The region along the Nile River south of Egypt has long been referred to as Nubia. It was the site of the Kingdom of Kerma, which flourished for about a millennium (ca. 2500-1500 B.C.) until absorbed into the New Kingdom of Egypt. By the 11th century B.C., a Kingdom of Kush emerged and regained the region's independence from Egypt; it lasted in various forms until the middle of the fourth century A.D. After the fall of Kush, the Nubians formed three Christian kingdoms of Nobatia, Makuria, and Alodia, the latter two endured until around 1500. Between the 14th and 15th centuries much of Sudan was settled by Arab nomads, and between the 16th–19th centuries it underwent extensive Islamization. Egyptian occupation early in the 19th century was overthrown by a native Mahdist Sudan state (1885-99) that was crushed by the British who then set up an Anglo-Egyptian Sudan - nominally a condominium, but in effect a British colony.
Following independence from Anglo-Egyptian co-rule in 1956, military regimes favoring Islamic-oriented governments have dominated national politics. Sudan was embroiled in two prolonged civil wars during most of the remainder of the 20th century. These conflicts were rooted in northern economic, political, and social domination of largely non-Muslim, non-Arab southern Sudanese. The first civil war ended in 1972 but another broke out in 1983. Peace talks gained momentum in 2002-04 with the signing of several accords. The final North/South Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), signed in January 2005, granted the southern rebels autonomy for six years followed by a referendum on independence for Southern Sudan. The referendum was held in January 2011 and indicated overwhelming support for independence. South Sudan became independent on 9 July 2011. Sudan and South Sudan have yet to fully implement security and economic agreements signed in September 2012 relating to the normalization of relations between the two countries. The final disposition of the contested Abyei region has also to be decided. The 30-year reign of President Umar Hassan Ahmad al-BASHIR ended in his ouster in April 2019, and a Sovereignty Council, a joint civilian-military-executive body, holds power as of November 2019.
Following South Sudan's independence, conflict broke out between the government and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile states (together known as the Two Areas), resulting in a humanitarian crisis affecting more than a million people. A earlier conflict that broke out in the western region of Darfur in 2003, displaced nearly 2 million people and caused thousands of deaths. While some repatriation has taken place, about 1.83 million IDPs remain in Sudan as of May 2019. Fighting in both the Two Areas and Darfur between government forces and opposition has largely subsided, however the civilian populations are affected by low-level violence including inter-tribal conflict and banditry, largely a result of weak rule of law. The UN and the African Union have jointly commanded a Darfur peacekeeping operation (UNAMID) since 2007, but are slowly drawing down as the situation in Darfur becomes more stable. Sudan also has faced refugee influxes from neighboring countries, primarily Ethiopia, Eritrea, Chad, Central African Republic, and South Sudan. Armed conflict, poor transport infrastructure, and denial of access by both the government and armed opposition have impeded the provision of humanitarian assistance to affected populations. However, Sudan's new transitional government has stated its priority to allow greater humanitarian access, as the food security and humanitarian situation in Sudan worsens and as it appeals to the West for greater engagement.
On 6 January 2021, Sudan signed the US-sponsored Abraham Accords, normalizing ties with Israel and becoming the fourth Arab country to do so after Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and Morocco in 2020.
