Sudan (2002) | Congo, Republic of the (2007) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
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 | 10 regions (regions, singular - region) and 1 commune*; Bouenza, Brazzaville*, Cuvette, Cuvette-Ouest, Kouilou, Lekoumou, Likouala, Niari, Plateaux, Pool, Sangha |
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 est.) |
0-14 years: 46.3% (male 885,039/female 873,753)
15-64 years: 50.8% (male 958,992/female 973,445) 65 years and over: 2.9% (male 44,994/female 64,387) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cotton, groundnuts (peanuts), sorghum, millet, wheat, gum arabic, sugarcane, cassava (tapioca), mangos, papaya, bananas, sweet potatoes, sesame; sheep, livestock | cassava (tapioca), sugar, rice, corn, peanuts, vegetables, coffee, cocoa; forest products |
Airports | 65 (2001) | 31 (2007) |
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 (2002) |
total: 5
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 51 53
1,524 to 2,437 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 26 under 914 m: 17 11 (2002) |
total: 26
1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 9 (2007) |
Area | total: 2,505,810 sq km
land: 2.376 million sq km water: 129,810 sq km |
total: 342,000 sq km
land: 341,500 sq km water: 500 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than one-quarter the size of the US | slightly smaller than Montana |
Background | Military dictatorships favoring an Islamic-oriented government have dominated national politics since independence from the UK in 1956. Sudan has been embroiled in a civil war for all but 10 years of this period (1972-82). Since 1983, the war and war- and famine-related effects have led to more than 2 million deaths and over 4 million people displaced. The war pits the Arab/Muslim majority in Khartoum against the non-Muslim African rebels in the south. Since 1989, traditional northern Muslim parties have made common cause with the southern rebels and entered the war as a part of an anti-government alliance. | Upon independence in 1960, the former French region of Middle Congo became the Republic of the Congo. A quarter century of experimentation with Marxism was abandoned in 1990 and a democratically elected government took office in 1992. A brief civil war in 1997 restored former Marxist President Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO, and ushered in a period of ethnic and political unrest. Southern-based rebel groups agreed to a final peace accord in March 2003, but the calm is tenuous and refugees continue to present a humanitarian crisis. The Republic of Congo was once one of Africa's largest petroleum producers, but with declining production it will need to hope for new offshore oil finds to sustain its oil earnings over the long term. |
Birth rate | 37.21 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 42.16 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $1.6 billion
expenditures: $1.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
revenues: $3.522 billion
expenditures: $1.932 billion (2006 est.) |
Capital | Khartoum | name: Brazzaville
geographic coordinates: 4 15 S, 15 17 E time difference: UTC+1 (six hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical in south; arid desert in north; rainy season (April to October) | tropical; rainy season (March to June); dry season (June to October); persistent high temperatures and humidity; particularly enervating climate astride the Equator |
Coastline | 853 km | 169 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 | approved by referendum 20 January 2002 |
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: Republic of the Congo
conventional short form: Congo (Brazzaville) local long form: Republique du Congo local short form: none former: Middle Congo, Congo/Brazzaville, Congo |
Currency | Sudanese dinar (SDD) | - |
Death rate | 9.81 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 12.59 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $24.9 billion (2000 est.) | $5 billion (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | For security reasons, US officials at the US Embassy in Khartoum were relocated in February 1996 to the US Embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Cairo, Egypt, from where they make regular 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 Robert WEISBERG
embassy: NA mailing address: NA telephone: [243] (88) 43608 note: the embassy is temporarily collocated with the US Embassy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (US Embassy Kinshasa, 310 Avenue des Aviateurs, Kinshasa) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge D'Affairs, Ad Interim Khidir Haroun AHMED (since April 2001)
chancery: 2210 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 338-8565 FAX: [1] (202) 667-2406 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Serge MOMBOULI
chancery: 4891 Colorado Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20011 telephone: [1] (202) 726-5500 FAX: [1] (202) 726-1860 |
