Introduction

Background: |  |

`
Military regimes favoring Islamic-oriented governments have dominated national politics since independence from the UK in 1956. Sudan was embroiled in two prolonged civil wars during most of the remainder of the 20th century. These conflicts were rooted in northern economic, political, and social domination of largely non-Muslim, non-Arab southern Sudanese. The first civil war ended in 1972 but broke out again in 1983. The second war and famine-related effects resulted in more than four million people displaced and, according to rebel estimates, more than two million deaths over a period of two decades. Peace talks gained momentum in 2002-04 with the signing of several accords. The final North/South Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), signed in January 2005, granted the southern rebels autonomy for six years followed by a referendum on independence for Southern Sudan. The referendum was held in January 2011 and indicated overwhelming support for independence. A separate conflict, which broke out in the western region of Darfur in 2003, has displaced nearly two million people and caused an estimated 200,000 to 400,000 deaths. The UN took command of the Darfur peacekeeping operation from the African Union in December 2007. Peacekeeping troops have struggled to stabilize the situation, which has become increasingly regional in scope and has brought instability to eastern Chad. Sudan also has faced large refugee influxes from neighboring countries primarily Ethiopia and Chad. Armed conflict, poor transport infrastructure, and lack of government support have chronically obstructed the provision of humanitarian assistance to affected populations.
`

Geography

Location: |  |
`Northern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Egypt and Eritrea`
Geographic coordinates: |  |
`15 00 N, 30 00 E`
Map references: |  |
`Africa`
Area: |  |
`total: 2,505,813 sq km country comparison to the world: 10 land: 2.376 million sq km water: 129,813 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: |  |
`territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 18 nm continental shelf: 200 m depth or to the depth of exploitation`
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: 6.78% permanent crops: 0.17% other: 93.05% (2005)`
Irrigated land: |  |
`18,630 sq km (2003)`
Total renewable water resources: |  |
`154 cu km (1997)`
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic / industrial / agricultural): |  |
`total: 37.32 cu km/yr (3%/1%/97%) per capita: 1,030 cu m/yr (2000)`
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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements`
Geography - note: |  |
`largest country in Africa; dominated by the Nile and its tributaries`

People

Population: |  |
`45,047,502 (July 2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 29`
Age structure: |  |
`0-14 years: 42.1% (male 9,696,726/female 9,286,894) 15-64 years: 55.2% (male 12,282,082/female 12,571,424) 65 years and over: 2.7% (male 613,817/female 596,559) (2011 est.)`
Median age: |  |
`total: 18.5 years male: 18.1 years female: 18.9 years (2011 est.)`
Population growth rate: |  |
`2.484% (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 27`
Birth rate: |  |
`36.12 births/1,000 population (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 25`
Death rate: |  |
`11 deaths/1,000 population (July 2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 38`
Net migration rate: |  |
`-0.29 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 127`
Urbanization: |  |
`urban population: 40% of total population (2010) rate of urbanization: 3.7% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)`
Major cities - population: |  |
`KHARTOUM (capital) 5.021 million (2009)`
Sex ratio: |  |
`at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.05 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2011 est.)`
Infant mortality rate: |  |
`total: 68.07 deaths/1,000 live births country comparison to the world: 20 male: 68.77 deaths/1,000 live births female: 67.34 deaths/1,000 live births (2011 est.)`
Life expectancy at birth: |  |
`total population: 55.42 years country comparison to the world: 198 male: 54.18 years female: 56.71 years (2011 est.)`
Total fertility rate: |  |
`4.84 children born/woman (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 24`
HIV / AIDS - adult prevalence rate: |  |
`1.1% (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 43`
HIV / AIDS - people living with HIV / AIDS: |  |
`260,000 (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 23`
HIV / AIDS - deaths: |  |
`12,000 (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 23`
Major infectious diseases: |  |

`
degree of risk: very high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: malaria, dengue fever, African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness)
water contact disease: schistosomiasis
respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis
animal contact disease: rabies
note: highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identified in this country; it poses a negligible risk with extremely rare cases possible among US citizens who have close contact with birds (2009)
`

Drinking water source: |  |
`improved: urban: 64% of population rural: 52% of population total: 57% of population unimproved: urban: 36% of population rural: 48% of population total: 43% of population (2008)`
Sanitation facility access: |  |
`improved: urban: 55% of population rural: 18% of population total: 34% of population unimproved: urban: 45% of population rural: 82% of population total: 66% of population (2008)`
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), Christian 5% (mostly in south and Khartoum), indigenous beliefs 25%`
Languages: |  |
`Arabic (official), English (official), Nubian, Ta Bedawie, diverse dialects of Nilotic, Nilo-Hamitic, Sudanic languages 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.)`
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education): |  |
`total: 4 years (2000)`
Education expenditures: |  |
`NA`

