Geography
Location: Northern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Egypt and Eritrea. Area: 2,505,810 sq. km. Principal cities: Khartoum,
Omdurman and Khartoum North. Tourist attractions: Meroe Sites, National Museum, and Omdurman. Time zone: GMT+3 hours.
People
Population: 39,379,358 (July 2007 est.). Population growth rate:
2.082% (2007 est.). Sex ratio: 1.027 male(s)/female (2007 est.). Religions: Sunnt Muslim (in the north), indigenous beliefs, Christian (mostly in the south and in Khartoum). Languages: Arabic (official), Nubian, Ta Bedawie, diverse dialects of Nilotic, Nilo-Hamitic, Sudanic languages, English. Literacy rate: Total 61.1%, Male 71.8%, Female 50.5% (2003 est.). Infant mortality rate: 91.78 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.). Life expectancy: Total 49.11 years, Male 48.24 years, Female 50.03 years (2007 est.).
Government
Capital: Khartoum. National anthem: Nahnu Djundulla Djundulwatan. Government type: Authoritarian regime. An alliance of the military and the National Congress Party (NCP) runs the government. Independence: 1 January 1956 (from Egypt and UK). Legal system: Based on English common law and Islamic law. Executive branch: Chief of state: President. Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir (since 16 October 1993). The President is both the chief of state and head of government. Legislative branch: Sudan has a unicameral National Assembly with 360 seats. Judicial branch: Supreme court; Special revolutionary courts Constitutional Court of nine Justices.
Economy
Currency: Sudanese dinar. Currency conversion: Sudanese dinar per Indian rupee—4.9658 (June 2007 est.). GDP: Purchasing power parity—$97.47 billion (2006 est.). GDP—real growth rate: 9.6% (2006 est.). GDP—per capita: Purchasing power parity—$2,400 (2006 est.). Inflation rate: 9% (2006 est.). Exports: $7,505 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.). Imports: $8,693 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.). External debt: $29.69 billion (2006 est.).
Transport and Communications
Railways: 5,978 km. Roads: I 1,900 km. Airports: Khartoum and Port Sudan New International Airports. Telephones: 670.000 (2005). Mobile cellular: 1.82 million (2005). Internet users: 2.8 million (2005). Internet country code: .sd. ISD code: 249.