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Sudan (or The Sudan; officially the Republic of the Sudan or Republic of Sudan) (Arabic: السودان‎) is the largest Arab and African country by area.[2] The country is situated at a crossroads between the Horn of Africa and the Middle East. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, Kenya and Uganda to the southeast, Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, and Libya to the northwest. It is the tenth largest country in the world by area.

Contents [hide] 1 History 1.1 Early history of Sudan 1.2 Kingdom of Sinnar 1.3 Foreign control: the Egyptian and British 1.4 Independence 1.5 First Sudanese Civil War 1.6 Second Sudanese Civil War 1.7 Darfur conflict 1.8 Chad-Sudan conflict 2 Politics 3 Foreign relations 4 Human rights 5 Administrative divisions 6 Autonomy, separation, conflicts 7 Geography 8 Economy 9 Demographics 9.1 Peoples of Sudan 10 Official languages 11 Culture 12 Sudanese writers, artists and singers 13 Education 14 See also 15 Notes and references 16 Geographic locale

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[edit] History

[edit] Early history of Sudan

Three ancient kings of the Kushite kingdoms existed consecutively in northern Sudan. This region was also known as Nubia and Meroë, and these civilizations flourished mainly along the Nile River from the first to the sixth cataracts. The kingdoms were influenced by, and in turn influenced Pharaonic Egypt. when the Napatan Dynasty was founded under Alara and regained independence for the kingdom of Kush. Borders, however, fluctuated greatly. The country's dense population made it a problem however. Much of the region was converted to Coptic Christianity during the third and fourth centuries AD. Islam was introduced in 640 AD with an influx of Muslim Arabs who had conquered Egypt, although the Christian Kingdoms of Nubia managed to persist until the 15th Century. A merchant class of Arabs became economically dominant in feudal Sudan. An important kingdom in Nubia was the Makuria, which reached its height in the 8th-9th centuries, and was of the Melkite Christian faith, unlike its Coptic neighbours, Nobatia and Alodia.

[edit] Kingdom of Sinnar

During the 1600s the people called the Funj conquered much of Sudan, establishing the Kingdom of Sinnar. By the time the kingdom was conquered by Egypt in 1820, the government was substantially weakened by a series of succession arguments and coups within the royal family.

[edit] Foreign control: the Egyptian and British

In 1820, Northern Sudan came under Egyptian rule when Mehemet Ali, the Ottoman viceroy of Egypt, sent armies led by his son Ismail Pasha and Mahammed Bey to conquer eastern Sudan. The Egyptians developed Sudan’s trade in ivory and slaves. Ismail Pasha, khedive of Egypt from 1863-1879, tried to extend Egyptian (and therefore British) influence south. This led to a revolt led by religious leader Muhammad ibn Abdalla, the self-proclaimed Mahdi (Guided One), who sought to purify Islam in Sudan. He led a nationalist revolt against Egyptian/British rule culminating in the fall of Khartoum and the death of the British General Charles George Gordon in 1885. The revolt was successful and Egypt and the British abandoned Sudan, and the resulting state was a theocratic Mahdist state. In the 1890s the British sought to regain control of Sudan. Lord Kitchener led military campaigns from 1896-98, culminating in the Battle of Omdurman. An agreement was reached in 1899 establishing Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, under which Sudan was run by a governor-general appointed by Egypt with British consent. In reality, Sudan was a colony of Great Britain. From 1924 until independence in 1956, the British had a policy of running Sudan as two essentially separate colonies, the south and the north.

[edit] Independence

The first real independence attempt was made in 1924 by a group of Sudanese military officers known as The White Flag Association. The group was led by first lieutenant Ali Abdullatif and first lieutenant Abdul Fadil Almaz. The latter led an insurrection of the military training academy, which ended in their defeat and the death of Almaz after the British army blew up the military hospital where he was garrisoned. this defeat was (allegedly) partially the result of the Egyptian garrison in Khartoum North not supporting the insurrection with artillery as was previously promised. "Afterwards, the newly elected government went ahead with the process of Sudanization of the state's government, with the help and supervision of an international committee. In November 1955, it declared the intentions of the Sudanese people to exercise their right to independence. This was duly granted and on January 1, 1956, Sudan was formally declared independent. In a special ceremony held at the People's Palace, the British and Egyptian flags were brought down and the new Sudanese flag, composed of green, blue and yellow stripes, was raised in their place."[1]

