Between the 14th and 15th centuries, most of Sudan was gradually settled byArab nomads. From the 16th to the 19th centuries, central and eastern Sudan were dominated by theFunj sultanate, whileDarfur ruled the west and the Ottomans the east. In 1811,Mamluks established a state atDunqulah as a base for theirslave trading. UnderTurco-Egyptian rule of Sudan after the 1820s, the practice of trading slaves was entrenched along a north–south axis, withslave raids taking place in southern parts of the country and slaves being transported to Egypt and theOttoman Empire.[32]
From the 19th century, the entirety of Sudan was conquered by the Egyptians under theMuhammad Ali dynasty. Religious-nationalist fervour erupted in theMahdist Uprising in which Mahdist forces were eventually defeated by a joint Egyptian-British military force. In 1899, under British pressure, Egypt agreed to share sovereignty over Sudan with the United Kingdom as acondominium. In effect, Sudan was governed as a British possession.[33]
TheEgyptian revolution of 1952 toppled the monarchy and demanded the withdrawal of British forces from all of Egypt and Sudan.Muhammad Naguib, one of the two co-leaders of the revolution and Egypt's first President, was half-Sudanese and had been raised in Sudan. He made securing Sudanese independence a priority of the revolutionary government. The following year, under Egyptian and Sudanese pressure, the British agreed to Egypt's demand for both governments to terminate their shared sovereignty over Sudan and to grant Sudan independence. On 1 January 1956, Sudan was duly declared an independent state.
The country's nameSudan is a name given historically to the largeSahel region of West Africa to the immediate west of modern-day Sudan. Historically, Sudan referred to both thegeographical region, stretching fromSenegal on theAtlantic Coast to Northeast Africa and the modern Sudan.
The name derives from the Arabicbilād as-sūdān (بلاد السودان), or "The Land of theBlacks".[38] The name is one of varioustoponyms sharing similaretymologies, in reference to the very dark skin of the indigenous people. Prior to this, Sudan was known asNubia andTa Nehesi orTa Seti byAncient Egyptians named for the Nubian andMedjay archers or bowmen.
Since 2011, Sudan is also sometimes referred to asNorth Sudan to distinguish it fromSouth Sudan.[39]
The large mud brick temple, known as the Western Deffufa, in the ancient city ofKermaFortress ofBuhen, of the Middle Kingdom, reconstructed under the New Kingdom (about 1200 BC)
By the eighth millennium BC, people of aNeolithic culture had settled into a sedentary way of life there in fortifiedmudbrick villages, where they supplemented hunting and fishing on the Nile with grain gathering and cattle herding.[44] Neolithic peoples created cemeteries such asR12. During the fifth millennium BC, migrations from the drying Sahara brought neolithic people into the Nile Valley along with agriculture.
The population that resulted from this cultural and genetic mixing developed a social hierarchy over the next centuries which became theKingdom of Kerma at 2500 BC. Anthropological and archaeological research indicates that during the predynastic period Nubia and Nagadan Upper Egypt were ethnically and culturally nearly identical, and thus, simultaneously evolved systems of pharaonic kingship by 3300 BC.[45]
Mirror. End ofKerma Period, 1700–1550 BC. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
The Kerma culture was an early civilization centered inKerma, Sudan. It flourished from around 2500 BC to 1500 BC in ancientNubia. The Kerma culture was based in the southern part of Nubia, or "Upper Nubia" (in parts of present-day northern and central Sudan), and later extended its reach northward into Lower Nubia and the border of Egypt.[46] The polity seems to have been one of severalNile Valley states during theMiddle Kingdom of Egypt. In the Kingdom of Kerma's latest phase, lasting from about 1700–1500 BC, it absorbed the Sudanese kingdom ofSaï and became a sizable, populous empire rivaling Egypt.
Mentuhotep II, the 21st century BC founder of theMiddle Kingdom, is recorded to have undertaken campaigns against Kush in the 29th and 31st years of his reign. This is the earliest Egyptian reference toKush; theNubian region had gone by other names in the Old Kingdom.[47] UnderThutmose I, Egypt made several campaigns south.
