Asunto: | [CeHuNews] 252/03 - Geography of Sudan | Fecha: | Lunes, 27 de Octubre, 2003 17:43:08 (-0300) | Autor: | Humboldt <humboldt @............ar>
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CeHuNews 252/03
GEOGRAPHY OF SUDAN |
|
Military regimes favoring Islamic-oriented
governments have dominated national politics since independence from
the UK in 1956. Sudan has been embroiled in a civil war for all but
10 years of this period (1972-82). The wars are rooted in northern
economic, political, and social domination of non-Muslim, non-Arab
southern Sudanese. Since 1983, the war and war- and famine-related
effects have led to more than 2 million deaths and over 4 million
people displaced. The ruling regime is a mixture of military elite
and an Islamist party that came to power in a 1989 coup. Some
northern opposition parties have made common cause with the southern
rebels and entered the war as a part of an anti-government alliance.
Peace talks gained momentum in 2002-03 with the signing of several
accords, including a cease-fire agreement.
|
Location: |
Northern Africa,
bordering the Red Sea, between Egypt and Eritrea |
Geographic
coordinates: |
15 00 N, 30 00 E
|
Map references: |
Africa |
Area: |
total:
2,505,810 sq km water: 129,810 sq km land:
2.376 million sq km |
Area -
comparative: |
slightly more than
one-quarter the size of the US |
Land
boundaries: |
total:
7,687 km border countries: Central African Republic 1,165
km, Chad 1,360 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 628 km, Egypt
1,273 km, Eritrea 605 km, Ethiopia 1,606 km, Kenya 232 km, Libya 383
km, Uganda 435 km |
Coastline: |
853 km
|
Maritime
claims: |
contiguous
zone: 18 NM continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the
depth of exploitation territorial sea: 12 NM
|
Climate: |
tropical in south;
arid desert in north; rainy season varies by region (April to
November) |
Terrain: |
generally flat,
featureless plain; mountains in far south, northeast and west;
desert dominates the north |
Elevation
extremes: |
lowest
point: Red Sea 0 m highest point: Kinyeti 3,187 m
|
Natural
resources: |
petroleum;
small reserves of iron ore, copper, chromium ore, zinc, tungsten,
mica, silver, gold, hydropower |
Land use: |
arable
land: 7.03% permanent crops: 0.08% other:
92.89% (1998 est.) |
Irrigated land: |
19,500 sq km (1998
est.) |
Natural
hazards: |
dust storms and
periodic persistent droughts |
Environment - current
issues: |
inadequate
supplies of potable water; wildlife populations threatened by
excessive hunting; soil erosion; desertification; periodic drought
|
Environment - international
agreements: |
party
to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
|
Geography -
note: |
largest country in
Africa; dominated by the Nile and its tributaries
|
Population: |
38,114,160 (July
2003 est.) |
Age structure: |
0-14 years:
44% (male 8,562,412; female 8,195,201) 15-64 years: 53.8%
(male 10,260,581; female 10,246,045) 65 years and over:
2.2% (male 468,898; female 381,023) (2003 est.) |
Median age: |
total: 17.7
years male: 17.5 years female: 17.9 years
(2002) |
Population growth
rate: |
2.71% (2003 est.)
|
Birth rate: |
36.48 births/1,000
population (2003 est.) |
Death rate: |
9.59 deaths/1,000
population (2003 est.) |
Net migration
rate: |
0.24
migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Sex ratio: |
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and
over: 1.23 male(s)/female total population: 1.03
male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Infant mortality
rate: |
total:
65.59 deaths/1,000 live births female: 64.85 deaths/1,000
live births (2003 est.) male: 66.3 deaths/1,000 live
births |
Life expectancy at
birth: |
total
population: 57.73 years male: 56.59 years
female: 58.93 years (2003 est.) |
Total fertility
rate: |
5.1 children
born/woman (2003 est.) |
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence
rate: |
2.6% (2001 est.)
|
HIV/AIDS - people living with
HIV/AIDS: |
450,000 (2001
est.) |
HIV/AIDS -
deaths: |
23,000 (2001 est.)
