TOTAL AREA: 2,505,810 sq km (966,327 sq mi); LAND AREA: 2,376,000 sq km (916,268 sq mi)
COMPARATIVE AREA: slightly more than one quarter the size of US
LAND BOUNDARIES: 7,697 km (4,782 mi) total; Central African Republic 1,165 km (723 mi), Chad 1,360 km (845 mi), Egypt 1,273 km (791 mi), Ethiopia 2,221 km (1,380 mi), Kenya 232 km (144 mi), Libya 383 km (237 mi), Uganda 435 km (270 mi), Zaire 628 km (628 mi)
COASTLINE: 853 km (530 mi)
MARITIME CLAIMS:
CONTIGUOUS ZONE: 18 nm
CONTINENTAL SHELF: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation
TERRITORIAL SEA: 12 nm
DISPUTES: international boundary and Administrative Boundary with Kenya; international boundary and Administrative Boundary with Egypt
CLIMATE: tropical in south; arid desert in north; rainy season (April to October)
TERRAIN: generally flat, featureless plain; mountains in east and west
NATURAL RESOURCES: modest reserves of crude oil, iron ore, copper, chromium ore, zinc, tungsten, mica, silver, crude oil
LAND USE: 5% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 24% meadows and pastures; 20% forest and woodland; 51% other; includes 1% irrigated
ENVIRONMENT: dominated by the Nile and its tributaries; dust storms; desertification
NET MIGRATION RATE: - 3 migrants/1,000 population (1989)
INFANT MORTALITY RATE: 98 deaths/1,000 live births (1989)
LIFE EXPECTANCY AT BIRTH: 51 years male, 55 years female (1989)
TOTAL FERTILITY RATE: 6.5 children born/woman (1989)
NATIONALITY: noun--Sudanese (sing. and pl.); adjective--Sudanese
ETHNIC DIVISIONS: 52% black, 39% Arab, 6% Beja, 2% foreigners, 1% other
RELIGION: 70% Sunni Muslim in north, 20% indigenous beliefs, 5% Christian (mostly in south)
LANGUAGE: Arabic (official), Nubian, Ta Bedawie, diverse dialects of Nilotic, Nilo-Hamitic, and Sudanic languages, English; program of Arabization in process
LITERACY: 31% (1986)
LABOR FORCE: 6,500,000; 80% agriculture, 10% industry and commerce, 6% government; labor shortages for almost all categories of skilled employment (1983 est.); 52% of population of working age (1985)
ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS: 9 regions (aqalim, singular--iqlim); Aali an Nil, Al Awsat, Al Istiwai, Al Khartum, Ash Shamali, Ash Sharqi, Bahr al Ghazal, Darfur, Kurdufan
INDEPENDENCE: 1 January 1956 (from Egypt and UK; formerly Anglo-Egyptian Sudan)
CONSTITUTION: 12 April 1973, suspended following coup of 6 April 1985; interim constitution 10 October 1985
LEGAL SYSTEM: based on English common law and Islamic law; in September 1983 President Nimeiri declared the penal code would conform to Islamic law; however, alternatives to these laws are under review by the Constituent Assembly; some separate religious courts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
NATIONAL HOLIDAY: Independence Day, 1 January (1956)
BRANCHES: Supreme Council and Civilian Cabinet; regional military governors
CHIEF OF STATE: and Head of Government Revolutionary Command Council Chairman and Prime Minister Brig. Gen. Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR (since 30 June 1989); Deputy Chairman of the Command Council and Deputy Prime Minister Brig. Gen. Zubayr MUHAMMAD (since 9 July 1989)
SUFFRAGE: universal adult
ELECTIONS: election held in April 1986; selected representation to a Constituent Assembly that was to draft a new constitution in one year and thereafter serve as a parliament for three years
POLITICAL PARTIES AND LEADERS: following coup in April 1985, more than 30 different political parties declared; most significant include the Umma Party (Ansar Muslim Sect), the Democratic Unionist Party (Khatmiyyah Muslim Sect), the rightist Islamic fundamentalist National Islamic Front (Muslim Brotherhood), the Sudanese Communist Party, and the Bath Party; major southern parties include the Sudan African Congress and the Southern Sudanese Political Association
DIPLOMATIC REPRESENTATION: Ambassador Hasan Al-Amin BASHIR; Chancery at 2210 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 338-8565 through 8570; there is a Sudanese Consulate General in New York
U.S. FOREIGN SERVICE POST: Ambassador G. Norman ANDERSON; Embassy at Shar'ia Ali Abdul Latif, Khartoum (mailing address is P. O. Box 699, Khartoum, or APO New York 09668); telephone 74700 or 75680, 74611
FLAG: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black with a green isosceles triangle based on the hoist side
.ECONOMY OF SUDAN
OVERVIEW: The economy is dominated by governmental entities that contribute more than 70% to new investment. The private sector's main areas of activity are agriculture and trading, with most private industrial investment predating 1980. The economy's base is agriculture, which employs nearly 80% of the work force. Industry mainly processes agricultural items. A high foreign debt and arrearages of about $13 billion continue to cause difficulties. Since 1979 the International Monetary Fund has provided assistance and has forced Sudan to make economic reforms aimed at improving the performance of the economy.
