Region: Northern Africa

Capital: Khartoum

Population: 39 148 162 (July 2004 est.)

Surface area: 2 505 813 square km

Currency: pound

GDP per capita: $1 900 (2003 est.)

Background:
Chronic instability - including the long-standing civil war between the Muslim north and the Christian/pagan south- ensure that much of the population will remain at or below the poverty line for years. The country also suffers from adverse weather and weak world agricultural prices.

Since 1983, war- and famine-related effects have led to more than 2 million deaths and over 4 million people being displaced. The ruling regime is a mixture of military elite and an Islamist party that came to power in a 1989 coup. Some northern opposition parties have made common cause with the southern rebels and entered the war as a part of an anti-government alliance. Peace talks gained momentum in 2002-03 with the signing of several accords, including a cease-fire agreement.

Economy – overview:
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 sustain GDP growth at 6.1% in 2003 and 7% in 2004.

Agriculture remains Sudan's most important sector, employing 80% of the work force and contributing to 39% of GDP, but most farms remain rain-fed and susceptible to drought.

United Nations Membership date: 12 November 1956

New York Mission:
Permanent Mission of the Republic of the Sudan to the United Nations,
305 East 47th Street, 3 Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, 4th Floor,
New York, N.Y. 10017
Telephone: 212-573-6033
Fax: 212-573-6160