Country Facts - Sudan

The People

Nationality

Sudanese (singular and plural)

Ethnic Composition

Black	52%
Arab	39%
Beja	6%
Foreigners	2%
Other	1%

Religious Composition

Sunni Muslim	70%
Indigenous beliefs	25%
Christian	5%

Languages Spoken

Arabic is becoming the official language of government and business in Sudan. Nubian, Ta Bedawie, diverse dialects of Nilotic, Nilo-Hamitic, Sudanic languages, and English are also languages spoken in Sudan.
Note: program of "Arabization" in process

Education and Literacy

Sudan's overall adult literacy is around 46.1 percent. Among males it is 57.7 percent and females 34.6 percent.

Labor Force

Total: 11 million

By occupation:

Agriculture	80%
Government	6%
Industry and commerce	10%

Geography

Land Mass Total

967,498 sq mi (2,505,810 sq km)

Land

917,378 sq mi (2.376 million sq km)

Water

50,119 sq mi (129,810 sq km)

Land Boundaries

Total: 4,776 mi (7,687 km)
Border countries: Central African Republic 723 mi (1,165 km), Chad 845 mi (1,360 km), Democratic Republic of the Congo 390 mi (628 km), Egypt 791 mi (1,273 km), Eritrea 375 mi (605 km), Ethiopia 997 mi (1,606 km), Kenya 144 mi (232 km), Libya 237 mi (383 km), Uganda 270 mi (435 km)

Coastline

530 mi (853 km)

Maritime claim

Contiguous zone: 18 nm
Continental shelf: 656 ft (200 m) depth or to the depth of exploitation
Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate/Weather

Tropical in south; arid desert in north; rainy season (April to October)

Terrain

Generally flat, featureless plain; mountains in east and west

Elevation extremes

Lowest: Red Sea 0 ft (0 m)
Highest: Kinyeti 10,456 ft (3,187 m)

Natural Resources

Petroleum; small reserves of iron ore, copper, chromium ore, zinc, tungsten, mica, silver, gold, hydropower

Land use

Arable land	7%
Permanent crops	0%
Other	93%

(1998)

Natural hazards

Dust storms, drought

Environment - current issues

Inadequate supplies of potable water; wildlife populations threatened by excessive hunting; soil erosion; desertification

Geography Note

Largest country in Africa; dominated by the Nile and its tributaries

Demographics

Population

37,090,298 (July 2002)

Age structure

0-14 years:	44.2%	Male: 8,385,554	Female: 8,023,847
15-64 years:	53.6%	Male: 9,945,683	Female: 9,933,383
65 years and over:	2.2%	Male: 447,214	Female: 354,617

(2002))

Growth Rate

2.73% (2002)

Life Expectancy

57.33 years (2002)
Female: 58.5 years
Male: 56.22 years

GDP Per Capita

Purchasing power parity
US$1,360 (2001)

Infant Mortality

67.14 deaths/1,000 live births (2002)

Sex ratio

At birth:	1.05 male(s)/female
Under 15 years:	1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years:	1 male(s)/female
65 years and over:	1.26 male(s)/female
Total population:	1.03 male(s)/female

(2002)

Net migration rate

-0.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002)

Economy & Trade

Sudan has turned around a struggling economy with sound economic policies and infrastructure investments, but it still faces formidable economic problems. Starting in 1997 Sudan began implementing IMF macroeconomic reforms that have successfully stabilized inflation. In 1999 Sudan began exporting crude oil and in the last quarter of 1999 recorded its first trade surplus, along with monetary policy, has stabilized the exchange rate. Current oil production stands at 220,000 barrels per day, of which some 70 percent is exported and the rest refined mostly for domestic consumption. Increased oil production, revived light industry, and expanded export processing zones should maintain GDP growth at 5 percent in 2002. Agriculture production remains Sudan's most important sector, employing 80 percent of the work force and contributing 43% of GDP, but most farms remain rain-fed and susceptible to drought. Sudan is also constrained by its limited access to international credit; most of Sudan's $24.9 billion debt remains in arrears. Although Sudan is predicted to turn in some reasonable GDP percentage growth rates for 2003-2004, the economy is so disabled that even a 20 percent growth rate would not add that much in real terms to the bottom line of the economy. civil war The continuing internal conflicts, chronic instability, adverse weather, and weak world agricultural prices ensure that much of the population will remain at or below the poverty line for years.

Unemployment

18.7% (2002)

Inflation Rate

10% (2001)

Industries

Oil, cotton ginning, textiles, cement, edible oils, sugar, soap distilling, shoes, petroleum refining, pharmaceuticals, armaments, automobile/light truck assembly

Exports

US$2.1 billion (f.o.b., 2001)

Imports

US$1.6 billion (f.o.b., 2001)

Total Trade

Purchasing power parity
GDP US$49.3 billion (2001)

Top Export Partners

Japan 25%, China 19%, Saudi Arabia 14%, Germany 4%, (2000)

Top Import Partners

China 12%, Saudi Arabia 10%, UK 10%, Germany 7% (2000)

Top Exports

Oil and petroleum products, cotton, sesame, livestock, groundnuts, gum arabic, sugar

Top Imports

Foodstuffs, manufactured goods, refinery and transport equipment, medicines and chemicals, textiles, wheat

Debt - external

US$24.9 billion (2000

Economic aid

US$187 million (1997)

Fiscal Year:

Calendar year

Business Workweek

	Saturday -Thursday (Islamic workweek)	Friday
Offices	8a.m. to 2:30p.m.	Closed
Retail	8a.m. to 1:30p.m., and 5:30p.m. to 8p.m.	Closed
Banks	8:30a.m. to noon	Closed
Government	8a.m. to 2:30p.m.	Closed

Holidays

Official Holidays

Holidays	2003	2004	2005
Independence Day	January 1	January 1	January 1
Festival of Sacrifice (Eid Al Adha)¹	February 22	February 2	January 21
National Unity Day	March 3	March 3	March 3
Islamic New Year²	March 5	February 22	February 22
Ashura³	March 14	March 2	February 19
Uprising Day	April 6	April 6	April 6
Birthday of Prophet Mohammad (Mawlid an Nabi)*¹	May 14	May 2	April 21
Anniversary of the May Revolution	May 25	May 25	May 25
National Salvation Revolution Day	June 30	June 30	June 30
Start of Ramadan*²	October 27	October 15	October 4
End of Ramadan (Eid Al Fitr)*³	November 26	November 14	November 3
Christmas Day**¹	December 25	December 25	December 25

¹	Culmination of the Hajj or Holy Pilgrimage.
²	The lunar Islamic Hijra calendar is made up of 12 months, each month alternating between 29 and 30 days per month, culminating in a total of 354 days per year. The Hijra calendar is based on the cycles of the moon and annually moves 11 days backward through the seasons.
³	Shi'a holiday celebrating the martyrdom of Imam Hussein.
*¹	The Birthday of the Prophet Mohammad is celebrated on the twelfth day in the month of Rabi'l of the Islamic calendar.
*²	Ramadan (the month of fasting) begins with the first appearance of the new moon in the ninth month of the lunar Islamic Hijra calendar, and lasts 30 days. Dates for the start of Ramadan will vary from country to country, depending on the first appearance of the moon.
*³	Feasting that officially marks the end of Ramadan, and commonly lasts for three days.
**¹	Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. In A.D.320, Pope Julius I fixed the date at December 25 based on the Gregorian calendar. The Orthodox church calculates Christmas using the Julian calendar and celebrates 13 days later on January 7.

Country information used by permission of World Trade Press