Sudan (2001) | Uruguay (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 | 19 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Artigas, Canelones, Cerro Largo, Colonia, Durazno, Flores, Florida, Lavalleja, Maldonado, Montevideo, Paysandu, Rio Negro, Rivera, Rocha, Salto, San Jose, Soriano, Tacuarembo, Treinta y Tres |
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: 24.3% (male 425,642; female 404,987)
15-64 years: 62.6% (male 1,057,187; female 1,079,549) 65 years and over: 13.1% (male 182,696; female 263,268) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cotton, groundnuts (peanuts), sorghum, millet, wheat, gum arabic, sugarcane, cassara, mangos, papaya, bananas, sweet potatoes, sesame; sheep, livestock | rice, wheat, corn, barley; livestock; fish |
Airports | 61 (2000 est.) | 64 (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: 15
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 2 (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.) |
total: 49
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 16 under 914 m: 31 (2002) |
Area | total:
2,505,810 sq km land: 2.376 million sq km water: 129,810 sq km |
total: 176,220 sq km
land: 173,620 sq km water: 2,600 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than one-quarter the size of the US | slightly smaller than the state of Washington |
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. | A violent Marxist urban guerrilla movement, the Tupamaros, launched in the late 1960s, led Uruguay's president to agree to military control of his administration in 1973. By yearend, the rebels had been crushed, but the military continued to expand its hold throughout the government. Civilian rule was not restored until 1985. Uruguay's political and labor conditions are among the freest on the continent. |
Birth rate | 37.89 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 17.19 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$1.2 billion expenditures: $1.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $3.7 billion
expenditures: $4.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $500 million (2000) |
Capital | Khartoum | Montevideo |
Climate | tropical in south; arid desert in north; rainy season (April to October) | warm temperate; freezing temperatures almost unknown |
Coastline | 853 km | 660 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 | 27 November 1966, effective February 1967, suspended 27 June 1973, new constitution rejected by referendum 30 November 1980; two constitutional reforms approved by plebiscite 26 November 1989 and 7 January 1997 |
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: Oriental Republic of Uruguay
conventional short form: Uruguay local long form: Republica Oriental del Uruguay local short form: Uruguay former: Banda Oriental, Cisplatine Province |
Currency | Sudanese dinar (SDD) | Uruguayan peso (UYU) |
Death rate | 10.04 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 8.97 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $24.9 billion (2000 est.) | $11.8 billion (2002 est.) |
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 | chief of mission: Ambassador Martin J. SILVERSTEIN
embassy: Lauro Muller 1776, Montevideo 11200 mailing address: APO AA 34035 telephone: [598] (2) 418-7777 FAX: [598] (2) 418-8611 |
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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Hugo FERNANDEZ-FAINGOLD
chancery: 1913 I Street NW, Washington, DC 20006 telephone: [1] (202) 331-1313 through 1316 FAX: [1] (202) 331-8142 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, and New York |
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 | uncontested dispute with Brazil over certain islands in the Quarai/Cuareim and Invernada streams and the resulting tripoint with Argentina |
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. | Uruguay's economy is characterized by an export-oriented agricultural sector, a well-educated workforce, and high levels of social spending. After averaging growth of 5% annually during 1996-98, in 1999-2002 the economy suffered a major downturn, stemming largely from lower demand in Argentina and Brazil, which together account for nearly half of Uruguay's exports. Total GDP in these four years dropped by nearly 20%, with 2002 the worst year. Unemployment rose to nearly 20% in 2002, inflation surged, and the burden of external debt doubled. Cooperation with the IMF and the US has limited the damage, which is still extensive. Moves to reschedule debt and promote economic recovery may help limit a further decline in output in 2003. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.637 billion kWh (1999) | 6.152 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 1.377 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 123 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 1.76 billion kWh (1999) | 7.963 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
42.05% hydro: 57.95% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 0.7%
hydro: 99.1% nuclear: 0% other: 0.3% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Red Sea 0 m highest point: Kinyeti 3,187 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Cerro Catedral 514 m |
Environment - current issues | inadequate supplies of potable water; wildlife populations threatened by excessive hunting; soil erosion; desertification | water pollution from meat packing/tannery industry; inadequate solid/hazardous waste disposal |
