Sudan (2001) | Cayman Islands (2005) | |
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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 | 8 districts; Creek, Eastern, Midland, South Town, Spot Bay, Stake Bay, West End, Western |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
44.62% (male 8,227,011; female 7,870,783) 15-64 years: 53.29% (male 9,619,218; female 9,608,469) 65 years and over: 2.09% (male 425,898; female 328,994) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 21.1% (male 4,658/female 4,662)
15-64 years: 70.8% (male 15,284/female 16,050) 65 years and over: 8.2% (male 1,699/female 1,917) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cotton, groundnuts (peanuts), sorghum, millet, wheat, gum arabic, sugarcane, cassara, mangos, papaya, bananas, sweet potatoes, sesame; sheep, livestock | vegetables, fruit; livestock, turtle farming |
Airports | 61 (2000 est.) | 3 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
12 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
total: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
49 1,524 to 2,437 m: 15 914 to 1,523 m: 25 under 914 m: 9 (2000 est.) |
total: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
2,505,810 sq km land: 2.376 million sq km water: 129,810 sq km |
total: 262 sq km
land: 262 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than one-quarter the size of the US | 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | Military dictatorships promulgating an Islamic government have mostly run the country since independence from the UK in 1956. Over the past two decades, a civil war pitting black Christians and animists in the south against the Arab-Muslims of the north has cost at least 1.5 million lives in war- and famine-related deaths, as well as the displacement of millions of others. | The Cayman Islands were colonized from Jamaica by the British during the 18th and 19th centuries. Administered by Jamaica since 1863, they remained a British dependency after 1962 when the former became independent. |
Birth rate | 37.89 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 12.92 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$1.2 billion expenditures: $1.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $265.2 million
expenditures: $248.9 million, including capital expenditures of NA (1997) |
Capital | Khartoum | George Town |
Climate | tropical in south; arid desert in north; rainy season (April to October) | tropical marine; warm, rainy summers (May to October) and cool, relatively dry winters (November to April) |
Coastline | 853 km | 160 km |
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 constitution implemented on 30 June 1998 partially suspended 12 December 1999 by President BASHIR | 1959; revised 1972 and 1992 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of the Sudan conventional short form: Sudan local long form: Jumhuriyat as-Sudan local short form: As-Sudan former: Anglo-Egyptian Sudan |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Cayman Islands |
Currency | Sudanese dinar (SDD) | - |
Death rate | 10.04 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 4.81 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $24.9 billion (2000 est.) | $70 million (1996) |
Dependency status | - | overseas territory of the UK |
Diplomatic representation from the US | US officials at the US Embassy in Khartoum were moved for security reasons in February 1996 and have been relocated to the US Embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Cairo, Egypt, from where they make periodic visits to Khartoum; the US Embassy in Khartoum is located on Sharia Abdul Latif Avenue; mailing address - P. O. Box 699, Khartoum; APO AE 09829; telephone - [249] (11) 774611 or 774700; FAX - [249] (11) 774137; the US Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya is located in the Interim Office Building on Mombasa Road, Nairobi; mailing address - P. O. Box 30137, Box 21A, Unit 64100, APO AE 09831; telephone - [254] (2) 751613; FAX - [254] (2) 743204; the US Embassy in Cairo, Egypt is located at (North Gate) 8, Kamel El-Din Salah Street, Garden City, Cairo; mailing address - Unit 64900, APO AE 09839-4900; telephone - [20] (2) 3557371; FAX - [20] (2) 3573200 | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Mahdi Ibrahim MAHAMMAD (recalled to Khartoum in August 1998) chancery: 2210 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 338-8565 FAX: [1] (202) 667-2406 |
none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Disputes - international | administrative boundary with Kenya does not coincide with international boundary; Egypt asserts its claim to the "Hala'ib Triangle," a barren area of 20,580 sq km under partial Sudanese administration that is defined by an administrative boundary which supersedes the treaty boundary of 1899 | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $187 million (1997) | NA |
