Sudan (2007) | British Virgin Islands (2006) | |
Administrative divisions | 25 states (wilayat, singular - wilayah); A'ali an Nil (Upper Nile), Al Bahr al Ahmar (Red Sea), Al Buhayrat (Lakes), Al Jazirah (El Gezira), Al Khartum (Khartoum), Al Qadarif (Gedaref), Al Wahdah (Unity), An Nil al Abyad (White Nile), An Nil al Azraq (Blue Nile), Ash Shamaliyah (Northern), Bahr al Jabal (Bahr al Jabal), Gharb al Istiwa'iyah (Western Equatoria), Gharb Bahr al Ghazal (Western Bahr al Ghazal), Gharb Darfur (Western Darfur), Janub Darfur (Southern Darfur), Janub Kurdufan (Southern Kordofan), Junqali (Jonglei), Kassala (Kassala), Nahr an Nil (Nile), Shamal Bahr al Ghazal (Northern Bahr al Ghazal), Shamal Darfur (Northern Darfur), Shamal Kurdufan (Northern Kordofan), Sharq al Istiwa'iyah (Eastern Equatoria), Sinnar (Sinnar), Warab (Warab) | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 41.6% (male 8,371,628/female 8,016,880)
15-64 years: 56% (male 11,080,025/female 10,956,458) 65 years and over: 2.4% (male 504,957/female 449,410) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 20.5% (male 2,403/female 2,331)
15-64 years: 74.3% (male 8,811/female 8,340) 65 years and over: 5.3% (male 636/female 577) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cotton, groundnuts (peanuts), sorghum, millet, wheat, gum arabic, sugarcane, cassava (tapioca), mangos, papaya, bananas, sweet potatoes, sesame; sheep, livestock | fruits, vegetables; livestock, poultry; fish |
Airports | 101 (2007) | 3 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 16
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 85
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 20 914 to 1,523 m: 37 under 914 m: 27 (2007) |
total: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2006) |
Area | total: 2,505,810 sq km
land: 2.376 million sq km water: 129,810 sq km |
total: 153 sq km
land: 153 sq km water: 0 sq km note: comprised of 16 inhabited and more than 20 uninhabited islands; includes the islands of Tortola, Anegada, Virgin Gorda, Jost van Dyke |
Area - comparative | slightly more than one-quarter the size of the US | about 0.9 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | Military regimes favoring Islamic-oriented governments have dominated national politics since independence from the UK in 1956. Sudan was embroiled in two prolonged civil wars during most of the remainder of the 20th century. These conflicts were rooted in northern economic, political, and social domination of largely non-Muslim, non-Arab southern Sudanese. The first civil war ended in 1972 but broke out again in 1983. The second war and famine-related effects resulted in more than 4 million people displaced and, according to rebel estimates, more than 2 million deaths over a period of two decades. Peace talks gained momentum in 2002-04 with the signing of several accords. The final North/South Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), signed in January 2005, granted the southern rebels autonomy for six years. After which, a referendum for independence is scheduled to be held. A separate conflict, which broke out in the western region of Darfur in 2003, has displaced nearly 2 million people and caused an estimated 200,000 to 400,000 deaths. As of late 2006, peacekeeping troops were struggling to stabilize the situation, which has become increasingly regional in scope, and has brought instability to eastern Chad, and Sudanese incursions into the Central African Republic. Sudan also has faced large refugee influxes from neighboring countries, primarily Ethiopia and Chad. Armed conflict, poor transport infrastructure, and lack of government support have chronically obstructed the provision of humanitarian assistance to affected populations. | First inhabited by Arawak and later by Carib Indians, the Virgin Islands were settled by the Dutch in 1648 and then annexed by the English in 1672. The islands were part of the British colony of the Leeward Islands from 1872-1960; they were granted autonomy in 1967. The economy is closely tied to the larger and more populous US Virgin Islands to the west; the US dollar is the legal currency. |
Birth rate | 34.86 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 14.89 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $7.227 billion
expenditures: $8.865 billion (2006 est.) |
revenues: $204.7 million
expenditures: $180.4 million; including capital expenditures of $33.8 million (1997) |
Capital | name: Khartoum
geographic coordinates: 15 36 N, 32 32 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
name: Road Town
geographic coordinates: 18 27 N, 64 37 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical in south; arid desert in north; rainy season varies by region (April to November) | subtropical; humid; temperatures moderated by trade winds |
Coastline | 853 km | 80 km |
Constitution | constitution implemented on 30 June 1998, partially suspended 12 December 1999 by President BASHIR; under the CPA, Interim National Constitution ratified 5 July 2005; Constitution of Southern Sudan signed December 2005 | 1 June 1977, amended in 2000 |
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: British Virgin Islands abbreviation: BVI |
Death rate | 14.39 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 4.42 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $28.2 billion (2006 est.) | $36.1 million (1997) |
Dependency status | - | overseas territory of the UK; internal self-governing |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Alberto M. Fernandez
