"text":"<p>Long referred to as Nubia, modern-day Sudan was the site of the Kingdom of Kerma (ca. 2500-1500 B.C.) until it was absorbed into the New Kingdom of Egypt. By the 11th century B.C., the Kingdom of Kush gained independence from Egypt; it lasted in various forms until the middle of the 4th century A.D. After the fall of Kush, the Nubians formed three Christian kingdoms of Nobatia, Makuria, and Alodia, with the latter two enduring until around 1500. Between the 14th and 15th centuries, Arab nomads settled much of Sudan, leading to extensive Islamization between the 16th and 19th centuries. Following Egyptian occupation early in the 19th century, an agreement in 1899 set up a joint British-Egyptian government in Sudan, but it was effectively a British colony. <br><br>Military regimes favoring Islamic-oriented governments have dominated national politics since Sudan gained independence from Anglo-Egyptian co-rule in 1956. During most of the second half of the 20th century, Sudan was embroiled in two prolonged civil wars rooted in northern domination of the largely non-Muslim, non-Arab southern portion of the country. The first civil war ended in 1972, but another broke out in 1983. Peace talks gained momentum in 2002-04, and the final North/South Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005 granted the southern rebels autonomy for six years, followed by a referendum on independence for Southern Sudan. South Sudan became independent in 2011, but Sudan and South Sudan have yet to fully implement security and economic agreements to normalize relations between the two countries. Sudan has also faced conflict in Darfur, Southern Kordofan, and Blue Nile starting in 2003.<br><br>In 2019, after months of nationwide protests, the 30-year reign of President Omar Hassan Ahmad al-BASHIR ended when the military forced him out. Economist and former international civil servant Abdalla HAMDOUK al-Kinani was selected to serve as the prime minister of a transitional government as the country prepared for elections in 2022. In late 2021, however, the Sudanese military ousted HAMDOUK and his government and replaced civilian members of the Sovereign Council (Sudan’s collective Head of State) with individuals selected by the military. HAMDOUK was briefly reinstated but resigned in January 2022. General Abd-al-Fatah al-BURHAN Abd-al-Rahman, the Chair of Sudan’s Sovereign Council and Commander-in-Chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces, currently serves as de facto head of state and government. He presides over a Sovereign Council consisting of military leaders, former armed opposition group representatives, and military-appointed civilians. A cabinet of acting ministers handles day-to-day administration.</p>"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> Sudan-South Sudan boundary represents 1 January 1956 alignment; final alignment pending negotiations and demarcation; final sovereignty status of Abyei region pending negotiations between Sudan and South Sudan"
"text":"<p>An Nīl (Nile) (shared with Rwanda [s], Tanzania, Uganda, South Sudan, and Egypt [m]) - 6,650 km; Blue Nile river mouth (shared with Ethiopia [s]) - 1,600 km<br><strong>note</strong> – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth</p>"
"text":"with the exception of a ribbon of settlement that corresponds to the banks of the Nile, northern Sudan, which extends into the dry Sahara, is sparsely populated; more abundant vegetation and broader access to water increases population distribution in the south extending habitable range along nearly the entire border with South Sudan; sizeable areas of population are found around Khartoum, southeast between the Blue and White Nile Rivers, and throughout South Darfur as shown on this population distribution map"
"text":"the Nile is Sudan's primary water source; its major tributaries, the White Nile and the Blue Nile, meet at Khartoum to form the River Nile, which flows northward through Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea"
"text":"<br>كتاب حقائق العالم، المصدر الذي لا يمكن الاستغناء عنه للمعلومات الأساسية (Arabic)<br><br>The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information. (English)"
"text":"<p>Sudan’s population grew almost fourfold between 1956 and 2008, the date of its last census. Even after the southern part of the country became independent South Sudan in 2011, the population of Sudan has continued to grow. The gender balance overall is fairly even. Females, however, are more prevalent in rural areas because of males migrating to urban areas in search of work. The total fertility rate (TFR) remains high despite falling from 7 children per woman in Sudan’s first census in 1955 to about 4.5 in 2022, which can be attributed to early marriage and a low contraceptive prevalence rate. Among the factors that led to the reduction in fertility are family planning, improvement in women’s education and participation in the labor force outside the home, and migration and urbanization.</p> <p>The continued slow decline in fertility accompanied by a drop in mortality and increased life expectancy has produced an age structure where approximately 55% of the population was of working age (15-64) as of 2020. This share will grow as the sizable youth population becomes working age. As Sudan’s working age population increasingly outnumbers the youth and elderly populations (the dependent populations), the country will approach the possibility of a demographic dividend. The window of opportunity for potential economic growth depends not only on a favorable age structure but also on having a trained and educated workforce, job creation (particularly in the formal market), and investment in health, as well as generating savings to invest in schooling and care for the elderly. As of 2018, Sudan’s literacy rate was just over 60%, and even lower among women. Improvements in school enrollment, student-teacher ratio, infrastructure, funding, and educational quality could help the country to realize a demographic dividend.</p>"