|
Nationality: |
noun:
Sudanese (singular and plural) adjective: Sudanese
|
Ethnic groups: |
black 52%, Arab
39%, Beja 6%, foreigners 2%, other 1% |
Religions: |
Sunni Muslim 70%
(in north), indigenous beliefs 25%, Christian 5% (mostly in south
and Khartoum) |
Languages: |
Arabic (official),
Nubian, Ta Bedawie, diverse dialects of Nilotic, Nilo-Hamitic,
Sudanic languages, English note: program of "Arabization"
in process |
Literacy: |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population:
61.1% male: 71.8% female: 50.5% (2003 est.)
|
Country name: |
conventional
long form: Republic of the Sudan conventional short
form: Sudan local short form: As-Sudan local
long form: Jumhuriyat as-Sudan former: Anglo-Egyptian
Sudan |
Government
type: |
authoritarian
regime - ruling military junta took power in 1989; government is run
by an alliance of the military and the National Congress Party
(NCP), formerly the National Islamic Front (NIF), which espouses an
Islamist platform |
Capital: |
Khartoum
|
Administrative
divisions: |
26 states
(wilayat, singular - wilayah); A'ali an Nil, Al Bahr al Ahmar, Al
Buhayrat, Al Jazirah, Al Khartum, Al Qadarif, Al Wahdah, An Nil al
Abyad, An Nil al Azraq, Ash Shamaliyah, Bahr al Jabal, Gharb al
Istiwa'iyah, Gharb Bahr al Ghazal, Gharb Darfur, Gharb Kurdufan,
Janub Darfur, Janub Kurdufan, Junqali, Kassala, Nahr an Nil, Shamal
Bahr al Ghazal, Shamal Darfur, Shamal Kurdufan, Sharq al
Istiwa'iyah, Sinnar, Warab |
Independence: |
1 January 1956
(from Egypt and UK) |
National
holiday: |
Independence Day,
1 January (1956) |
Constitution: |
12 April 1973,
suspended following coup of 6 April 1985; interim constitution of 10
October 1985 suspended following coup of 30 June 1989; new
constitution implemented on 30 June 1998 partially suspended 12
December 1999 by President BASHIR |
Legal system: |
based on English
common law and Islamic law; as of 20 January 1991, the now defunct
Revolutionary Command Council imposed Islamic law in the northern
states; Islamic law applies to all residents of the northern states
regardless of their religion; some separate religious courts;
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
Suffrage: |
17 years of age;
universal, but noncompulsory |
Executive
branch: |
chief of
state: President Lt. Gen. Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR (since 16
October 1993); First Vice President Ali Uthman Muhammad TAHA (since
17 February 1998), Second Vice President Moses MACHAR (since 12
February 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and
head of government elections: president elected by
popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 13-23 December
2000 (next to be held NA 2005) note: Lt. Gen. al-BASHIR
assumed supreme executive power in 1989 and retained it through
several transitional governments in the early and mid-1990s before
being popularly elected for the first time in March 1996
election results: Lt. Gen. Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR
reelected president; percent of vote - Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR
86.5%, Ja'afar Muhammed NUMAYRI 9.6%, three other candidates
received a combined vote of 3.9%; election widely viewed as rigged;
all popular opposition parties boycotted elections because of a lack
of guarantees for a free and fair election cabinet:
Council of Ministers appointed by the president; note - the National
Congress Party or NCP (formerly the National Islamic Front or NIF)
dominates al-BASHIR's cabinet head of government:
President Lt. Gen. Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR (since 16 October
1993); First Vice President Ali Uthman Muhammad TAHA (since 17
February 1998), Second Vice President Moses MACHAR (since 12
February 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and
head of government |
Legislative
branch: |
unicameral
National Assembly (360 seats; 270 popularly elected, 90 elected by
supra assembly of interest groups known as National Congress;
members serve four-year terms) elections: last held 13-22
December 2000 (next to be held NA December 2004) note: on
12 December 1999, BASHIR dismissed the National Assembly during an
internal power struggle between the president and the speaker of the
National Assembly Hassan al-TURABI election results: NCP
355, others 5 |
Judicial
branch: |
Supreme Court;
Special Revolutionary Courts |
Political parties and
leaders: |
the
government allows political "associations" under a 1998 law revised
in 2000; to obtain government approval parties must accept the
constitution and refrain from advocating or using violence against