Government

Country name: |  |
`conventional long form: Republic of the Sudan conventional short form: Sudan local long form: Jumhuriyat as-Sudan local short form: As-Sudan former: Anglo-Egyptian Sudan`
Government type: |  |

`
Government of National Unity (GNU) - the National Congress Party (NCP) and Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) formed a power-sharing government under the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA); the NCP, which came to power by military coup in 1989, is the majority partner; the agreement stipulated national elections in 2009, but these were subsequently rescheduled; elections took place in April 2010 and the NCP was elected as the majority party; due to the CPA stipulations, there is also an autonomous government in Southern Sudan where SPLM holds the majority of positions.
`

Capital: |  |
`name: Khartoum geographic coordinates: 15 36 N, 32 32 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)`
Administrative divisions: |  |

`
25 states (wilayat, singular - wilayah); A'ali an Nil (Upper Nile), Al Bahr al Ahmar (Red Sea), Al Buhayrat (Lakes), Al Jazira (Gezira), Al Khartoum (Khartoum), Al Qadarif (Gedaref), Al Wahda (Unity), An Nil al Abyad (White Nile), An Nil al Azraq (Blue Nile), Ash Shimaliyya (Northern), Bahr al Jabal (Central Equatoria), Gharb al Istiwa'iyya (Western Equatoria), Gharb Bahr al Ghazal (Western Bahr el Ghazal), Gharb Darfur (Western Darfur), Janub Darfur (Southern Darfur), Janub Kurdufan (Southern Kordofan), Junqoley (Jonglei), Kassala (Kassala), Nahr an Nil (River Nile), Shimal Bahr al Ghazal (Northern Bahr el Ghazal), Shimal Darfur (Northern Darfur), Shimal Kurdufan (Northern Kordofan), Sharq al Istiwa'iyya (Eastern Equatoria), Sinnar (Sinnar), Warab (Warrap)
`

Independence: |  |
`1 January 1956 (from Egypt and the UK)`
National holiday: |  |
`Independence Day, 1 January (1956)`
Constitution: |  |
`Interim National Constitution ratified 5 July 2005 note: under the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, the Interim National Constitution was ratified 5 July 2005; Constitution of Southern Sudan was signed December 2005`
Legal system: |  |
`mixed legal system of Islamic law and English common law in the north, and primarily customary law in the south`
International law organization participation: |  |
`accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; withdrew acceptance of ICCt jurisdiction in 2008`
Suffrage: |  |
`17 years of age; universal`
Executive branch: |  |

`
chief of state: President Umar Hassan Ahmad al-BASHIR (since 16 October 1993); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Umar Hassan Ahmad al-BASHIR (since 16 October 1993)
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
(For more information visit theWorld Leaders website )
elections: election on 11-15 April 2010; next to be held in 2015
election results: Umar Hassan Ahmad al-BASHIR reelected president; percent of vote - Umar Hassan Ahmad al-BASHIR 68.2%, Yasir ARMAN 21.7%, Abdullah Deng NHIAL 3.9%, others 6.2%
note: al-BASHIR assumed power as chairman of Sudan's Revolutionary Command Council for National Salvation (RCC) in June 1989 and served concurrently as chief of state, chairman of the RCC, prime minister, and minister of defense until mid-October 1993 when he was appointed president by the RCC; he was elected president by popular vote for the first time in March 1996
`

Legislative branch: |  |

`
bicameral National Legislature consists of a Council of States (50 seats; members indirectly elected by state legislatures to serve six-year terms) and a National Assembly (450 seats; 60% from geographic constituencies, 25% from a women's list, and 15% from party lists; members to serve six-year terms)
elections: last held on 11-15 April 2010 (next to be held in 2016)
election results: National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NCP 323, SPLM 99, PCP 4, DUP 4, UFP 3, URRP 2, DUPO 2, SPLM-DC 2, other 7, vacant 4
`