note: 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
" }, "Coastline": { "text": "853 km" }, "Maritime claims": { "territorial sea": { "text": "12 nm" }, "contiguous zone": { "text": "18 nm" }, "continental shelf": { "text": "200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation" } }, "Climate": { "text": "hot and dry; arid desert; rainy season varies by region (April to November)" }, "Terrain": { "text": "generally flat, featureless plain; desert dominates the north" }, "Elevation": { "mean elevation": { "text": "568 m" }, "lowest point": { "text": "Red Sea 0 m" }, "highest point": { "text": "Jabal Marrah 3,042 m" } }, "Natural resources": { "text": "petroleum; small reserves of iron ore, copper, chromium ore, zinc, tungsten, mica, silver, gold; hydropower" }, "Land use": { "agricultural land": { "text": "100% (2011 est.)" }, "agricultural land: arable land": { "text": "arable land: 15.7% (2011 est.)" }, "agricultural land: permanent crops": { "text": "permanent crops: 0.2% (2011 est.)" }, "agricultural land: permanent pasture": { "text": "permanent pasture: 84.2% (2011 est.)" }, "forest": { "text": "0% (2011 est.)" }, "other": { "text": "0% (2011 est.)" } }, "Irrigated land": { "text": "18,900 sq km (2012)" }, "Population distribution": { "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 througout South Darfur as shown on this population distribution map" }, "Natural hazards": { "text": "dust storms and periodic persistent droughts" }, "Environment - current issues": { "text": "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
" }, "Environment - international agreements": { "party to": { "text": "Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands" }, "signed, but not ratified": { "text": "none of the selected agreements" } }, "Geography - note": { "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" } }, "People and Society": { "Population": { "text": "46,751,152 (July 2021 est.)" }, "Nationality": { "noun": { "text": "Sudanese (singular and plural)" }, "adjective": { "text": "Sudanese" } }, "Ethnic groups": { "text": "unspecified Sudanese Arab (approximately 70%), Fur, Beja, Nuba, Fallata" }, "Languages": { "text": "Arabic (official), English (official), Nubian, Ta Bedawie, Fur" }, "Religions": { "text": "Sunni Muslim, small Christian minority" }, "Age structure": { "0-14 years": { "text": "42.01% (male 9,726,937/female 9,414,988)" }, "15-24 years": { "text": "20.94% (male 4,852,903/female 4,687,664)" }, "25-54 years": { "text": "29.89% (male 6,633,567/female 6,986,241)" }, "55-64 years": { "text": "4.13% (male 956,633/female 923,688)" }, "65 years and over": { "text": "3.03% (male 729,214/female 649,721) (2020 est.)" } }, "Dependency ratios": { "total dependency ratio": { "text": "76.9" }, "youth dependency ratio": { "text": "70.4" }, "elderly dependency ratio": { "text": "6.5" }, "potential support ratio": { "text": "15.4 (2020 est.)" } }, "Median age": { "total": { "text": "18.3 years" }, "male": { "text": "18.1 years" }, "female": { "text": "18.5 years (2020 est.)" } }, "Population growth rate": { "text": "2.55% (2021 est.)" }, "Birth rate": { "text": "33.63 births/1,000 population (2021 est.)" }, "Death rate": { "text": "6.41 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.)" }, "Net migration rate": { "text": "-1.71 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.)" }, "Population distribution": { "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 througout South Darfur as shown on this population distribution map" }, "Urbanization": { "urban population": { "text": "35.3% of total population (2020)" }, "rate of urbanization": { "text": "3.17% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)" } }, "Major urban areas - population": { "text": "5.829 million KHARTOUM (capital), 923,000 Nyala (2020)" }, "Sex ratio": { "at birth": { "text": "1.05 male(s)/female" }, "0-14 years": { "text": "1.03 male(s)/female" }, "15-24 years": { "text": "1.04 male(s)/female" }, "25-54 years": { "text": "0.95 male(s)/female" }, "55-64 years": { "text": "1.04 male(s)/female" }, "65 years and over": { "text": "1.12 male(s)/female" }, "total population": { "text": "1.01 male(s)/female (2020 est.)" } }, "Maternal mortality rate": { "text": "295 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)" }, "Infant mortality rate": { "total": { "text": "43.15 deaths/1,000 live births" }, "male": { "text": "48.66 deaths/1,000 live births" }, "female": { "text": "37.36 deaths/1,000 live births (2021 est.)" } }, "Life expectancy at birth": { "total population": { "text": "66.79 years" }, "male": { "text": "64.58 years" }, "female": { "text": "69.11 years (2021 est.)" } }, "Total fertility rate": { "text": "4.66 children born/woman (2021 est.)" }, "Contraceptive prevalence rate": { "text": "12.2% (2014)" }, "Drinking water source": { "improved: urban": { "text": "urban: 99% of population" }, "improved: rural": { "text": "rural: 80.7% of