Sudan at a Glance
To understand some of the complex realities of Sudan, here are some key facts about a country located at many geographic, cultural and social crossroads.
Geography
- Sudan, the largest country in Africa, has an area of 2,500,000 km².
- It borders nine other countries and the Red Sea.
- Its capital, Khartoum, lies at the confluence of two rivers, the Blue and the White Nile.
- Its climate ranges from a dry desert in the north to a wet, lush south.
People
- Sudan has a population of 35 million people.
- It has one of the largest internally displaced populations in the world. More than 5 million people are displaced.
- Though English and Arabic are the only official languages, there are over 400 other languages and dialects spoken in Sudan.
- The majority of people in Sudan are Muslim, while parts of the population practice Christianity or animism.
- Sudan is a multicultural society with a mix of ethnic identities that includes Arab, Beja, Dinka, Fur, Nubian, and Nuer.
Economy & Natural Resources
- Oil was first discovered by Chevron in southern Sudan in 1978.
- In 1999, Sudan began exporting crude oil, currently the most important source of government revenue.
- Agricultural production remains Sudan's most important economic sector, employing 80 percent of the workforce.
- Impoverishment of the Sudanese population has been aggravated through long-standing internal conflicts, the adoption of structural adjustment measures imposed by the World Bank, privatization, and the militarization of the economy.
History of Political Leadership
- From 1899 to 1955, Sudan was under joint British-Egyptian rule.
- The divisions between northern and southern Sudan were exacerbated during the colonial period. It was illegal for people living in one region to move to the other.
- Since independence in 1956, the country has been caught in a vicious cycle of short-lived democratically elected governments and lengthy military dictatorships.
- In 1983, Islamic Sharia law was announced as the sole basis for Sudanese law.
- In 1989, Omar Al-Bashir of the National Islamic Front seized power through a military coup with support from Islamist groups. Today, he remains the president of Sudan.
The Struggle for Peace
- The first civil war between northern and southern Sudan took place from 1956 to 1972.
- Systematic violations of prior agreements by the Sudanese government, combined with the increasing prevalence of Islamist ideology in the late 1970s and the discovery of oil in southern Sudan, eventually led to a second civil war from 1983-2005 between the regime in Khartoum and the southern-based Sudan People's Liberation Army Movement (SPLA/M).
- After years of negotiation, SPLA/M and the Sudanese government signed the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005, which ended the two-decade war between northern and southern Sudan.
- While the peace negotiations were underway between northern and southern Sudan, conflict reignited in the western region of Darfur in 2003. The Sudan Liberation Movement/Army and Justice and Equality Movement took up arms against Khartoum, denouncing years of political, economic, and social marginalization of the region. Since then, ongoing attacks, forced displacement, killing, and rape of civilians by the government-supported militia known as the "Janjaweed" and the rebel groups have been occurring in Darfur.
- In May 2006, the government of Sudan signed the Darfur Peace Agreement with one of the rebel groups, but the fighting and the humanitarian crisis continue.
- Access to Darfur is highly restricted for Sudanese and international organizations. The African Union (AU) troops in Darfur remain under-resourced. Negotiations to agree on a joint AU/United Nations peacekeeping force are ongoing, with little prospect of resolution in sight.
- For reasons similar to the conflicts in southern Sudan and Darfur, fighting has occurred in eastern Sudan against the Sudanese Army. A Peace Agreement was signed in October 2006 but it is still too early to know if it will bring lasting peace.
In May 2005, Asha El-Karib from the Gender Centre for Research and Training made a presentation to the Canadian Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs about the prospects for ending the conflicts in Sudan. 
Click here for the full transcript of Asha's presentation.
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