1991 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1991 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
Climate
tropical in south; arid desert in north; rainy season (April to October)
Coastline
853 km
Comparative area
slightly more than one quarter the size of US
Disputes
administrative boundary with Kenya does not coincide with international boundary; administrative boundary with Egypt does not coincide with international boundary
Environment
dominated by the Nile and its tributaries; dust storms; desertification
Land boundaries
7,697 km total; Central African Republic 1,165 km, Chad 1,360 km, Egypt 1,273 km, Ethiopia 2,221 km, Kenya 232 km, Libya 383 km, Uganda 435 km, Zaire 628 km
Land use
arable land 5%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and pastures 24%; forest and woodland 20%; other 51%; includes irrigated 1%
Maritime claims
Contiguous zone: 18 nm; Continental shelf: 200 m (depth) or to depth of exploitation; Territorial sea: 12 nm
Natural resources
small reserves of crude oil, iron ore, copper, chromium ore, zinc, tungsten, mica, silver, crude oil
Note
largest country in Africa
Terrain
generally flat, featureless plain; mountains in east and west
Total area
2,505,810 km2; land area: 2,376,000 km2
People and Society
Birth rate
44 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate
13 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Ethnic divisions
black 52%, Arab 39%, Beja 6%, foreigners 2%, other 1%
Infant mortality rate
85 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Labor force
6,500,000; agriculture 80%, industry and commerce 10%, government 6%; labor shortages for almost all categories of skilled employment (1983 est.); 52% of population of working age (1985)
Language
Arabic (official), Nubian, Ta Bedawie, diverse dialects of Nilotic, Nilo-Hamitic, and Sudanic languages, English; program of Arabization in process
Life expectancy at birth
52 years male, 54 years female (1991)
Literacy
27% (male 43%, female 12%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
Nationality
noun--Sudanese (sing. and pl.); adjective--Sudanese
Net migration rate
- 1 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
Organized labor
trade unions suspended following 30 June 1989 coup; now in process of being legalized anew
Population
27,220,088 (July 1991), growth rate 3.0% (1991)
Religion
Sunni Muslim (in north) 70%, indigenous beliefs 20%, Christian (mostly in south and Khartoum) 5%
Total fertility rate
6.4 children born/woman (1991)
Government
Administrative divisions
9 states (wilayat, singular--wilayat or wilayah*); Aali an Nil, Al Wusta*, Al Istiwaiyah*, Al Khartum, Ash Shamaliyah*, Ash Sharqiyah*, Bahr al Ghazal, Darfur, Kurdufan
Capital
Khartoum
Constitution
12 April 1973, suspended following coup of 6 April 1985; interim constitution of 10 October 1985 suspended following coup of 30 June 1989
Diplomatic representation
Ambassador Abdallah Ahmad ABDALLAH; Chancery at 2210 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 338-8565 through 8570; there is a Sudanese Consulate General in New York; US--Ambassador James R. CHEEK; Embassy at Shar'ia Ali Abdul Latif, Khartoum (mailing address is P. O. Box 699, Khartoum, or APO New York 09668); telephone 74700 or 74611
Elections
none
Executive branch
executive and legislative authority vested in a 13-member Revolutionary Command Council (RCC); chairman of the RCC acts as prime minister; in July 1989 RCC appointed a predominately civilian 22-member cabinet to function as advisers
Flag
three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black with a green isosceles triangle based on the hoist side
Independence
1 January 1956 (from Egypt and UK; formerly Anglo-Egyptian Sudan)
Judicial branch
Supreme Court, Special Revolutionary Courts
Leaders
Chief of State and Head of Government--Revolutionary Command Council Chairman and Prime Minister Lt. Gen. Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR (since 30 June 1989); Deputy Chairman of the Command Council and Deputy Prime Minister Maj. Gen. al-Zubayr Muhammad SALIH Ahmed (since 9 July 1989)
Legal system
based on English common law and Islamic law; as of 20 January 1991, the Revolutionary Command Council imposed Islamic law in the six northern states of Al Wusta, Al Khartum, Ash Shamaliyah, Ash Sharqiyah, Darfur, and Kurdufan; the council is still studying criminal provisions under Islamic law; Islamic law will apply to all residents of the six northern states regardless of their religion; some separate religious courts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Legislative branch
none
Long-form name
Republic of the Sudan
Member of
ABEDA, ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IGADD, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, OIC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
National holiday
Independence Day, 1 January (1956)
Political parties and leaders
none; banned following 30 June 1989 coup
Suffrage
none
Type
military; civilian government suspended and martial law imposed after 30 June 1989 coup
Economy
Agriculture
accounts for 35% of GNP and 80% of labor force; water shortages; two-thirds of land area suitable for raising crops and livestock; major products--cotton, oilseeds, sorghum, millet, wheat, gum arabic, sheep; marginally self-sufficient in most foods
Budget
revenues $514 million; expenditures $1.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $183 million (FY89 est.)
