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 | |
| Currency | Sudanese pound (SDG) |
|---|---|
| Calendar Year | |
Trade organisations | AU,AfCFTA (signed),Arab League,COMESA,WTO |
Country group |
|
| Statistics | |
| Population |  48,109,006 (2023)[3] |
| GDP | |
| GDP rank | |
GDP growth | |
GDP per capita | |
GDP per capita rank | |
GDP by sector |
|
| 81.3% (2020 est.)[6] | |
Population belowpoverty line | |
| 35.3medium (2013)[9] | |
Labour force | |
Labour force by occupation |
|
| Unemployment | |
Main industries | oil, cotton ginning, textiles, cement, edible oils, sugar, soap distilling, shoes, petroleum refining, pharmaceuticals, armaments, automobile/light truck assembly, and milling. |
| External | |
| Exports | $4.1 billion (2017 est.)[5] |
Export goods | gold; oil and petroleum products; cotton, sesame, livestock, peanuts, gum Arabic, sugar |
Main export partners | |
| Imports | $8.22 billion (2017 est.)[5] |
Import goods | foodstuffs, manufactured goods, refinery and transport equipment, medicines, chemicals, textiles, wheat |
Main import partners | |
FDI stock |
|
 −$4.811 billion (2017 est.)[5] | |
Grossexternal debt |  $56.05 billion (2017 est.)[5] |
| Public finances | |
| 121.6% of GDP (2017 est.)[5] | |
| $198 million (31 December 2017 est.)[5] | |
| −10.6% (of GDP) (2017 est.)[5] | |
| Revenues | 8.48 billion (2017 est.)[5] |
| Expenses | 13.36 billion (2017 est.)[5] |
All values, unless otherwise stated, are inUS dollars. | |
Theeconomy of Sudan is largely based on agriculture and oil exports, with additional revenue coming from mining and manufacturing. GDP growth registered more than 10% per year in 2006 and 2007. Sudan had $30.873 billion bygross domestic product as of 2019, and has been working with theInternational Monetary Fund (IMF) to implement macroeconomic reforms, including a managed float of the exchange rate. Sudan began exporting crude oil in the last quarter of 1999.
Agricultural production remains important, because it employs 80% of the work force and contributes a third of the GDP. TheWar in Darfur, the aftermath of two decades of war in theSecond Sudanese Civil War (1983–2005) in the south, the lack of basic infrastructure in large areas, and a reliance by much of the population onsubsistence agriculture ensure much of the population will remain at or below the poverty line for years. The problem remains, despite rapid rises in average per capita income. In January 2007, the government introduced a newSudanese pound, at an initial exchange rate of US$1 =£S.2. Sudan is still aleast developed country according toUnited Nations.
Current GDP per capita of Sudan grew 46% in the 1960s, reaching a peak growth of 170% in the 1970s. But this proved unsustainable and growth consequently scaled back to 34% in the 1980s. Finally, it shrank by 26% in the 1990s.[16]
Until the early 1970s Sudan's agricultural output was mostly dedicated to internal consumption. In 1972 the Sudanese government became more pro-Western, and made plans to export food andcash crops. However, commodity prices declined throughout the 1970s causing economic problems for Sudan. At the same time, debt servicing costs, from the money spent mechanizing agriculture, rose. In 1978 theInternational Monetary Fund (IMF) negotiated aStructural Adjustment Program with the government. This further promoted the mechanized export agriculture sector. This caused great economic problems for the pastoralists of Sudan.
During the late 1970s and to 1980s, the IMF, World Bank, and key donors worked closely to promote reforms to counter the effect of inefficient economic policies and practices. By 1984, a combination of factors, including drought, inflation, and confused application ofIslamic law, reduced donor disbursements and capital flight led to a serious foreign-exchange crisis and increased shortages of imported inputs and commodities. More significantly, the 1989 revolution caused many donors in Europe, the U.S., and Canada to suspend officialdevelopment assistance, but nothumanitarian aid.