Judicial branch: |  |
`Constitutional Court of nine justices; National Supreme Court; National Courts of Appeal; other national courts; National Judicial Service Commission will undertake overall management of the National Judiciary`
Political parties and leaders: |  |
`Democratic Unionist Party or DUP [Hatim al-SIR]; Democratic Unionist Party-Original or DUPO; National Congress Party or NCP [Umar Hassan al-BASHIR]; Popular Congress Party or PCP [Hassan al-TURABI]; Sudan People's Liberation Movement or SPLM [Salva KIIR]; Sudan People's Liberation Movement-Democratic Change or SPLM-DC; Umma Federal Party or UFP; Umma Renewal and Reform Party or URRP`
Political pressure groups and leaders: |  |
`Umma Party [SADIQ Siddiq al-Mahdi]; Popular Congress Party or PCP [Hassan al-TURABI]; Darfur rebel groups including the Justice and Equality Movement or JEM [Khalil IBRAHIM] and the Sudan Liberation Movement or SLM [various factional leaders]`
International organization participation: |  |
`ABEDA, ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AU, CAEU, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)`
Diplomatic representation in the US: |  |
`chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires FATAHELRAHMAN Ali Mohamed chancery: 2210 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 338-8565 FAX: [1] (202) 667-2406`
Diplomatic representation from the US: |  |
`chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Robert E. WHITEHEAD embassy: Sharia Ali Abdul Latif Street, Khartoum mailing address: P.O. Box 699, Khartoum; APO AE 09829 telephone: [249] (183) 774700 through 704 FAX: [249] (183) 774137`
Flag description: |  |

`
three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black with a green isosceles triangle based on the hoist side; colors and design based on the Arab Revolt flag of World War I, but the meanings of the colors are expressed as follows: red signifies the struggle for freedom, white is the color of peace, light, and love, black represents Sudan itself (in Arabic 'Sudan' means black), green is the color of Islam, agriculture, and prosperity
`

National anthem: |  |
`name: "Nahnu Djundulla Djundulwatan" (We Are the Army of God and of Our Land) lyrics/music: Sayed Ahmad Muhammad SALIH/Ahmad MURJAN note: adopted 1956; the song originally served as the anthem of the Sudanese military`

Economy

Economy - overview: |  |

`
Since 1997, Sudan has been working with the IMF to implement macroeconomic reforms including a managed float of the exchange rate and a large reserve of foreign exchange. A new currency, the Sudanese Pound, was introduced in January 2007 at an initial exchange rate of $1.00 equals 2 Sudanese Pounds. Sudan began exporting crude oil in the last quarter of 1999 and the economy boomed on the back of increases in oil production, high oil prices, and significant inflows of foreign direct investment until the second half of 2008. The Darfur conflict, the aftermath of two decades of civil war in the south, the lack of basic infrastructure in large areas, and a reliance by much of the population on subsistence agriculture ensure much of the population will remain at or below the poverty line for years to come despite rapid rises in average per capita income. Sudan's real GDP expanded by 5.2% during 2010, an improvement over 2009's 4.2% growth but significantly below the more than 10% per year growth experienced prior to the global financial crisis in 2006 and 2007. While the oil sector continues to drive growth, services and utilities play an increasingly important role in the economy with agriculture production remaining important as it employs 80% of the work force and contributes a third of GDP. In the lead up to the referendum on southern secession, which took place in January 2011, Sudan saw its currency depreciate considerably on the black market with the Central Bank's official rate also losing value as the Sudanese people started to hoard foreign currency. The Central Bank of Sudan intervened heavily in the currency market to defend the value of the pound and the Sudanese government introduced a number of measures to restrain excess local demand for hard currency, but uncertainty about the secession has meant that foreign exchange remains in heavy demand.
`