The Egyptians ruled Kush in the New kingdom beginning when the Egyptian King Thutmose I occupied Kush and destroyed its capital, Kerma.[48]
Resistance to the early eighteenth Dynasty Egyptian rule by neighboring Kush is evidenced in the writings ofAhmose, son of Ebana, an Egyptian warrior who served under Nebpehtrya Ahmose (1539–1514 BC), Djeserkara Amenhotep I (1514–1493 BC), and Aakheperkara Thutmose I (1493–1481 BC). At the end of theSecond Intermediate Period (mid-sixteenth century BC), Egypt faced the twin existential threats—theHyksos in the North and the Kushites in the South. Taken from the autobiographical inscriptions on the walls of his tomb-chapel, the Egyptians undertook campaigns to defeat Kush and conquer Nubia under the rule ofAmenhotep I (1514–1493 BC). In Ahmose's writings, the Kushites are described asarchers, "Now after his Majesty had slain the Bedoin of Asia, he sailed upstream toUpper Nubia to destroy the Nubian bowmen."[50] The tomb writings contain two other references to the Nubian bowmen of Kush. By 1200 BC, Egyptian involvement in theDongola Reach was nonexistent.
According to Josephus Flavius, the biblical Moses led the Egyptian army in a siege of the Kushite city of Meroe. To end the siege Princess Tharbis was given to Moses as a (diplomatic) bride, and thus the Egyptian army retreated back to Egypt.[51]
After KingKashta ("the Kushite") invaded Egypt in the eighth century BC, the Kushite kings ruled as pharaohs of theTwenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt for nearly a century before being defeated and driven out by theAssyrians.[53] At the height of their glory, the Kushites conquered an empire that stretched from what is now known asSouth Kordofan to the Sinai. PharaohPiye attempted to expand the empire into the Near East but was thwarted by the Assyrian kingSargon II.
The Kingdom of Kush is mentioned in the Bible as having saved the Israelites from the wrath of the Assyrians, although disease among the besiegers might have been one of the reasons for the failure to take the city.[55][page needed]The war that took place between PharaohTaharqa and the Assyrian kingSennacherib was a decisive event in western history, with the Nubians being defeated in their attempts to gain a foothold in theNear East by Assyria. Sennacherib's successorEsarhaddon went further and invaded Egypt itself to secure his control of the Levant. This succeeded, as he managed to expel Taharqa from Lower Egypt. Taharqa fled back to Upper Egypt and Nubia, where he died two years later. Lower Egypt came under Assyrian vassalage but proved unruly, unsuccessfully rebelling against the Assyrians. Then, the kingTantamani, a successor of Taharqa, made a final determined attempt to regain Lower Egypt from the newly reinstated Assyrian vassalNecho I. He managed to retakeMemphis killing Necho in the process and besieged cities in the Nile Delta.Ashurbanipal, who had succeeded Esarhaddon, sent a large army in Egypt to regain control. He routed Tantamani near Memphis and, pursuing him,sacked Thebes. Although the Assyrians immediately departed Upper Egypt after these events, weakened, Thebes peacefully submitted itself to Necho's sonPsamtik I less than a decade later. This ended all hopes of a revival of the Nubian Empire, which rather continued in the form of a smaller kingdom centred onNapata. The city was raided by the Egyptianc. 590 BC, and sometime soon after to the late-3rd century BC, the Kushite resettled inMeroë.[53][56][57]
The three Christian Nubian kingdoms. The northern border ofAlodia is unclear, but it also might have been located further north, between the fourth and fifthNile cataract.[58]
On the turn of the fifth century theBlemmyes established a short-lived state in Upper Egypt and Lower Nubia, probably centred around Talmis (Kalabsha), but before 450 they were already driven out of the Nile Valley by the Nobatians. The latter eventually founded a kingdom on their own,Nobatia.[59]By the sixth century there were in total three Nubian kingdoms: Nobatia in the north, which had its capital at Pachoras (Faras); the central kingdom,Makuria centred at Tungul (Old Dongola), about 13 kilometres (8 miles) south of modernDongola; andAlodia, in the heartland of the old Kushitic kingdom, which had its capital atSoba (now a suburb of modern-day Khartoum).[60] Still in the sixth century they converted to Christianity.[61] In the seventh century, probably at some point between 628 and 642, Nobatia was incorporated into Makuria.[62]