However, as Sudan became the world's largest debtor to the World Bank and International Monetary Fund by 1993, its relationship with the international financial institutions soured in the mid-1990s and has yet to be fully rehabilitated. The government fell out of compliance with an IMF standby program and accumulated substantial arrearages on repurchase obligations. A 4-year economic reform plan was announced in 1988 but was not pursued.
An economic reform plan was announced in 1989 and began implementing a 3-year economic restructuring program designed to reduce the public sector deficit, end subsidies, privatize state enterprises, and encourage new foreign and domestic investment. In 1993, the IMF suspended Sudan's voting rights and the World Bank suspended Sudan's right to make withdrawals under effective and fully disbursed loans and credits. Lome Funds and EU agricultural credits, totaling more than one billion euros, also were suspended.[17]
Primary resources areagricultural, includingcotton,peanuts,gum arabic, andsesame seeds. Although the country is trying to diversify its cash crops, cotton and peanuts remain its major agricultural exports. Grainsorghum (dura) is the principal food crop, andwheat is grown for domestic consumption. Sesame seeds and peanuts are cultivated for domestic consumption and increasingly for export.
Three main agricultural sub-sectors are active in Sudan:pastorallivestock,cropping and fish production.[18]Livestock production has vast potential, and many animals, particularlycows,sheep, andcamels, are exported toSaudi Arabia and otherArab countries. However, Sudan remains a net importer of food. Problems of investment finance, production and transportation remain the greatest constraints to a more dynamic agricultural economy. A major problem which has been growing for decades is the continual loss of open lands previously used for animal grazing tomechanizeddrylands andirrigatedfarming.[19]
Sudan has 84 million hectares of arable land and less than 20% is cultivated. Major agricultural projects such as the Gezera Scheme inGezira state are underway in order to make Sudan food self-sufficient. Sudan is one of the world's potential breadbaskets and Sudan is nicknamed as the Arab world food basket as it accounts for 45% of arable land in the Arab world.[20] In 1998 there was an estimated 16.9 million ha (42 million acres) of arable land and approximately 1.9 million ha (4.7 million acres) set aside for irrigation, primarily in the north of the country along the banks of theNile and other rivers.
Cash crops (as of 1999) grown under irrigation in these areas includecotton andcottonseed, which is of primary importance to the economy with 172,000 tons and 131,000 tons produced annually respectively,[21]sesame (220,000 tons),sugarcane (5,950,000 tons),peanuts (980,000 tons),dates (176,000 tons),citrus fruits,yams (136,000 tons), tomatoes (240,000 tons),mangoes,coffee, andtobacco.[21] The main subsistence crops produced in Sudan aresorghum (3,045,000 tons),millet (1,499,000 tons),wheat (168,000 tons),cowpeas,beans,pulses,corn (65,000), andbarley.[21] Cotton is the principal export crop and an integral part of the country's economy and Sudan is the world's third largest producer of sesame after India and China.[21]
Sudan's rapidindustrial development consists of agricultural processing, electronics assembly, plastics manufacturing, furniture, tanning, sugar production, meat processing and various light industries located in any of the 10 Industrial areas in Khartoum. Due to the many countries depending on Sudan for medicines and medical services, Sudan is now concentrating on becoming a hub for the medical industry in East Africa, providing facilities and concessions for medical investments and succeeding in covering about 70% of needs and exporting to many neighboring nations. In recent years, theGiad Industrial Complex inAl Jazirah state introduced the assembly of small autos and trucks, and some heavy military equipment such as armored personnel carriers and the “Bashir” and "Zubair" main battletanks as well as handguns, light and heavy machine guns and howitzers and, recently, drone production. Sudan is reputed to have greatmineral resources, and exploration has started extensively for gold, of which is produced nearly 30 tons annually providing a great boost to the foreign exchange reserves of the nation, with the participation of many investment companies from all over the world. Quantities of asbestos, chromium, mica, kaolin and copper are now exploited commercially, especially for export to China.
