Sudan: Fact file
Updated November 2010
| Name | Republic of Sudan |
| Area | 2 505 810 sq km |
| Capital | Khartoum |
| Major towns | Omdurman, Khartoum North, Port Sudan (Frame 2008, 1141) |
| Boundaries | Central African Republic, Chad, Lybia, Egypt, Red Sea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| Population | 43.192 million, 2010 est (UN Statistics Division 2009a) |
| Natural pop growth | 2.20%, 2005-2010 est (UN Statistics Division 2009b) |
| Urbanisation | 42.6%, 2007 est (UN Statistics Division undated) |
| Life expectancy | Female 59.5 yrs, male 56.5 yrs; 2005-2010 est (UN Statistics Division 2009c, 2009d) |
| Infant mortality | 62/1000, 2005-2010 est (UN Statistics Division 2009e) |
| HIV/AIDS prevalence | 1.4%, 15-49 yr 2007 est (UN Statistics Division 2009f) |
| Adult literacy rate | 61%; 2003-2008 est (UN Statistics Division 2010a) |
| Military expenditure | 4.2% of GDP; 2008 (UN Statistics Division 2010b) |
| Health expenditure | 3.8% of GDP; 2006 (UN Statistics Division 2010f) |
| Legal system | British colonial penal law, Egyptian civil code, Islamic law, customary law (Parmar 2007) |
| Independence | 1 January 1956 from Egypt and UK |
| GDP | US$58.443 billion, 2008 est (UN Statistics Division 2010c) |
| GDP per capita | US$1,700, 2008 est (UN Statistics Division 2009g) |
| GDP growth rate | 8.3%, 2008 est (UN Statistics Division 2010d) |
| Main exports | Petroleum, raw materials, food and livestock (Frame 2008, 1144) |
| Currency | 1 Sudanese Dinar (SDD) = 10 Sudanese pounds |
| Unemployment | 47%, 2008 (Ahmed 2010, 22) |
| Inflation rate | 15.8%, 2008 (UN Statistics Division 2010e) |
| External debt ratio | 65.3% (IMF 2010, 73) |
| Roads | 48 000 km total, 3599 km paved, 2611 km gravel; 2004 (Frame 2008, 1140) |
| Rail | 7378 km, 2002 (Frame 2008, 1140) |
| Airports | 41 total; 3 international (Khartoum, Port Sudan, Juba), 6 regional paved, 32 unpaved (Air Broker Center International 2009) |
| Ethnic groups | Major fault line is between the Arab-Muslim north and predominantly Nilotic-Christian south (Frame 2008, 1122) |
| Languages | Official: Arabic, English. Major: Dinka, Bedawiyet, Nuer, Fur, Bari, Zande. Others: Five with over 100 000 speakers and about 120 smaller ones (Lewis 2009) |
| Religion | Muslim ±60%, ±Syncretist (Muslim-Traditional or Christian-Traditional) 25%, Traditional African Religions 10%, Christian 5% (US Department of State 2010) |
References
AIR BROKER CENTER INTERNATIONAL 2009 "Airports in Sudan", [www] http://www.aircraft-charter-world.com/airports/africa/sudan.htm [opens new window] (accessed 24 Nov 2010).
AHMED, MM 2010 "Sudan Phase 2", Overseas Development Institute, Global Financial Crisis Discussion Series Paper 19, February [www] http://www.odi.org.uk/resources/download/4739.pdf [PDF document, opens new window] (accessed 24 Nov 2010).
FRAME, I 2008 (ed) Africa South of the Sahara 2008, Routledge.
IMF 2010 Regional Economic Outlook: Middle East and Central Asia, October, [www] http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/reo/2010/mcd/eng/10/mreo1024.pdf, [PDF document, opens new window] (accessed 24 Nov 2010).
LEWIS, M P (ed) 2009 "Languages of Sudan" IN Ethnologue: Languages of the World, sixteenth edition, [www] http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=SD [opens new window] (accessed 24 Nov 2010).
PARMAR, S 2007 "An Overview of the Sudanese Legal System and Legal Research" IN GlobaLex, Hauser School of Law Programme, [www] http://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/Sudan.htm [opens new window] (accessed 24 Nov 2010).
UN STATISTICS DIVISION 2009a "Total population, both sexes combined" IN UNdata, 18 Jun, [www] http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=Population&d=PopDiv&f=variableID%3a12 [opens new window] (accessed 24 Nov 2010).
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UN STATISTICS DIVISION 2009c "Life expectancy at birth, females" IN UNdata, 18 Jun, [www] http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=Life+expectancy&d=PopDiv&f=variableID%3a67 [opens new window] (accessed 24 Nov 2010).
UN STATISTICS DIVISION 2009d "Life expectancy at birth, males" IN UNdata, 18 Jun, [www] http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=Life+expectancy&d=PopDiv&f=variableID%3a66 [opens new window] (accessed 24 Nov 2010).
UN STATISTICS DIVISION 2009e "Infant mortality rate" IN UNdata, [www] http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=MExico&d=PopDiv&f=variableID%3A77%3BcrID%3A484 [opens new window] (accessed 24 Nov 2010).
UN STATISTICS DIVISION 2009f "Adult HIV/AIDS prevalence rate" IN UNdata, [www] http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=HIV%2fAIDS+prevalence&d=SOWC&f=inID%3a73 [opens new window] (accessed 24 Nov 2010).
UN STATISTICS DIVISION 2009g "Per capita GDP at current prices" IN UNdata, [www] http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=GDP&d=SNAAMA&f=grID%3a101%3bcurrID%3aUSD%3bpcFlag%3a1 [opens new window] (accessed 24 Nov 2010).
UN STATISTICS DIVISION 2010a "Adult literacy rate" IN UNdata, 14 Ju, [www] http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=Adult+literacy&d=SOWC&f=inID%3a74 [opens new window] (accessed 24 Nov 2010).
UN STATISTICS DIVISION 2010b "Military expenditure" IN UNdata, 12 Feb, [www] http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=GDP&d=WDI&f=Indicator_Code%3AMS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS [opens new window] (accessed 24 Nov 2010).
UN STATISTICS DIVISION 2010c "GDP" IN UNdata, 12 Feb, [www] http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=GDP&d=WDI&f=Indicator_Code%3aNY.GDP.MKTP.CD [opens new window] (accessed 24 Nov 2010).
UN STATISTICS DIVISION 2010d "GDP growth" IN UNdata, 12 Feb, [www] http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=GDP&d=WDI&f=Indicator_Code%3aNY.GDP.MKTP.KD.ZG [opens new window] (accessed 24 Nov 2010).
UN STATISTICS DIVISION 2010e "Inflation, GDP deflator" IN UNdata, 12 Feb, [www] http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=Inflation&d=WDI&f=Indicator_Code%3aNY.GDP.DEFL.KD.ZG [opens new window] (accessed 24 Nov 2010).
UN STATISTICS DIVISION 2010f "Total expenditure on health as percentage of gross domestic product" IN UNdata, 14 Jul, [www] http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=health+expenditure&d=WHO&f=MEASURE_CODE%3aWHS7_143 [opens new window] (accessed 24 Nov 2010).
UN STATISTICS DIVISION UNDATED "Sudan", [www] http://data.un.org/CountryProfile.aspx?crName=Sudan [opens new window] (accessed 24 Nov 2010).
US DEPARTMENT OF STATE 2010 "Sudan" IN International Religious Freedom Report 2010, [www] http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2010/148722.htm [opens new window] (accessed 24 Nov 2010).