From the mid eighth to mid eleventh century the political power and cultural development of Christian Nubia peaked.[66] In 747 Makuria invaded Egypt, which at this time belonged to the decliningUmayyads,[67] and it did so again in the early 960s, when it pushed as far north asAkhmim.[68] Makuria maintained close dynastic ties with Alodia, perhaps resulting in the temporary unification of the two kingdoms into one state.[69] The culture of the medieval Nubians has been described as "Afro-Byzantine",[70] but was also increasingly influenced by Arab culture.[71] The state organisation was extremely centralised,[72] being based on theByzantine bureaucracy of the sixth and seventh centuries.[73] Arts flourished in the form of pottery paintings[74] and especially wall paintings.[75] The Nubians developed an alphabet for their language,Old Nobiin, basing it on theCoptic alphabet, while also usingGreek,Coptic andArabic.[76] Women enjoyed high social status: they had access to education, could own, buy and sell land and often used their wealth to endow churches and church paintings.[77] Even the royal succession wasmatrilineal, with the son of the king's sister being the rightful heir.[78]
From the late 11th/12th century, Makuria's capital Dongola was in decline, and Alodia's capital declined in the 12th century as well.[79] In the 14th and 15th centuriesBedouin tribes overran most of Sudan,[80] migrating to theButana, theGezira,Kordofan andDarfur.[81] In 1365 a civil war forced the Makurian court to flee toGebel Adda inLower Nubia, while Dongola was destroyed and left to the Arabs. Afterwards Makuria continued to exist only as a petty kingdom.[82] After the prosperous[83] reign of kingJoel (fl. 1463–1484) Makuria collapsed.[84] Coastal areas from southern Sudan up to the port city ofSuakin was succeeded by theAdal Sultanate in the fifteenth century.[85][86] To the south, the kingdom of Alodia fell to either the Arabs, commanded by tribal leaderAbdallah Jamma, or theFunj, an African people originating from the south.[87] Datings range from the9th century after the Hijra (c. 1396–1494),[88] the late 15th century,[89] 1504[90] to 1509.[91] An alodian rump state might have survived in the form of thekingdom of Fazughli, lasting until 1685.[92]
Islamic kingdoms of Sennar and Darfur (c. 1500–1821)
The great mosque ofSennar, built in the 17th century[93]
In 1504 the Funj are recorded to have founded theKingdom of Sennar, in which Abdallah Jamma's realm was incorporated.[94] By 1523, when Jewish travellerDavid Reubeni visited Sudan, the Funj state already extended as far north as Dongola.[95] Meanwhile, Islam began to be preached on the Nile bySufi holy men who settled there in the 15th and 16th centuries[96] and by David Reubeni's visit kingAmara Dunqas, previously a Pagan or nominal Christian, was recorded to be Muslim.[97] However, the Funj would retain un-Islamic customs like the divine kingship or the consumption of alcohol until the 18th century.[98] Sudanesefolk Islam preserved many rituals stemming from Christian traditions until the recent past.[99]
Soon the Funj came in conflict with theOttomans, who had occupiedSuakinc. 1526[100] and eventually pushed south along the Nile, reaching the third Nile cataract area in 1583/1584. A subsequent Ottoman attempt to capture Dongola wasrepelled by the Funj in 1585.[101] Afterwards,Hannik, located just south of the third cataract, would mark the border between the two states.[102] The aftermath of the Ottoman invasion saw the attempted usurpation ofAjib, a minor king of northern Nubia. While the Funj eventually killed him in 1611/1612 his successors, theAbdallab, were granted to govern everything north of the confluence of Blue and White Niles with considerable autonomy.[103]
During the 17th century the Funj state reached its widest extent,[104] but in the following century it began to decline.[105] A coup in 1718 brought a dynastic change,[106] while another one in 1761–1762[107] resulted in theHamaj Regency, where theHamaj (a people from the Ethiopian borderlands) effectively ruled while the Funj sultans were their mere puppets.[108] Shortly afterwards the sultanate began to fragment;[109] by the early 19th century it was essentially restricted to the Gezira.[110]
The coup of 1718 kicked off a policy of pursuing a more orthodox Islam, which in turn promoted theArabisation of the state.[111] To legitimise their rule over their Arab subjects the Funj began to propagate anUmayyad descend.[112] North of the confluence of the Blue and White Niles, as far downstream asAl Dabbah, the Nubians adopted the tribal identity of the ArabJaalin.[113] Until the 19th century Arabic had succeeded in becoming the dominant language of central riverine Sudan[114][115][116] and most of Kordofan.[117]