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 |
party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban |
Ethnic groups | black 52%, Arab 39%, Beja 6%, foreigners 2%, other 1% | white 88%, mestizo 8%, black 4%, Amerindian, practically nonexistent |
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) | Uruguayan pesos per US dollar - 21.26 (2002), 13.32 (2001), 12.1 (2000), 11.34 (1999), 10.47 (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: President Jorge BATLLE Ibanez (since 1 March 2000) and Vice President Luis HIERRO (since 1 March 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Jorge BATLLE Ibanez (since 1 March 2000) and Vice President Luis HIERRO (since 1 March 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president with parliamentary approval elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for five-year terms; election last held 31 October 1999, with runoff election on 28 November 1999 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: Jorge BATLLE Ibanez elected president; percent of vote - Jorge BATLLE Ibanez 52% in a runoff against Tabare VAZQUEZ 44% |
Exports | $1.7 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | oil and petroleum products, cotton, sesame, livestock, groundnuts, gum arabic, sugar | meat, rice, leather products, wool, vehicles, dairy products |
Exports - partners | Saudi Arabia 16%, Italy 10%, Germany 5%, France 3%, Thailand 3% (1999) | Brazil 21%, Argentina 15%, US 8.1%, Germany 5.1%, Italy 4% (2002) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black with a green isosceles triangle based on the hoist side | nine equal horizontal stripes of white (top and bottom) alternating with blue; there is a white square in the upper hoist-side corner with a yellow sun bearing a human face known as the Sun of May and 16 rays alternately triangular and wavy |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $35.7 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $26.82 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
39% industry: 17% services: 44% (1998 est.) |
agriculture: 6%
industry: 27% services: 67% (2001) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,000 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $7,900 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 7% (2000 est.) | -10.8% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 15 00 N, 30 00 E | 33 00 S, 56 00 W |
Geography - note | largest country in Africa; dominated by the Nile and its tributaries | second-smallest South American country (after Suriname); most of the low-lying landscape (three-quarters of the country) is grassland, ideal for cattle and sheep raising |
Heliports | 1 (2000 est.) | - |
Highways | total:
11,900 km paved: 4,320 km unpaved: 7,580 km (1996) |
total: 8,983 km
paved: 8,081 km unpaved: 902 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 3.7%
highest 10%: 25.8% (1997) |
Imports | $1.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment, medicines and chemicals, textiles | machinery, chemicals, road vehicles, crude petroleum |
Imports - partners | China 14.7%, Libya 14.7%, Saudi Arabia 8.9%, UK 8.7%, France 6.7% (1999) | Argentina 25.6%, Brazil 22.7%, US 7.7%, Venezuela 6.2% (2002) |
Independence | 1 January 1956 (from Egypt and UK) | 25 August 1825 (from Brazil) |
Industrial production growth rate | 5% (1996 est.) | -12% (2002 est.) |
Industries | cotton ginning, textiles, cement, edible oils, sugar, soap distilling, shoes, petroleum refining, pharmaceuticals, armaments | food processing, electrical machinery, transportation equipment, petroleum products, textiles, chemicals, beverages |
Infant mortality rate | 68.67 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 13.8 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 15.61 deaths/1,000 live births female: 11.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 10% (2000 est.) | 14.1% (2002 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) | ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNMISET, UNMOGIP, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 14 (2001) |
Irrigated land | 19,460 sq km (1993 est.) | 1,800 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Special Revolutionary Courts | Supreme Court (judges are nominated by the president and elected for 10-year terms by the General Assembly) |
Labor force | 11 million (1996 est.) | 1.2 million (2001) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 80%, industry and commerce 10%, government 6%, unemployed 4% (1996 est.) | agriculture 14%, industry 16%, services 70% |
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 |
total: 1,564 km
border countries: Argentina 579 km, Brazil 985 km |
Land use | arable land:
5% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 46% forests and woodland: 19% other: 30% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 7.21%
permanent crops: 0.27% other: 92.52% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Arabic (official), Nubian, Ta Bedawie, diverse dialects of Nilotic, Nilo-Hamitic, Sudanic languages, English
note: program of "Arabization" in process |
Spanish, Portunol, or Brazilero (Portuguese-Spanish mix on the Brazilian frontier) |
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 | based on Spanish civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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 |