the regime; approved parties include the National Congress Party or
NCP [Ibrahim Ahmed UMAR], Popular National Congress or PNC [Hassan
al-TURABI], and over 20 minor, pro-government parties |
Political pressure groups and
leaders: |
Democratic
Unionist Party [Muhammed Uthman AL-MIRGHANI]; National Congress
Party [Ibrahim Ahmed UMAR]; National Democratic Alliance [Muhammed
Uthman AL-MIRGHANI, chairman]; Sudan People's Liberation
Movement/Army [Dr. John GARANG]; Umma [Sadiq al-MAHDI] |
International organization
participation: |
ABEDA, ACP, AfDB,
AFESD, AL, AMF, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory),
ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol,
IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WToO, WTrO (observer) |
Diplomatic representation in
the US: |
chief of
mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge D'Affairs, Ad Interim
Khidir Haroun AHMED (since April 2001) telephone: [1]
(202) 338-8565 FAX: [1] (202) 667-2406
chancery: 2210 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC
20008 |
Diplomatic representation from
the US: |
US Embassy in
Khartoum is located on Sharia Abdul Latif Avenue; mailing address -
P. O. Box 699, Khartoum; APO AE 09829; telephone - [249] (11) 774611
or 774700; FAX - [249] (11) 774137 |
Flag
description: |
three equal
horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black with a green
isosceles triangle based on the hoist side
|
Economy -
overview: |
Sudan has turned
around a struggling economy with sound economic policies and
infrastructure investments, but it still faces formidable economic
problems, notably the low level of per capita output. From 1997 to
date, Sudan has been implementing IMF macroeconomic reforms. In 1999
Sudan began exporting crude oil and in the last quarter of 1999
recorded its first trade surplus, which, along with monetary policy,
has stabilized the exchange rate. Increased oil production, revived
light industry, and expanded export processing zones helped maintain
GDP growth at 5.1% in 2002. Agriculture production remains Sudan's
most important sector, employing 80% of the work force and
contributing 43% of GDP, but most farms remain rain-fed and
susceptible to drought. Chronic domestic instability, lagging
reforms, adverse weather, and weak world agricultural prices - but,
above all, the low starting point - ensure that much of the
population will remain at or below the poverty line for years.
|
GDP: |
purchasing power
parity - $52.9 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth
rate: |
5.1% (2002 est.)
|
GDP - per
capita: |
purchasing power
parity - $1,420 (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by
sector: |
agriculture: 43% industry: 17%
services: 40% (1999 est.) |
Population below poverty
line: |
NA% |
Household income or consumption
by percentage share: |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Inflation rate (consumer
prices): |
9.2% (2002 est.)
|
Labor force: |
11 million (1996
est.) |
Labor force - by
occupation: |
agriculture 80%,
industry and commerce 7%, government 13% (1998 est.) |
Unemployment
rate: |
18.7% (2002 est.)
|
Budget: |
revenues:
$1.6 billion expenditures: $1.9 billion, including
capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
Industries: |
oil, cotton
ginning, textiles, cement, edible oils, sugar, soap distilling,
shoes, petroleum refining, pharmaceuticals, armaments,
automobile/light truck assembly |
Industrial production growth
rate: |
8.5% (1999 est.)
|
Electricity -
production: |
2.389 billion kWh
(2001) |
Electricity - production by
source: |
fossil
fuel: 52.1% hydro: 47.9% other: 0% (2001)
nuclear: 0% |
Electricity -
consumption: |
2.222 billion kWh
(2001) |
Electricity -
exports: |
0 kWh (2001)
|
Electricity -
imports: |
0 kWh (2001)
|
Oil -
production: |
209,100 bbl/day
(2001 est.) |
Oil -
consumption: |
50,000 bbl/day
(2001 est.) |
Oil - exports: |
NA (2001)
|
Oil - imports: |
NA (2001)
|
Oil - proved
reserves: |
631.5 million bbl
(January 2002 est.) |
Natural gas - proved
reserves: |
99.11 billion cu m
(January 2002 est.) |
Agriculture -
products: |
cotton, groundnuts
(peanuts), sorghum, millet, wheat, gum arabic, sugarcane, cassava
(tapioca), mangos, papaya, bananas, sweet potatoes, sesame; sheep,
livestock |
Exports: |
$1.8 billion
f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
Exports -
commodities: |
oil and petroleum
products; cotton, sesame, livestock, groundnuts, gum arabic, sugar
|
Exports -
partners: |
China 42.3%, Japan
14.1%, Saudi Arabia 7.4%, South Korea 4.9%, Germany (2000 est.)
