Sudan facts for kids

Republic of the Sudan
جمهورية السودان
*Jumhūrīyat as-Sūdān*
Republic of the Sudan; جمهورية السودان; Jumhūrīyat as-Sūdān ;
	Flag Emblem
	Motto: النصر لنا; "Victory is ours"
	Anthem: نحن جند الله جند الوطن; "Nahnu Jund Allah Jund Al-watan"
	Location of Sudan (dark blue) – in Africa (light blue & dark grey); – in the African Union (light blue)
Capital; and largest city	Khartoum
Official languages	Arabic; English
Demonym(s)	Sudanese
Government	Federal presidential republic
• President	Omar al-Bashir (NCP)
• Vice President	Ali Osman Taha (NCP); Adam Yousef (NCP)
Legislature	National Legislature
• Upper house	Council of States
• Lower house	National Assembly
Establishment
• Nubian kingdoms	3500 BC
• Sennar dynasty	1504
• Unified with Egypt	1821
• Anglo-Egyptian Sudan	1899
• Independence	1 January 1956
• Current constitution	9 January 2005
Area
• Total	1,886,068 km2 (728,215 sq mi) (16th)
Population
• 2008 census	30,894,000 (disputed) (40th)
• Density	16.4/km2 (42.5/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)	2011 estimate
• Total	$123.636 billion (69th)
• Per capita	$2,852 (135th)
GDP (nominal)	2011 estimate
• Total	$94.044 billion (64th)
• Per capita	$2,170 (129th)
HDI (2011)	0.408; low · 169th
Currency	Sudanese pound (SDG)
Time zone	UTC+3 (East Africa Time)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (Not observed)
Date format	dd/mm/yyyy
Driving side	right
Calling code	249
ISO 3166 code	SD
Internet TLD	.sd

Sudan is a country in Africa. The official name of Sudan is The Republic of Sudan. Its capital is Khartoum.

Geography

A map of Sudan. The Hala'ib Triangle has been under Egyptian administration since 2000.

A Köppen climate classification map of Sudan.

Sudan is situated in northern Africa, with an 853 km (530 mi) coastline bordering the Red Sea. It has land borders with Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, South Sudan, the Central African Republic, Chad, and Libya. With an area of 1,886,068 km² (728,215 sq mi), it is the third-largest country on the continent (after Algeria and Democratic Republic of the Congo) and the sixteenth-largest in the world.

Sudan lies between latitudes 8° and 23°N. The terrain is generally flat plains, broken by several mountain ranges. In the west, the Deriba Caldera (3,042 m or 9,980 ft), located in the Marrah Mountains, is the highest point in Sudan. In the east are the Red Sea Hills.

The Blue Nile and White Nile rivers meet in Khartoum to form the Nile, which flows northwards through Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea. The Blue Nile's course through Sudan is nearly 800 km (497 mi) long and is joined by the Dinder and Rahad Rivers between Sennar and Khartoum. The White Nile within Sudan has no significant tributaries.

There are several dams on the Blue and White Niles. Among them are the Sennar and Roseires Dams on the Blue Nile, and the Jebel Aulia Dam on the White Nile. There is also Lake Nubia on the Sudanese-Egyptian border.

Rich mineral resources are available in Sudan including asbestos, chromite, cobalt, copper, gold, granite, gypsum, iron, kaolin, lead, manganese, mica, natural gas, nickel, petroleum, silver, tin, uranium and zinc.

Climate

The amount of rainfall increases towards the south. The central and the northern part have extremely dry desert areas such as the Nubian Desert to the northeast and the Bayuda Desert to the east; in the south, there are grasslands and tropical savanna. Sudan's rainy season lasts for about four months (June to September) in the north, and up to six months (May to October) in the south.

The dry regions are plagued by sandstorms, known as haboob, which can completely block out the sun. In the northern and western semi-desert areas, people rely on the scant rainfall for basic agriculture and many are nomadic, travelling with their herds of sheep and camels. Nearer the River Nile, there are well-irrigated farms growing cash crops. The sunshine duration is very high all over the country but especially in deserts where it could soar to over 4,000 h per year.

Economy

Oil and gas concessions in Sudan – 2004

Oil was Sudan's main export, with production increasing dramatically during the late 2000s, in the years before South Sudan gained independence in July 2011. With rising oil revenues, the Sudanese economy was booming, with a growth rate of about nine percent in 2007. The independence of oil-rich South Sudan, however, placed most major oilfields out of the Sudanese government's direct control and oil production in Sudan fell from around 450,000 barrels per day (72,000 m³/d) to under 60,000 barrels per day (9,500 m³/d). Production has since recovered to hover around 250,000 barrels per day (40,000 m³/d) for 2014–15.

In order to export oil, South Sudan relies on a pipeline to Port Sudan on Sudan's Red Sea coast, as South Sudan is a landlocked country, as well as the oil refining facilities in Sudan. In August 2012, Sudan and South Sudan agreed a deal to transport South Sudanese oil through Sudanese pipelines to Port Sudan.

The People's Republic of China is one of Sudan's major trading partners, China owns a 40 percent share in the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company. The country also sells Sudan small arms, which have been used in military operations such as the conflicts in Darfur and South Kordofan.

Agricultural production remains Sudan's most-important sector, employing 80 percent of the workforce and contributing 39 percent of GDP, but most farms remain rain-fed and susceptible to drought. Instability, adverse weather and weak world-agricultural prices ensures that much of the population will remain at or below the poverty line for years.