[edit] First Sudanese Civil War

The year before independence, a civil war began between Northern and Southern Sudan. The Southerners, anticipating independence, feared the new nation would be dominated by the North. Historically, the north of Sudan had closer ties with Egypt and was predominantly Arab and Muslim while the south was predominantly black, with a mixture of Christianity and Animism. These divisions had been further emphasized by the British policy of ruling the North and South under separate administrations. From 1924 on it was illegal for people living above the 10th parallel to go further south and for people below the 8th parallel to go further north. The law was ostensibly enacted to prevent the spread of malaria and other tropical diseases that had ravaged British troops, as well as to prevent Northern Sudanese from raiding Southern tribes for slaves. Another reason was to facilitate spreading christianity among the predominantly animist population while stopping the arabic and islamic influence from advancing south. The result was increased isolation between the already distinct north and south and arguably laid the seeds of conflict in the years to come. The resulting conflict, known as the First Sudanese Civil War, lasted from 1955 to 1972. In 1972, a cessation of the north-south conflict was agreed upon under the terms of the Addis Ababa Agreement, following talks which were sponsored by the World Council of Churches. This led to a ten-year hiatus in the national conflict.

[edit] Second Sudanese Civil War

In 1983, the civil war was reignited following President Gaafar Nimeiry's decision to circumvent the Addis Ababa Agreement. President Gaafar Nimeiry attempted to create a Federated Sudan including states in southern Sudan, which violated the Addis Ababa Agreement that had granted the south considerable autonomy. The Sudan People's Liberation Army formed in May 1983 as a result. Finally, in June 1983, the Sudanese Government under President Gaafar Nimeiry abrogated the Addis Ababa Peace Agreement (A.A.A.)[3]. The situation was exacerbated after President Gaafar Nimeiry went on to implement Sharia Law in September of the same year [4]. The war continued even after Numeiri was ousted and a democratic government was elected with Al Sadig Al Mahdi's Umma party having the majority in the partliament. the leader of the SPLA John Garang refused to recognize the government and to negotiate with it as representative of the Sudan but agreed to negotiate with Government officials as representative of their political parties. In 1989 a coup d'état brought control of Khartoum to the hands of Omar al-Bashir and the National Islamic Front headed by Dr. Hassan al-Turabi. Both groups are Sunni fundamentalists drawing most of their ideology from the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. Together they formed the Popular Defense Forces (al Difaa al Shaabi) and began to give a religious justifiation to the already ongoing war with the SPLA in the tribal south, causing casualties among the Christian and animist minority. This, however, was mainly viewed by the Northern Sudanese as a fight against the proxies of "western imperialism" who were trying to undermine the Islamic government and not as an attempt to impose Islam on the Southern Sudanese people, as most of the internally-displaced Southern Sudanese were living in the North and practising their religion freely. For instance, Mrs. Rebecca Garang was living in Khartoum North (a few kilometers away from where Al Bashir, the Sudanese president, was living) and freely practicing her Christian faith while her husband John Garang (now deceased) was fighting the government. The SPLA started as a Marxist movement, with support from the Soviet Union and the Ethiopian Marxist President Mengistu Haile Meriem. Over time, however, it sought support in the West by using the Northern Sudanese government's religious propaganda to portray the war as a campaign by the Arab Islamic government to impose Islam and the Arabic language on the Christian South. The war went on for more than twenty years, including the use of Russian-made combat helicopters and military cargo planes which were used as bombers to devastating effect on villages and tribal rebels alike. "Sudan's independent history has been dominated by chronic, exceptionally cruel warfare that has starkly divided the country on racial, religious, and regional grounds; displaced an estimated four million people (of a total estimated population of thirty-two million); and killed an estimated two million people."[2] It damaged Sudan's economy and led to food shortages, resulting in starvation and malnutrition. The lack of investment during this time, particularly in the south, meant a generation lost access to basic health services, education, and jobs. In 1992 Turabi arranged a conference in Khartoum, amongst his guests were the NIF of Sudan, the FIS of Algeria, Gamaat Islamiya of Egypt, Islamic Jihad, Hamas and Islamic Jihad of Palestine, the graduates of madrassas (Islamic schools) that later become the Taliban, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Hezbollah, Saddam Hussein's Baath party, and Lebanon's Salafists. These conferences continued to be held throughout the 1990s. Peace talks between the southern rebels and the government made substantial progress in 2003 and early 2004. The peace was consolidated with the official signing by both sides of the Nairobi Comprehensive Peace Agreement 9 January 2005, granting Southern Sudan autonomy for six years, to be followed by a referendum about independence. It created a co-vice president position and allowed the north and south to split oil equally, but also left both the North's and South's armies in place. John Garang, the south's elected co-vice president died in a helicopter crash on August 1, 2005, three weeks after being sworn in. This resulted in riots, but the peace was eventually able to continue. The United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) was established under UN Security Council Resolution 1590 of March 24, 2005. Its mandate is to support implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, and to perform functions relating to humanitarian assistance, and protection and promotion of human rights.

