Sudan (2001) | Saint Helena (2003) | |
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 | 1 administrative area and 2 dependencies*; Ascension*, Saint Helena, Tristan da Cunha* |
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: 18.9% (male 704; female 685)
15-64 years: 71.6% (male 2,732; female 2,545) 65 years and over: 9.5% (male 309; female 392) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cotton, groundnuts (peanuts), sorghum, millet, wheat, gum arabic, sugarcane, cassara, mangos, papaya, bananas, sweet potatoes, sesame; sheep, livestock | corn, potatoes, vegetables; timber; fish, crawfish (on Tristan da Cunha) |
Airports | 61 (2000 est.) | 1 (2002) |
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: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2002) |
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.) |
- |
Area | total:
2,505,810 sq km land: 2.376 million sq km water: 129,810 sq km |
total: 410 sq km
land: 410 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Saint Helena Island, Ascension, and the island group of Tristan da Cunha, which consists of Tristan da Cunha Island, Gough Island, Inaccessible Island, and the three Nightingale Islands |
Area - comparative | slightly more than one-quarter the size of the US | slightly more than twice 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. | Uninhabited when first discovered by the Portuguese in 1502, Saint Helena was garrisoned by the British during the 17th century. It acquired fame as the place of Napoleon BONAPARTE's exile, from 1815 until his death in 1821, but its importance as a port of call declined after the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. Ascension Island is the site of a US Air Force auxiliary airfield; Gough Island has a meteorological station. |
Birth rate | 37.89 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 12.9 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$1.2 billion expenditures: $1.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $11.2 million
expenditures: $11 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY92) |
Capital | Khartoum | Jamestown |
Climate | tropical in south; arid desert in north; rainy season (April to October) | Saint Helena - tropical; marine; mild, tempered by trade winds; Tristan da Cunha - temperate; marine, mild, tempered by trade winds (tends to be cooler than Saint Helena) |
Coastline | 853 km | 60 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 | 1 January 1989 |
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: Saint Helena |
Currency | Sudanese dinar (SDD) | Saint Helenian pound (SHP) |
Death rate | 10.04 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 6.24 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $24.9 billion (2000 est.) | $NA |
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) | $12.6 million (1995); note - $5.3 million from UK (1997) |
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. | The economy depends largely on financial assistance from the UK, which amounted to about $5 million in 1997 or almost one-half of annual budgetary revenues. The local population earns income from fishing, the raising of livestock, and sales of handicrafts. Because there are few jobs, 25% of the work force has left to seek employment on Ascension Island, on the Falklands, and in the UK. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.637 billion kWh (1999) | 4.65 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 1.76 billion kWh (1999) | 5 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
42.05% hydro: 57.95% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Red Sea 0 m highest point: Kinyeti 3,187 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Queen Mary's Peak on Tristan da Cunha 2,060 m |
Environment - current issues | inadequate supplies of potable water; wildlife populations threatened by excessive hunting; soil erosion; desertification | NA |
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% | African descent 50%, white 25%, Chinese 25% |
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) | Saint Helenian pounds per US dollar - 0.6661 (2002), 0.6944 (2001), 0.6596 (2000), 0.6180 (1999), 0.6037 (1998), |
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)
head of government: Governor and Commander in Chief Michael CLANCY (since NA October 2003) cabinet: Executive Council consists of the governor, two ex officio officers, and six elected members of the Legislative Council elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor is appointed by the monarch |
Exports | $1.7 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | oil and petroleum products, cotton, sesame, livestock, groundnuts, gum arabic, sugar | fish (frozen, canned, and salt-dried skipjack, tuna), coffee, handicrafts |
Exports - partners | Saudi Arabia 16%, Italy 10%, Germany 5%, France 3%, Thailand 3% (1999) | US 23.7%, Japan 20.5%, Netherlands 16%, Tanzania 15.4%, Spain 6.4%, UK 5.1%, Indonesia 4.5% (2002) |
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 Saint Helenian shield centered on the outer half of the flag; the shield features a rocky coastline and three-masted sailing ship |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $35.7 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $18 million (1998 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
39% industry: 17% services: 44% (1998 est.) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,000 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,500 (1998 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 7% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 15 00 N, 30 00 E | 15 56 S, 5 42 W |
