View Intelligence Dossier Back to 2001 CSV Excel Print All Years

Communications

Internet users (Internet Service Providers (ISPs)) [time series]

1 (2000)

Internet country code [time series]

.sd

Internet users [time series]

10,000 (2000)

Broadcast media (Radio broadcast stations) [time series]

AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 1 (1998)

Radios [time series]

7.55 million (1997)

Telecommunication systems (Telephone system) [time series]

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)

Telephones - fixed lines (Telephones - main lines in use) [time series]

400,000 (2000)

Telephones - mobile cellular [time series]

20,000 (2000)

Broadcast media (Television broadcast stations) [time series]

3 (1997)

Televisions [time series]

2.38 million (1997)

Economy

Agricultural products (Agriculture - products) [time series]

cotton, groundnuts (peanuts), sorghum, millet, wheat, gum arabic, sugarcane, cassara, mangos, papaya, bananas, sweet potatoes, sesame; sheep, livestock

Budget [time series]

revenues: $1.2 billion expenditures: $1.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)

Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]

Sudanese dinar (SDD)

Exchange rates (Currency code) [time series]

SDD

Debt - external [time series]

$24.9 billion (2000 est.)

Economic aid (Economic aid - recipient) [time series]

$187 million (1997)

Economic overview (Economy - overview) [time series]

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.

Electricity - consumption [time series]

1.637 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - exports [time series]

0 kWh (1999)

Electricity - imports [time series]

0 kWh (1999)

Electricity - production [time series]

1.76 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - production by source [time series]

fossil fuel: 42.05% hydro: 57.95% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999)

Exchange rates [time series]

Sudanese dinars per US dollar - 257.44 (January 2001), 257.12 (2000), 252.55 (1999), 200.80 (1998), 157.57 (1997), 125.08 (1996)

Exports [time series]

$1.7 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)

Exports - commodities [time series]

oil and petroleum products, cotton, sesame, livestock, groundnuts, gum arabic, sugar

Exports - partners [time series]

Saudi Arabia 16%, Italy 10%, Germany 5%, France 3%, Thailand 3% (1999)

Fiscal year [time series]

calendar year

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

purchasing power parity - $35.7 billion (2000 est.)

GDP - composition, by sector of origin (GDP - composition by sector) [time series]

agriculture: 39% industry: 17% services: 44% (1998 est.)

Real GDP per capita (GDP - per capita) [time series]

purchasing power parity - $1,000 (2000 est.)

Real GDP growth rate (GDP - real growth rate) [time series]

7% (2000 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share [time series]

lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%

Imports [time series]

$1.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)

Imports - commodities [time series]

foodstuffs, manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment, medicines and chemicals, textiles

Imports - partners [time series]

China 14.7%, Libya 14.7%, Saudi Arabia 8.9%, UK 8.7%, France 6.7% (1999)

Industrial production growth rate [time series]

5% (1996 est.)

Industries [time series]

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices) [time series]

10% (2000 est.)

Labor force [time series]

11 million (1996 est.)

Labor force - by occupation [time series]

agriculture 80%, industry and commerce 10%, government 6%, unemployed 4% (1996 est.)

Population below poverty line [time series]

NA%

Unemployment rate [time series]

4% (1996 est.)

Geography

Area [time series]

total: 2,505,810 sq km land: 2.376 million sq km water: 129,810 sq km

Area - comparative [time series]

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

Elevation (Elevation extremes) [time series]

lowest point: Red Sea 0 m highest point: Kinyeti 3,187 m

Environment - current issues [time series]

inadequate supplies of potable water; wildlife populations threatened by excessive hunting; soil erosion; desertification

International environmental agreements (Environment - international agreements) [time series]

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

Geographic coordinates [time series]

15 00 N, 30 00 E

Geography - note [time series]

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

Irrigated land [time series]

19,460 sq km (1993 est.)

Land boundaries [time series]

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

Land use [time series]

arable land: 5% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 46% forests and woodland: 19% other: 30% (1993 est.)

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 hazards [time series]

dust storms

Natural resources [time series]

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

Terrain [time series]

generally flat, featureless plain; mountains in east and west

Government

Administrative divisions [time series]

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

Capital [time series]

Khartoum

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; new constitution implemented on 30 June 1998 partially suspended 12 December 1999 by President BASHIR

Country name [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

Diplomatic representation from the US [time series]

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

Diplomatic representation in the US [time series]

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

Executive branch [time series]

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

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

[1] (202) 667-2406

Flag (Flag description) [time series]

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

Government type [time series]

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

Independence [time series]

1 January 1956 (from Egypt and UK)

International organization participation [time series]

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)

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; 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]

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

National holiday [time series]

Independence Day, 1 January (1956)

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

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

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]

Suffrage [time series]

17 years of age; universal, but noncompulsory

Introduction

Background [time series]

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.

Military

Military and security forces (Military branches) [time series]

Army, Navy, Air Force, Popular Defense Force Militia

Military expenditures - dollar figure [time series]

$550 million (FY98)

Military expenditures (Military expenditures - percent of GDP) [time series]

NA%

Military manpower - availability [time series]

males age 15-49: 8,436,732 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service [time series]

males age 15-49: 5,194,862 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - military age [time series]

18 years of age

Military manpower - reaching military age annually [time series]

males: 398,294 (2001 est.)

People

Age structure [time series]

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.)

Birth rate [time series]

37.89 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate [time series]

10.04 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Ethnic groups [time series]

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

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate [time series]

0.99% (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths [time series]

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS [time series]

Infant mortality rate [time series]

68.67 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 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: 56.94 years male: 55.85 years female: 58.08 years (2001 est.)

Literacy [time series]

definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 46.1% male: 57.7% female: 34.6% (1995 est.)

Nationality [time series]

noun: Sudanese (singular and plural) adjective: Sudanese

Net migration rate [time series]

0.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Population [time series]

36,080,373 (July 2001 est.)

Population growth rate [time series]

2.79% (2001 est.)

Religions [time series]

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

Sex ratio [time series]

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.)

Total fertility rate [time series]

5.35 children born/woman (2001 est.)

Transnational Issues

Disputes - international [time series]

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

Transportation

Airports [time series]

61 (2000 est.)

Airports - with paved runways [time series]

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 [time series]

total: 49 1,524 to 2,437 m: 15 914 to 1,523 m: 25 under 914 m: 9 (2000 est.)

Heliports [time series]

1 (2000 est.)

Roadways (Highways) [time series]

total: 11,900 km paved: 4,320 km unpaved: 7,580 km (1996)

Merchant marine [time series]

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.)

Pipelines [time series]

refined products 815 km

Ports (Ports and harbors) [time series]

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

Railways [time series]

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

Waterways [time series]

5,310 km