Economy - overview | Sudan is buffeted by civil war, chronic instability, adverse weather, weak world agricultural prices, a drop in remittances from abroad, and counterproductive economic policies. The private sector's main areas of activity are agriculture (which employs 80% of the work force), trading, and light industry which is mostly processing of agricultural goods. Most of the 1990s were characterized by sluggish economic growth as the IMF suspended lending, declared Sudan a non-cooperative state, and threatened to expel Sudan from the IMF. Starting in 1997, Sudan began implementing IMF macroeconomic reforms which have successfully stabilized inflation at 10% or less. Sudan continues to have limited international credit resources as over 75% of Sudan's debt of $24.9 billion is in arrears and Khartoum's continued prosecution of the civil war works to isolate Sudan. In 1999, Sudan began exporting oil and in 1999-2000 had recorded its first trade surpluses. Current oil production stands at 185,000 barrels per day, of which about 70% is exported and the rest refined for domestic consumption. Despite its many infrastructure problems, Sudan's increased oil production, the return of regular rainfall, and recent investments in irrigation schemes should allow the country to achieve economic growth of 6% in 2001. | With no direct taxation, the islands are a thriving offshore financial center. More than 40,000 companies were registered in the Cayman Islands as of 1998, including almost 600 banks and trust companies; banking assets exceed $500 billion. A stock exchange was opened in 1997. Tourism is also a mainstay, accounting for about 70% of GDP and 75% of foreign currency earnings. The tourist industry is aimed at the luxury market and caters mainly to visitors from North America. Total tourist arrivals exceeded 1.2 million in 1997, with 600,000 from the US. About 90% of the islands' food and consumer goods must be imported. The Caymanians enjoy one of the highest outputs per capita and one of the highest standards of living in the world. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.637 billion kWh (1999) | 382.1 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 1.76 billion kWh (1999) | 410.8 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
42.05% hydro: 57.95% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Red Sea 0 m highest point: Kinyeti 3,187 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: The Bluff 43 m |
Environment - current issues | inadequate supplies of potable water; wildlife populations threatened by excessive hunting; soil erosion; desertification | no natural fresh water resources; drinking water supplies must be met by rainwater catchments |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
- |
Ethnic groups | black 52%, Arab 39%, Beja 6%, foreigners 2%, other 1% | mixed 40%, white 20%, black 20%, expatriates of various ethnic groups 20% |
Exchange rates | Sudanese dinars per US dollar - 257.44 (January 2001), 257.12 (2000), 252.55 (1999), 200.80 (1998), 157.57 (1997), 125.08 (1996) | Caymanian dollars per US dollar - 0.82 (29 October 2001), 0.83 (3 November 1995), 0.85 (22 November 1993) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Lt. Gen. Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR (since 16 October 1993); First Vice President Ali Uthman Muhammad TAHA (since 17 February 1998), Second Vice President Moses MACHAR (since 12 February 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Lt. Gen. Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR (since 16 October 1993); First Vice President Ali Uthman Muhammad TAHA (since 17 February 1998), Second Vice President Moses MACHAR (since 12 February 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president; note - the National Congress Party (front for the National Islamic Front or NIF) dominates BASHIR's cabinet elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 13-23 December 2000 (next to be held NA 2005) election results: Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR reelected president; percent of vote - Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR 86.5%, Ja'afar Muhammed NUMAYRI 9.6%, three other candidates received less than a combined 4% of the vote note: BASHIR assumed supreme executive power in 1989 and retained it through several transitional governments in the early and mid-90s before being popularly elected for the first time in March 1996 |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); Governor Bruce DINWIDDY (since 29 May 2002)
head of government: Leader of Government Business Kurt TIBBETTS (since 18 May 2005) cabinet: Executive Council (three members appointed by the governor, four members elected by the Legislative Assembly) elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the governor is appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or coalition is appointed by the governor Leader of Government Business |
Exports | $1.7 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA |
Exports - commodities | oil and petroleum products, cotton, sesame, livestock, groundnuts, gum arabic, sugar | turtle products, manufactured consumer goods |
