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General Information
Area 2,505,813 sq km (967,500 sq miles). Population 32,878,000 (UN estimate 2002). Population Density 13.1 per sq km. Capital Khartoum. Population: 2,371,000 (UN estimate 2002; including suburbs). Geography Sudan is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Ethiopia and Eritrea to the east, Kenya, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the south, the Central African Republic and Chad to the west, and Libya to the northwest. There is a marked difference between the climate, culture and geography of northern and southern Sudan. The far north consists of the contiguous Libyan and Nubian deserts which extend as far south as the capital, Khartoum, and are barren except for small areas beside the Nile River and a few scattered oases. This gives way to the central steppes which cover the country between 15N and 10N, a region of short, coarse grass and bushes, turning to open savannah towards the south, largely flat to the east but rising to two large plateaux in the west and south, the Janub Darfur (3088m/10,131ft) and Janub Kordofan (500m/1640ft) respectively. Most of Sudan’s agriculture occurs in these latitudes in a fertile pocket between the Blue and White Niles which meet at Khartoum. South of the steppes is a vast shallow basin traversed by the White Nile and its tributaries, with the Sudd, a 120,000 sq km (46,332 sq miles) marshland, in the centre. This gives way to equatorial forest towards the south, rising to jungle-clad mountains on the Ugandan border, the highest being Mount Kinyeti, at 3187m (10,456ft). Government Islamic Republic since 1986. Gained independence from the UK in 1956. Head of State and Government: President Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir since 1989. Language Arabic is the official language. English and many local dialects are widely spoken. Religion Muslim in the north; Christian and traditional animist beliefs in the south. Time GMT + 2. Electricity 240 volts AC, 50Hz. Communications Telephone IDD is available. Country code: 249. Outgoing international calls must go through the operator. Mobile telephone GSM 900 network is operated by MobiTel (website: www.sdn-mobitel.com). GSM 900/1800 and 3G networks operated by Bashair Telecom (website: www.bashairTelecom.com). Coverage is available in main towns. Internet ISPs include SudanNet (website: www.sudanet.net). Telegram The Central Telegraph Office is open at Khartoum (Gamma Avenue) 24 hours a day, including holidays. Post Post office hours: Sat-Thurs 0830-1200 and 1730-1830. Airmail to Europe takes up to one week. Press Censorship is imposed on all press publications, following the 1989 coup. The main dailies are Abbar al-Youm, Al-Rai al-Akhar and Al-wan . The Sudan Standard is an English-language daily. There are English-language magazines entitled New Horizon and Sudanow. Radio BBC World Service (website: www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice) and Voice of America (website: www.voa.gov) can be received. From time to time the frequencies change and the most up-to-date can be found online. |