The Merowe Dam, also known as Merowe Multi-Purpose Hydro Project or Hamdab Dam, is a large construction project in northern Sudan, about 350 kilometres (220 mi) north of the capital, Khartoum. It is situated on the River Nile, close to the Fourth Cataract where the river divides into multiple smaller branches with large islands in between. Merowe is a city about 40 kilometres (25 mi) downstream from the dam's construction site.

The main purpose of the dam will be the generation of electricity. Its dimensions make it the largest contemporary hydropower project in Africa. The construction of the dam was finished December 2008, supplying more than 90 percent of the population with electricity. Other gas-powered generating stations are operational in Khartoum State and other states.

Largest cities

Omdurman

Khartoum

Omdurman - pop = 1,849,659

Khartoum - pop = 1,410,858

Khartoum North - pop = 1,012,211

Nyala - pop = 492,984

Port Sudan - pop = 394,561

El-Obeid - pop = 345,126

Kassala - pop = 298,529

Wad Madani - pop = 289,482

El-Gadarif - pop = 269,395

Al-Fashir - pop = 217,827

Ethnic groups

Sudanese Arab of Al-Manasir

The Arab presence is estimated at 70% of the Sudanese population and they are mostly Arabized Nubians. Others include North Sudan Nubians, Zurga(South and West Sudan), and Copts.

Sudan has 597 groups that speak over 400 different languages and dialects. Sudanese Arabs are by far the largest ethnic group in Sudan. They are almost entirely Muslims; while the majority speak Sudanese Arabic, some other Arab tribes speak different Arabic dialects like Awadia and Fadnia tribes and Bani Arak tribes who speak Najdi Arabic; and Beni Ḥassān, Al-Ashraf and Rashaida who speak Hejazi Arabic. In addition, the Western province comprises various ethnic groups, while a few Arab Bedouin of the northern Rizeigat and others who speak Sudanese Arabic share the same culture and backgrounds of the Sudanese Arabs.

The majority of Arabised and indigenous tribes like the Fur, Zaghawa, Borgo, Masalit and some Baggara ethnic groups, who speak Chadian Arabic, show less cultural integration because of cultural, linguistic and genealogical variations with other Arab and Arabised tribes.

Sudanese Arabs of Northern and Eastern parts descend primarily from migrants from the Arabian Peninsula and intermarriages with the pre-existing indigenous populations of Sudan, especially the Nubian people, who also share a common history with Egypt. Additionally, a few pre-Islamic Arabian tribes existed in Sudan from earlier migrations into the region from Western Arabia, although most Arabs in Sudan are dated from migrations after the 12th century.

The vast majority of Arab tribes in Sudan migrated into the Sudan in the 12th century, intermarried with the indigenous Nubian and other African populations and introduced Islam.

Sudan consists of numerous other non-Arabic groups, such as the Masalit, Zaghawa, Fulani, Northern Nubians, Nuba, and the Beja people.

There is also a small, but prominent Greek community.

Culture

People from Sudan are called Sudanese. About 45 million people live in Sudan. About 4 million of these live in Khartoum or in towns that are joined to it.

Arabic is the official language of Sudan, but people also speak Nubian, Nilotic and English. Many other languages are spoken in different parts of the country as well.

Most Sudanese people have Islam as their religion. A small number are Christian. Some people have other religions that are called tribal (local) beliefs.

The currency of Sudan is called the Sudanese Pound (Jinneh).

The leader of Sudan right now is President Omar Hassan al-Bashir.

War

For several years, the Darfur conflict has been going on in Sudan. Over 400,000 people have died in it.

Related pages

Images for kids

The large mud brick temple, known as the shrek or Western Deffufa, in the ancient city of Kerma
Nubian pyramids in Meroë.
The ruins of Old Dongola.
Fresco of Faras Cathedral, 10th–11th century
Ismail Pasha, the Ottoman Khedive of Egypt and Sudan from 1863 to 1879.
Muhammad Ahmad ruler of Sudan, 1881–1885.
The Flight of the Khalifa after his Defeat at the Battle of Omdurman.
The Mahdist War was fought between a group of Muslim dervishes, called Mahdists, who had over-run much of Sudan, and the British forces.
A camel soldier of the native forces of the British army, early 20th century.
Sudan's flag raised at independence ceremony on 1 January 1956 by the Prime Minister Ismail al-Azhari and in presence of opposition leader Mohamed Ahmed Almahjoub
Government Militia in Darfur
South Sudanese independence referendum, 2011
A map of Sudan. The Hala'ib Triangle has been under Egyptian administration since 2000.
JEM rebels in Darfur. Both the government and the rebels have been accused of atrocities.
Sudanese Air Force Hongdu JL-8
Darfur refugee camp in Chad, 2005
Oil and gas concessions in Sudan – 2004
Development in Khartoum.
Market in Omdurman
Student from Khartoum
Sudanese Arab of Al-Manasir
The Arabic-speaking Rashaida came to Sudan from Arabia about 170 years ago.
Minaret in Port Sudan
A Sufi dervish drums up the Friday afternoon crowd in Omdurman.
Khartoum University established in 1902
Sudanese author Leila Aboulela
Sudanese tourists by the Meroë pyramids in various types of clothing.
Sudanese women in Darfur
Herders at the camel market on the far west side of Omdurman