West of the Nile, inDarfur, the Islamic period saw at first the rise of theTunjur kingdom, which replaced the oldDaju kingdom in the 15th century[118] and extended as far west asWadai.[119] TheTunjur people were probably ArabisedBerbers and, their ruling elite at least, Muslims.[120] In the 17th century the Tunjur were driven from power by theFurKeira sultanate.[119] The Keira state, nominally Muslim since the reign ofSulayman Solong (r.c. 1660–1680),[121] was initially a small kingdom in northernJebel Marra,[122] but expanded west- and northwards in the early 18th century[123] and eastwards under the rule ofMuhammad Tayrab (r. 1751–1786),[124] peaking in the conquest of Kordofan in 1785.[125] The apogee of this empire, now roughly the size of present-dayNigeria,[125] would last until 1821.[124]
In 1821, the Ottoman ruler of Egypt,Muhammad Ali of Egypt, invaded and conquered northern Sudan. Although technically theVali of Egypt under theOttoman Empire, Muhammad Ali styled himself asKhedive of a virtually independent Egypt. Seeking to add Sudan to his domains, he sent his third son Ismail (not to be confused withIsmaʻil Pasha mentioned later) to conquer the country, and subsequently incorporate it into Egypt. With the exception of the Shaiqiya and the Darfur sultanate in Kordofan, he was met without resistance. The Egyptian policy of conquest was expanded and intensified byIbrahim Pasha's son, Ismaʻil, under whose reign most of the remainder of modern-day Sudan was conquered.
The Egyptian authorities made significant improvements to the Sudanese infrastructure (mainly in the north), especially with regard to irrigation and cotton production. In 1879, theGreat Powers forced the removal of Ismail and established his sonTewfik Pasha in his place. Tewfik's corruption and mismanagement resulted in the'Urabi revolt, which threatened the Khedive's survival. Tewfik appealed for help to the British, who subsequently occupied Egypt in 1882. Sudan was left in the hands of the Khedivial government, and the mismanagement and corruption of its officials.[126][127]
During the Khedivial period, dissent had spread due to harsh taxes imposed on most activities. Taxation on irrigation wells and farming lands were so high most farmers abandoned their farms and livestock. During the 1870s, European initiatives against theslave trade had an adverse impact on the economy of northern Sudan, precipitating the rise ofMahdist forces.[128]Muhammad Ahmad ibn Abd Allah, theMahdi (Guided One), offered to theansars (his followers) and those who surrendered to him a choice between adopting Islam or being killed. The Mahdiyah (Mahdist regime) imposed traditional ShariaIslamic laws. On 12 August 1881, an incident occurred atAba Island, sparking the outbreak of what became theMahdist War.
From his announcement of the Mahdiyya in June 1881 until thefall of Khartoum in January 1885, Muhammad Ahmad led asuccessful military campaign against the Turco-Egyptian government of the Sudan, known as theTurkiyah. Muhammad Ahmad died on 22 June 1885, a mere six months after the conquest of Khartoum. After a power struggle amongst his deputies,Abdallahi ibn Muhammad, with the help primarily of theBaggara of western Sudan, overcame the opposition of the others and emerged as the unchallenged leader of the Mahdiyah. After consolidating his power, Abdallahi ibn Muhammad assumed the title ofKhalifa (successor) of the Mahdi, instituted an administration, and appointedAnsar (who were usuallyBaggara) as emirs over each of the several provinces.
Regional relations remained tense throughout much of the Mahdiyah period, largely because of the Khalifa's brutal methods to extend his rule throughout the country. In 1887, a 60,000-man Ansar army invadedEthiopia, penetrating as far asGondar. In March 1889, kingYohannes IV of Ethiopia marched onMetemma; however, after Yohannes fell in battle, the Ethiopian forces withdrew. Abd ar-Rahman an-Nujumi, the Khalifa's general, attempted an invasion of Egypt in 1889, but British-led Egyptian troops defeated the Ansar at Tushkah. The failure of the Egyptian invasion broke the spell of the Ansar's invincibility. TheBelgians prevented the Mahdi's men from conqueringEquatoria, and in 1893, the Italians repelled an Ansar attack atAgordat (inEritrea) and forced the Ansar to withdraw from Ethiopia.