Disputes - international | Sudan agrees in 2002 to demarcate whole boundary with Ethiopia; Egypt and Sudan each claim to administer triangular areas which extend north and south of the 1899 Treaty boundary along the 22nd Parallel (the north "Hala'ib Triangle" is the largest with 20,580 sq km); in 2001, the two states agreed to discuss an "area of integration" and withdraw military forces in the overlapping areas; since colonial times, Kenya's administrative boundary has extended beyond its treaty boundary into Sudan creating the "Ilemi Triangle" | Congo hosts about 63,000 refugees from neighboring states, primarily from the Pool border area of the Democratic Republic of the Congo; the location of the boundary in the broad Congo River with the Democratic Republic of the Congo is indefinite except in the Pool Malebo/Stanley Pool area |
Economic aid - recipient | $187 million (1997) | $1.449 billion (2005) |
Economy - overview | 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% 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% in 2002. Agriculture production remains Sudan's most important sector, employing 80% 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. The civil war, 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. | The economy is a mixture of village agriculture and handicrafts, an industrial sector based largely on oil, support services, and a government characterized by budget problems and overstaffing. Oil has supplanted forestry as the mainstay of the economy, providing a major share of government revenues and exports. In the early 1980s, rapidly rising oil revenues enabled the government to finance large-scale development projects with GDP growth averaging 5% annually, one of the highest rates in Africa. The government has mortgaged a substantial portion of its oil earnings through oil-backed loans that have contributed to a growing debt burden and chronic revenue shortfalls. Economic reform efforts have been undertaken with the support of international organizations, notably the World Bank and the IMF. However, the reform program came to a halt in June 1997 when civil war erupted. Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO, who returned to power when the war ended in October 1997, publicly expressed interest in moving forward on economic reforms and privatization and in renewing cooperation with international financial institutions. Economic progress was badly hurt by slumping oil prices and the resumption of armed conflict in December 1998, which worsened the republic's budget deficit. The current administration presides over an uneasy internal peace and faces difficult economic challenges of stimulating recovery and reducing poverty. Recovery of oil prices has boosted the economy's GDP and near-term prospects. In March 2006, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) treatment for Congo. |
Electricity - consumption | 1,832.1 million kWh (2000) | 5.272 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 1.8 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 6 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 1.97 billion kWh (2000) | 7.341 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 49%
hydro: 51% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Red Sea 0 m
highest point: Kinyeti 3,187 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Berongou 903 m |
Environment - current issues | inadequate supplies of potable water; wildlife populations threatened by excessive hunting; soil erosion; desertification; periodic drought | air pollution from vehicle emissions; water pollution from the dumping of raw sewage; tap water is not potable; deforestation |
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: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | black 52%, Arab 39%, Beja 6%, foreigners 2%, other 1% | Kongo 48%, Sangha 20%, M'Bochi 12%, Teke 17%, Europeans and other 3% |
Exchange rates | Sudanese dinars per US dollar - 261.44 (January 2002), 258.70 (2001), 257.12 (2000), 252.55 (1999), 200.80 (1998), 157.57 (1997) | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 522.59 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002) |
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 or NCP (formerly 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; election widely viewed as rigged; all popular opposition parties boycotted elections because of a lack of guarantees for a free and fair poll 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 Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO (since 25 October 1997, following the civil war in which he toppled elected president Pascal LISSOUBA); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO (since 25 October 1997, following the civil war in which he toppled elected president Pascal LISSOUBA) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 10 March 2002 (next to be held in 2009) election results: Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO reelected president; percent of vote - Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO 89.4%, Joseph Kignoumbi Kia MBOUNGOU 2.7% |
Exports | $2.1 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | oil and petroleum products, cotton, sesame, livestock, groundnuts, gum arabic, sugar | petroleum, lumber, plywood, sugar, cocoa, coffee, diamonds |
