page_title: States of South Sudan
section_title: SPLM-IO declaration
hierarchical_section_title: States of South Sudan / SPLM-IO declaration
caption_attribution_description: English: 21 States of South Sudan declared by opposition leader Riek Machar, not recognised by the South Sudanese government, and drawn after Ref No. OCC/FSG/PK/01/001, Date: 21/12/2014, Subject: Dissolution of the Ten States in South Sudan
context_page_description: The States of South Sudan were created out of the three historic former provinces of Bahr el Ghazal, Equatoria, and Greater Upper Nile. The states are further divided into 180 counties.
  In October 2015, South Sudan's President Salva Kiir Mayardit issued a decree establishing 28 states in place of the 10 previously established states. The decree established the new states largely along ethnic lines. A number of opposition parties challenged the constitutionality of this decree and the decree was referred to parliament for approval as a constitutional amendment. In November the South Sudanese parliament approved the creation of the new states. In January 2017, President Salva Kiir decreed a further subdivision of the country from 28 into 32 states.
  In February 2020, as a result of a peace agreement that ended the South Sudanese Civil War, the country returned to the original 10 states plus two administrative areas, Pibor and Ruweng, and the special administrative status area of Abyei.
context_section_description: On 22 December 2014, opposition leader and former vice president Riek Machar declared the 10 states of South Sudan dissolved and the formation of 21 new states in a federal system. The declaration was not recognised by the South Sudanese government. The Sudan Tribune reported on 1 January 2015 that Machar appointed "military governors" for several of his declared states. These states became defunct when the SPLM-IO joined the unity government formed by the R-ARCSS in February 2020.
caption: 21 States of South Sudan as declared by the SPLM-IO
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