Extensivepetroleum exploration first began in Sudan in the mid-1970s. Significant finds were made in theUpper Nile region and commercial quantities of oil began to be exported in October 2000, reducing Sudan's outflow of foreign exchange for imported petroleum products. Today, oil is an important export industry in Sudan. Estimates suggest that oil accounts for between 70% and 90% of Sudan's total exports. The primary importers of Sudanese oil are Japan, China, South Korea, Indonesia, and India.[22][23]
Most of Sudan's oil reserves are located in theMuglad andMelutrift basins in the south of the country.[24] Oil fields in the south, such as those atHeglig and in theSouth Sudanese state ofUnity, formerly part of Sudanese territory, are linked to the country's refineries via pipelines. The two largest oil pipelines are theGreater Nile Oil Pipeline, which travels 1,600 kilometres from the Unity oil field toPort Sudan on theRed Sea via Khartoum, and thePetroDar pipeline, which extends 1,380 kilometres from the Palogue oil field in the Melut Basin to Port Sudan.[25][26]
Crude oil from the Muglad Basin is known as "Nile Blend" and is refined at theKhartoum crude oil refinery. In 2006, theChina National Petroleum Corporation upgraded the Khartoum refinery, doubling its capacity to 100,000 barrels per day (16,000 m3/d). Oil from the Melud Basin is known as "Dar Blend" and is refined at thePort Sudan Refinery, which has a capacity of 21,700 barrels per day (3,450 m3/d). In 2005, the Sudanese government contractedPetronas to build a new refinery at Port Sudan.[24]
The mining industry contributed little to GDP until the discovery of commercially exploitable quantities of petroleum in the late 1970s offered hope that the sector would play an increased role in the economy in the future.[27] Nonhydrocarbon minerals of actual or potential commercial value include gold, chrome, copper, iron ore, manganese, asbestos, gypsum, mica, limestone, marble, uranium, silver, lead, talc, tungsten, zinc, and diamonds.[27]
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The size ofSudan'slabor force is difficult to determine because of the various definitions of participation ineconomic activity and the absence of accurate data from official sources.[28] Inrural areas, large numbers of women and girls engage in traditional productive occupations, but many probably are not included in calculations of the active workforce.[28]
More than 7.9 million people were employed in Sudan in 1989, according to anInternational Labour Organisation (ILO) estimate.[28] In the early 1990s, the employment scene wasexacerbated by the1991 Persian Gulf War, which resulted in the return home of thousands of Sudanese workers who had been based inKuwait andIraq, leaving many of their possessions behind.[28] Sudan's support of Iraq was also a factor in the departure of thousands of Sudanese workers fromSaudi Arabia.[28] By 2000, the total labor force of Sudan had grown to an estimated 12 million, of which the government counted 9.6 million as actively employed.[28] Approximately 30 percent of the workforce was female.[28]
Unemployment figures were affected by the severedrought that spread throughout Sudan in the 1980s.[28] In 1983–84, for example, several million people migrated from the worst-hit areas in both Western and Eastern Sudan toKhartoum and other urban areas along theNile.[28] Many remained in these areas once the drought had eased, living inshantytowns and contributing to unemployment,underemployment, or employment in theinformal sector in the cities.[28] In addition, more than 2 million people from the South migrated to the North over the years, as a result of the civil war and famines in these areas.[28] In 2009 the government estimated unemployment at about 20 percent, perhaps not an accurate figure, because a large proportion of Sudanese engaged in small-scale andsubsistence agriculture.[28]
Agriculture was formerly the predominant activity in Sudan, although its share of the labor force gradually declined as other sectors of economic activity expanded.[28] In the 1955–56 census, almost 86 percent of those then considered as part of the workforce were involved in agriculture,livestock raising,forestry,fisheries, orhunting.[28] The ILO estimated that by 1998, the figure had declined to 70–80 percent.[28] By 2008 the government claimed that the percentage was significantly lower.[28] The services sector, which included a government workforce that grew about 10 percent a year in the 1970s, emerged as the second largest area of activity, encompassing an estimated 13–22 percent of those economically active in 1998, compared with 4.6 percent in 1955–56.[28] The industry sector, including manufacturing, mining, electric power, and construction, accounted for 7–9 percent during 1998, compared to 5.6 percent in 1955–56.[28] The proportions of the labor force in each of these sectors undoubtedly changed after the estimates were made in 1998, as the relative importance of these sectors altered in the succeeding years.[28] It was difficult to determine the extent of the changes, however, as despite the oil sector's great importance, it did not directly employ many people.[28] Its impact on employment occurred as a result of the increased spending allowed to the government, which created new jobs, often in the public sector.[28]