|
Imports: |
$1.5 billion
f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
Imports -
commodities: |
foodstuffs,
manufactured goods, refinery and transport equipment, medicines and
chemicals, textiles, wheat |
Imports -
partners: |
China 8.8%, Saudi
Arabia 8.1%, Germany 7.2%, UK 6.3% (2000 est.) |
Debt -
external: |
$15.8 billion
(2002 est.) |
Economic aid -
recipient: |
$187 million
(1997) |
Currency: |
Sudanese dinar
(SDD) |
Currency code: |
SDD |
Exchange rates: |
Sudanese dinars
per US dollar - 263.306 (2002), 258.702 (2001), 257.122 (2000),
252.55 (1999), 200.802 (1998) |
Fiscal year: |
calendar year
|
Telephones - main lines in
use: |
400,000 (2000)
|
Telephones - mobile
cellular: |
20,000 (2000)
|
Telephone
system: |
general
assessment: large, well-equipped system by regional standards
and being upgraded; cellular communications started in 1996 and have
expanded substantially domestic: consists of microwave
radio relay, cable, radiotelephone communications, tropospheric
scatter, and a domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations
international: satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat
(Atlantic Ocean) and 1 Arabsat (2000) |
Radio broadcast
stations: |
AM 12, FM 1,
shortwave 1 (1998) |
Television broadcast
stations: |
3 (1997)
|
Internet country
code: |
.sd |
Internet Service Providers
(ISPs): |
2 (2002)
|
Internet users: |
56,000 (2002)
|
Railways: |
total:
5,978 km narrow gauge: 4,578 km 1.067-m gauge; 1,400 km
0.600-m gauge plantation line (2002) |
Highways: |
total:
11,900 km paved: 4,320 km unpaved: 7,580 km
(1996) |
Waterways: |
5,310 km
|
Pipelines: |
refined products
815 km |
Ports and
harbors: |
Juba, Khartoum,
Kusti, Malakal, Nimule, Port Sudan, Sawakin |
Merchant
marine: |
total: 4
ships (1,000 GRT or over) 29,854 GRT/39,084 DWT ships by
type: cargo 1, livestock carrier 1, roll on/roll off 2 (2002
est.) |
Airports: |
63 (2002)
|
Airports - with paved
runways: |
total: 12
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved
runways: |
total: 51
under 914 m: 10 (2002) 1,524 to 2,437 m: 17
914 to 1,523 m: 24 |
Heliports: |
2 (2002)
|
Military
branches: |
Army, Navy, Air
Force, Popular Defense Force Militia |
Military manpower - military
age: |
18 years of age
(2003 est.) |
Military manpower -
availability: |
males age
15-49: 9,032,834 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for
military service: |
males age
15-49: 5,558,462 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching
military age annually: |
males:
429,334 (2003 est.) |
Military expenditures - dollar
figure: |
$581 million (2001
est.) |
Military expenditures - percent
of GDP: |
2.5% (1999)
|
Disputes -
international: |
the north-south
civil war has drawn Sudan's neighbors into the fighting, sheltering
refugees, and infiltration by rebel groups - Kenya and Uganda have
acted as mediators; Sudan accuses Eritrea of supporting Sudanese
rebel groups; efforts to demarcate the porous boundary with Ethiopia
have been delayed by fighting in Sudan; Kenya's administrative
boundary still extends into the Sudan, creating the "Ilemi
triangle"; Egypt and Sudan retain claims to administer the
triangular areas that extend north and south of the 1899 Treaty
boundary along the 22nd Parallel, but have withdrawn their military
presence; Egypt is economically developing the "Hala'ib triangle"
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