population" }, "improved: total": { "text": "total: 87% of population" }, "unimproved: urban": { "text": "urban: 1% of population" }, "unimproved: rural": { "text": "rural: 19.3% of population" }, "unimproved: total": { "text": "total: 13% of population (2017 est.)" } }, "Current Health Expenditure": { "text": "6.3% (2017)" }, "Physicians density": { "text": "0.26 physicians/1,000 population (2017)" }, "Hospital bed density": { "text": "0.7 beds/1,000 population (2017)" }, "Sanitation facility access": { "improved: urban": { "text": "urban: 72.1% of population" }, "improved: rural": { "text": "rural: 30.6% of population" }, "improved: total": { "text": "total: 44.9% of population" }, "unimproved: urban": { "text": "urban: 27.9% of population" }, "unimproved: rural": { "text": "rural: 69.4% of population" }, "unimproved: total": { "text": "total: 55.1% of population (2017 est.)" } }, "HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate": { "text": "0.2% (2019 est.)" }, "HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS": { "text": "46,000 (2019 est.)" }, "HIV/AIDS - deaths": { "text": "2,300 (2019 est.)" }, "Major infectious diseases": { "degree of risk": { "text": "very high (2020)" }, "food or waterborne diseases": { "text": "bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever" }, "vectorborne diseases": { "text": "malaria, dengue fever, and Rift Valley fever" }, "water contact diseases": { "text": "schistosomiasis" }, "animal contact diseases": { "text": "rabies" }, "respiratory diseases": { "text": "meningococcal meningitis" } }, "Obesity - adult prevalence rate": { "text": "6.6% (2014)" }, "Children under the age of 5 years underweight": { "text": "33.1% (2014)" }, "Education expenditures": { "text": "NA" }, "Literacy": { "definition": { "text": "age 15 and over can read and write" }, "total population": { "text": "60.7%" }, "male": { "text": "65.4%" }, "female": { "text": "56.1% (2018)" } }, "School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)": { "total": { "text": "8 years" }, "male": { "text": "8 years" }, "female": { "text": "7 years (2015)" } } }, "Government": { "Country name": { "conventional long form": { "text": "Republic of the Sudan" }, "conventional short form": { "text": "Sudan" }, "local long form": { "text": "Jumhuriyat as-Sudan" }, "local short form": { "text": "As-Sudan" }, "former": { "text": "Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Sudan" }, "etymology": { "text": "the name \"Sudan\" derives from the Arabic \"bilad-as-sudan\" meaning \"Land of the Black [peoples]\"" } }, "Government type": { "text": "presidential republic" }, "Capital": { "name": { "text": "Khartoum" }, "geographic coordinates": { "text": "15 36 N, 32 32 E" }, "time difference": { "text": "UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)" }, "note": "
Council of State - last held 1 June 2015
National Assembly - last held on 13-15 April 2015
note - elections for an as yet defined new legislature to be held in 2022 at the expiry of the Transnational Legislative Council
note: adopted 1956; originally served as the anthem of the Sudanese military
" } }, "Economy": { "Economic overview": { "text": "Sudan has experienced protracted social conflict and the loss of three quarters of its oil production due to the secession of South Sudan. The oil sector had driven much of Sudan's GDP growth since 1999. For nearly a decade, the economy boomed on the back of rising oil production, high oil prices, and significant inflows of foreign direct investment. Since the economic shock of South Sudan's secession, Sudan has struggled to stabilize its economy and make up for the loss of foreign exchange earnings. The interruption of oil production in South Sudan in 2012 for over a year and the consequent loss of oil transit fees further exacerbated the fragile state of Sudan’s economy. Ongoing conflicts in Southern Kordofan, Darfur, and the Blue Nile states, lack of basic infrastructure in large areas, and reliance by much of the population on subsistence agriculture, keep close to half of the population at or below the poverty line.
Sudan was subject to comprehensive US sanctions, which were lifted in October 2017. Sudan is attempting to develop non-oil sources of revenues, such as gold mining and agriculture, while carrying out an austerity program to reduce expenditures. The world’s largest exporter of gum Arabic, Sudan produces 75-80% of the world’s total output. Agriculture continues to employ 80% of the work force.
Sudan introduced a new currency, still called the Sudanese pound, following South Sudan's secession, but the value of the currency has fallen since its introduction. Khartoum formally devalued the currency in June 2012, when it passed austerity measures that included gradually repealing fuel subsidies. Sudan also faces high inflation, which reached 47% on an annual basis in November 2012 but fell to about 35% per year in 2017.