embassy: Sharia Ali Abdul Latif Avenue, Khartoum mailing address: P. O. Box 699, Khartoum; APO AE 09829 telephone: [249] (183) 774701/2/3 FAX: [249] (183) 774137 note: US Consul in Cairo is providing backup service for Khartoum; |
none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires, Ad Interim John UKEC Lueth (since 17 October 2006)
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 | the effects of Sudan's almost constant ethnic and rebel militia fighting since the mid-20th century have penetrated all of the neighboring states; as of 2006, Chad, Ethiopia, Kenya, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Uganda provided shelter for over half a million Sudanese refugees, which includes 240,000 Darfur residents driven from their homes by Janjawid armed militia and the Sudanese military forces; Sudan, in turn, hosted about 116,000 Eritreans, 20,000 Chadians, and smaller numbers of Ethiopians, Ugandans, Central Africans, and Congolese as refugees; in February 2006, Sudan and DROC signed an agreement to repatriate 13,300 Sudanese and 6,800 Congolese; Sudan accuses Eritrea of supporting Sudanese rebel groups; efforts to demarcate the porous boundary with Ethiopia proceed slowly due to civil and ethnic fighting in eastern Sudan; the boundary that separates Kenya and Sudan's sovereignty is unclear in the "Ilemi Triangle," which Kenya has administered since colonial times; while Sudan claims to administer the Hala'ib Triangle north of the 1899 Treaty boundary along the 22nd Parallel; both states withdrew their military presence in the 1990s, and Egypt has invested in and effectively administers the area; periodic violent skirmishes with Sudanese residents over water and grazing rights persist among related pastoral populations along the border with the Central African Republic | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $1.829 billion (2005) | $NA |
Economy - overview | Sudan has turned around a struggling economy with sound economic policies and infrastructure investments, but it still faces formidable economic problems starting from its low level of per capita output. From 1997 to date, Sudan has been implementing IMF macroeconomic reforms. In 1999, Sudan began exporting crude oil and in the last quarter of 1999 recorded its first trade surplus, which, along with monetary policy, has stabilized the exchange rate. Increased oil production, high oil prices, revived light industry, and expanded export processing zones helped sustain GDP growth at about 10% in 2006. Agricultural production remains Sudan's most important sector, employing 80% of the work force and contributing 35% of GDP, but most farms remain rain-fed and susceptible to drought. Chronic instability - resulting from the long-standing North/South civil war as well as the Darfur conflict, adverse weather, and weak world agricultural prices - ensure that much of the population will remain at or below the poverty line for years. In late 2006, the government announced its intention to introduce a new currency, the Sudan Pound, from January 2007 at an exchange rate of $1.00 equals 2 Sudanese Pounds. | The economy, one of the most stable and prosperous in the Caribbean, is highly dependent on tourism, generating an estimated 45% of the national income. An estimated 350,000 tourists, mainly from the US, visited the islands in 1998. Tourism suffered in 2002 because of the lackluster US economy. In the mid-1980s, the government began offering offshore registration to companies wishing to incorporate in the islands, and incorporation fees now generate substantial revenues. Roughly 400,000 companies were on the offshore registry by yearend 2000. The adoption of a comprehensive insurance law in late 1994, which provides a blanket of confidentiality with regulated statutory gateways for investigation of criminal offenses, made the British Virgin Islands even more attractive to international business. Livestock raising is the most important agricultural activity; poor soils limit the islands' ability to meet domestic food requirements. Because of traditionally close links with the US Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands has used the US dollar as its currency since 1959. |
Electricity - consumption | 3.298 billion kWh (2005) | 32.13 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 3.944 billion kWh (2005) | 34.55 million kWh (2003) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Red Sea 0 m
highest point: Kinyeti 3,187 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Sage 521 m |
Environment - current issues | inadequate supplies of potable water; wildlife populations threatened by excessive hunting; soil erosion; desertification; periodic drought | limited natural fresh water resources (except for a few seasonal streams and springs on Tortola, most of the islands' water supply comes from wells and rainwater catchments) |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
- |
Ethnic groups | black 52%, Arab 39%, Beja 6%, foreigners 2%, other 1% | black 83%, white, Indian, Asian and mixed |
