Northern Sudan Central Sudan consists largely of a grass-covered plain. Farmers also grow crops in an upland area in the west, in the Nuba Mountains along the White Nile, and in an irrigated clay plain in the east. Most of southern Sudan consists of a flood plain formed by the branches of the Nile River. Dense, junglelike vegetation covers much of the region. Mountain ranges rise along the country's borders with Uganda, Kenya, and Ethiopia.
Average temperatures are lower in southern Sudan than in the rest of the country.
Many wild animals, including gazelles, giraffes, lions, leopards, and elephants, roam the south. Hippopotamuses and crocodiles live along the branches of the Nile. Economy Sudan has a developing economy based on agriculture. The government controls the nation's leading industries, most of the irrigated farmland, and the transportation and communications networks. But in 1992, the government began selling some government-owned companies to private companies.