Sudan ( As-Sudan) is a country in Northern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Egypt and Eritrea. Sudan geographic coordinates 15 00 N, 30 00 E; area 2.376 million sq km; area comparative slightly more than one-quarter the size of the US; land boundaries Central African Republic 1,165 km, Chad 1,360 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 628 km, Egypt 1,273 km, Eritrea 605 km, Ethiopia 1,606 km, Kenya 232 km, Libya 383 km, Uganda 435 km; coastline 853 km; maritime claims 18 n; climate tropical in south; arid desert in north; rainy season varies by region (April to November); terrain generally flat, featureless plain; mountains in far south, northeast and west; desert dominates the; elevation extremes Kinyeti 3,187 m; natural resources petroleum; small reserves of iron ore, copper, chromium ore, zinc, tungsten, mica, silver, gold, hydropower; land use 92.99% (2001); irrigated land 19,500 sq km (1998 est.); natural hazards dust storms and periodic persistent droughts; environment current issues inadequate supplies of potable water; wildlife populations threatened by excessive hunting; soil erosion; desertification; periodic drought; environment international agreements none of the selected agreements; geography note largest country in Africa; dominated by the Nile and its tributaries;

introduction

Military regimes favoring Islamic-oriented governments have dominated national politics since independence from the UK in 1956. Sudan has been embroiled in a civil war for all but 10 years since then. The war is rooted in northern economic, political, and social domination of non-Muslim, non-Arab southern Sudanese. Since 1983, the war and war- and famine-related effects have resulted in more than 2 million deaths and over 4 million people displaced. The ruling regime is a mixture of military elite and an Islamist party that came to power in a 1989 coup. Some northern opposition parties have made common cause with the southern rebels and entered the war as part of an anti-government alliance. Peace talks gained momentum in 2002-03 with the signing of several accords, including a cease-fire agreement. government type authoritarian regime - ruling military junta took power in 1989; government is run by an alliance of the military and the National Congress Party (NCP; capital Khartoum; administrative divisions 26 states (wilayat, singular - wilayah); A'ali an Nil, Al Bahr al Ahmar, Al Buhayrat, Al Jazirah, Al Khartum, Al Qadarif, Al Wahdah, An Nil al Abyad, An Nil al Azraq, Ash Shamaliyah, Bahr al Jabal, Gharb al Istiwa'iyah, Gharb Bahr al Ghazal, Gharb Darfur, Gharb Kurdufan, Janub Darfur, Janub Kurdufan, Junqali, Kassala, Nahr an Nil, Shamal Bahr al Ghazal, Shamal Darfur, Shamal Kurdufan, Sharq al Istiwa'iyah, Sinnar, Warab; independence 1 January 1956 (from Egypt and UK); national holiday Independence Day, 1 January (1956); constitution 12 April 1973, suspended following coup of 6 April 1985; interim constitution of 10 October 1985 suspended following coup of 30 June 1989; new constit; legal system based on English common law and Islamic law; as of 20 January 1991, the now defunct Revolutionary Command Council imposed Islamic law in the northern states; Islamic law applies to all residents of the northern states regardless of their religion; some separate religious courts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations; suffrage 17 years of age; universal, but noncompulsory;

people

Sudan population 40,187,486 (July 2005 est.); age structure 2.4% (male 513,679/female 436,710) (2005 est.); median age 18.29 years (2005 est.); population growth rate 2.6% (2005 est.); birth rate 35.17 births/1,000 population (2005 est.); death rate 9.16 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.); net migration rate -0.02 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.); sex ratio 1.02 male(s)/female (2005 est.); infant mortality rate 63.29 deaths/1,000 live births; life expectancy at birth 59.8 years (2005 est.); total fertility rate 4.85 children born/woman (2005 est.); hiv adult rate 2.3% (2001 est.); hiv people with aids 400,000 (2001 est.); hiv deaths 23,000 (2003 est.); major infectious diseases meningococcal meningitis (200; nationality Sudanese; ethnic groups black 52%, Arab 39%, Beja 6%, foreigners 2%, other 1%; religions Sunni Muslim 70% (in north), indigenous beliefs 25%, Christian 5% (mostly in south and Khartoum); languages Arabic (official), Nubian, Ta Bedawie, diverse dialects of Nilotic, Nilo-Hamitic, Sudanic languages, English program of "Arabization" in process; literacy 50.5% (2003 est.);

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