"text":"with the exception of a ribbon of settlement that corresponds to the banks of the Nile, northern Sudan, which extends into the dry Sahara, is sparsely populated; more abundant vegetation and broader access to water increases population distribution in the south extending habitable range along nearly the entire border with South Sudan; sizeable areas of population are found around Khartoum, southeast between the Blue and White Nile Rivers, and throughout South Darfur as shown on this population distribution map"
"text":"<p>water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water; water scarcity and periodic drought; wildlife populations threatened by excessive hunting; soil erosion; desertification; deforestation; loss of biodiversity</p> <p><strong></strong></p>"
"text":"<em>due to conflict, civil insecurity, and soaring food prices - </em>about 19.9 million people are currently expected to require emergency food and livelihood assistance, due to the conflict that broke out in mid-April 2023 which severely damaged livelihoods, paralyzed economic activities, triggered a surge in the already high food prices and caused large-scale displacements, with about 1.67 million people displaced inside of the country and about 528,000 people having fled to neighboring countries (2023)"
"text":"<p>An Nīl (Nile) (shared with Rwanda [s], Tanzania, Uganda, South Sudan, and Egypt [m]) - 6,650 km; Blue Nile river mouth (shared with Ethiopia [s]) - 1,600 km<br><strong>note</strong> – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth</p>"
"text":"several explanations of the name exist; two of the more plausible are that it is derived from Arabic \"al-jartum\" meaning \"elephant's trunk\" or \"hose,\" and likely referring to the narrow strip of land extending between the Blue and White Niles; alternatively, the name could derive from the Dinka words \"khar-tuom,\" indicating a \"place where rivers meet\""
"text":"18 states (wilayat, singular - wilayah); Blue Nile, Central Darfur, East Darfur, Gedaref, Gezira, Kassala, Khartoum, North Darfur, North Kordofan, Northern, Red Sea, River Nile, Sennar, South Darfur, South Kordofan, West Darfur, West Kordofan, White Nile",
"note":"<strong>note: </strong>the peace Agreement signed in October 2020 included a provision to establish a system of governance to restructure the country's current 18 provinces/states into regions"
"text":"previous 1973, 1998, 2005 (interim constitution, which was suspended in April 2019); latest initial draft completed by Transitional Military Council in May 2019; revised draft known as the \"Draft Constitutional Charter for the 2019 Transitional Period,\" or “2019 Constitutional Declaration” was signed by the Council and opposition coalition on 4 August 2019"
"text":"amended 2020 to incorporate the Juba Agreement for Peace in Sudan; the military suspended several provisions of the Constitutional Declaration in October 2021"
"text":"most members of the Council of Ministers were forced from office in October 2021 by the military and subsequently resigned in November 2021; the military allowed a handful of ministers appointed by former armed opposition groups to retain their posts; at present, most of the members of the Council are senior civil servants serving in an acting minister capacity appointed either by Prime Minister HAMDOUK prior to his resignation or by the military"
"text":"the 2019 Constitutional Declaration originally called for elections to be held in late 2022 at the end of the transitional period; that date was pushed back to late 2023 by the Juba Peace Agreement; the methodology for future elections has not yet been defined; according to the 2019 Constitutional Declaration, civilian members of the Sovereign Council and the prime minister were to have been nominated by an umbrella coalition of civilian actors known as the Forces for Freedom and Change; this methodology was followed in selecting HAMDOUK as prime minister in August 2019; the military purports to have suspended this provision of the 2019 Constitutional Declaration in October 2021; Prime Minister HAMDOUK’s restoration to office in November 2021 was the result of an agreement signed between him and Sovereign Council Chair BURHAN; military members of the Sovereign Council are selected by the leadership of the security forces; representatives of former armed groups to the Sovereign Council are selected by the signatories of the Juba Peace Agreement"