GDP (purchasing power parity): |  |
`$100 billion (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 71 $95.18 billion (2009 est.) $89.81 billion (2008 est.) note: data are in 2010 US dollars`
GDP (official exchange rate): |  |
`$68.44 billion (2010 est.)`
GDP - real growth rate: |  |
`5.1% (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 71 6% (2009 est.) 6.8% (2008 est.)`
GDP - per capita (PPP): |  |
`$2,300 (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 185 $2,200 (2009 est.) $2,200 (2008 est.) note: data are in 2010 US dollars`
GDP - composition by sector: |  |
`agriculture: 32.1% industry: 29% services: 38.9% (2010 est.)`
Labor force: |  |
`11.92 million (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 44`
Labor force - by occupation: |  |
`agriculture: 80% industry: 7% services: 13% (1998 est.)`
Unemployment rate: |  |
`18.7% (2002 est.) country comparison to the world: 162`
Population below poverty line: |  |
`40% (2004 est.)`
Household income or consumption by percentage share: |  |
`lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%`
Investment (gross fixed): |  |
`20.2% of GDP (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 85`
Budget: |  |
`revenues: $11.06 billion expenditures: $13.15 billion (2010 est.)`
Public debt: |  |
`94.2% of GDP (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 12 105.1% of GDP (2009 est.)`
Inflation rate (consumer prices): |  |
`11.8% (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 203 11.2% (2009 est.)`
Stock of narrow money: |  |
`$7.713 billion (31 December 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 76 $7.003 billion (31 December 2009 est.)`
Stock of broad money: |  |
`$13.5 billion (31 December 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 92 $12.31 billion (31 December 2009 est.)`
Stock of domestic credit: |  |
`$10.15 billion (31 December 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 93 $9.307 billion (31 December 2009 est.)`
Market value of publicly traded shares: |  |
`$NA`
Agriculture - products: |  |
`cotton, groundnuts (peanuts), sorghum, millet, wheat, gum arabic, sugarcane, cassava (tapioca), mangos, papaya, bananas, sweet potatoes, sesame; sheep and other livestock`
Industries: |  |
`oil, cotton ginning, textiles, cement, edible oils, sugar, soap distilling, shoes, petroleum refining, pharmaceuticals, armaments, automobile/light truck assembly`
Industrial production growth rate: |  |
`3.5% (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 96`
Electricity - production: |  |
`4.341 billion kWh (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 118`
Electricity - consumption: |  |
`3.438 billion kWh (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 120`
Electricity - exports: |  |
`0 kWh (2008 est.)`
Electricity - imports: |  |
`0 kWh (2008 est.)`
Oil - production: |  |
`486,700 bbl/day (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 31`
Oil - consumption: |  |
`84,000 bbl/day (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 82`
Oil - exports: |  |
`303,800 bbl/day (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 41`
Oil - imports: |  |
`11,400 bbl/day (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 137`
Oil - proved reserves: |  |
`6.8 billion bbl (1 January 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 20`
Natural gas - production: |  |
`0 cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 186`
Natural gas - consumption: |  |
`0 cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 125`
Natural gas - exports: |  |
`0 cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 178`
Natural gas - imports: |  |
`0 cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 121`
Natural gas - proved reserves: |  |
`84.95 billion cu m (1 January 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 56`
Current account balance: |  |
`$-2.595 billion (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 163 $-2.817 billion (2009 est.)`
Exports: |  |
`$9.777 billion (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 87 $7.56 billion (2009 est.)`
Exports - commodities: |  |
`oil and petroleum products; cotton, sesame, livestock, groundnuts, gum arabic, sugar`
Exports - partners: |  |
`China 58.29%, Japan 14.7%, Indonesia 8.83%, India 4.86% (2009)`
Imports: |  |
`$8.483 billion (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 95 $8.253 billion (2009 est.)`
Imports - commodities: |  |
`foodstuffs, manufactured goods, refinery and transport equipment, medicines and chemicals, textiles, wheat`
Imports - partners: |  |
`China 21.87%, Saudi Arabia 7.22%, Egypt 6.1%, India 5.53%, UAE 5.3% (2009)`
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: |  |
`$2.063 billion (31 December 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 102 $897 million (31 December 2009 est.)`
Debt - external: |  |
`$37.98 billion (31 December 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 58 $35.71 billion (31 December 2009 est.)`
Exchange rates: |  |
`Sudanese pounds (SDG) per US dollar - 2.36 (2010) 2.3 (2009) 2.1 (2008) 2.06 (2007) 2.172 (2006)`

Communications

Telephones - main lines in use: |  |
`370,400 (2009) country comparison to the world: 106`
Telephones - mobile cellular: |  |
`15.34 million (2009) country comparison to the world: 47`
Telephone system: |  |

`
general assessment: well-equipped system by regional standards and being upgraded; cellular communications started in 1996 and have expanded substantially with wide coverage of most major cities
domestic: consists of microwave radio relay, cable, fiber optic, radiotelephone communications, tropospheric scatter, and a domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations
international: country code - 249; linked to international submarine cable Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG); satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean), 1 Arabsat (2000)
`

Broadcast media: |  |
`in the north, the Sudanese Government directly controls TV and radio, requiring that both media reflect government policies; TV has a permanent military censor; a private radio station is in operation; in southern Sudan, TV is controlled by the regional government; several private FM stations are operational in southern Sudan; some foreign radio broadcasts are available (2007)`
Internet country code: |  |
`.sd`
Internet hosts: |  |
`70 (2010) country comparison to the world: 207`
Internet users: |  |
`4.2 million (2008) country comparison to the world: 56`