Currency
Sudanese pound (plural--pounds); 1 Sudanese pound (5Sd) = 100 piasters
Economic aid
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $1.5 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $4.8 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $3.1 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $588 million
Electricity
606,000 kW capacity; 900 million kWh produced, 37 kWh per capita (1989)
Exchange rates
official rate--Sudanese pounds (5Sd) per US$1--4.5004 (fixed rate since 1987), 2.8121 (1987), 2.5000 (1986), 2.2883 (1985); note--commercial exchange rate 12.2 (May 1990)
Exports
$465 million (f.o.b., FY90 est.); commodities--cotton 52%, sesame, gum arabic, peanuts; partners--Western Europe 46%, Saudi Arabia 14%, Eastern Europe 9%, Japan 9%, US 3% (FY88)
External debt
$12.3 billion (December 1990 est.)
Fiscal year
1 July-30 June
GDP
$8.5 billion, per capita $330; real growth rate - 7% (FY90 est.)
Imports
$1.0 billion (c.i.f., FY90 est.); commodities--petroleum products 28%, manufactured goods, machinery and equipment, medicines and chemicals; partners--Western Europe 32%, Africa and Asia 15%, US 13%, Eastern Europe 3% (FY88)
Industrial production
growth rate 0.7% (FY89); accounts for 11% of GDP
Industries
cotton ginning, textiles, cement, edible oils, sugar, soap distilling, shoes, petroleum refining
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
60% (FY90 est.)
Overview
Sudan, one of the world's poorest countries, is buffeted by civil war, chronic political instability, adverse weather, and counterproductive economic policies. The economy is dominated by governmental entities that 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. The economy's base is agriculture, which 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 high foreign debt and huge arrearages continue to cause difficulties. In 1990 the International Monetary Fund took the unusual step of declaring Sudan noncooperative on account of its nonpayment of arrearages to the Fund.
Unemployment rate
NA
Communications
Airports
78 total, 66 usable; 8 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 4 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 30 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Civil air
14 major transport aircraft
Highways
20,000 km total; 1,600 km bituminous treated, 3,700 km gravel, 2,301 km improved earth, 12,399 km unimproved earth and track
Inland waterways
5,310 km navigable
Merchant marine
5 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 42,277 GRT/59,588 DWT; includes 3 cargo, 2 roll-on/roll-off cargo
Pipelines
refined products, 815 km
Ports
Port Sudan, Suakin
Railroads
5,500 km total; 4,784 km 1.067-meter gauge, 716 km 1.6096-meter-gauge plantation line
Telecommunications
large, well-equipped system by African standards, but barely adequate and poorly maintained; consists of radio relay, cables, radio communications, and troposcatter; domestic satellite system with 14 stations; 73,400 telephones; stations--4 AM, 1 FM, 2 TV; earth stations--1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT and 1 ARABSAT
Military and Security
Branches
Army, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Force
Defense expenditures
$610 million, 7.2% of GDP (1989 est) _%_
Manpower availability
males 15-49, 6,176,917; 3,792,635 fit for military service; 306,695 reach military age (18) annually