Sudan

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Sudan

General Information
Geography
Government
Economy
Population
Health
Communications and media
Chronology


GENERAL INFORMATION

National name Al-Jumhuryyat es-Sudan/Republic of Sudan Area 2,505,800 sq km/967,489 sq mi Capital Khartoum Language Arabic (51%) (official), 100 local languages Religion Sunni Muslim 70%; also animist 25%, and Christian 5% Time difference GMT +2 Major holidays 1 January, 3 March, 6 April, 25 December; variable: Eid-ul-Adha (5 days), end of Ramadan (5 days), New Year (Muslim), Prophet's Birthday, Sham al-Naseem (April/May)


GEOGRAPHY

Major towns/cities Omdurman, Port Sudan, Juba, Wad Medani, El Obeid, Kassala, al-Qadarif, Nyala Major ports Port Sudan Physical features fertile Nile valley separates Libyan Desert in west from high rocky Nubian Desert in east Airports one international airport and 60 domestic airports, of which 12 have paved runways; total passengers carried: 421,000 (2003 est) Railways total length: 5,978 km/3,715 mi; total passenger journeys: 258,500 (2001) Roads total road network: 11,900 km/7,395 mi, of which 36.3% paved (1999 est); passenger cars: 8.8 per 1,000 people (1996 est)


GOVERNMENT

Head of state and government Gen Omar Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir from 1989 Political system military Political executive military Administrative divisions 26 states Political parties officially banned from 1989, but an influential grouping is the fundamentalist National Islamic Front Death penalty retained and used for ordinary crimes Armed forces 104,800; plus paramilitary forces of 17,500 (2006 est) Conscription military service is compulsory for two years (men 18–30) Defence spend (% GDP) 2.2 (2004 est) Education spend (% GDP) 1.4 (1997) Health spend (% GDP) 1.9 (2004)


ECONOMY

Currency Sudanese dinar GDP (US$) 27.7 billion (2005 est) Real GDP growth (% change on previous year) 12.1 (2006 est) GNI (US$) 23.3 billion (2005 est) GNI per capita (PPP) (US$) 2,000 (2005 est) Consumer price inflation 7% (2006 est) Unemployment 4% (2004 est) Labour force 80% agriculture, 7% industry, 13% services (2003 est) Foreign debt (US$) 28 billion (2005 est) Major trading partners China, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Germany, Egypt, United Arab Emirates Resources petroleum, marble, mica, chromite, gypsum, gold, graphite, sulphur, iron, manganese, zinc, fluorspar, talc, limestone, dolomite, pumice Industries food processing (especially sugar refining), textiles, cement, petroleum refining, hides and skins Exports crude oil, sesame seed, gum arabic, sorghum, livestock, hides and skins, cotton. Principal market: China 46.7% (2005) Imports basic manufacture, crude materials (mainly petroleum and petroleum products), foodstuffs,. Principal source: China 19.2% (2003) Arable land 6.8% (2006 est) Agricultural products sorghum, sugar cane, groundnuts, cotton, millet, wheat, sesame, fruits; livestock rearing (cattle, sheep, goats, and poultry)


POPULATION

Population 36,992,500 (2006 est) Population growth rate 2.1% (2005–10) Population density (per sq km) 15 (2006 est) Urban population (% of total) 41 (2005 est) Age distribution (% of total population) 0–14 39%, 15–59 55%, 60+ 6% (2005 est) Ethnic groups over 50 ethnic groups and almost 600 subgroups; the population is broadly distributed between Arabs (39%) in the north and black Africans (52%) in the south; Beja (6%), foreigners (2%) Life expectancy 56 (men); 58 (women) (2005–10) Child mortality rate (under 5, per 1,000 live births) 91 (2004) Education (compulsory years) 8 Literacy rate 71% (men); 49% (women) (2004 est)


HEALTH

Physicians (per 10,000 people) 1.6 (2004 est) Hospital beds (per 1,000 people) 0.7 (2003 est) HIV infection (% of population aged 15–49) 1.6 (2005 est) AIDS deaths 34,000 (2005 est) Access to drinking-water source (% of total population) 78 (urban); 64 (rural) (2002)


COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA

Landline telephones (per 100 people) 1.9 (2005 est) Mobile phone subscribers (per 100 people) 5 (2005 est) Radios (per 1,000 people) 466 (2001 est) TV sets (per 1,000 people) 387 (2004 est) Personal computer users (per 100 people) 9 (2005 est) Internet users (per 100 people) 7.7 (2005 est)


CHRONOLOGY

c. 600 BC–AD 350 Meroë, near Khartoum, was capital of the Nubian Empire, which covered southern Egypt and northern Sudan. 6th century Converted to Coptic Christianity. 7th century Islam first introduced by Arab invaders, but did not spread widely until 15th century. 16th–18th centuries Arab-African Fur and Fung Empires established in central and northern Sudan. 1820 Invaded by Muhammad Ali and brought under Egyptian control. 1881–85 Revolt led to capture of Khartoum by Sheik Muhammad Ahmed, a self-proclaimed Mahdi (‘messiah’), and killing of British general Charles Gordon. 1898 Anglo-Egyptian offensive subdued Mahdi revolt at Battle of Omdurman. 1899 Sudan administered as Anglo-Egyptian condominium. 1923 White Flag League formed by Sudanese nationalists in north. 1955 Civil war between dominant Arab Muslim north and black African Christian and animist south broke out. 1956 Sudan achieved independence from Britain and Egypt as republic. 1958 Military coup replaced civilian government with Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. 1964 Civilian rule reinstated. 1969 Coup led by Col Gaafar Mohammed al-Nimeri abolished political institutions and concentrated power in leftist Revolutionary Command Council. 1971 Nimeri confirmed as president and Sudanese Socialist Union (SSU) declared sole legal party under new constitution. 1972 Plans to form Federation of Arab Republics (comprising Sudan, Egypt, and Syria) abandoned due to internal opposition. Nimeri agreed to give southern Sudan greater autonomy. 1974 National assembly established. 1980 Country reorganized into six regions, each with own assembly and effective autonomy. 1983 Sharia (Islamic law) imposed; Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) formed in south as civil war broke out again. 1985 Nimeri deposed in bloodless coup. 1986 Coalition government formed after general election, with Sadiq al-Mahdi (great-grandson of the Mahdi) as prime minister. 1987 Drought and famine in south; refugee influx from Ethiopia and Chad. 1988 Peace pact signed with SPLA, but fighting continued. 1989 Al-Mahdi overthrown in coup led by Islamic fundamentalist Gen Omar Hassan Ahmed el-Bashir. 1998 Civil war continued between SPLA and Islamist government. US missile attack on suspected chemical weapons-producing site in Sudan in retaliation for bombings of US embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam. 1999 Sudanese-Ugandan agreement to stop supporting rebel factions in the other's country. 2000 Elections confirmed Bashir and ruling National Congress Party in power, but boycotted by opposition parties. 2003 Antigovernment rebellion began in western province of Darfur; killing and displacement of black African civilian population by state-backed Arab militias (janjaweed); ensuing humanitarian and refugee crisis. 2005 Peace agreement between Bashir regime and SPLA providing for autonomy for southern Sudan and referendum on independence after transitional period. 2007 Continuing conflict in Darfur; government agreed to partial UN troop deployment to reinforce African Union peacekeepers.


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