In the 1890s, the British sought to re-establish their control over Sudan, once more officially in the name of the Egyptian Khedive, but in actuality treating the country as a British colony. By the early 1890s, British, French, and Belgian claims had converged at theNile headwaters. Britain feared that the other powers would take advantage of Sudan's instability to acquire territory previously annexed to Egypt. Apart from these political considerations, Britain wanted to establish control over the Nile to safeguard a planned irrigation dam atAswan.Herbert Kitchener led military campaigns against theMahdist Sudan from 1896 to 1898. Kitchener's campaigns culminated in a decisive victory in theBattle of Omdurman on 2 September 1898. A year later, theBattle of Umm Diwaykarat on 25 November 1899 resulted in the death ofAbdallahi ibn Muhammad, subsequently bringing to an end the Mahdist War.
TheMahdist War was fought between a group of Muslim dervishes calledMahdists, who had overrun much of Sudan, and the British forces.
In 1899, Britain and Egypt reached an agreement under which Sudan was run by a governor-general appointed by Egypt with British consent.[129] In reality, Sudan was effectively administered as aCrown colony. The British were keen to reverse the process, started underMuhammad Ali Pasha, of uniting theNile Valley under Egyptian leadership and sought to frustrate all efforts aimed at further uniting the two countries.[citation needed]
Under the Delimitation, Sudan's border with Abyssinia was contested by raiding tribesmen trading slaves, breaching boundaries of the law. In 1905 local chieftain Sultan Yambio, reluctant to the end, gave up the struggle with British forces that had occupied theKordofan region, finally ending the lawlessness. Ordinances published by Britain enacted a system of taxation. This was following the precedent set by the Khalifa. The main taxes were recognized. These taxes were on land, herds, and date-palms.[130] The continued British administration of Sudan fuelled an increasingly strident nationalist backlash, with Egyptian nationalist leaders determined to force Britain to recognise a single independent union of Egypt and Sudan. With a formal end to Ottoman rule in 1914, SirReginald Wingate was sent that December to occupy Sudan as the new Military Governor.Hussein Kamel was declaredSultan of Egypt and Sudan, as was his brother and successor,Fuad I. They continued upon their insistence of a single Egyptian-Sudanese state even when theSultanate of Egypt was retitled as theKingdom of Egypt and Sudan, but it wasSaad Zaghloul who continued to be frustrated in the ambitions until his death in 1927.[131]
A camel soldier of the native forces of the British army, early 20th century
From 1924 until independence in 1956, the British had a policy of running Sudan as two essentially separate territories; the north and south. Theassassination of a Governor-General of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan in Cairo was the causative factor; it brought demands of the newly electedWafd government from colonial forces. A permanent establishment of two battalions in Khartoum was renamed theSudan Defence Force acting as under the government, replacing the former garrison of Egyptian army soldiers, saw action afterward during theWalwal Incident.[132] TheWafdist parliamentary majority had rejectedSarwat Pasha's accommodation plan withAusten Chamberlain in London; yet Cairo still needed the money. The Sudanese Government's revenue had reached a peak in 1928 at £6.6 million, thereafter the Wafdist disruptions, and Italian borders incursions from Somaliland, London decided to reduce expenditure during the Great Depression. Cotton and gum exports were dwarfed by the necessity to import almost everything from Britain leading to a balance of payments deficit at Khartoum.[133]
In July 1936 the Liberal Constitutional leader, Muhammed Mahmoud was persuaded to bring Wafd delegates to London to sign the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty, "the beginning of a new stage in Anglo-Egyptian relations", wroteAnthony Eden.[134] The British Army was allowed to return to Sudan to protect the Canal Zone. They were able to find training facilities, and the RAF was free to fly over Egyptian territory. It did not, however, resolve the problem of Sudan: the Sudanese Intelligentsia agitated for a return to metropolitan rule, conspiring with Germany's agents.[135]
Italian fascist leaderBenito Mussolini made it clear that he could not invade Abyssinia without first conquering Egypt and Sudan; they intended unification ofItalian Libya withItalian East Africa. The British Imperial General Staff prepared for military defence of the region, which was thin on the ground.[136] The British ambassador blocked Italian attempts to secure a Non-Aggression Treaty with Egypt-Sudan. But Mahmoud was a supporter of theGrand Mufti of Jerusalem; the region was caught between the Empire's efforts to save the Jews, and moderate Arab calls to halt migration.[137]
The Sudanese Government was directly involved militarily in theEast African Campaign. Formed in 1925, theSudan Defence Force played an active part in responding to incursions early in World War Two. Italian troops occupiedKassala and other border areas fromItalian Somaliland during 1940. In 1942, the SDF also played a part in the invasion of the Italian colony by British and Commonwealth forces. The last Britishgovernor-general wasRobert George Howe.
