Sudan

Background: 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.
Location: Location: Northern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Egypt and Eritrea. 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.
Climate and Terrain: 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. Natural resources: Petroleum; small reserves of iron ore, copper, chromium ore, zinc, tungsten, mica, silver, gold, hydropower.
People: Population: 38,114,160. 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.
Government: 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. Independence: 1 January 1956 (from Egypt and UK).
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.
Statistics: Telephones - main lines in use: 400,000. Telephones - mobile cellular: 20,000. Radio broadcast stations: AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 1. Radios: 7.55 million. Television broadcast stations: 3. Televisions: 2.38 million (1997) Internet users: 56,000. Railways: Total: 5,978 km . Highways: Total: 11,900 km, paved: 4,320 km, unpaved: 7,580 km. Airports - with paved runways: 12, with unpaved runways: 51. Heliports: 2.