[edit] Darfur conflict

Just as the long north-south civil war was reaching a resolution, some tribal clashes occured in the western region of Darfur in the early 1970s between the pastoralist tribes and the agricultural tribes, after Africa's greatest famine. The rebels accused the central government of neglecting the Darfur region economically, although there is uncertainty regarding the objectives of the rebels and whether they merely seek an improved position for Darfur within Sudan or outright "secession." Both the government and the rebels have been accused of atrocities in this war, although most of the blame has fallen on Arab militias known as the Janjaweed, who are armed men appointed by the Al Saddiq Al Mahdi administration to stop the long standing chaotic disputes between Darfur tribes. The rebels have alleged that these militias have been engaging in genocide; the fighting has displaced hundreds of thousands of people, many of them seeking refuge in neighboring Chad. The government claimed victory over the rebels after capturing a town on the border with Chad, in early 1994. However, the fighting resumed in 2003. On September 9, 2004 the United States Secretary of State Colin Powell termed the Darfur conflict a "genocide", acknowledging it as one of the worst humanitarian crises of the 21st century.[3] Powell has been one of the few members of the White House to speak out against the violence. There have been reports that the Janjaweed have been launching raids, bombings, and attacks on villages, killing civilians based on ethnicity, raping women, stealing land, goods, and herds of livestock.[4] So far, over 2 million civilians have been displaced and the death toll is variously estimated at 200,000[5] to 400,000 killed.[6] On May 5, 2006, the Sudanese government and Darfur's largest rebel group the SLM (Sudan Liberation Movement) signed the Darfur Peace Agreement, which aimed at ending the three-year long conflict.[7] The agreement specified the disarmament of the janjaweed and the disbandment of the rebel forces, and aimed at establishing a temporal government in which the rebels could take part.[8] The agreement, which was brokered by the African Union, however, was not signed by all of the rebel groups.[9] Since the agreement was signed, however, there still have been reports of wide-spread violence throughout the region. A new rebel group has emerged called the "National Redemption Front" (which is made up of the 4 main rebel groups who refused to sign the May peace agreement).[10] Recently, both the Sudanese government and government-sponsored militias have launched large offensives against the rebel groups, resulting in more deaths and more displacements. Clashes among the rebel groups have also contributed to the violence.[11] Recent fighting along the Chad border has left hundreds of soldiers and rebel forces dead and nearly a quarter of a million refugees cut from aid.[12] In addition, villages have been continuously bombed and more civilians have been killed. UNICEF recently reported that around 80 infants die each day in Darfur as a result of malnutrition.[13] The people in Darfur are predominantly black Africans of Muslim beliefs, whereas the Janjaweed militia is made up of Arabs. Some[attribution needed] believe the Janjaweed militia is the Khartoum government's unofficial fighting force, allowing the government to disguisedly break human rights rules in Darfur. The International Criminal Court has indicted State Minister for Humanitarian Affairs Ahmed Haroun and alleged Janjaweed militia leader Ali Mohammed Ali aka Ali Kosheib,in relation to the atrocites in the region. Ahmed Haroun belongs to the Fur tribe one of the non arab tribes of Darfur and is alleged to have incited attacks on specific (non arab) ethnic groups. Ali Kosheib is an ex soldier and a leader of the popular defense forces and is alleged to be one of the key leaders responsible for attacks on villages in West Darfur. In sudan the word Arab is sometimes used not as an racial or ethnic denotation, but might be used as a denotation for the bedouin peoples.[14]