Exchange rates | Sudanese dinars per US dollar - 217.2 (2006), 243.61 (2005), 257.91 (2004), 260.98 (2003), 263.31 (2002) | the US dollar is used |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Umar Hassan Ahmad al-BASHIR (since 16 October 1993); First Vice President Salva KIIR (since 4 August 2005), Vice President Ali Osman TAHA (since 20 September 2005); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Umar Hassan Ahmad al-BASHIR (since 16 October 1993); First Vice President Salva KIIR (since 4 August 2005), Vice President Ali Osman TAHA (since 20 September 2005) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president; note - the National Congress Party or NCP (formerly the National Islamic Front or NIF) dominates al-BASHIR's cabinet elections: election last held 13-23 December 2000; next to be held no later than July 2009 under terms of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement election results: Umar Hassan Ahmad al-BASHIR reelected president; percent of vote - Umar Hassan Ahmad al-BASHIR 86.5%, Ja'afar Muhammed NUMAYRI 9.6%, three other candidates received a combined vote of 3.9%; election widely viewed as rigged; all popular opposition parties boycotted elections because of a lack of guarantees for a free and fair election note: al-BASHIR assumed power as chairman of Sudan's Revolutionary Command Council for National Salvation (RCC) in June 1989 and served concurrently as chief of state, chairman of the RCC, prime minister, and minister of defense until mid-October 1993 when he was appointed president by the RCC; he was elected president by popular vote for the first time in March 1996 |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor David PEAREY (since 18 April 2006)
head of government: Chief Minister Dr. Orlando D. SMITH (since 17 June 2003) cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor from members of the Legislative Council elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed chief minister by the governor |
Exports | 279,100 bbl/day (2004) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | oil and petroleum products; cotton, sesame, livestock, groundnuts, gum arabic, sugar | rum, fresh fish, fruits, animals; gravel, sand |
Exports - partners | Japan 48%, China 31%, South Korea 3.8% (2006) | Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US (2004) |
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 Virgin Islander coat of arms centered in the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms depicts a woman flanked on either side by a vertical column of six oil lamps above a scroll bearing the Latin word VIGILATE (Be Watchful) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 38.4%
industry: 24.3% services: 37.2% (2006 est.) |
agriculture: 1.8%
industry: 6.2% services: 92% (1996 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 9.3% (2006 est.) | 1% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 15 00 N, 30 00 E | 18 30 N, 64 30 W |
Geography - note | largest country in Africa; dominated by the Nile and its tributaries | strong ties to nearby US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico |
Heliports | 4 (2007) | - |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for South American narcotics destined for the US and Europe; large offshore financial center makes it vulnerable to money laundering |
Imports | 7,945 bbl/day (2004) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, manufactured goods, refinery and transport equipment, medicines and chemicals, textiles, wheat | building materials, automobiles, foodstuffs, machinery |
Imports - partners | China 17.7%, Saudi Arabia 9%, UAE 5.6%, Egypt 5.2%, Germany 5.1%, India 4.5% (2006) | Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US (2004) |
Independence | 1 January 1956 (from Egypt and UK) | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 8.5% (1999 est.) | NA% |
Industries | oil, cotton ginning, textiles, cement, edible oils, sugar, soap distilling, shoes, petroleum refining, pharmaceuticals, armaments, automobile/light truck assembly | tourism, light industry, construction, rum, concrete block, offshore financial center |
Infant mortality rate | total: 91.78 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 91.95 deaths/1,000 live births female: 91.59 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
total: 16.72 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 19.5 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.79 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 7.2% (2006 est.) | 2% (2005) |
International organization participation | ABEDA, ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AU, CAEU, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) | Caricom (associate), CDB, Interpol (subbureau), IOC, OECS (associate), UNESCO (associate), UPU |
Irrigated land | 18,630 sq km (2003) | NA |
Judicial branch | Constitutional Court of nine justices; National Supreme Court; National Courts of Appeal; other national courts; National Judicial Service Commission will undertake overall management of the National Judiciary | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, consisting of the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal (one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the High Court); Magistrate's Court; Juvenile Court; Court of Summary Jurisdiction |
Labor force | 7.415 million (1996 est.) | 12,770 (2004) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 80%
industry: 7% services: 13% (1998 est.) |
agriculture: 0.6%
industry: 40% services: 59.4% |
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: 6.78%
permanent crops: 0.17% other: 93.05% (2005) |
arable land: 20%
permanent crops: 6.67% other: 73.33% (2005) |
Languages | Arabic (official), Nubian, Ta Bedawie, diverse dialects of Nilotic, Nilo-Hamitic, Sudanic languages, English
note: program of "Arabization" in process |
English (official) |
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; however, the CPA establishes some protections for non-Muslims in Khartoum; some separate religious courts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; the southern legal system is still developing under the CPA following the civil war; Islamic law will not apply to the southern states | English law |