(2017)" }, "Real GDP growth rate": { "Real GDP growth rate 2017": { "text": "1.4% (2017 est.)" }, "Real GDP growth rate 2016": { "text": "3% (2016 est.)" }, "Real GDP growth rate 2015": { "text": "1.3% (2015 est.)" } }, "Inflation rate (consumer prices)": { "Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2019": { "text": "50.2% (2019 est.)" }, "Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2018": { "text": "62.8% (2018 est.)" }, "Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2017": { "text": "32.5% (2017 est.)" } }, "Real GDP (purchasing power parity)": { "Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2019": { "text": "$168.28 billion (2019 est.)" }, "Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2018": { "text": "$172.601 billion (2018 est.)" }, "Real GDP (purchasing power parity) 2017": { "text": "$176.646 billion (2017 est.)" }, "note": "note: data are in 2010 dollars
" }, "GDP (official exchange rate)": { "text": "$24.918 billion (2019 est.)" }, "Real GDP per capita": { "Real GDP per capita 2019": { "text": "$3,958 (2019 est.)" }, "Real GDP per capita 2018": { "text": "$4,161 (2018 est.)" }, "Real GDP per capita 2017": { "text": "$4,363 (2017 est.)" }, "note": "note: data are in 2010 dollars
" }, "Gross national saving": { "Gross national saving 2017": { "text": "12.1% of GDP (2017 est.)" }, "Gross national saving 2016": { "text": "13.1% of GDP (2016 est.)" }, "Gross national saving 2015": { "text": "12.2% of GDP (2015 est.)" } }, "GDP - composition, by sector of origin": { "agriculture": { "text": "39.6% (2017 est.)" }, "industry": { "text": "2.6% (2017 est.)" }, "services": { "text": "57.8% (2017 est.)" } }, "GDP - composition, by end use": { "household consumption": { "text": "77.3% (2017 est.)" }, "government consumption": { "text": "5.8% (2017 est.)" }, "investment in fixed capital": { "text": "18.4% (2017 est.)" }, "investment in inventories": { "text": "0.6% (2017 est.)" }, "exports of goods and services": { "text": "9.7% (2017 est.)" }, "imports of goods and services": { "text": "-11.8% (2017 est.)" } }, "Ease of Doing Business Index scores": { "Overall Ease of Doing Business score 2020": { "text": "19.0 (2020)" } }, "Agricultural products": { "text": "sugar cane, sorghum, milk, groundnuts, onions, sesame seed, goat milk, millet, bananas, wheat" }, "Industries": { "text": "oil, cotton ginning, textiles, cement, edible oils, sugar, soap distilling, shoes, petroleum refining, pharmaceuticals, armaments, automobile/light truck assembly, milling" }, "Industrial production growth rate": { "text": "4.5% (2017 est.)" }, "Labor force": { "text": "11.92 million (2007 est.)" }, "Labor force - by occupation": { "agriculture": { "text": "80%" }, "industry": { "text": "7%" }, "services": { "text": "13% (1998 est.)" } }, "Unemployment rate": { "Unemployment rate 2017": { "text": "19.6% (2017 est.)" }, "Unemployment rate 2016": { "text": "20.6% (2016 est.)" } }, "Population below poverty line": { "text": "46.5% (2009 est.)" }, "Gini Index coefficient - distribution of family income": { "Gini Index coefficient - distribution of family income 2014": { "text": "34.2 (2014 est.)" } }, "Household income or consumption by percentage share": { "lowest 10%": { "text": "2.7%" }, "highest 10%": { "text": "26.7% (2009 est.)" } }, "Budget": { "revenues": { "text": "8.48 billion (2017 est.)" }, "expenditures": { "text": "13.36 billion (2017 est.)" } }, "Taxes and other revenues": { "text": "18.5% (of GDP) (2017 est.)" }, "Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)": { "text": "-10.6% (of GDP) (2017 est.)" }, "Public debt": { "Public debt 2017": { "text": "121.6% of GDP (2017 est.)" }, "Public debt 2016": { "text": "99.5% of GDP (2016 est.)" } }, "Fiscal year": { "text": "calendar year" }, "Current account balance": { "Current account balance 2017": { "text": "-$4.811 billion (2017 est.)" }, "Current account balance 2016": { "text": "-$4.213 billion (2016 est.)" } }, "Exports": { "Exports 2017": { "text": "$4.1 billion (2017 est.)" }, "Exports 2016": { "text": "$3.094 billion (2016 est.)" } }, "Exports - partners": { "text": "UAE 55.5%, Egypt 14.7%, Saudi Arabia 8.8% (2017)" }, "Exports - commodities": { "text": "gold; oil