[edit] Chad-Sudan conflict

The Chad-Sudan conflict officially started on December 23, 2005, when the government of Chad declared a state of war with Sudan and called for the citizens of Chad to mobilize themselves against the "common enemy," which the Chadian government sees as the Rally for Democracy and Liberty (RDL) militants, Chadian rebels backed by the Sudanese government, and Sudanese militiamen. The government of Chad claims that the militants attacked villages and towns in eastern Chad, stealing cattle, murdering citizens, and burning houses. Over 200,000 refugees from the Darfur region of northwestern Sudan currently claim asylum in eastern Chad. Chadian president Idriss Déby accuses Sudanese President Omar Hasan Ahmad al-Bashir of trying to "destabilize our country, to drive our people into misery, to create disorder and export the war from Darfur to Chad." The incident prompting the declaration of war was an attack on the Chadian town of Adré near the Sudanese border that led to the deaths of either one hundred rebels (as most news sources reported) or three hundred rebels. The Sudanese government was blamed for the attack, which was the second in the region in three days, but Sudanese foreign ministry spokesman Jamal Mohammed Ibrahim denied any Sudanese involvement, "We are not for any escalation with Chad. We technically deny involvement in Chadian internal affairs." The Adre attack led to the declaration of war by Chad and the alleged deployment of the Chadian air force into Sudanese airspace, which the Chadian government denies.

[edit] Politics

Sudan has an authoritarian government in which all effective political power is in the hands of President Omar al-Bashir. Bashir and his party have controlled the government since he led the military coup on 30 June 1989. From 1983 to 1997, the country was divided into five regions in the north and three in the south, each headed by a military governor. After the April 6, 1985 military coup, regional assemblies were suspended. The RCC was abolished in 1996, and the ruling National Islamic Front changed its name to the National Congress Party. After 1997, the structure of regional administration was replaced by the creation of 26 states. The executives, cabinets, and senior-level state officials are appointed by the president, and their limited budgets are determined by and dispensed from Khartoum. The states, as a result, remain economically dependent upon the central government. Khartoum state, comprising the capital and outlying districts, is administered by a governor. In December 1999, a power struggle climaxed between President al-Bashir and then-speaker of parliament Hassan al-Turabi, who was the NIF founder and an Islamic ideologue. Al-Turabi was stripped of his posts in the ruling party and the government, parliament was disbanded, the constitution was suspended, and a state of national emergency was declared by presidential decree. Parliament resumed in February 2001 after the December 2000 presidential and parliamentary elections, but the national emergency laws remain in effect. Al-Turabi was arrested in February 2001, and charged with being a threat to national security and the constitutional order for signing a memorandum of understanding with the SPLA. Since then his outspoken style has had him in prison or under house-arrest, his most recent stint beginning in March 2004 and ending in June 2005. During that time he was under house-arrest for his role in a failed coup attempt in September 2003, an allegation he has denied. According to some reports, the president had no choice but to release him, given that a coalition of National Democratic Union (NDA) members headquartered in both Cairo and Eritrea, composed of the political parties known as the SPLM/A, Umma Party, Mirghani Party, and Turabi's own National People's Congress, were calling for his release at a time when an interim government was preparing to take over in accordance with the Naivasha agreement and the Machokos Accord. See also: List of Presidents of Sudan