Geography - note | largest country in Africa; dominated by the Nile and its tributaries | harbors at least 40 species of plants unknown anywhere else in the world; Ascension is a breeding ground for sea turtles and sooty terns |
Heliports | 1 (2000 est.) | - |
Highways | total:
11,900 km paved: 4,320 km unpaved: 7,580 km (1996) |
total: 198 km (Saint Helena 138 km, Ascension 40 km, Tristan da Cunha 20 km)
paved: 168 km (Saint Helena 118km, Ascension 40 km, Tristan da Cunha 10 km) unpaved: 30 km (Saint Helena 20 km, Ascension 0 km, Tristan da Cunha 10 km) (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $1.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment, medicines and chemicals, textiles | food, beverages, tobacco, fuel oils, animal feed, building materials, motor vehicles and parts, machinery and parts |
Imports - partners | China 14.7%, Libya 14.7%, Saudi Arabia 8.9%, UK 8.7%, France 6.7% (1999) | UK 47.6%, Tanzania 14.6%, Italy 12.1%, South Africa 10.9%, US 5.3% (2002) |
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 | construction, crafts (furniture, lacework, fancy woodwork), fishing |
Infant mortality rate | 68.67 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 20.7 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 24.66 deaths/1,000 live births female: 16.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 10% (2000 est.) | 3.2% (1997 est.) |
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) | ICFTU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 19,460 sq km (1993 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Special Revolutionary Courts | Supreme Court; Magistrate's Court; Small Debts Court; Juvenile Court |
Labor force | 11 million (1996 est.) | 3,500
note: 1,200 work offshore (1998 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 80%, industry and commerce 10%, government 6%, unemployed 4% (1996 est.) | agriculture and fishing 6%, industry (mainly construction) 48%, services 46% (1987 est.) |
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: 12.9%
permanent crops: 0% other: 87.1% (1998 est.) |
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 | NA |
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 Council (16 seats, including the speaker, 3 ex officio and 12 elected members; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 27 June 2001 (next to be held NA June 2005) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 15 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
56.94 years male: 55.85 years female: 58.08 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 77.38 years
male: 74.49 years female: 80.42 years (2003 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 20 and over can read and write
total population: 97% male: 97% female: 98% (1987 est.) |
Location | Northern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Egypt and Eritrea | islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, about midway between South America and Africa |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
18 NM continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation territorial sea: 12 NM |
exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 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.) |
none (2002 est.) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the UK |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, Popular Defense Force Militia | - |
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) | Birthday of Queen ELIZABETH II, second Saturday in June (1926) |
Nationality | noun:
Sudanese (singular and plural) adjective: Sudanese |
noun: Saint Helenian(s)
adjective: Saint Helenian |
Natural hazards | dust storms | active volcanism on Tristan da Cunha |
Natural resources | petroleum; small reserves of iron ore, copper, chromium ore, zinc, tungsten, mica, silver, gold, hydropower | fish |
Net migration rate | 0.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 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 | none |
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] | none |
Population | 36,080,373 (July 2001 est.) | 7,367 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.79% (2001 est.) | 0.67% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Juba, Khartoum, Kusti, Malakal, Nimule, Port Sudan, Sawakin | Georgetown (on Ascension), Jamestown |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) |
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 |
0 km |
Religions | Sunni Muslim 70% (in north), indigenous beliefs 25%, Christian 5% (mostly in south and Khartoum) | Anglican (majority), Baptist, Seventh-Day Adventist, 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: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 17 years of age; universal, but noncompulsory | NA years of age |
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: can communicate worldwide
domestic: automatic network international: HF radiotelephone from Saint Helena to Ascensionm, which is a major coaxial submarine cable relay point between South Africa, Portugal, and UK; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 400,000 (2000) | 2,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 20,000 (2000) | 0 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (1997) | 0
note: television programs are received in Saint Helena via satellite and distributed by cable (2002) |
Terrain | generally flat, featureless plain; mountains in east and west | Saint Helena - rugged, volcanic; small scattered plateaus and plains
note: the other islands of the group have a volcanic origin |
Total fertility rate | 5.35 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.54 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 4% (1996 est.) | 14% (1998 est.) |
Waterways | 5,310 km | none |