and petroleum products; cotton, sesame, livestock, peanuts, gum Arabic, sugar" }, "Imports": { "Imports 2017": { "text": "$8.22 billion (2017 est.)" }, "Imports 2016": { "text": "$7.48 billion (2016 est.)" } }, "Imports - partners": { "text": "UAE 12.7%, Egypt 10.6%, India 10.5%, Turkey 10.2%, Japan 7.6%, Saudi Arabia 6%, Germany 4.6% (2017)" }, "Imports - commodities": { "text": "foodstuffs, manufactured goods, refinery and transport equipment, medicines, chemicals, textiles, wheat" }, "Reserves of foreign exchange and gold": { "Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 31 December 2017": { "text": "$198 million (31 December 2017 est.)" }, "Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 31 December 2016": { "text": "$168.3 million (31 December 2016 est.)" } }, "Debt - external": { "Debt - external 31 December 2017": { "text": "$56.05 billion (31 December 2017 est.)" }, "Debt - external 31 December 2016": { "text": "$51.26 billion (31 December 2016 est.)" } }, "Exchange rates": { "currency": { "text": "Sudanese pounds (SDG) per US dollar -" }, "Exchange rates 2017": { "text": "6.72 (2017 est.)" }, "Exchange rates 2016": { "text": "6.14 (2016 est.)" }, "Exchange rates 2015": { "text": "6.14 (2015 est.)" }, "Exchange rates 2014": { "text": "6.03 (2014 est.)" }, "Exchange rates 2013": { "text": "5.74 (2013 est.)" } } }, "Energy": { "Electricity access": { "electrification - total population": { "text": "47% (2019)" }, "electrification - urban areas": { "text": "71% (2019)" }, "electrification - rural areas": { "text": "35% (2019)" } }, "Electricity - production": { "text": "13.99 billion kWh (2016 est.)" }, "Electricity - consumption": { "text": "12.12 billion kWh (2016 est.)" }, "Electricity - exports": { "text": "0 kWh (2016 est.)" }, "Electricity - imports": { "text": "0 kWh (2016 est.)" }, "Electricity - installed generating capacity": { "text": "3.437 million kW (2016 est.)" }, "Electricity - from fossil fuels": { "text": "44% of total installed capacity (2016 est.)" }, "Electricity - from nuclear fuels": { "text": "0% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)" }, "Electricity - from hydroelectric plants": { "text": "51% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)" }, "Electricity - from other renewable sources": { "text": "6% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)" }, "Crude oil - production": { "text": "95,000 bbl/day (2018 est.)" }, "Crude oil - exports": { "text": "19,540 bbl/day (2015 est.)" }, "Crude oil - imports": { "text": "9,440 bbl/day (2015 est.)" }, "Crude oil - proved reserves": { "text": "5 billion bbl (1 January 2018 est.)" }, "Refined petroleum products - production": { "text": "94,830 bbl/day (2015 est.)" }, "Refined petroleum products - consumption": { "text": "112,000 bbl/day (2016 est.)" }, "Refined petroleum products - exports": { "text": "8,541 bbl/day (2015 est.)" }, "Refined petroleum products - imports": { "text": "24,340 bbl/day (2015 est.)" }, "Natural gas - production": { "text": "0 cu m (2017 est.)" }, "Natural gas - consumption": { "text": "0 cu m (2017 est.)" }, "Natural gas - exports": { "text": "0 cu m (2017 est.)" }, "Natural gas - imports": { "text": "0 cu m (2017 est.)" }, "Natural gas - proved reserves": { "text": "84.95 billion cu m (1 January 2018 est.)" }, "Carbon dioxide emissions from consumption of energy": { "text": "16.03 million Mt (2017 est.)" } }, "Communications": { "Telephones - fixed lines": { "total subscriptions": { "text": "141,922" }, "subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": { "text": "less than 1 (2019 est.)" } }, "Telephones - mobile cellular": { "total subscriptions": { "text": "34,198,859" }, "subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": { "text": "77.11 (2019 est.)" } }, "Telecommunication systems": { "general assessment": { "text": "well-equipped system by regional standards and being upgraded; despite economic hardships govt. boosts mobile infrastructure and builds fiber broadband network across country; economic climate has not encouraged growth in telecoms, but some investment has been made to build mobile towers and expand LTE services; launches its own Chinese