GNP: $8.5 billion, per capita $340 (FY87); real growth rate 6.0% (FY88 est.)
INFLATION RATE (CONSUMER PRICES): 55% (FY88)
UNEMPLOYMENT RATE: NA
BUDGET: revenues $867 million; expenditures $1.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $331 million (FY88 est.)
EXPORTS: $502 million (f.o.b., FY88 est.); commodities-- cotton 44%, sesame, gum arabic, peanuts; partners-- Western Europe 36%, Saudi Arabia 20%, Eastern Europe 10%, Japan 5%, US 5%
IMPORTS: $1.3 billion (c.i.f., FY88 est.); commodities-- petroleum products, manufactured goods, machinery and equipment, medicines and chemicals; partners-- Western Europe 38%, US 14%, Africa and Asia 12%, Eastern Europe 3%
EXTERNAL DEBT: $8.6 billion (December 1988 est.)
INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION: growth rate 3.6% (FY88)
ELECTRICITY: 606,000 kW capacity; 1,259 million kWh produced, 50 kWh per capita (1988)
EXCHANGE RATES: official rate--Sudanese pounds (LSd) per US$1--4.5005 (fixed rate since 1987), 2.8121 (1987), 2.5000 (1986), 2.2883 (1985); commercial exchange rate--set daily, 12.1 (February 1989)
FISCAL YEAR: 1 July-30 June
.COMMUNICATIONS IN SUDAN
RAILROADS: 5,500 km (3,415 mi) total; 4,784 km 1.067-meter gauge, 716 km 1.6096-meter-gauge plantation line
HIGHWAYS: 20,000 km (12,420 mi) total; 2,000 km bituminous treated, 4,000 km gravel, 2,304 km improved earth; remainder unimproved earth and track
INLAND WATERWAYS: 5,310 km (3,297 mi) navigable
PIPELINES: refined products, 815 km (506 mi)
PORTS: Port Sudan, Suakin
MERCHANT MARINE: 10 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 91,107 GRT/122,222 DWT; includes 8 cargo, 2 roll-on/roll-off cargo
CIVIL AIR: 14 major transport aircraft
AIRPORTS: 79 total, 69 usable; 8 with permanent-surface runways; 4 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 31 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
TELECOMMUNICATIONS: large, well-equipped system by African standards, but barely adequate and poorly maintained; consists of radio relay, cables, radio communications, and troposcatter; domestic satellite system with 14 stations; 68,800 telephones; stations--4 AM, 1 FM, 2 TV; 1 Atlantic Ocean satellite station and 1 ARABSAT station
.DEFENSE FORCES OF SUDAN
BRANCHES: Army, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Force
MILITARY MANPOWER: males 15-49, 5,478,937; 3,349,521 fit for military service; 265,568 reach military age (18) annually
MILITARY BUDGET: $134.4 million, 5.5% of central government budget (FY86)
.TRAVEL IN SUDAN
REQUIRED DOCUMENTS: Passport (valid at least 6 months from date of entry) and visa required. Transit visa for stay up to 7 days, valid 3 months, 1 photo, $6. Single-entry tourist or business visa for stays up to 3 months also available, 1 photo, $9. Visitors must have proof of onward/return transportation or letter from bank to show sufficient funds for travel. Permits are required for photography. Business travelers require a letter from sponsoring company. Send cash or money order only and include SASE for return of passport by mail. Allow 3-4 weeks for processing. Vaccination certificate not required unless arriving from an area infected with yellow fever or cholera.
HEALTH: Facilities are limited. Tapwater is not potable. Unwashed raw foods or undercooked meats are not safe to eat. Cholera, typhoid, tetanus, polio, and hepatitis inoculations, and Aralen tablets recommended. Health requirements change; check latest information.
WEATHER AND CLOTHING: Washable, lightweight clothing suitable for a desert climate, and conservative styles are recommended. Drycleaning is limited in Khartoum, and unavailable elsewhere.
TELEPHONE: When direct dialing to Sudan from the U.S., dial 011 (international access code) + 249 [country code] + local number, or made through the international operator.
TIME: 7 hours ahead of U.S. Eastern Standard Time, and 2 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time.
ELECTRIC CURRENT: 240V
NATIONAL HOLIDAYS: New Year's Day (Jan 1); Unity Day (Mar 3); Muhammad's Birthday, Id al-Fitr, Id al-Adah, and Muslim New Year (dates vary).
IMPORTANT!! All requirements/recommendations are subject to change. Be sure to check latest information.
