{ "id": "epxxa9ftsz", "slug": "sudan-epxxa9ftsz", "title": "Sudan (السودان)", "updated": "2026-10-21", "topic_path": [ { "id": "places", "label": "Places and geography", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/places" }, { "id": "places.overviews", "label": "Countries, territories, and regional overviews", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/places.overviews" }, { "id": "places.overviews.countries", "label": "Countries and territories", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/places.overviews.countries" }, { "id": "places.overviews.countries.alpha-r-to-z", "label": "Titles R to Z", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/places.overviews.countries.alpha-r-to-z" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.mena.tbc.places", "label": "Middle East and North Africa · Before 500 BC: Places and geography", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.mena.tbc.places", "path": [ { "id": "geo.mena", "label": "Middle East and North Africa", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.mena" }, { "id": "geo.mena.tbc", "label": "Middle East and North Africa · Before 500 BC", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.mena.tbc" }, { "id": "geo.mena.tbc.places", "label": "Places and geography", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.mena.tbc.places" } ] }, { "id": "geo.mena.t2021.places", "label": "Middle East and North Africa · 2021 and later: Places and geography", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.mena.t2021.places", "path": [ { "id": "geo.mena", "label": "Middle East and North Africa", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.mena" }, { "id": "geo.mena.t2021", "label": "Middle East and North Africa · 2021 and later", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.mena.t2021" }, { "id": "geo.mena.t2021.places", "label": "Places and geography", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.mena.t2021.places" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Sudan (السودان), Northeast African country with capital Khartoum, third-largest in Africa at 1,886,068 km². Independent 1956; South Sudan seceded 2011; since April 2023 the SAF–RSF war has caused the world's largest humanitarian crisis, famine risk, and mass displacement.", "snippet": "Sudan (السودان), Northeast African country with capital Khartoum, third-largest in Africa at 1,886,068 km². Independent 1956; South Sudan seceded 2011; since April 2023 the SAF–RSF war has caused the world's largest humanitarian crisis, famine risk, and mass displacement.", "node": "places.overviews.countries.alpha-r-to-z", "markdown": "# Sudan (السودان)\n\n**Sudan** (السودان), officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa at the crossroads of [Sub-Saharan Africa](https://www.edgepedia.org/sub-saharan-africa) and the Middle East, with its capital at Khartoum. It shares borders with the [Central African Republic](https://www.edgepedia.org/central-african-republic), Chad, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Libya, and [South Sudan](https://www.edgepedia.org/south-sudan)[1](https://www.worldbank.org/ext/en/country/sudan). Covering 1,886,068 square kilometers (728,215 square miles), it is Africa's third-largest country by area and the third-largest in the Arab League[2](https://afri-res.uneca.org/country-profile/sd/sudan). Since April 2023, a war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has produced what the United Nations calls the world's largest humanitarian crisis[3](https://apnews.com/article/79ad7023ae90b582b877e5dd5acb18e0).\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Area and rank | 1,886,068 km² (728,215 sq mi); third-largest country in Africa and the Arab League[2](https://afri-res.uneca.org/country-profile/sd/sudan) |\n| Population | 51,662,000 (UN projection, 2025); density 29.3 per km²[4](https://data.un.org/legacy/en/iso/sd.html) |\n| Capital | Khartoum, population 5,677.9 thousand (2025 projection)[4](https://data.un.org/legacy/en/iso/sd.html) |\n| Independence and UN membership | Independent in 1956; UN member since 12 November 1956[5](https://unvis.it/www.britannica.com/place/Sudan) • [4](https://data.un.org/legacy/en/iso/sd.html) |\n| Currency | Sudanese Pound (SDG), exchange rate 578.2 per US$[4](https://data.un.org/legacy/en/iso/sd.html) |\n| Economy under war | Real GDP fell an estimated 29.4% in 2023 and 14% in 2024; inflation 68% year-on-year in December 2024[1](https://www.worldbank.org/ext/en/country/sudan) |\n| Displacement | 11,642,505 people forcibly displaced within Sudan or to neighboring countries as of 16 March 2026[1](https://www.worldbank.org/ext/en/country/sudan) |\n\n## Geography and climate\n\nSudan lies in Northeast Africa, where the [White Nile](https://www.edgepedia.org/white-nile) and [Blue Nile](https://www.edgepedia.org/blue-nile) meet at Khartoum. Its territory spans arid and semi-arid zones; droughts are prolonged and floods recur, most recently in July 2020 when the [River Nile](https://www.edgepedia.org/river-nile) and its tributaries overflowed during the rainy summer season[6](https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/099062323175524277/pdf/P176361015e0f50d10b59f0191913079f51.pdf). In the arid and semi-arid areas of the White Nile, Gezira, and Kassala states, farmers, pastoralists, and nomads have prolonged conflicts over limited natural resources including agricultural fields, rangelands, and water[7](https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2021/08/09/climate-change-in-sudan-if-you-can-t-beat-it-adapt-to-it).