# The World Factbook (1990)/Sudan

pages 293–294
​Sudan
See regional map VII
Geography
Total area: 2,505,810 km²; land area: 2,376,000 km²
Comparative area: slightly more than one quarter the size of US
Land boundaries: 7,697 km total; Central African Republic 1,165 km, Chad 1,360 km, Egypt 1,273 km, Ethiopia 2,221 km, Kenya 232 km, Libya 383 km, Uganda 435 km, Zaire 628 km
Coastline: 853 km
Maritime claims:
    Contiguous zone: 18 nm
    Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation
    Territorial sea: 12 nm
Disputes: international boundary and Administrative Boundary with Kenya; international boundary and Administrative Boundary with Egypt
Climate: tropical in south; arid desert in north; rainy season (April to October)
Terrain: generally flat, featureless plain; mountains in east and west
Natural resources: modest reserves of crude oil, iron ore, copper, chromium ore, zinc, tungsten, mica, silver, crude oil
Land use: 5% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 24% meadows and pastures; 20% forest and woodland; 51% other; includes 1% irrigated
Environment: dominated by the Nile and its tributaries; dust storms; desertification
Note: largest country in Africa
People
Population: 24,971,806 (July 1990), growth rate 2.9% (1990)
Birth rate: 44 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 14 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: -2 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 107 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 51 years male, 55 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 6.5 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun—Sudanese (sing. and pl.); adjective—Sudanese
Ethnic divisions: 52% black, 39% Arab, 6% Beja, 2% foreigners, 1% other
Religion: 70% Sunni Muslim (in north), 20% indigenous beliefs, 5% Christian (mostly in south and Khartoum)
Language: Arabic (official), Nubian, Ta Bedawie, diverse dialects of Nilotic, Nilo-Hamitic, and Sudanic languages, English; program of Arabization in process
Literacy: 31% (1986)
Labor force: 6,500,000; 80% agriculture, 10% industry and commerce, 6% government; labor shortages for almost all categories of skilled employment (1983 est.); 52% of population of working age (1985)
Organized labor: trade unions suspended following 30 June 1989 coup; now in process of being legalized anew
Government
Long-form name: Republic of the Sudan
Type: military; civilian government suspended and martial law imposed after 30 June 1989 coup
Capital: Khartoum
Administrative divisions: 9 regions (aqalīm, singular iqlīm); A‘ālī an Nīl, Al Awsaţ, Al Istiwā’ī, Al Kharţūm, Ash Shamālī, Ash Sharqī, Baḥr al Ghazāl, Dārfūr, Kurdufān
Independence: 1 January 1956 (from Egypt and UK; formerly Anglo-Egyptian Sudan)
Constitution: 12 April 1973, suspended following coup of 6 April 1985; interim constitution of 10 October 1985 suspended following coup of 30 June 1989
Legal system: based on English common law and Islamic law; in September 1983 then President Nimeiri declared the penal code would conform to Islamic law; some separate religious courts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
National holiday: Independence Day, 1 January (1956)
Executive branch: executive and legislative authority vested in a 15-member Revolutionary Command Council (RCC); chairman of the RCC acts as prime minister; in July 1989 RCC appointed a predominately civilian 22-member cabinet to function as advisers
Legislative branch: none
Judicial branch: Supreme Court, Special Revolutionary Courts
​Leaders: Chief of State and Head of Government—Revolutionary Command Council Chairman and Prime Minister Brig. Gen. Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR (since 30 June 1989); Deputy Chairman of the Command Council and Deputy Prime Minister Brig. Gen. al-Zubayr Muhammad SALIH (since 9 July 1989)
Political parties and leaders: none; banned following 30 June 1989 coup
Suffrage: none
Elections: none
Member of: ACP, AfDB, APC, Arab League, CCC, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, IDA, IDB—Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador ‘Abdallah Ahmad ‘ABDALLAH; Chancery at 2210 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 338-8565 through 8570; there is a Sudanese Consulate General in New York; US—Ambassador James CHEEK; Embassy at Shar’ia Ali Abdul Latif, Khartoum (mailing address is P. O. Box 699, Khartoum, or APO New York 09668); telephone 74700 or 75680, 74611
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black with a green isosceles triangle based on the hoist side
Economy
Overview: Sudan, one of the world's poorest countries, is buffeted by civil war, chronic political instability, adverse weather, and counterproductive economic policies. The economy is dominated by governmental entities that account for more than 70% of new investment. The private sector's main areas of activity are agriculture and trading, with most private industrial investment predating 1980. The economy's base is agriculture, which employs 80% of the work force. Industry mainly processes agricultural items. A high foreign debt and arrearages of about $13 billion continue to cause difficulties. Since 1979 the International Monetary Fund has provided assistance and has forced Sudan to make economic reforms aimed at improving the performance of the economy.
GDP: $8.5 billion, per capita $340 (FY87); real growth rate 7.0% (FY89 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 70% (FY89)
Unemployment rate: NA
Budget: revenues $514 million; expenditures $1.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $183 million (FY89 est.)
Exports: $550 million (f.o.b., FY89 est.); commodities—cotton 43%, sesame, gum arable, peanuts; partners—Western Europe 46%, Saudi Arabia 14%, Eastern Europe 9%, Japan 9%, US 3% (FY88)
Imports: $1.2 billion (c.i.f., FY89 est.); commodities—petroleum products, manufactured goods, machinery and equipment, medicines and chemicals; partners—Western Europe 32%, Africa and Asia 15%, US 13%, Eastern Europe 3% (FY88)
External debt: $11.6 billion (December 1989 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate -1.7% (FY89 est.)
Electricity: 606,000 kW capacity; 900 million kWh produced, 37 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: cotton ginning, textiles, cement, edible oils, sugar, soap distilling, shoes, petroleum refining
Agriculture: accounts for 35% of GNP and 80% of labor force; untapped potential for higher farm production; two-thirds of land area suitable for raising crops and livestock; major products cotton, oilseeds, sorghum, millet, wheat, gum arabic, sheep; marginally self-sufficient in most foods
Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $1.4 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $4.4 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $3.1 billion; Communist countries (1970-88), $588 million
Currency: Sudanese pound (plural—pounds); 1 Sudanese pound (£Sd) = 100 piasters
Exchange rates: official rate—Sudanese pounds (£Sd) per US$1—4.5004 (fixed rate since 1987), 2.8121 (1987), 2.5000 (1986), 2.2883 (1985); note—commercial exchange rate is set daily, 12.2 (March 1990)
Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June
Communications
Railroads: 5,500 km total; 4,784 km 1.067-meter gauge, 716 km 1.6096-meter-gauge plantation line
Highways: 20,000 km total; 1,600 km bituminous treated, 3,700 km gravel, 2,301 km improved earth, 12,399 km unimproved earth and track
Inland waterways: 5,310 km navigable
Pipelines: refined products, 815 km
Ports: Port Sudan, Suakin
Merchant marine: 10 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 91,107 GRT/122,222 DWT; includes 8 cargo, 2 roll-on/roll-off cargo
Civil air: 14 major transport aircraft
Airports: 78 total, 68 usable; 8 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 4 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 31 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: large, well-equipped system by African standards, but barely adequate and poorly maintained; consists of radio relay, cables, radio communications, and troposcatter; domestic satellite system with 14 stations; 73,400 telephones; stations—4 AM, 1 FM, 2 TV; satellite earth stations—1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT and 1 ARABSAT
Defense Forces
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Force
Military manpower: males 15-49, 5,621,469; 3,437,004 fit for military service; 273,011 reach military age (18) annually
Defense expenditures: 7.2% of GDP, or $610 million (1989 est)