TheEgyptian revolution of 1952 finally heralded the beginning of the march towards Sudanese independence. Having abolished the monarchy in 1953, Egypt's new leaders,Mohammed Naguib, whose mother was Sudanese, and laterGamal Abdel Nasser, believed the only way to end British domination in Sudan was for Egypt to officially abandon its claims of sovereignty. In addition, Nasser knew it would be difficult for Egypt to govern an impoverished Sudan after its independence. The British on the other hand continued their political and financial support for the Mahdist successor,Abd al-Rahman al-Mahdi, who it was believed would resist Egyptian pressure for Sudanese independence. Abd al-Rahman was capable of this, but his regime was plagued by political ineptitude, which garnered a colossal loss of support in northern and central Sudan. Both Egypt and Britain sensed a great instability fomenting, and thus opted to allow both Sudanese regions, north and south to have a free vote on whether they wished independence or a British withdrawal.
This sectionis missing information about the history of Sudan between 1956 and 1969 and between 1977 and 1989. Please expand the sectionby making an edit requestto include this information. Further details may exist on thetalk page.(January 2016)
Sudan's flag raised at independence ceremony on 1 January 1956 by the Prime Minister Ismail al-Azhari and in presence of opposition leader Mohamed Ahmed Almahjoub.
A polling process was carried out resulting in the composition of a democratic parliament andIsmail al-Azhari was elected first Prime Minister and led the first modern Sudanese government.[138] On 1 January 1956, in a special ceremony held at the People's Palace, the Egyptian and British flags were lowered and the new Sudanese flag, composed of green, blue and yellow stripes, was raised in their place by the prime ministerIsmail al-Azhari.
Dissatisfaction culminated in acoup d'état on 25 May 1969. The coup leader, Col.Gaafar Nimeiry, became prime minister, and the new regime abolished parliament and outlawed all political parties. Disputes betweenMarxist and non-Marxist elements within the ruling military coalition resulted ina briefly successful coup in July 1971, led by theSudanese Communist Party. Several days later, anti-communist military elements restored Nimeiry to power.
In 1972, theAddis Ababa Agreement led to a cessation of the north–south civil war and a degree of self-rule. This led to ten years hiatus in the civil war but an end to American investment in theJonglei Canal project. This had been considered absolutely essential to irrigate the Upper Nile region and to prevent an environmental catastrophe and wide-scalefamine among the local tribes, most especially the Dinka. In the civil war that followed their homeland was raided, looted, pillaged, and burned. Many of the tribe were murdered in a bloody civil war that raged for over 20 years.
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, theIMF negotiated aStructural Adjustment Program with the government. This further promoted the mechanised export agriculture sector. This caused great hardship for the pastoralists of Sudan. In 1976, the Ansars had mounted a bloody but unsuccessful coup attempt. But in July 1977, President Nimeiry met with Ansar leaderSadiq al-Mahdi, opening the way for a possible reconciliation. Hundreds of political prisoners were released, and in August a general amnesty was announced for all oppositionists.