Exports - partners | Japan 25%, China 19%, Saudi Arabia 14%, Germany 4%, (2000) | US 35.9%, China 31.4%, Taiwan 9.9%, South Korea 8% (2006) |
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 | divided diagonally from the lower hoist side by a yellow band; the upper triangle (hoist side) is green and the lower triangle is red; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $49.3 billion (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 43%
industry: 17% services: 40% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 5.6%
industry: 57.1% services: 37.3% (2006 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,360 (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.5% (2001 est.) | 6.1% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 15 00 N, 30 00 E | 1 00 S, 15 00 E |
Geography - note | largest country in Africa; dominated by the Nile and its tributaries | about 70% of the population lives in Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, or along the railroad between them |
Heliports | 2 (2002) | - |
Highways | total: 11,900 km
paved: 4,320 km unpaved: 7,580 km (1996) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $1.6 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, manufactured goods, refinery and transport equipment, medicines and chemicals, textiles, wheat | capital equipment, construction materials, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | China 12%, Saudi Arabia 10%, UK 10%, Germany 7% (2000) | France 21.7%, China 12.1%, Zimbabwe 8.3%, US 6.9%, India 6.4%, Italy 5.1%, Belgium 4.8% (2006) |
Independence | 1 January 1956 (from Egypt and UK) | 15 August 1960 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 8.5% (1999 est.) | 0% (2002 est.) |
Industries | oil, cotton ginning, textiles, cement, edible oils, sugar, soap distilling, shoes, petroleum refining, pharmaceuticals, armaments, automobile/light truck assembly | petroleum extraction, cement, lumber, brewing, sugar, palm oil, soap, flour, cigarettes |
Infant mortality rate | 67.14 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 83.26 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 88.93 deaths/1,000 live births female: 77.42 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 10% (2001 est.) | 5.5% (2006 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, 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) | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, BDEAC, CEMAC, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW (signatory), UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 2 (2002) | - |
Irrigated land | 19,500 sq km (1998 est.) | 20 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Special Revolutionary Courts | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme |
Labor force | 11 million (1996 est.) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 80%, industry and commerce 7%, government 13% (1998 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 |
total: 5,504 km
border countries: Angola 201 km, Cameroon 523 km, Central African Republic 467 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 2,410 km, Gabon 1,903 km |
Land use | arable land: 7.03%
permanent crops: 0.08% other: 92.89% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 1.45%
permanent crops: 0.15% other: 98.4% (2005) |
Languages | Arabic (official), Nubian, Ta Bedawie, diverse dialects of Nilotic, Nilo-Hamitic, Sudanic languages, English
note: program of "Arabization" in process |
French (official), Lingala and Monokutuba (lingua franca trade languages), many local languages and dialects (of which Kikongo is the most widespread) |
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 French civil law system and customary law |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly (360 seats; 270 popularly elected, 90 elected by supra assembly of interest groups known as National Congress; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 13-22 December 2000 (next to be held NA December 2004) election results: NCP 355, others 5 note: on 12 December 1999, BASHIR dismissed the National Assembly during an internal power struggle between the president and the speaker of the National Assembly Hassan al-TURABI |
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (66 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and the National Assembly (137 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 11 July 2002 (next to be held in 2008); National Assembly - last held 24 June and 5 August 2007 (next to be held in 2012) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - FDP 56, other 10; National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PCT 46, MCDDI 11, UPADS 11, MAR 5, MSD 5, independents 37, other 22 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 57.33 years
male: 56.22 years female: 58.5 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 53.29 years
male: 52.1 years female: 54.52 years (2007 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: 83.8% male: 89.6% female: 78.4% (2003 est.) |
Location | Northern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Egypt and Eritrea | Western Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Angola and Gabon |