\n\nDesertification is a measured trend: if current rainfall trends continue, the Sahara Desert is estimated to advance southward at 1.5 km per year, threatening 25 percent of agricultural land and contributing to a drop of over 20 percent in food production[8](https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/099120424170039438/pdf/BOSIB-3f523f6e-fd66-4613-ab40-20cf7c482908.pdf). Severe drought linked to [El Niño](https://www.edgepedia.org/el-nino) has affected more than half of the country, causing localized crop failures and depriving households of food and income[9](https://apnews.com/article/123204872e733d39b0b67713b418b0c2).\n\n## History\n\nSudan became independent in 1956 and has had numerous changes of government since[5](https://unvis.it/www.britannica.com/place/Sudan). A 2005 peace agreement granted southern Sudan semiautonomous status and stipulated a referendum on independence; the vote, held in January 2011, was overwhelmingly in favor, and South Sudan was declared independent on 9 July 2011[5](https://unvis.it/www.britannica.com/place/Sudan). Secession removed oil revenues that had accounted for 50 percent of government revenue and 95 percent of exports, producing economic shocks, double-digit inflation, and violent protests in 2013[1](https://www.worldbank.org/ext/en/country/sudan).\n\nFood price hikes and grievances after 30 years of rule under Omar Hassan El-Bashir led to demonstrations in 2018, his removal, and a Transitional Government in 2019 that carried out reforms and signed the Juba Peace Agreement with nearly all armed opposition groups in October 2020[1](https://www.worldbank.org/ext/en/country/sudan). The military ousted the government in late 2021, dissolving government structures and suspending the 2019 constitutional charter[1](https://www.worldbank.org/ext/en/country/sudan). A 2022 agreement between the military and political parties aimed to relaunch the transition, but consensus efforts deadlocked, and in April 2023 open conflict broke out between the [Sudanese Armed Forces](https://www.edgepedia.org/sudanese-armed-forces) and the [Rapid Support Forces](https://www.edgepedia.org/rapid-support-forces) in Khartoum before spreading across the country[1](https://www.worldbank.org/ext/en/country/sudan).\n\n## The war since 2023\n\nThe war began on 15 April 2023, when long-simmering tensions between the military and paramilitary leaders broke out in the capital and spread to other regions including the vast western Darfur region[3](https://apnews.com/article/79ad7023ae90b582b877e5dd5acb18e0). At least 20,000 people have been tallied as killed, though the number is likely far higher[3](https://apnews.com/article/79ad7023ae90b582b877e5dd5acb18e0). By April 2025, over 8 million people were displaced within Sudan and 4 million had fled across borders to seven countries[3](https://apnews.com/article/79ad7023ae90b582b877e5dd5acb18e0); by 16 March 2026 the total forcibly displaced within Sudan or to neighboring countries reached 11,642,505[1](https://www.worldbank.org/ext/en/country/sudan).\n\nDrone strikes have made the conflict deadlier for civilians: more than 1,000 civilians were killed by drones in the first five months of 2026, according to the UN rights chief[10](https://apnews.com/article/88f883750a3846c237fa3a62add55d7f). About 34 million people, almost two out of every three Sudanese, need assistance[10](https://apnews.com/article/88f883750a3846c237fa3a62add55d7f).\n\n**Foreign involvement.** The Sudanese Armed Forces can count on Egypt's military support, including intelligence, drones purchased from Iran or Turkey, fighter jets from Russia, China, or Algeria, and munitions from Yemen or Eritrea, with political or economic support from Qatar and Saudi Arabia to varying degrees. Russia, Iran, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia also aim to increase their influence over the 800 kilometers of Sudanese Red Sea coastline and the mineral resources of eastern Sudan. Alan Boswell, regional director of the [International Crisis Group](https://www.edgepedia.org/international-crisis-group), has said the scale of foreign support makes the war unpredictable and risks destabilizing the region[11](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/le-monde-africa/article/2025/04/16/sudan-a-victim-of-the-greed-of-foreign-powers_6740275_124.html).\n\n## Humanitarian situation\n\nA senior UN official said in April 2025 that Sudan had become the only nation experiencing famine, with nearly 25 million people, half the population, facing extreme hunger and people dying in famine-hit areas of western Darfur[3](https://apnews.com/article/79ad7023ae90b582b877e5dd5acb18e0). An IPC assessment in May found nearly 19.5 million people, more than 40 percent of the population, facing high levels of acute food insecurity, of whom 135,000 were in Phase 5, the most severe classification, characterized by extreme food shortages, starvation, very high malnutrition, and deaths from disease or acute malnutrition[9](https://apnews.com/article/123204872e733d39b0b67713b418b0c2). The IPC has identified a deteriorating humanitarian situation across greater Darfur and Kordofan, including areas at risk of famine[9](https://apnews.com/article/123204872e733d39b0b67713b418b0c2).