[edit] Foreign relations

Sudan has had a troubled relationship with many of its neighbors and much of the international community due to what is viewed as its aggressively Islamic stance. For much of the 1990s, Uganda, Kenya and Ethiopia formed an ad-hoc alliance called the "Front Line States" with support from the United States to check the influence of the National Islamic Front government. The southern Sudanese rebels supported anti-Uganda rebel groups such as the Lord's Resistance Army. Beginning from the mid-1990s Sudan gradually began to moderate its positions as a result of increased US pressure following the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings and the new development of oil fields previously in rebel hands. Sudan also has a territorial dispute with Egypt over the Hala'ib Triangle. Since 2003, the foreign relations of Sudan have centered on the support for ending the Second Sudanese Civil War and condemnation of government support for militias in the Darfur conflict. U.S. firms have been barred from doing business in Sudan since 1997.[5] The United States has listed Sudan as a state sponsor of terrorism since 1993.[6] On December 23, 2005, Chad, Sudan's neighbour to the west, declared war on Sudan and accused the country of being the "common enemy of the nation (Chad)." This happened after the December 18 attack on Adre, which left about 100 people dead. A statement issued by Chadian government on December 23, accused Sudanese militias of making daily incursions into Chad, stealing cattle, killing people and burning villages on the Chadian border. The statement went on to call for Chadians to form a patriotic front against Sudan.[7] The Organization of the Islamic Conference(OIC) have called on Sudan and Chad to exercise self-restraint to defuse growing tensions between the two countries.[8] On December 27, 2005, Sudan became one of the few states to recognize Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara. [9] On June 20, 2006 President Omar al-Bashir told reporters that he would not allow any UN peacekeeping force into Sudan. President al-Bashir denounced any such mission as "colonial forces." [10] On November 17, 2006, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan announced that "Sudan has agreed in principle to allow the establishment of a joint African Union and UN peacekeeping force in an effort to solve the crisis in Darfur" - but had stopped short of setting the number of troops involved. Annan speculated that this force could number 17,000.[15] Despite this claim, no additional troops have been deployed as of late December 2006. Violence continues in the region and on December 15, 2006, prosecutors at the International Criminal Court (ICC) stated they would be proceeding with cases of human rights violations against members of the Sudan government.[16] A Sudanese legislator was quoted as saying that Khartoum may permit UN peace keepers to patrol Darfur in exchange for immunity from prosecution for officials charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity.

[edit] Human rights

A letter dated August 14, 2006 from the Executive Director of Human Rights Watch found that the Sudanese government is both incapable and unwilling to protect its own citizens in Darfur and that its militias are guilty of crimes against humanity. The letter added that these human rights abuses have existed since 2004.[17] Some reports attribute part of the violations to the rebels as well as the government and the Janjaweed. The USA state department's Human rights report issued in March 2007 claims that "All parties to the conflagration committed serious abuses, including widespread killing of civilians, rape as a tool of war, systematic torture, robbery and recruitment of child soldiers" [18] Both government forces and militias allied with the government are known not only to attack civilians in Darfur, but also humanitarian workers. Sympathizers of rebel groups are arbitrarily detained, as are foreign journalists, human rights defenders, student activists, and displaced people in and around Khartoum, some of whom face torture. Sudan practices capital punishment and it can be applied to minors. [19]

[edit] Administrative divisions

Sudan is divided into twenty-six states (wilayat, sing. wilayah) which in turn are subdivided into 133 districts. The states are:

Al Jazirah Al Qadarif Bahr al Jabal Blue Nile East Equatoria Junqali Kassala

Khartoum Lakes North Bahr al Ghazal North Darfur North Kurdufan Northern Red Sea

River Nile Sennar South Darfur South Kurdufan Unity Upper Nile

Warab West Bahr al Ghazal West Darfur West Equatoria West Kurdufan White Nile

[edit] Autonomy, separation, conflicts

• Southern Sudan is an autonomous region intermediate between the states and the national government. Southern Sudan is scheduled to have a referendum on independence in 2011.[20] As agreed in the peace agreement a new currency, the Sudan Pound has been launched all over Sudan on January 10, 2007, and will replace the Sudanese Dinar. The Southern Sudanese government tried to launch a new currency, but stopped after the central Sudanese government declared that such a move constituted a breach of the peace agreement.
• Darfur, a region of three western states, is plagued by a violent conflict between the Janjaweed militia and the non-Baggara peoples of the region. (see Darfur conflict).
• There is also an insurgency in the east led by the Eastern Front. On October 14, 2006, both the Sudanese government and the Eastern Front signed a power-sharing agreement ending the insurgency.

