The most notable geographical feature is the Nile R., which, with its tributaries, flows through eastern Sudan from south to north. Agriculture, mostly of a subsistence nature, dominates the economy. Long-staple cotton, the principal cash crop, is raised in the irrigated Gezira region. Other crops include sorghum, millet, peanuts, sesame, dates, and sugarcane. The small mining industry extracts chromite, copper and manganese ores, gypsum, and gold.
Manufacturing is largely devoted to consumer goods.
There is a Christian minority in the south. A.D. Most of Nubia was converted to Coptic Christianity in the 6th cent. In 1821 the north was conquered by Egypt, but a revolt by the nationalist Mahdi in 1881 forced an Egyptian withdrawal. Independence was achieved in 1956. In 1955 the animist southerners, fearing that the new nation would be dominated by the Muslim north, began a civil war that lasted 17 years.