The minimum working age in the early 2000s was 18 in theory; however, the law was not enforced, and some 27 percent of Sudanese children aged 10 to 14 were estimated to be in the labor force.[28] For example, children as young as 11 or 12 years of age worked in a number of factories outside the capital that producededible oils.[28] Child labor was widespread in the informal economy, and children traditionally worked on thefamily farm from a young age.[28] Sudan did not adhere to ILO Convention no. 182, the Worst Forms ofChild Labor.[28] The Child Act of 2010, among other laws, governed hours and working conditions of young people, but the law was not effectively enforced, particularly in the informal sector, where enforcement was especially difficult.[28]
The 1998 constitution prohibited forced and bonded labor, although it did not specifically prohibittrafficking in persons.[28] Nevertheless, there were credible reports thatslavery persisted, particularly affecting women and children, and that the seizure and sale of women as domestic servants continued.[28] All sides in the Sudanese conflict also conscripted men and boys forcibly into their fighting forces.[28] In May 1998, the government formed the Committee for the Eradication of the Abduction of Women and Children, which resulted in the identification and release of several hundred abductees, but the government did not police the laws on forced and bonded labor effectively.[28] In November 2001, the government announced the establishment of special civilian tribunals in the border regions separating the South and the North of the country to prosecute persons involved in the abduction, transport, holding, and selling or exchanging of women and children from war zones.[28] Even so, as late as 2010, the Committee surmised that possibly 10,000 or more abductees from groups such as the Misiriyyah and Rizayqat as well as South Sudanese were engaged in some form of forced labor in the border regions.[28]
Two trans-African automobile routes pass through Sudan: theCairo-Cape Town Highway from north to south and theN'Djamena-Djibouti Highway from west to east.
Sudan has 4,725 kilometers ofnarrow-gauge, single-trackrailroads that serve the northern and central portions of the country. The main line runs fromWadi Halfa on theEgyptian border toKhartoum and southwest toAl Ubayyid viaSannar andKusti, with extensions toNyala inSouthern Darfur andWau inBahr al Ghazal.
Other lines connectAtbarah andSannar withPort Sudan, and Sannar withAd Damazin. A 1,400-kilometer line serves theal Geziracotton-growing region. A modest effort to upgrade rail transport is currently underway to reverse decades of neglect and declining efficiency. Service on some lines may be interrupted during the rainy season.
The chief sources of energy in 2010 were wood and charcoal, hydroelectric power, and oil.[29]
Sudan is seeking to expand its installed capacity ofelectricity generation of around 300 MW;of which 180 MW ishydroelectric and the rest thermal.European investors, considering the continuingU.S. economic, trade, and financial sanctions regime, are the most likely providers of technology for this purpose.
More than 70% of Sudan's hydropower comes from theRoseires Dam on theBlue Nile grid. Various projects are proposed to expand hydro-power, thermal generation, and other sources of energy, but so far the government has had difficulty arranging sufficient financing. A new dam which is being established inMerowe which has been opened in 2008 and generates 125 MW of electricity.
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On 3 November 1997, theU.S. government imposed atrade embargo against Sudan and a total asset freeze against the Government of Sudan underExecutive Order 13067. The U.S. believed the Government of Sudan gave support to international terrorism, destabilized neighboring governments, and permitted human rights violations.[30] A consequence of the embargo is that U.S. corporations cannot invest in the Sudan oil industry, so companies inChina,Malaysia andIndia are the major investors.[31]
Historically, theUnited States, theUnited Kingdom, theNetherlands,Italy,Germany,Saudi Arabia,Kuwait, and otherOrganization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) nations traditionally have supplied most of Sudan's economic assistance. Sudan's role as an economic link between Arab and African countries is reflected by the presence in Khartoum of theArab Bank for African development. TheWorld Bank had been the largest source of development loans.
