1986 Edition

Agriculture

main crops — sorghum, millet, wheat, sesame, peanuts, beans, barley; not self-sufficient in food production; main cash crops — cotton, gum arable, peanuts, sesame

Airfields

89 total, 77 usable; 9 with permanent-surface runways; 4 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 29 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Branches

Transitional Military Council and Provisional Civilian Cabinet; regional military governors

Army, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Force

Budget

(FY84) public revenue $551 million, total expenditures $829 million, including development expenditure of $203 million

Capital

Khartoum

Civil air

13 major transport aircraft

Elections

elections scheduled in April 1986 to select representation to a Constituent Assembly that will draft a new constitution in one year and thereafter turn itself into a parliament to serve for three years Political parties and leaders: following coup in April 1985, more than 30 different political parties declared; most significant include the Umma Party (Ansar Muslim Sect), the Democratic Unionist Party (Khatmiyyah Muslim Sect), the rightist Islamic fundamentalist National Islamic Front (Muslim Brotherhood), the Sudanese Communist Party, and the B'ath Party; major southern parties include the Sudan African Congress and the Southern Sudanese Political Association

Electric power

542,700 kW capacity (1985); 1.188 billion kWh produced (1985), 54 kWh per capita

Exports

$409 million (f.o.b., 1984); cotton (31%), gum arabic, peanuts, sesame; $40 million exports to Communist countries (FY82)

Fiscal year

1 July-30 June Communications

GDP

$7.31 billion at current prices (FY84), $350 per capita at current prices (FY83)

Government leader

Gen. Abdel Rahman SUWAR EL DAHAB, Chairman, Transitional Military Council (since April 1985); Dr. El Gizouli DAFALLA, Prime Minister (since April 1985)

Highways

20,000 km total; 2,000 km bituminous treated, 4,000 km gravel, 2,304 km improved earth; remainder unimproved earth and track

Imports

$465.7 million (c.i.f., 1984); textiles, petroleum products, foodstuffs, transport equipment, manufactured goods

Inland waterways

5,310 km navigable

Labor force

6.086 million (1982); roughly 78.4% agriculture, 9.8% industry and commerce, 6.0% government; labor shortages for almost all categories of employment coexist with urban unemployment Government

Legal system

based on English common law and Islamic law; in September 1983 President Nimeiri declared the penal code would conform to Islamic law; some separate religious courts; interim constitution promulgated August 1985; legal education at University of Khartoum and extension of Cairo University at Khartoum; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Literacy

20%

Major industries

cotton ginning, textiles, brewery, cement, edible oils, soap, distilling, shoes, Pharmaceuticals

Major trade partners

UK, FRG, Italy, US, Saudi Arabia, France, Egypt, Japan

Member of

AfDB, APC, Arab League, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, IDA, IDE— Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, ITU, NAM, OAU, QIC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO Economy

Military budget

for fiscal year ending 30 June 1985, $534.1 million; 17.7% of central government budget

Military manpower

males 15-49, 5,275,000; 3,224,000 fit for military service; 241,000 reach military age (18) annually

Monetary conversion rate

2.45 Sudanese pounds=US$l (December 1985) official; 3.70 Sudanese pounds=US$l free market (December 1985)

National holiday

1 January, Independence Day

Natural resources

modest reserves of oil, iron ore, copper, chrome, and other industrial minerals

Official name

Republic of the Sudan

Pipelines

refined products, 815 km

Political subdivisions

9 regions

Ports

1 major (Port Sudan)

Railroads

5,516 km total; 4,800 km 1.067meter gauge, 716 km 1.6096-meter gauge plantation line

Suffrage

universal adult

Telecommunications

large system by African standards, but barely adequate; consists of radio relay, cables, radio communications, and troposcatter; domestic satellite system with 14 stations; 68,500 telephones (0.4 per 100 popl.); 4 AM, 1 FM, 2 TV stations; 1 Atlantic Ocean satellite station Defense Forces

Type

republic under an interim military regime since coup on 6 April 1985