[edit] Geography

Sudan is situated in northern Africa, bordering the Red Sea and it has a coastline of 853km along the Red Sea.[21] With an area of 2,505,810 square kilometres (967,499sqmi), it is the largest country in the continent and tenth largest in the world. It borders the countries of Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya and Uganda. It is dominated by the River Nile and its tributaries. The terrain is generally flat plains, broken by several mountain ranges; in the west the Jebel Marra is the highest range; in the south is the highest mountain Mount Kinyeti Imatong, near the border with Uganda; in the east are the Red Sea Hills.[22] The Blue and White Niles meet in Khartoum to form the River Nile, which flows northwards through Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea. Blue Nile's course through Sudan is nearly 500 miles long and is joined by the rivers Dinder and Rahad between Sennar and Khartoum. The White Nile within Sudan has no significant tributaries. The amount of rainfall increases towards the south. In the north there is the very dry Nubian desert; in the south there are swamps and rain forest. Sudan’s rainy season lasts for about three months (July to September) in the north, and up to six months (June to November) in the south. The dry regions are plagued by sand storms, known as haboob, which can completely block out the sun. In the northern and western semi-desert areas, people rely on the scant rainfall for basic agriculture and many are nomadic, traveling with their herds of sheep and camels. Nearer the River Nile, there are well-irrigated farms growing cash crops.[23] There are several dams on the Blue and White Niles. Among them are the Sennar and Roseires on the Blue Nile, and Jebel Aulia dam on the White Nile. There is also Lake Nubia on the Sudan-Egyptian border. Rich mineral resources are available in Sudan including: petroleum, natural gas, gold, silver, chrome, asbestos, manganese, gypsum, mica, zinc, iron, lead, uranium, copper, kaolin, cobalt, granite, nickel and tin.[24] Desertification is a serious problem in Sudan.[25] There is also concern over soil erosion. Agricultural expansion, both public and private, has proceeded without conservation measures. The consequences have manifested themselves in the form of deforestation, soil desiccation, and the lowering of soil fertility and the water table.[26] The nation's wildlife is threatened by hunting. As of 2001, 21 mammal species and 9 bird species are endangered, as well as 2 types of plants. Endangered species include: the waldrapp, northern white rhinoceros, tora hartebeest, slender-horned gazelle, and hawksbill turtle. The Sahara oryx has become extinct in the wild.[27]

Mount Dair in central Sudan

A swamp in southern Sudan

Sudan satellite image

See also: List of cities in Sudan

[edit] Economy

Despite new economic policies and infrastructure investments, Sudan still faces formidable economic problems as it must rise from a very low level of per capita output. Since 1997 Sudan has been implementing the macroeconomic reforms recommended by the IMF. In 1999, Sudan began exporting crude oil and in the last quarter of 1999 recorded its first trade surplus. Increased oil production (the current production is about 520,000 barrels per day) revived light industry, and expanded export processing zones helped sustain GDP growth at 6.1% in 2003. These gains, along with improvements to monetary policy, have stabilized the exchange rate. Currently oil is Sudan's main export (363,000 barrels per day), and the production is increasing dramatically. With rising oil revenues the Sudanese economy is booming at a growth rate of nearly 7% in 2005. Agriculture production remains Sudan's most important sector, employing 80% of the work force and contributing 39% of GDP, but most farms remain rain-fed and susceptible to drought. Chronic instability — including the long-standing civil war between the Muslim north and the Christian/animist south, adverse weather, and weak world agricultural prices — ensure that much of the population will remain at or below the poverty line for years. See also: Communications in Sudanand Transport in Sudan The Merowe High Dam, also known as Merowe Multi-Purpose Hydro Project or Hamdab Dam, is a large construction project in northern Sudan, about 350 km north of the capital Khartoum. It is situated on the river Nile, close to the 4th Cataract where the river divides into multiple smaller branches with large islands in between. Merowe is a city about 40 km downstream from the construction site at Hamdab. The main purpose of the dam will be the generation of electricity. Its dimensions make it the largest contemporary hydro power project in Africa. The construction of the dam will be finished by mid 2008, suppling more than 90% of the population with electricity. Other gas powered electricity station are under construction in Khartoum state, these are also due to be completed by 2008.

