**Figure 9. Work category by** **<u>gender and by age cohort</u>**

<!-- Start of picture text --> Unpaid Worker 36% 64% Unpaid Worker 41% 59%<br>Own Account Worker 76% 24% Own Account Worker 13% 87%<br>Employer 10% 90%<br>Employer 82% 18%<br>Paid Employee 18% 82%<br>Paid Employee 79% 21%<br>0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%<br>0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%<br>Youth Adults<br>Male Female<br><!-- End of picture text --> _Source:_ World Bank staff calculations based on NHBPS 2014/15.

Before the separation from South Sudan in July 2011, Sudan was the largest country in Africa in terms of land mass. Sudan is now the third largest country in Africa behind Algeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Since the late 1990s, Sudan’s economy has been driven by oil. That said, the mainstay for the greater share of the population has always been agriculture. According to a UN World Food Programme (WFP) study that was conducted in 2006, Sudan was estimated to have 84 million ha of arable land. However, only 17 million ha, or 20 percent, of that land was being cultivated (Karrar, Abbadi, and Adam 2006). Some of Sudan’s agricultural land is irrigated. However, the vast majority of it—upward of 90 percent according to a 2003 governmental study—is dependent solely on rainfall (Ibnouf 2011).<sup>7</sup> Employment in agriculture is more common among women, among the poor, and in rural areas. Nearly 70 percent of Sudanese occupations are focused on elementary occupations and skilled agriculture. Both elementary occupations<sup>8</sup> and skilled agriculture represent more than one-third of the working-age population, which is consistent with the trend in the sector in which they are mainly involved. In fact, out of the 2.5 million additional jobs created between 2009 and 2014, 1.9 million, more than three-quarters, were added in agriculture.<sup>9</sup> As a result, the share of agricultural workers increased by more than 10 percentage points. About 8 percent of all employment in Sudan is in industries while 47 and 44 percent of employment is in agriculture and services, respectively (Figure 10). Agriculture accounts for 60 percent of employment among women but only 39 percent among men. It is also more common among the poor, with a share of 58 percent among the bottom 40 percent and a share of 27 percent among the top 20 percent. Jobs in industries are heavily male dominated, while employment among women is largely

> 7 The effect of climate change on agriculture is relevant to Sudan, as Sudan is highly dependent on agriculture, and climate change can lead to increased drought and desertification, which can lead to decreased agricultural output. For this study, however, the effect of climate change on agriculture is not discussed, because the objective of this study is not to address climate change but to address the inequity in economic opportunities for women and youth.

> 8 Elementary occupations consist of simple and routine tasks that mainly require the use of hand-held tools and often some physical effort. Tasks performed by workers in elementary occupations usually include selling goods in streets and public places or from door to door; providing various street services; cleaning, washing, pressing; taking care of apartment houses.

> 9 Wholesale and retail trade and education accounted for significant shares—about 730,000 and 475,000 jobs, respectively. All other categories account for fewer than 500,000 jobs each, with construction (425,000), transport and storage (372,000), and public administration and defense (344,000) the most important. Only around 140,000 Sudanese are employed in manufacturing, a sector that is often seen as having ample potential for growth in labor productivity.

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