1996 Edition

Description

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

Location

15 00 N, 30 00 E -- Northern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Egypt and Eritrea Flag ----

Area

comparative area

slightly more than one-quarter the size of the US

land area

2.376 million sq km

total area

2,505,810 sq km

Climate

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

Coastline

853 km

Environment

current issues

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

international agreements

party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling

natural hazards

dust storms

Geographic coordinates

15 00 N, 30 00 E

Geographic note

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

International disputes

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

18,900 sq km (1989 est.)

Land boundaries

border countries

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

total

7,687 km

Land use

arable land

5%

forest and woodland

20%

meadows and pastures

24%

other

51%

permanent crops

0%

Location

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

Map references

Africa

Maritime claims

contiguous zone

18 nm

continental shelf

200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation

territorial sea

12 nm

Natural resources

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

Terrain

generally flat, featureless plain; mountains in east and west

highest point

Kinyeti 3,187 m

lowest point

Red Sea 0 m

Age structure

0-14 years: 46% (male 7,389,616; female 7,080,044) 15-64 years: 52% (male 8,219,080; female 8,172,544) 65 years and over: 2% (male 387,961; female 298,298) (July 1996 est.)

Birth rate

41.08 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Death rate

11.46 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Ethnic divisions

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

Infant mortality rate

76 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)

Languages

Arabic (official), Nubian, Ta Bedawie, diverse dialects of Nilotic, Nilo-Hamitic, Sudanic languages, English

note

program of Arabization in process

Life expectancy at birth

female

56.09 years (1996 est.)

male

54.2 years

total population

55.12 years

Literacy

age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)

female

34.6%

male

57.7%

total population

46.1%

Nationality

adjective

Sudanese

noun

Sudanese (singular and plural)

Net migration rate

5.17 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)

Population

31,547,543 (July 1996 est.)

Population growth rate

3.48% (1996 est.)

Religions

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

Sex ratio

all ages

1.03 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

at birth

1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years

1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.3 male(s)/female

Total fertility rate

5.89 children born/woman (1996 est.)

Administrative divisions

9 states (wilayat, singular - wilayat or wilayah*); A'ali an Nil (Upper Nile), Al Wusta*, Al Istiwa'iyah* (Equatoria), 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 following spellings have been reported but not approved by the US Board on Geographic Names (Bahr Aljebal, Blue Nile, Bohayrat, East Equatoria, Gedarif, Gezira, Jungle, Kassala, Khartoum, North, North Bahr Alghazal, North Darfur, North Kordofan, Red Sea, River Nile, Sinnar, South Darfur, South Kordofan, Unity, Upper Nile, Warab, West Bahr Alghazal, West Darfur, West Kordofan, West Equatoria, White Nile)

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; new constitution to be drafted following national elections held in March 1996

Data code

SU

Diplomatic representation in US

chancery

2210 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

chief of mission

Ambassador-designate Mahdi IBRAHIM

telephone

[1] (202) 338-8565 through 8570

Executive branch

cabinet

Cabinet was appointed by the president; note - on 30 October 1993, President al-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 al-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 dominates much of Khartoum's overall domestic and foreign policies; President al-BASHIR is expected to name a new cabinet following the elections held in March 1996

chief of state and head of government

President Lt. General Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR (since 16 October 1993) was elected to a five-year term by popular vote; election last held 6-17 March 1996 (next to be held NA 2001); results - President al-BASHIR won 75.7% of the vote and defeated about forty other candidates; First Vice President Major General al-Zubayr Muhammad SALIH (since 19 October 1993), Second Vice President (Police) Maj. General George KONGOR AROP (since NA February 1994)

note

al-BASHIR, as chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council for National Salvation (RCC), assumed power on 30 June 1989 and served concurrently as chief of state, chairman of the RCC, prime minister, and minister of defense until 16 October 1993 when he was appointed president by the RCC; 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, which has since been replaced by the National Assembly which was elected in March 1996

FAX

[1] (202) 667-2406

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)

International organization participation

ABEDA, ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGADD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer)

Judicial branch

Supreme Court; Special Revolutionary Courts

Legal system

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

unicameral

Name of country

conventional long form

Republic of the Sudan

conventional short form

Sudan

former

Anglo-Egyptian Sudan

local long form

Jumhuriyat as-Sudan

local short form

As-Sudan

National Assembly

elections last held 6-17 March 1996 (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote NA; seats - (400 total, 275 directly elected, and 125 elected by a supra assembly of interest groups known as the National Congress); note - March 1996 elections were held on a nonparty basis and parties are to be banned in the new National Assembly

National holiday

Independence Day, 1 January (1956)

