:Sudan Geography Total area: 2,505,810 km2 Land area: 2,376,000 km2 Comparative area: slightly more than one-quarter the size of the 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 m (depth) or to depth of exploitation Territorial sea: 12 nm Disputes: administrative boundary with Kenya does not coincide with international boundary; administrative boundary with Egypt does not coincide with international boundary 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: small reserves of crude oil, iron ore, copper, chromium ore, zinc, tungsten, mica, silver, crude oil Land use: arable land 5%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and pastures 24%; forest and woodland 20%; other 51%; includes irrigated 1% Environment: dominated by the Nile and its tributaries; dust storms; desertification Note: largest country in Africa :Sudan People Population: 28,305,046 (July 1992), growth rate 3.1% (1992) Birth rate: 44 births/1,000 population (1992) Death rate: 13 deaths/1,000 population (1992) Net migration rate: NEGL migrants/1,000 population (1992) Infant mortality rate: 83 deaths/1,000 live births (1992) Life expectancy at birth: 53 years male, 54 years female (1992) Total fertility rate: 6.3 children born/woman (1992) Nationality: noun - Sudanese (singular and plural); adjective - Sudanese Ethnic divisions: black 52%, Arab 39%, Beja 6%, foreigners 2%, other 1% Religions: Sunni Muslim (in north) 70%, indigenous beliefs 20%, Christian (mostly in south and Khartoum) 5% Languages: Arabic (official), Nubian, Ta Bedawie, diverse dialects of Nilotic, Nilo-Hamitic, and Sudanic languages, English; program of Arabization in process Literacy: 27% (male 43%, female 12%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) Labor force: 6,500,000; agriculture 80%, industry and commerce 10%, government 6%; 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 :Sudan 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 states (wilayat, singular - wilayat or wilayah*); A'ali an Nil, Al Wusta*, Al Istiwa'iyah*, Al Khartum, Ash Shamaliyah*, Ash Sharqiyah*, Bahr al Ghazal, Darfur, Kurdufan 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; as of 20 January 1991, the Revolutionary Command Council imposed Islamic law in the six northern states of Al Wusta, Al Khartum, Ash Shamaliyah, Ash Sharqiyah, Darfur, and Kurdufan; the council is still studying criminal provisions under Islamic law; Islamic law will apply to all residents of the six northern states regardless of their religion; 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 12-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: appointed 300-member Transitional National Assembly; note - as announced 1 January 1992 by RCC Chairman BASHIR, the Assembly assumes all legislative authority for Sudan until the eventual, unspecified resumption of national elections Judicial branch: Supreme Court, Special Revolutionary Courts Leaders: Chief of State and Head of Government: Revolutionary Command Council Chairman and Prime Minister Lt. Gen. Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR (since 30 June 1989); Deputy Chairman of the Command Council and Deputy Prime Minister Maj. Gen. al-Zubayr Muhammad SALIH Ahmed (since 9 July 1989) Political parties and leaders: none; banned following 30 June 1989 coup Suffrage: none Elections: none Member of: ABEDA, ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IGADD, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, OIC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, 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 :Sudan Government US: Ambassador James R. CHEEK (will be replaced summer of 1992); Embassy at Shar'ia Ali Abdul Latif, Khartoum (mailing address is P. O. Box 699, Khartoum, or APO AE 09829); telephone 74700 or 74611; Telex 22619 Flag: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black with a green isosceles triangle based on the hoist side :Sudan Economy Overview: Sudan is buffeted by civil war, chronic political instability, adverse weather, high inflation, 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. Sluggish economic performance over the past decade, attributable largely to declining annual rainfall, has reduced levels of per capita income and consumption. A high foreign debt and huge arrearages continue to cause difficulties. In 1990 the International Monetary Fund took the unusual step of declaring Sudan noncooperative because of its nonpayment of arrearages to the Fund. Despite subsequent government efforts to implement reforms urged by the IMF and the World Bank, the economy remained stagnant in FY91 as entrepreneurs lack the incentive to take economic risks. GDP: exchange rate conversion - $12.1 billion, per capita $450; real growth rate 0% (FY91 est.) Inflation rate (consumer prices): 95% (FY91 est.) Unemployment rate: 15% (FY91 est.) Budget: revenues $1.3 billion; expenditures $2.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $505 million (FY91 est.) Exports: $325 million (f.o.b., FY91 est.) commodities: cotton 52%, sesame, gum arabic, peanuts partners: Western Europe 46%, Saudi Arabia 14%, Eastern Europe 9%, Japan 9%, US 3% (FY88) Imports: $1.40 billion (c.i.f., FY91 est.) commodities: foodstuffs, petroleum products, manufactured goods, machinery and equipment, medicines and chemicals, textiles partners: Western Europe 32%, Africa and Asia 15%, US 13%, Eastern Europe 3% (FY88) External debt: $14.6 billion (June 1991 est.) Industrial production: growth rate NA%; accounts for 11% of GDP (FY89) Electricity: 610,000 kW capacity; 905 million kWh produced, 40 kWh per capita (1991) Industries: cotton ginning, textiles, cement, edible oils, sugar, soap distilling, shoes, petroleum refining Agriculture: accounts for 35% of GDP and 80% of labor force; water shortages; 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 Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $1.5 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $5.1 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $3.1 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $588 million :Sudan Economy Currency: Sudanese pound (plural - pounds); 1 Sudanese pound (#Sd) = 100 piasters Exchange rates: official rate - Sudanese pounds (#Sd) per US$1 - 90.1 (March 1992), 5.4288 (1991), 4.5004 (fixed rate since 1987), 2.8121 (1987); note - free market rate 83 (December 1991) Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June :Sudan 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, Swakin Merchant marine: 5 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 42,277 GRT/59,588 DWT; includes 3 cargo, 2 roll-on/roll-off cargo Civil air: 18 major transport aircraft Airports: 72 total, 57 usable; 8 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 5 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 by modern standards; consists of microwave, cable, radio communications, and troposcatter; domestic satellite system with 14 stations; broadcast stations - 11 AM, 3 TV; satellite earth stations - 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT and 1 ARABSAT :Sudan Defense Forces Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Force Manpower availability: males 15-49, 6,432,270; 3,949,518 fit for military service; 302,696 reach military age (18) annually Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $610 million, 7.2% of GDP (1989 est.)