure [time series]

0-14 years: 46% (female 6,801,001; male 7,124,892) 15-64 years: 52% (female 7,706,864; male 7,830,980) 65 years and over: 2% (female 280,297; male 376,386) (July 1995 est.)

Birth rate [time series]

41.29 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death rate [time series]

11.74 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Ethnic groups (Ethnic divisions) [time series]

black 52%, Arab 39%, Beja 6%, foreigners 2%, other 1%

Infant mortality rate [time series]

77.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Labor force [time series]

6.5 million by occupation: agriculture 80%, industry and commerce 10%, government 6% note: labor shortages for almost all categories of skilled employment (1983 est.)

Languages [time series]

Arabic (official), Nubian, Ta Bedawie, diverse dialects of Nilotic, Nilo-Hamitic, Sudanic languages, English note: program of Arabization in process

Life expectancy at birth [time series]

total population: 54.71 years male: 53.81 years female: 55.65 years (1995 est.)

Literacy [time series]

age 15 and over can read and write (1983) total population: 32% male: 44% female: 21%

Nationality [time series]

noun: Sudanese (singular and plural) adjective: Sudanese

Net migration rate [time series]

NA migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.) note: the flow of refugees from the civil war in Sudan into neighboring countries continues, often at the rate of tens of thousands annually; Uganda was the main recipient of Sudanese refugees in the past year; repatriation of Eritrean and Ethiopean refugees in Sudan continues

Population [time series]

30,120,420 (July 1995 est.)

Population growth rate [time series]

2.35% (1995 est.)

Religions [time series]

Sunni Muslim 70% (in north), indigenous beliefs 25%, Christian 5% (mostly in south and Khartoum)

Total fertility rate [time series]

6 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Transportation

Airports [time series]

total: 70 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 with paved runways under 914 m: 13 with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 14 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 33

Roadways (Highways) [time series]

total: 20,703 km paved: bituminous treated 2,000 km unpaved: gravel 4,000 km; improved earth 2,304 km; unimproved earth 12,399 km

Waterways (Inland waterways) [time series]

5,310 km navigable

Merchant marine [time series]

total: 5 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 43,024 GRT/122,379 DWT ships by type: cargo 3, roll-on/roll-off cargo 2

Pipelines [time series]

refined products 815 km

Ports [time series]

Juba, Khartoum, Kusti, Malakal, Nimule, Port Sudan, Sawakin

Railways (Railroads) [time series]

total: 5,516 km narrow gauge: 4,800 km 1.067-m gauge; 716 km 1.6096-m gauge plantation line