Other political or pressure groups

National Islamic Front, Hasan al-TURABI

Political parties and leaders

none; banned following 30 June 1989 coup

Suffrage

NA years of age; universal, but noncompulsary

Type of government

transitional - previously ruling military junta; presidential and National Assembly elections held in March 1996; new constitution to be drafted by the National Assembly

US diplomatic representation

operations in Khartoum were suspended in February 1996; Ambassador to Sudan Timothy M. CARNEY and several members of the mission have relocated to Nairobi, Kenya and operate out of the US Embassy there; the embassy is located at the corner of Moi Avenue and Haile Selassie Avenue; mailing address: P. O. Box 30137, Unit 64100, APO AE 09831; telephone: [254] (2) 334141; FAX: [254] (2) 340838

Agriculture

cotton, oilseed, sorghum, millet, wheat, gum arabic; sheep

Budget

expenditures

$1.06 billion, including capital expenditures of $91 million (1995 est.)

revenues

$382 million

Currency

1 Sudanese pound (LSd) = 100 piastres

Economic aid

recipient

ODA, $387 million (1993)

Economic overview

Sudan is buffeted by civil war, chronic political instability, adverse weather, high inflation, a drop in remittances from abroad, and counterproductive economic policies. 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, measures it has partially implemented. The government's continued prosecution of the civil war and its growing international isolation continued to inhibit growth in the nonagricultural sectors of the economy during 1995. Agricultural production in 1995, while fairly good, was not up to the bumper crop level of 1994.

Electricity

capacity

500,000 kW

consumption per capita

42 kWh (1993)

production

1.3 billion kWh

Exchange rates

Sudanese pounds (LSd) per US$1 - official rate: 750.0 (November 1995), 277.8 (1994), 153.8 (1993), 69.4 (1992), 5.4288 (1991); market rate: 571.02 (August 1995), 289.61 (1994), 159.31 (1993), 97.43 (1992), 6.96 (1991)

note

the market rate is a unified exchange rate determined by a committee of local bankers, without official intervention, and is quoted uniformly by all commercial banks

Exports

$535 million (f.o.b., 1995 est.)

commodities

cotton 24%, livestock/meat 13%, gum arabic 11%

partners

EU 39%, Saudi Arabia 19%, Japan 9%, US 3% (1993)

External debt

$18 billion (yearend 1995 est.)

Fiscal year

calendar year

note

prior to July 1995, Sudan had a fiscal year that began on 1 July and ended on 30 June; as a transition to their new fiscal year, a six-month budget was implemented for 1 July - 31 December 1995; the new calendar year (1 January - 31 December) fiscal year became effective 1 January 1996

GDP

purchasing power parity - $25 billion (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector

agriculture

33%

industry

17%

services

50% (1992 est.)

GDP per capita

$800 (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate

0% (1995 est.)

Imports

$1.1 billion (c.i.f., 1995 est.)

commodities

foodstuffs, petroleum products, manufactured goods, machinery and equipment, medicines and chemicals, textiles

partners

EU 31%, Libya 19%, Egypt 5%, Saudi Arabia 5%, US 5% (1993)

Industrial production growth rate

6.8% (FY92/93 est.)

Industries

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

66% (1995 est.)

Labor force

8.9 million (1993 est.)

by occupation

agriculture 80%, industry and commerce 10%, government 6%

note

labor shortages for almost all categories of skilled employment (1983 est.)

Unemployment rate

30% (FY92/93 est.)

Branches

Army, Navy, Air Force, Popular Defense Force Militia

Defense expenditures

$NA, NA% of GDP

Manpower availability

males age 15-49

7,152,884

males fit for military service

4,399,445

males reach military age (18) annually

329,460 (1996 est.)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 11, FM 0, shortwave 0

Radios

6.67 million (1992 est.)

Telephone system

large, well-equipped system by African standards, but barely adequate and poorly maintained by modern standards

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

Telephones

77,215 (1983 est.)

Television broadcast stations

3

Televisions

2.06 million (1992 est.) Defense

Airports

total

56

with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m

3

with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m

8

with paved runways under 914 m

7

with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m

13

with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m

25 (1995 est.)

Heliports

1 (1995 est.)

Highways

paved

1,989 km

total

19,885 km

unpaved

17,896 km (1986 est.)

Merchant marine

ships by type

cargo 3, roll-on/roll-off cargo 2 (1995 est.)

total

5 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 43,024 GRT/57,985 DWT

Pipelines

refined products 815 km

Ports

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

Railways

narrow gauge

4,800 km 1.067-m gauge; 716 km 1.6096-m gauge plantation line

total

5,516 km

Waterways

5,310 km navigable