Exports - partners | Saudi Arabia 16%, Italy 10%, Germany 5%, France 3%, Thailand 3% (1999) | mostly US |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black with a green isosceles triangle based on the hoist side | blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Caymanian coat of arms centered on the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms includes a pineapple and turtle above a shield with three stars (representing the three islands) and a scroll at the bottom bearing the motto HE HATH FOUNDED IT UPON THE SEAS |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $35.7 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
39% industry: 17% services: 44% (1998 est.) |
agriculture: 1.4%
industry: 3.2% services: 95.4% (1994 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,000 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $32,300 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 7% (2000 est.) | 1.7% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 15 00 N, 30 00 E | 19 30 N, 80 30 W |
Geography - note | largest country in Africa; dominated by the Nile and its tributaries | important location between Cuba and Central America |
Heliports | 1 (2000 est.) | - |
Highways | total:
11,900 km paved: 4,320 km unpaved: 7,580 km (1996) |
total: 785 km
paved: 785 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Illicit drugs | - | offshore financial center; vulnerable to drug transshipment to the US and Europe |
Imports | $1.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment, medicines and chemicals, textiles | foodstuffs, manufactured goods |
Imports - partners | China 14.7%, Libya 14.7%, Saudi Arabia 8.9%, UK 8.7%, France 6.7% (1999) | US, Trinidad and Tobago, UK, Netherlands Antilles, Japan |
Independence | 1 January 1956 (from Egypt and UK) | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 5% (1996 est.) | NA% |
Industries | cotton ginning, textiles, cement, edible oils, sugar, soap distilling, shoes, petroleum refining, pharmaceuticals, armaments | tourism, banking, insurance and finance, construction, construction materials, furniture |
Infant mortality rate | 68.67 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 8.19 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 9.39 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.97 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 10% (2000 est.) | 2.8% (2002) |
International organization participation | ABEDA, ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) | Caricom (associate), CDB, Interpol (subbureau), IOC, UNESCO (associate), UPU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 19,460 sq km (1993 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Special Revolutionary Courts | Summary Court; Grand Court; Cayman Islands Court of Appeal |
Labor force | 11 million (1996 est.) | 19,820 (1995) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 80%, industry and commerce 10%, government 6%, unemployed 4% (1996 est.) | agriculture 1.4%, industry 12.6%, services 86% (1995) |
Land boundaries | total:
7,687 km border countries: 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 |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
5% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 46% forests and woodland: 19% other: 30% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 3.85%
permanent crops: 0% other: 96.15% (2001) |
Languages | Arabic (official), Nubian, Ta Bedawie, diverse dialects of Nilotic, Nilo-Hamitic, Sudanic languages, English
note: program of "Arabization" in process |
English |
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 | British common law and local statutes |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly (400 seats; 275 elected by popular vote, 125 elected by a supra assembly of interest groups known as the National Congress)
elections: last held 13-23 December 2000 (next to be held NA) election results: NA; few parties participated in the 2000 elections note: on 12 December 1999, BASHIR dismissed the National Assembly during an internal power struggle between the president and speaker of the National Assembly Hasan al-TURABI |
unicameral Legislative Assembly (18 seats, three appointed members from the Executive Council and 15 elected by popular vote; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 11 May 2005 (next to be held 2009) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - PPM 9, UDP 5, independent 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
56.94 years male: 55.85 years female: 58.08 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 79.95 years
male: 77.33 years female: 82.6 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 46.1% male: 57.7% female: 34.6% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 98% male: 98% female: 98% (1970 est.) |
Location | Northern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Egypt and Eritrea | Caribbean, island group in Caribbean Sea, nearly one-half of the way from Cuba to Honduras |
Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
18 NM continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total:
