Republic of the Sudan

National name: Jamhuryat as-Sudan

President: Lt. Gen. Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir (1989)

Land area: 917,374 sq mi (2,376,001 sq km); total area: 967,499 sq mi (2,505,810 sq km)

Population (2006 est.): 41,236,378 (growth rate: 2.6%); birth rate: 34.5/1000; infant mortality rate: 61.0/1000; life expectancy: 58.9; density per sq mi: 45

Capital (2003 est.): Khartoum, 5,717,300 (metro. area), 1,397,900 (city proper)

Largest cities: Omdurman, 2,103,900; Port Sudan, 450,400

Monetary unit: Dinar

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

Ethnicity/race: black 52%, Arab 39%, Beja 6%, foreigners 2%, other 1%

Religions: Islam (Sunni) 70% (in north), indigenous 25%, Christian 5% (mostly in south and Khartoum)

Literacy rate: 61% (2003 est.)

Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2005 est.): $84.93 billion; per capita $2,100. Real growth rate: 7.7%. Inflation: 11%. Unemployment: 18.7% (2002 est.). Arable land: 7%. Agriculture: cotton, groundnuts (peanuts), sorghum, millet, wheat, gum arabic, sugarcane, cassava (tapioca), mangos, papaya, bananas, sweet potatoes, sesame; sheep, livestock. Labor force: 11 million (1996 est.); agriculture 80%, industry and commerce 7%, government 13% (1998 est.). Industries: oil, cotton ginning, textiles, cement, edible oils, sugar, soap distilling, shoes, petroleum refining, pharmaceuticals, armaments, automobile/light truck assembly. Natural resources: petroleum; small reserves of iron ore, copper, chromium ore, zinc, tungsten, mica, silver, gold, hydropower. Exports: $6.989 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.): oil and petroleum products; cotton, sesame, livestock, groundnuts, gum arabic, sugar. Imports: $5.028 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.): foodstuffs, manufactured goods, refinery and transport equipment, medicines and chemicals, textiles, wheat. Major trading partners: China, Japan, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, India, Germany, Australia (2004).

Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 400,000 (2000); mobile cellular: 20,000 (2000). Radio broadcast stations: AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 1 (1998). Radios: 7.55 million (1997). Television broadcast stations: 3 (1997). Televisions: 2.38 million (1997). Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 2 (2002). Internet users: 56,000 (2002).

Transportation: Railways: total: 5,978 km (2002). Highways: total: 11,900 km; paved: 4,320 km; unpaved: 7,580 km (1999 est.). Waterways: 5,310 km navigable. Ports and harbors: Juba, Khartoum, Kusti, Malakal, Nimule, Port Sudan, Sawakin. Airports: 63 (2002).

International disputes:the north-south civil war has drawn Sudan's neighbors into the fighting, sheltering refugees, and infiltration by rebel groups—Kenya and Uganda have acted as mediators; Sudan accuses Eritrea of supporting Sudanese rebel groups; efforts to demarcate the porous boundary with Ethiopia have been delayed by fighting in Sudan; Kenya's administrative boundary still extends into the Sudan, creating the “Ilemi triangle”; Egypt and Sudan retain claims to administer the triangular areas that extend north and south of the 1899 Treaty boundary along the 22nd Parallel, but have withdrawn their military presence; Egypt is economically developing the “Hala'ib triangle.”


 

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