built satellite in 2019 to develop space technology sector (2020)" }, "domestic": { "text": "consists of microwave radio relay, cable, fiber optic, radiotelephone communications, tropospheric scatter, and a domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations; teledensity fixed-line less than 1 per 100 and mobile-cellular 77 telephones per 100 persons (2019)" }, "international": { "text": "country code - 249; landing points for the EASSy, FALCON and SAS-1,-2, fiber-optic submarine cable systems linking Africa, the Middle East, Indian Ocean Islands and Asia; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2019)" }, "note": "the effects of Sudan's ethnic and rebel militia fighting since the mid-20th century have penetrated all of the neighboring states; Chad wishes to be a helpful mediator in resolving the Darfur conflict, and in 2010 established a joint border monitoring force with Sudan, which has helped to reduce cross-border banditry and violence; civil unrest in eastern Sudan has hampered efforts to demarcate the porous boundary with Ethiopia; as of early 2019, more than 590,000 Sudanese refugees are being hosted in the Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, and South Sudan; Sudan, in turn, is hosting more than 975,000 refugees and asylum seekers, including more than 845,000 from South Sudan; Sudan accuses South Sudan of supporting Sudanese rebel groups; Sudan claims but Egypt de facto administers security and economic development of the Halaib region north of the 22nd parallel boundary; periodic violent skirmishes with Sudanese residents over water and grazing rights persist among related pastoral populations along the border with the Central African Republic; South Sudan-Sudan boundary represents 1 January 1956 alignment, final alignment pending negotiations and demarcation; final sovereignty status of Abyei Area pending negotiations between South Sudan and Sudan
" }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { "text": "729,557 (South Sudan) (refugees and asylum seekers), 122,227 (Eritrea) (refugees and asylum seekers), 93,498 (Syria) (refugees and asylum seekers), 26,523 (Central African Republic), 13,130 (Ethiopia) (refugees and asylum seekers) (2020)" }, "IDPs": { "text": "2.134 million (civil war 1983-2005; ongoing conflict in Darfur region; government and rebel fighting along South Sudan border; inter-tribal clashes) (2019)" } }, "Trafficking in persons": { "current situation": { "text": "Sudan is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children who are subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking; Sudanese women and girls, particularly those from rural areas or who are internally displaced, or refugees are vulnerable to domestic servitude in country, as well as domestic servitude and sex trafficking abroad; migrants from East and West Africa, South Sudan, Syria, and Nigeria smuggled into or through Sudan are vulnerable to exploitation; Ethiopian, Eritrean, and Filipino women are subjected to domestic servitude in Sudanese homes, and East African and possibly Thai women are forced into prostitution in Sudan; Sudanese children continue to be recruited and used as combatants by government forces and armed groups" }, "tier rating": { "text": "Tier 2 Watch List - Sudan does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so; the government increased its efforts to publically address and prevent trafficking, established a national anti-trafficking council, and began drafting a national action plan against trafficking; the government acknowledges cross-border trafficking but still denies the existence of forced labor, sex trafficking, and the recruitment of child soldiers domestically; law enforcement and judicial officials struggled to apply the national anti-trafficking law, often relying on other statutes with lesser penalties; authorities did not use systematic procedure to identify victims or refer them to care and relied on international organizations and domestic groups to provide protective services; some foreign victims were penalized for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked, such as immigration or prostitution violations (2015)" } } } }