Transportation

Airports: |  |
`140 (2010) country comparison to the world: 41`
Airports - with paved runways: |  |
`total: 19 over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 10 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 under 914 m: 1 (2010)`
Airports - with unpaved runways: |  |
`total: 121 1,524 to 2,437 m: 21 914 to 1,523 m: 62 under 914 m: 38 (2010)`
Heliports: |  |
`5 (2010)`
Pipelines: |  |
`gas 156 km; oil 4,070 km; refined products 1,613 km (2010)`
Railways: |  |
`total: 5,978 km country comparison to the world: 30 narrow gauge: 4,578 km 1.067-m gauge; 1,400 km 0.600-m gauge for cotton plantations (2008)`
Roadways: |  |
`total: 11,900 km country comparison to the world: 131 paved: 4,320 km unpaved: 7,580 km (2000)`
Waterways: |  |
`4,068 km (1,723 km open year round on White and Blue Nile rivers) (2008) country comparison to the world: 25`
Merchant marine: |  |
`total: 2 country comparison to the world: 147 by type: cargo 2 (2010)`
Ports and terminals: |  |
`Port Sudan`

Military

Military branches: |  |
`Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF): Land Forces, Navy (includes Marines), Sudanese Air Force (Sikakh al-Jawwiya as-Sudaniya), Popular Defense Forces; Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA): Popular Army, Air Force (2011)`
Military service age and obligation: |  |
`18-33 years of age for male and female compulsory and voluntary military service; 12-24 month service obligation; a requirement that completion of national sevice was mandatory before entering public or private sector employment has been cancelled (2011)`
Manpower available for military service: |  |
`males age 16-49: 10,433,973 females age 16-49: 10,411,443 (2010 est.)`
Manpower fit for military service: |  |
`males age 16-49: 6,475,530 females age 16-49: 6,840,885 (2010 est.)`
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually: |  |
`male: 532,030 female: 512,476 (2010 est.)`
Military expenditures: |  |
`3% of GDP (2005 est.) country comparison to the world: 43`

Transnational Issues

Disputes - international: |  |

`
the effects of Sudan's almost constant ethnic and rebel militia fighting since the mid-20th century have penetrated all of the neighboring states; as of 2006, Chad, Ethiopia, Kenya, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Uganda provided shelter for over half a million Sudanese refugees, which includes 240,000 Darfur residents driven from their homes by Janjawid armed militia and the Sudanese military forces; Sudan, in turn, hosted about 116,000 Eritreans, 20,000 Chadians, and smaller numbers of Ethiopians, Ugandans, Central Africans, and Congolese as refugees; in February 2006, Sudan and DROC signed an agreement to repatriate 13,300 Sudanese and 6,800 Congolese; Sudan accuses Eritrea of supporting Sudanese rebel groups; efforts to demarcate the porous boundary with Ethiopia proceed slowly due to civil and ethnic fighting in eastern Sudan; the boundary that separates Kenya and Sudan's sovereignty is unclear in the "Ilemi Triangle," which Kenya has administered since colonial times; Sudan claims but Egypt de facto administers security and economic development of Halaib region north of the 22nd parallel boundary; periodic violent skirmishes with Sudanese residents over water and grazing rights persist among related pastoral populations along the border with the Central African Republic
`

Refugees and internally displaced persons: |  |
`refugees (country of origin): 157,220 (Eritrea); 25,023 (Chad); 11,009 (Ethiopia); 7,895 (Uganda); 5,023 (Central African Republic) IDPs: 5.3 - 6.2 million (civil war 1983-2005; ongoing conflict in Darfur region) (2007)`
Trafficking in persons: |  |

`
current situation: Sudan is a source country for men, women, and children trafficked internally for the purposes of forced labor and sexual exploitation; Sudan is also a transit and destination country for Ethiopian women trafficked abroad for domestic servitude; Sudanese women and girls are trafficked within the country as well as possibly to Middle Eastern countries for domestic servitude; the terrorist rebel organization, Lord's Resistance Army, continues to harbor small numbers of Sudanese and Ugandan children in the southern part of the country for use as cooks, porters, and combatants; some of these children are also trafficked across borders into Uganda or the Democratic Republic of the Congo; militia groups in Darfur, some of which are linked to the government, abduct women for short periods of forced labor and to perpetrate sexual violence; during the two decades-long north-south civil war, thousands of Dinka women and children were abducted and subsequently enslaved by members of the Missiriya and Rezeigat tribes; while there have been no known new abductions of Dinka by members of Baggara tribes in the last few years, inter-tribal abductions continue in southern Sudan
tier rating: Tier 3 - Sudan does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so; combating human trafficking through law enforcement or prevention measures was not a priority for the government in 2007 (2008)
`

PAGE LAST UPDATED ON MAY 26, 2011