\n\nFunding has not matched need: the 2025 Sudan Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan received only 40 percent of requested funds[12](https://sudan.un.org/en). In February 2026 the UN launched a $2.87 billion plan for the following period[1](https://www.worldbank.org/ext/en/country/sudan). Healthcare is severely impacted, with most hospitals out of service[1](https://www.worldbank.org/ext/en/country/sudan).\n\n## Economy and agriculture\n\nThe conflict has devastated the economy. [Real GDP](https://www.edgepedia.org/real-gdp) contracted by an estimated 29.4 percent in 2023 and a further 14 percent in 2024, one of the steepest contractions in recent history, reflecting destruction of productive capacity in healthcare, education, telecommunications, and trade[1](https://www.worldbank.org/ext/en/country/sudan). Government revenues collapsed from 10 percent of GDP in 2022 to below 5 percent in 2024–25, and extreme poverty is estimated to have risen from 48 percent in 2023 to 59 percent in 2025[1](https://www.worldbank.org/ext/en/country/sudan). A modest recovery emerged in 2025, with growth estimated at 3.1 percent, driven by the exceptionally low base of the previous two years and the gradual return of displaced people to central and northern states; inflation began declining in April 2025 but remained elevated[1](https://www.worldbank.org/ext/en/country/sudan).\n\nAgriculture is the cornerstone of the economy, providing food and income to nearly 65 percent of the population[13](https://www.fao.org/sudan/fao-sudan/sudan-at-a-glance/en); a World Bank analysis puts dependence on agricultural production at over 80 percent of the population[8](https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/099120424170039438/pdf/BOSIB-3f523f6e-fd66-4613-ab40-20cf7c482908.pdf). Three production systems dominate: irrigated agriculture, exemplified by the Al Jazirah Scheme, one of the world's largest irrigation projects at approximately 1 million hectares; semi-mechanized rainfed agriculture across a 6.7-million-hectare belt known as Sudan's granary; and traditional rainfed agriculture spanning 9 million hectares and engaging the majority of farmers[13](https://www.fao.org/sudan/fao-sudan/sudan-at-a-glance/en). War-time displacement, looting, and shortages of essential inputs have sharply reduced production and strained food supply chains[1](https://www.worldbank.org/ext/en/country/sudan).\n\n## References\n\n1. [Sudan Overview, World Bank](https://www.worldbank.org/ext/en/country/sudan)\n2. [Sudan country profile, AFRI-RES (UNECA)](https://afri-res.uneca.org/country-profile/sd/sudan)\n3. [Sudan faces the world's worst humanitarian crisis as second anniversary of war nears, UN says, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/79ad7023ae90b582b877e5dd5acb18e0)\n4. [UNData country profile: Sudan](https://data.un.org/legacy/en/iso/sd.html)\n5. [Sudan, history and geography, Encyclopaedia Britannica](https://unvis.it/www.britannica.com/place/Sudan)\n6. [Digital Economy for Africa: Diagnostic Assessment for the Republic of Sudan, World Bank](https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/099062323175524277/pdf/P176361015e0f50d10b59f0191913079f51.pdf)\n7. [Climate change in Sudan—If you can't beat it, adapt to it, World Bank](https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2021/08/09/climate-change-in-sudan-if-you-can-t-beat-it-adapt-to-it)\n8. [World Bank country environmental analysis document on Sudan](https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/099120424170039438/pdf/BOSIB-3f523f6e-fd66-4613-ab40-20cf7c482908.pdf)\n9. [Sudan's famine risk worsened by conflict, drought and funding shortages, report says, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/123204872e733d39b0b67713b418b0c2)\n10. [Drone strikes kill over 1,000 civilians in Sudan in the first 5 months of 2026, UN rights chief says, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/88f883750a3846c237fa3a62add55d7f)\n11. [Sudan, a victim of foreign powers' greed, Le Monde](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/le-monde-africa/article/2025/04/16/sudan-a-victim-of-the-greed-of-foreign-powers_6740275_124.html)\n12. [United Nations in Sudan](https://sudan.un.org/en)\n13. [Sudan at a glance, FAO](https://www.fao.org/sudan/fao-sudan/sudan-at-a-glance/en)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Places and geography › Countries, territories, and regional overviews › Countries and territories › Titles R to Z*\n\n*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/sudan-epxxa9ftsz", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/sudan-epxxa9ftsz.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Sudan (السودان)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/sudan-epxxa9ftsz. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Sudan (السودان)](https://www.edgepedia.org/sudan-epxxa9ftsz)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/sudan-epxxa9ftsz](https://www.edgepedia.org/sudan-epxxa9ftsz). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Sudan (السودان)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/sudan-epxxa9ftsz. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Sudan, Northeast African country with capital Khartoum, third-largest in Africa at 1,886,068 km²." }