[edit] Demographics

In Sudan's 1993 census, the population was calculated at 25 million. No comprehensive census has been carried out since that time due to the continuation of the civil war. Current estimates from the United Nations as of 2006 estimate the population to be about 37 million. The population of metropolitan Khartoum (including Khartoum, Omdurman, and Khartoum North) is growing rapidly and is estimated at about 5-6 million, including around 2 million displaced persons from the southern war zone as well as western and eastern drought-affected areas. Sudan has two distinct major cultures – Arabs with Nubian (Kushite) roots and non-Arab Black Africans – consisting of hundreds of ethnic and tribal divisions and language groups. This makes collaboration between them a major difficulty. The northern states cover most of the Sudan and include most of the urban centers. Most of the 22 million Sudanese who live in this region are Arabic-speaking Muslims, though the majority also use a traditional non-Arabic mother tongue (e.g. Nubian, Beja, Fur, Nuban, Ingessana, etc) as education is in Arabic language. Among these are several distinct tribal groups: the camel-raising Kababish of northern Kordofan; the Dongolawiyin (الدنقلاويين); the Ga’aliyin (الجعلين); the Rubatab (الرباطاب); the Manasir (المناصير); the Shaiqiyah (الشايقيّة); the Bideiria; the semi-nomadic Baggara of Kurdufan and Darfur; the Beja in the Red Sea area and who extend into Eritrea; and the Nubians of the northern Nile areas, some of whom have been resettled on the Atbara River. Shokrya in the Butana land, Bataheen bordering the Ga’alin and Shokrya in the south west of Butana. Rufaa, Halaween and many other tribes in the Gazeera region and on the banks of the Blue Nile and the Dindir region. The Nuba of southern Kurdufan and Fur in the western reaches of the country. The southern region has a population of around 6 million and a predominantly rural, subsistence economy. This region has been affected by war for all but 10 years since independence in 1956, resulting in serious neglect, lack of infrastructure development, and major destruction and displacement. More than 2 million people have died, and more than 4 million are internally displaced or have become refugees as a result of the civil war and war-related impacts. Here a majority of the population practices traditional indigenous beliefs, although some practice Christianity, a result of Christian missionary efforts. The south also contains many tribal groups and many more languages are used than in the north. The Dinka, whose population is estimated at more than 1 million, are the largest of the many black African tribes of the Sudan. Along with the Shilluk and the Nuer they are Nilotic tribes. The Azande, Bor, and Jo Luo are “Sudanic” tribes in the west, and the Acholi and Lotuhu live in the extreme south, extending into Uganda. The linga franca in Southern sudan is a variant of arabic called "Juba arabic" and also English language is used by the educated elite. Some western african tribes like the Fellata, Fulani and Hausa have migrated to Sudan and settled in various regions of Sudan, mainly in the North, and most of them speak arabic as well as their original languages.

[edit] Peoples of Sudan

Ja'alein Hasania Arakeien Shigia Rubatab Shokrya Ababda

Azande Baggara peoples Beja tribe Dinka tribe Luo tribe

Fur people Hausa Horefaen Mahas Manasir

Masalit Nuba peoples Nuer tribe Rashaida people Zaghawa

People	Location
Acholi	east
Pari	east
Anuak	south central
Barit	Juba
Didiga	east
Fulbe (Fulani)	Blue Nile, East and Tulus
Kakua	southwest
Latuga	east
Madi
Shilluk
Toposa

[edit] Official languages

See also: Languages of Sudan According to the 2005 constitution, Sudan's official languages are Arabic and English:[28]

Article 8:

1. All indigenous languages of the Sudan are national languages and shall be respected, developed and promoted.
   
2. Arabic is a widely-spoken national language in the Sudan.
   
3. Arabic, as a major language at the national level and English shall be the official working languages of the national government and the languages of instruction for higher education.
   
4. In addition to Arabic and English, the legislature of any sub-national level of government may adopt any other national language as an additional official working language at its level.
   
5. There shall be no discrimination against the use of either Arabic or English at any level of government or stage of education.

[edit] Culture

• Culture of Sudan
• Music of Sudan
• Islam in Sudan

According to estimates, Sudan is predominantly Muslim, as approximately 75% of the population adhere to Islam. While approximately 15-20% of the population subscribe to animist or indigenous beliefs. Sudan has approximately a 5% Christian minority. Sudan's largest Christian denominations are the Roman Catholic Church, the Episcopal Church of the Sudan, the Presbyterian Church in the Sudan and the Coptic Orthodox Church.

[edit] Sudanese writers, artists and singers

• List of Sudanese Visual Artists
• List of writers from Sudan
• List of Sudanese singers

[edit] Education

Institutions of higher education in the Sudan include:

Academy of Medical Sciences Ahfad University for Women Bayan Science and Technology College Computerman College Omdurman Ahlia University Omdurman Islamic University

University of Gezira University of Juba University of Khartoum Mycetoma Research Centre Sudan University of Science and Technology