"note":"<strong>note 1:</strong> the 2019 Constitutional Declaration established a collective chief of state of the \"Sovereign Council,\" which was chaired by al-BURHAN; on 25 October 2021, al-BURHAN dissolved the Sovereign Council but reinstated it on 11 November 2021, replacing its civilian members (previously selected by the umbrella civilian coalition the Forces for Freedom and Change) with civilians of the military’s choosing but then relieved the newly appointed civilian members of their duties on 6 July 2022<br><br><strong>note 2:</strong>Sovereign Council currently consists of only the 5 generals<br><br><strong>note 3: </strong>former Prime Minister Abdallah HAMDOUK resigned on 2 January 2022; HAMDOUK served as prime minister from August 2019 to October 2019 before he was kidnapped; he was later freed and reinstated as prime minister on 21 November 2021"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> the Parliament of Sudan was dissolved after a coup in April 2019; the August 2019 Constitutional Declaration established Sudan's transitional government; a Transitional Legislative Council (TLC) was to have served as the national legislature during the transitional period until elections could be held, but the TLC has not been created"
"text":"National Supreme Court (consists of 70 judges organized into panels of 3 judges and includes 4 circuits that operate outside the capital); Constitutional Court (consists of 9 justices including the court president); note - the Constitutional Court resides outside the national judiciary and has not been appointed since the signature of the 2019 Constitutional Declaration"
"text":"National Supreme Court and Constitutional Court judges selected by the Supreme Judicial Council, which replaced the National Judicial Service Commission upon enactment of the 2019 Constitutional Declaration"
"text":"<p>Democratic Unionist Party<br>Democratic Unionist Party or DUP<br>Federal Umma Party<br>Muslim Brotherhood or MB<br>National Congress Party or NCP<br>National Umma Party or NUP<br>Popular Congress Party or PCP<br>Reform Movement Now<br>Sudan National Front<br>Sudanese Communist Party or SCP<br>Sudanese Congress Party or SCoP<br>Umma Party for Reform and Development<br>Unionist Movement Party or UMP</p>",
"note":"<strong>note: </strong>in November 2019, the transitional government banned the National Congress Party"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum suspended operations (to include visa, passport, and other routine consular services) on 22 April 2023"
"text":"three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black with a green isosceles triangle based on the hoist side; colors and design based on the Arab Revolt flag of World War I, but the meanings of the colors are expressed as follows: red signifies the struggle for freedom, white is the color of peace, light, and love, black represents the people of Sudan (in Arabic 'Sudan' means black), green is the color of Islam, agriculture, and prosperity"
},
"National symbol(s)":{
"text":"secretary bird; national colors: red, white, black, green"
},
"National anthem":{
"name":{
"text":"\"Nahnu Djundulla Djundulwatan\" (We Are the Army of God and of Our Land)"
"text":"Gebel Barkal and the Sites of the Napatan Region (c); Archaeological Sites of the Island of Meroe (c); Sanganeb Marine National Park and Dungonab Bay – Mukkawar Island Marine National Park (n)"
"note":"<b>note:</b> central government revenues and expenses (excluding grants/extrabudgetary units/social security funds) converted to US dollars at average official exchange rate for year indicated"
"text":"Sudan emerged as a poorer country when South Sudan separated from it in 2011; although Sudan has about four times the population of South Sudan, the latter benefits from its control of the majority of known oil reserves; the Sudanese economy has been affected by hyperinflation in recent years, partly the result of the loss of oil revenue but also due to domestic volatility and social unrest; the difficult economic conditions have meant that for several years telcos have reported revenue under hyper inflationary reporting standards; pressure on revenue has made it difficult for operators to invest in infrastructure upgrades, and so provide improved services to customers; despite this, the number of mobile subscribers increased 7% in 2021, year-on-year; this level of growth is expected to have been maintained in 2022, though could slow from 2023; the country’s poor fixed-line infrastructure has helped the development of mobile broadband services; after fighting started in April 2023, much of the telecommunications infrastructure was damaged (2023)"
"text":"Following the establishment of Sudan’s transitional government in August 2019, government-owned broadcasters became increasingly independent from government and military control. Following the October 2021 military takeover, additional restrictions were imposed on these government-owned broadcasters, which now practice a heightened degree of self-censorship but still operate more independently than in the pre-2019 environment. (2022)"