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 |
territorial sea: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 4 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 39,545 GRT/51,195 DWT
ships by type: cargo 2, roll on/roll off 2 (2002 est.) |
registered in other countries: 1 (Congo, Democratic Republic of the 1) (2007) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, Popular Defense Force Militia | Congolese Armed Forces (Forces Armees Congolaises, FAC): Army, Navy, Congolese Air Force (Armee de l'Air Congolaise), Gendarmerie, Republican Guard (2007) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $581 million (2001 est.) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.5% (1999) | 3.1% (2006) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 8,739,982 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 5,380,917 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 398,294 (2002 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 1 January (1956) | Independence Day, 15 August (1960) |
Nationality | noun: Sudanese (singular and plural)
adjective: Sudanese |
noun: Congolese (singular and plural)
adjective: Congolese or Congo |
Natural hazards | dust storms and periodic persistent droughts | seasonal flooding |
Natural resources | petroleum; small reserves of iron ore, copper, chromium ore, zinc, tungsten, mica, silver, gold, hydropower | petroleum, timber, potash, lead, zinc, uranium, copper, phosphates, gold, magnesium, natural gas, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -0.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | -3.17 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | refined products 815 km | gas 89 km; liquid petroleum gas 4 km; oil 744 km (2006) |
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 or PNC [Hassan al-TURABI], and over 20 minor, pro-government parties | Action Movement for Renewal or MAR; Congolese Movement for Democracy and Integral Development or MCDDI [Michel MAMPOUYA]; Congolese Labour Party or PCT; Movement for Solidarity and Development or MSD; Pan-African Union for Social Development or UPADS [Martin MBERI]; Rally for Democracy and Social Progress or RDPS [Jean-Pierre Thystere TCHICAYA, president]; Rally for Democracy and the Republic or RDR [Raymond Damasge NGOLLO]; Union for Democracy and Republic or UDR; Union of Democratic Forces or UFD [Sebastian EBAO]; many less important parties |
Political pressure groups and leaders | National Congress Party [Ibrahim Ahmed UMAR]; 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 Movement/Army [Dr. John GARANG] | Congolese Trade Union Congress or CSC; General Union of Congolese Pupils and Students or UGEEC; Revolutionary Union of Congolese Women or URFC; Union of Congolese Socialist Youth or UJSC |
Population | 37,090,298 (July 2002 est.) | 3,800,610
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.73% (2002 est.) | 2.639% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Juba, Khartoum, Kusti, Malakal, Nimule, Port Sudan, Sawakin | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 3 (2001) |
Radios | 7.55 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total: 5,995 km
narrow gauge: 4,595 km 1.067-m gauge; 1,400 km 0.600-m gauge plantation line note: the 1.067-m line from Khartoum to Port Sudan carries over two-thirds of Sudan's rail traffic; the 0.600-m gauge system serves Sudan's cotton plantations with over 120 collecting stations (2001) |
total: 894 km
narrow gauge: 894 km 1.067-m gauge (2006) |
Religions | Sunni Muslim 70% (in north), indigenous beliefs 25%, Christian 5% (mostly in south and Khartoum) | Christian 50%, animist 48%, Muslim 2% |
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 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.013 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.985 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.699 male(s)/female total population: 0.988 male(s)/female (2007 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: services barely adequate for government use; key exchanges are in Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, and Loubomo; intercity lines frequently out of order; fixed-line infrastructure inadequate providing less than 1 connection per 100 persons; mobile-cellular subscribership has surged reaching 16 per 100 persons
domestic: primary network consists of microwave radio relay and coaxial cable international: country code - 242; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 400,000 (2000) | 15,900 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 20,000 (2000) | 490,000 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (1997) | 1 (2001) |
Terrain | generally flat, featureless plain; mountains in east and west | coastal plain, southern basin, central plateau, northern basin |
Total fertility rate | 5.22 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 5.99 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 18.7% (2002 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | 5,310 km | 1,125 km (commercially navigable on Congo and Oubanqui rivers) (2006) |