bicameral General Assembly or Asamblea General consists of Chamber of Senators or Camara de Senadores (30 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and Chamber of Representatives or Camara de Representantes (99 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: Chamber of Senators - last held 31 October 1999 (next to be held NA 2004); Chamber of Representatives - last held 31 October 1999 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: Chamber of Senators - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Encuentro Progresista 12, Colorado Party 10, Blanco 7, New Sector/Space Coalition 1; Chamber of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Encuentro Progresista 40, Colorado Party 33, Blanco 22, New Sector/Space Coalition 4 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
56.94 years male: 55.85 years female: 58.08 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 75.87 years
male: 72.54 years female: 79.38 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 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98% male: 97.6% female: 98.4% (2003 est.) |
Location | Northern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Egypt and Eritrea | Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Argentina and Brazil |
Map references | Africa | South America |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
18 NM continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation territorial sea: 12 NM |
contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic 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.) |
total: 4 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 10,918 GRT/9,775 DWT
ships by type: chemical tanker 1, container 1, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Argentina 4, Greece 1 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, Popular Defense Force Militia | Army, Navy (including Naval Air Arm, Coast Guard, Marines), Air Force, Police (Coracero Guard, Grenadier Guard) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $550 million (FY98) | $250 million (1999) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 1.1% (2000) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
8,436,732 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 831,297 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
5,194,862 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 672,030 (2003 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) | Independence Day, 25 August (1825) |
Nationality | noun:
Sudanese (singular and plural) adjective: Sudanese |
noun: Uruguayan(s)
adjective: Uruguayan |
Natural hazards | dust storms | seasonally high winds (the pampero is a chilly and occasional violent wind which blows north from the Argentine pampas), droughts, floods; because of the absence of mountains, which act as weather barriers, all locations are particularly vulnerable to rapid changes from weather fronts |
Natural resources | petroleum; small reserves of iron ore, copper, chromium ore, zinc, tungsten, mica, silver, gold, hydropower | arable land, hydropower, minor minerals, fisheries |
Net migration rate | 0.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -0.35 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | refined products 815 km | gas 192 km (2003) |
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 | Colorado Party [Jorge BATLLE Ibanez]; National Party or Blanco [Luis Alberto LACALLE Herrera]; New Sector/Space Coalition or Nuevo Espacio [Rafael MICHELINI]; Progressive Encounter/Broad Front Coalition or Encuentro Progresista/Frente Amplio [Tabare VAZQUEZ] |
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.) | 3,413,329 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 6% (1997) |
Population growth rate | 2.79% (2001 est.) | 0.79% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Juba, Khartoum, Kusti, Malakal, Nimule, Port Sudan, Sawakin | Colonia, Fray Bentos, Juan La Caze, La Paloma, Montevideo, Nueva Palmira, Paysandu, Punta del Este, Piriapolis |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 91, FM 149, shortwave 7 (2001) |
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 |
total: 2,073 km
standard gauge: 2,073 km 1.435-m gauge note: 461 km have been taken out of service and 460 km are in partial use (2002) |
Religions | Sunni Muslim 70% (in north), indigenous beliefs 25%, Christian 5% (mostly in south and Khartoum) | Roman Catholic 66% (less than half of the adult population attends church regularly), Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%, nonprofessing or other 31% |
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: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 17 years of age; universal, but noncompulsory | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
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: fully digitalized
domestic: most modern facilities concentrated in Montevideo; new nationwide microwave radio relay network international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2002) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 400,000 (2000) | 929,141 (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 20,000 (2000) | 350,000 (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (1997) | 20 (2001) |
Terrain | generally flat, featureless plain; mountains in east and west | mostly rolling plains and low hills; fertile coastal lowland |
Total fertility rate | 5.35 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.35 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 4% (1996 est.) | 19.4% (2002) |
Waterways | 5,310 km | 1,600 km (used by coastal and shallow-draft river craft) |