4 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 38,093 GRT/49,727 DWT ships by type: cargo 2, roll on/roll off 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 129 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 2,827,837 GRT/4,555,974 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 29, cargo 12, chemical tanker 39, liquefied gas 1, petroleum tanker 17, refrigerated cargo 28, roll on/roll off 3 foreign-owned: 126 (Denmark 1, Germany 14, Greece 20, Italy 12, Norway 1, Philippines 1, Sweden 13, Switzerland 11, United Kingdom 9, United States 44) (2005) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the UK |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, Popular Defense Force Militia | no regular military forces; Royal Cayman Islands Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $550 million (FY98) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
8,436,732 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
5,194,862 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
398,294 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 1 January (1956) | Constitution Day, first Monday in July |
Nationality | noun:
Sudanese (singular and plural) adjective: Sudanese |
noun: Caymanian(s)
adjective: Caymanian |
Natural hazards | dust storms | hurricanes (July to November) |
Natural resources | petroleum; small reserves of iron ore, copper, chromium ore, zinc, tungsten, mica, silver, gold, hydropower | fish, climate and beaches that foster tourism |
Net migration rate | 0.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 18.25 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: major destination for Cubans trying to migrate to the US (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | refined products 815 km | - |
Political parties and leaders | the government allows political "associations" under a 1998 law revised in 2000; to obtain government approval parties must accept the constitution and refrain from advocating or using violence against the regime; approved parties include the National Congress Party or NCP [Ibrahim Ahmed UMAR], Popular National Congress [Hassan al-TURABI], and a handful of minor pro-government parties | no national teams (loose groupings of political organizations) were formed for the 2000 elections; United Democratic Party or UDP [leader McKeeva BUSH]; People's Progressive Movement or PPM [leader Kurt TIBBETTS] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | National Congress Party [Ibrahim Ahmed UMAR] (front for the National Islamic Front or NIF); Popular National Congress [Hassan al-TURABI]; Umma [Sadiq al-MAHDI]; Democratic Unionist Party [Muhammed Uthman AL-MIRGHANI]; National Democratic Alliance [Muhammed Uthman AL-MIRGHANI, chairman]; Sudan People's Liberation Army [Dr. John GARANG] | NA |
Population | 36,080,373 (July 2001 est.) | 44,270 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA (2002 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.79% (2001 est.) | 2.64% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Juba, Khartoum, Kusti, Malakal, Nimule, Port Sudan, Sawakin | Cayman Brac, George Town |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 1, FM 4, shortwave 0 (2004) |
Radios | 7.55 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
5,311 km narrow gauge: 4,595 km 1.067-m gauge; 716 km 1.6096-m gauge plantation line note: the main line linking Khartoum to Port Sudan carries over two-thirds of Sudan's rail traffic |
- |
Religions | Sunni Muslim 70% (in north), indigenous beliefs 25%, Christian 5% (mostly in south and Khartoum) | United Church (Presbyterian and Congregational), Anglican, Baptist, Church of God, other Protestant, Roman Catholic |
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: 1.29 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 17 years of age; universal, but noncompulsory | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
large, well-equipped system by regional standards and being upgraded; cellular communications started in 1996 and have expanded substantially domestic: consists of microwave radio relay, cable, radiotelephone communications, tropospheric scatter, and a domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations international: satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 Arabsat (2000) |
general assessment: reasonably good system
domestic: liberalization of telecom market in 2003 reflected in falling prices and improving services international: country code - 1-345; 2 submarine fiber optic cables (Maya-1, Cayman-Jamaica); satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 400,000 (2000) | 38,000 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 20,000 (2000) | 17,000 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (1997) | 4 with cable system (2004) |
Terrain | generally flat, featureless plain; mountains in east and west | low-lying limestone base surrounded by coral reefs |
Total fertility rate | 5.35 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.9 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 4% (1996 est.) | 4.1% (1997) |
Waterways | 5,310 km | - |