The following table shows the main economic indicators in 1980–2024.[32]
| Year | GDP (in bn. US$ PPP) | GDP per capita (in US$ PPP) | GDP (in bn. US$ nominal) | GDP growth (real) | Inflation, CPI | Government debt (Percentage of GDP) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 20.6 | 1,103 | 9.1 | 2.5% | 26.5% | ... |
| 1985 | 27.2 | 1,241 | 5.5 | −0.6% | 45.6% | ... |
| 1990 | 39.6 | 1,538 | 2.2 | 0.8% | −0.9% | ... |
| 1995 | 58.5 | 2,092 | 6.7 | 8.9% | 68.4% | 239% |
| 2000 | 86.9 | 2,794 | 13.1 | 8.4% | 7.1% | 143% |
| 2005 | 135.1 | 3,828 | 35.2 | 5.6% | 8.5% | 75% |
| 2006 | 148.4 | 4,098 | 45.3 | 6.5% | 7.2% | 64% |
| 2007 | 161.2 | 4,337 | 59.4 | 5.7% | 14.8% | 54% |
| 2008 | 170.6 | 4,475 | 64.8 | 3.8% | 14.3% | 56% |
| 2009 | 166.9 | 4,267 | 54.8 | −2.8% | 11.3% | 71% |
| 2010 | 175.4 | 4,371 | 65.7 | 3.9% | 13.0% | 75% |
| 2011 | 173.3 | 5,306 | 66.4 | −3.2% | 18.1% | 78% |
| 2012 | 146.5 | 4,180 | 48.9 | −17.0% | 35.6% | 118% |
| 2013 | 151.9 | 4,201 | 52.9 | 2.0% | 36.5% | 106% |
| 2014 | 161.8 | 4,338 | 60.7 | 4.7% | 36.9% | 84% |
| 2015 | 171.3 | 4,456 | 64.5 | 4.9% | 16.9% | 93% |
| 2016 | 181.0 | 4,572 | 64.9 | 4.7% | 17.8% | 110% |
| 2017 | 185.7 | 4,553 | 48.9 | 0.8% | 32.4% | 150% |
| 2018 | 192.3 | 4,580 | 33.6 | −2.3% | 63.3% | 210% |
| 2019 | 183.6 | 4,248 | 31.5 | −2.5% | 51.0% | 217% |
| 2020 | 197.6 | 4,455 | 35.2 | −3.6% | 163.3% | 278% |
| 2021 | 171.1 | 3,761 | 35.1 | 0.5% | 359.1% | 190% |
| 2022 | 178.7 | 3,829 | 33.5 | −2.5% | 138.8% | 187% |
| 2023 | 151.3 | 3,158 | 38.1 | −18.3% | 77.2% | 252% |
| 2024 | 123.5 | 2,513 | 29.8 | −20.3% | 200.1% | 344% |
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain:DeLancey, Virginia (2015)."Mining"(PDF). In Berry, LaVerle (ed.).Sudan: a country study (5th ed.). Washington, D.C.:Federal Research Division,Library of Congress. pp. 196–197.ISBN 978-0-8444-0750-0. Though published in 2015, this work covers events in the whole of Sudan (including present-day South Sudan) until the 2011 secession of South Sudan. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain:DeLancey, Virginia (2015)."Labor Force"(PDF). In Berry, LaVerle (ed.).Sudan: a country study (5th ed.). Washington, D.C.:Federal Research Division,Library of Congress. pp. 164–166.ISBN 978-0-8444-0750-0. Though published in 2015, this work covers events in the whole of Sudan (including present-day South Sudan) until the 2011 secession of South Sudan. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain:DeLancey, Virginia (2015)."Energy"(PDF). In Berry, LaVerle (ed.).Sudan: a country study (5th ed.). Washington, D.C.:Federal Research Division,Library of Congress. pp. 192–196.ISBN 978-0-8444-0750-0. Though published in 2015, this work covers events in the whole of Sudan (including present-day South Sudan) until the 2011 secession of South Sudan.
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