Legislative branch | bicameral National Legislature consists of a Council of States (50 seats; members indirectly elected by state legislatures to serve six-year terms) and a National Assembly (450 seats; members presently appointed, but in the future 75% of members to be directly elected and 25% elected in special or indirect elections; to serve six-year terms)
elections: last held 13-22 December 2000 (next to be held in 2008-2009 timeframe) election results: NCP 355, others 5; note - replaced by appointments under the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement |
unicameral Legislative Council (13 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote, 1 member from each of nine electoral districts, 4 at-large members; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 16 May 2003 (next to be held in 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NDP 8, VIP 5 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 49.11 years
male: 48.24 years female: 50.03 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 76.68 years
male: 75.56 years female: 77.84 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 61.1% male: 71.8% female: 50.5% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.8% (1991 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Northern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Egypt and Eritrea | Caribbean, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico |
Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 18 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 3 ships (1000 GRT or over) 21,311 GRT/26,179 DWT
by type: cargo 2, livestock carrier 1 (2007) |
registered in other countries: 1 (North Korea 1) (2006) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the UK |
Military branches | Sudanese People's Armed Forces (SPAF): Land Forces, Navy, Air Force, Popular Defense Forces (2007) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3% (2005 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 1 January (1956) | Territory Day, 1 July |
Nationality | noun: Sudanese (singular and plural)
adjective: Sudanese |
noun: British Virgin Islander(s)
adjective: British Virgin Islander |
Natural hazards | dust storms and periodic persistent droughts | hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October) |
Natural resources | petroleum; small reserves of iron ore, copper, chromium ore, zinc, tungsten, mica, silver, gold, hydropower | NEGL |
Net migration rate | 0.35 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 9.22 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 156 km; oil 3,930 km; refined products 1,613 km (2006) | - |
Political parties and leaders | National Congress Party or NCP [Ibrahim Ahmed OMAR]; Sudan People's Liberation Movement or SPLM [Salva Mayardit KIIR]; and elements of the National Democratic Alliance or NDA including factions of the Democratic Union Party [Muhammad Uthman al-MIRGHANI] and Umma Party [SADIQ Siddiq al-Mahdi]; note - all political parties listed above in the Government of National Unity | Concerned Citizens Movement or CCM [Ethlyn SMITH]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Orlando SMITH]; United Party or UP [Gregory MADURO]; Virgin Islands Party or VIP [Ralph T. O'NEAL] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Umma Party [Sadiq al-MAHDI]; Popular Congress Party or PCP [Hassan al-TURABI] | NA |
Population | 39,379,358 (July 2007 est.) | 23,098 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 40% (2004 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.082% (2007 est.) | 1.97% (2006 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2004) |
Railways | total: 5,978 km
narrow gauge: 4,578 km 1.067-m gauge; 1,400 km 0.600-m gauge for cotton plantations (2006) |
- |
Religions | Sunni Muslim 70% (in north), Christian 5% (mostly in south and Khartoum), indigenous beliefs 25% | Protestant 86% (Methodist 33%, Anglican 17%, Church of God 9%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6%, Baptist 4%, Jehovah's Witnesses 2%, other 15%), Roman Catholic 10%, none 2%, other 2% (1991) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.044 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.011 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.124 male(s)/female total population: 1.027 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.1 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 17 years of age; universal | 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: country code - 249; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean), 1 Arabsat (2000) |
general assessment: worldwide telephone service
domestic: NA international: country code - 1-284; submarine cable to Bermuda |
Telephones - main lines in use | 636,900 (2006) | 11,700 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 4.683 million (2006) | 8,000 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (1997) | 1 (plus one cable company) (1997) |
Terrain | generally flat, featureless plain; mountains in far south, northeast and west; desert dominates the north | coral islands relatively flat; volcanic islands steep, hilly |
Total fertility rate | 4.69 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 1.72 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 18.7% (2002 est.) | 3.6% (1997) |
Waterways | 4,068 km (1,723 km open year round on White and Blue Nile rivers) (2006) | - |