"note":"<strong>note 1:</strong> the RSF is a semi-autonomous paramilitary force formed in 2013 to fight armed rebel groups in Sudan, with Mohammed Hamdan DAGALO (aka Hemeti) as its commander; it was initially placed under the National Intelligence and Security Service, then came under the direct command of former president Omar al-BASHIR, who boosted the RSF as his own personal security force; as a result, the RSF was better funded and equipped than the regular armed forces; the RSF has since recruited from all parts of Sudan beyond its original Darfuri Arab groups but remains under the personal patronage and control of DAGALO; the RSF has participated in combat operations in Yemen and in counterinsurgency operations in Darfur, South Kordofan, and the Blue Nile State; it has also been active along the borders with Libya and the Central African Republic and has been used to respond to anti-regime demonstrations; the RSF has been accused of committing human rights abuses against civilians and is reportedly involved in business enterprises, such as gold mining; in 2023, heavy fighting broke out between the SAF and the RSF<br><br><strong>note 2:</strong> the Central Reserve Police (aka Abu Tira) is a combat-trained paramilitary force that has been used against demonstrators and sanctioned by the US for human rights abuses"
"text":"prior to the outbreak of fighting between the SAF and the RSF in 2023, size estimates for Sudanese armed forces varied widely: up to 200,000 SAF personnel; up to 100,000 RSF fighters; up to 80,000 Central Reserve Police (2023)"
"text":"the SAF's inventory includes a mix of mostly Chinese, Russian, Soviet-era, and domestically produced weapons systems; Sudan has one of the largest defense industries in Africa, which includes state-owned companies with military involvement; it has mostly manufactured weapons systems under license from China, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine (2024)",
"note":"<strong>note 1:</strong> Sudan has been under a UN Security Council approved arms embargo since 2005 as a result of violence in Darfur; in September 2024, the embargo was extended for another year<br><br><strong>note 2: </strong>the RSF traditionally has been a lightly armed paramilitary force but over the years is reported to have acquired some heavier weapons and equipment such as armored vehicles, artillery, and anti-aircraft guns, although their origins are not available; it has captured some SAF arms and equipment during the ongoing conflict; since the start of the conflict, both the RSF and the SAF are reported to have received additional weaponry from various foreign suppliers"
"text":"<p>the primary responsibilities of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) are internal security, border control, and countering potential external threats from its neighbors; SAF operations have traditionally been supported by militia and paramilitary forces, particularly the Rapid Support Forces (RSF); in the Spring of 2023, heavy fighting broke out between the SAF and the paramilitary RSF, particularly around the capital Khartoum and in the western region of Darfur, amid disputes over an internationally-backed plan for a transition towards civilian rule; fighting has since spread and continued into 2024 with reports of atrocities, ethnic cleansing, food insecurity, heavy civilian casualties, and millions of internally displaced persons<br><br>the Sudanese military has been a dominant force in the ruling of the country since its independence in 1956; in addition, the military has a large role in the country's economy, reportedly controlling over 200 commercial companies, including businesses involved in gold mining, rubber production, agriculture, and meat exports</p> the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) has operated in the disputed Abyei region along the border between Sudan and South Sudan since 2011; UNISFA's mission includes ensuring security, protecting civilians, strengthening the capacity of the Abyei Police Service, de-mining, monitoring/verifying the redeployment of armed forces from the area, and facilitating the flow of humanitarian aid; as of 2024, UNISFA had approximately 3,200 personnel assigned<br><br>the October 2020 peace agreement provided for the establishment of a Joint Security Keeping Forces (JSKF) comprised of 12,000 personnel tasked with securing the Darfur region in the place of the UN African Union Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID), a joint African Union-UN peacekeeping force that operated in the war-torn region between 2007 and the end of its mandate in December 2020; in June 2021, Sudan's transitional government announced it would increase the size of this force to 20,000 and expand its mission scope to include the capital and other parts of the country suffering from violence; the force would include the SAF, RSF, police, intelligence, and representatives from armed groups involved in peace negotiations; in September 2022, the first 2,000 members of the JSKF completed training; the status of the JSKF since the start of the civil war is not available (2024)"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in the Terrorism reference guide"
"text":"6.5 million (armed conflict between rival factions of the military government of Sudan since 15 April 2023) (2024); note - includes some non-Sudanese nationals"
"text":"Tier 3 — Sudan does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so; therefore, Sudan was downgraded to Tier 3; for more details, go to: https://www.state.gov/reports/2024-trafficking-in-persons-report/sudan/"