On 30 June 1989, ColonelOmar al-Bashir led a bloodlessmilitary coup.[139] The new military government suspended political parties and introduced an Islamic legal code on the national level.[140] Later, al-Bashir carried out purges and executions in the upper ranks of the army, the banning of associations, political parties, and independent newspapers, and the imprisonment of leading political figures and journalists.[141] On 16 October 1993, al-Bashir appointed himself "President" and disbanded the Revolutionary Command Council. The executive and legislative powers of the council were taken by al-Bashir.[142]
Before the2000 presidential election, al-Turabi introduced a bill to reduce the President's powers, prompting al-Bashir toorder a dissolution and declare astate of emergency. When al-Turabi urged a boycott of the President's re-election campaign signing agreement withSudan People's Liberation Army, al-Bashir suspected they were plotting to overthrow the government.[149] Hassan al-Turabi was jailed later the same year.[150]
TheSudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) was the primary member of theEastern Front, a coalition of rebel groups operating in eastern Sudan. After the peace agreement, their place was taken in February 2004 after the merger of the largerfulani andBeja Congress with the smallerRashaida Free Lions.[154] A peace agreement between the Sudanese government and the Eastern Front was signed on 14 October 2006, in Asmara. On 5 May 2006, theDarfur Peace Agreement was signed, aiming at ending the conflict which had continued for three years up to this point.[155] The Chad–Sudan Conflict (2005–2007) had erupted after theBattle of Adré triggered a declaration of war by Chad.[156] The leaders of Sudan and Chad signed an agreement inSaudi Arabia on 3 May 2007 to stop fighting from theDarfur conflict spilling along their countries' 1,000-kilometre (600 mi) border.[157]
In July 2007 the country was hit bydevastating floods,[158] with over 400,000 people being directly affected.[159] Since 2009, a series ofongoing conflicts between rival nomadic tribes in Sudan and South Sudan have caused a large number of civilian casualties.
Partition and rehabilitation
TheSudanese conflict in South Kordofan and Blue Nile in the early 2010s betweenthe Army of Sudan and theSudan Revolutionary Front started as a dispute over the oil-rich region ofAbyei in the months leading up toSouth Sudanese independence in 2011, though it is also related to civil war in Darfur that is nominally resolved. A year later in 2012 during theHeglig Crisis Sudan would achieve victory against South Sudan, a war over oil-rich regions between South Sudan'sUnity and Sudan'sSouth Kordofan states. The events would later be known as theSudanese Intifada, which would end only in 2013 after al-Bashir promised he would not seek re-election in 2015. He later broke his promise and sought re-election in 2015, winning through a boycott from the opposition who believed that the elections would not be free and fair. Voter turnout was at a low 46%.[160]
On 13 January 2017, US presidentBarack Obama signed an Executive Order that lifted many sanctions placed against Sudan and assets of its government held abroad. On 6 October 2017, the following US presidentDonald Trump lifted most of the remaining sanctions against the country and its petroleum, export-import, and property industries.[161]
2019 Sudanese Revolution and transitional government
Sudanese protestors celebrate the 17 August 2019 signing of theDraft Constitutional Declaration between military and civilian representatives.
On 19 December 2018,massive protests began after a government decision to triple the price of goods at a time when the country was suffering an acute shortage of foreign currency and inflation of 70 percent.[162] In addition, President al-Bashir, who had been in power for more than 30 years, refused to step down, resulting in the convergence of opposition groups to form a united coalition. The government retaliated by arresting more than 800 opposition figures and protesters, leading to the death of approximately 40 people according to the Human Rights Watch,[163] although the number was much higher than that according to local and civilian reports. The protests continued after the overthrow of his government on 11 April 2019 after a massive sit-in in front of theSudanese Armed Forces main headquarters, after which the chiefs of staff decided to intervene and they ordered the arrest of President al-Bashir and declared a three-month state of emergency.[164][165][166] Over 100 people died on 3 June after security forces dispersed the sit-in using tear gas and live ammunition in what is known as theKhartoum massacre,[167][168] resulting in Sudan's suspension from the African Union.[169] Sudan's youth had been reported to be driving the protests.[170] The protests came to an end when theForces for Freedom and Change (an alliance of groups organizing the protests) andTransitional Military Council (the ruling military government) signed the July 2019 Political Agreement and the August 2019 Draft Constitutional Declaration.[171][172]The transitional institutions and procedures included the creation of a joint military-civilianSovereignty Council of Sudan as head of state, a newChief Justice of Sudan as head of the judiciary branch of power,Nemat Abdullah Khair, and a new prime minister. The former Prime Minister,Abdalla Hamdok, a 61-year-old economist who worked previously for the UNEconomic Commission for Africa, was sworn in on 21 August 2019.[173] He initiated talks with theIMF andWorld Bank aimed at stabilising the economy, which was in dire straits because of shortages of food, fuel and hard currency. Hamdok estimated that US$10bn over two years would suffice to halt the panic, and said that over 70% of the 2018 budget had been spent on civil war-related measures. The governments ofSaudi Arabia and theUnited Arab Emirates had invested significant sums supporting the military council since Bashir's ouster.[174] On 3 September, Hamdok appointed 14 civilian ministers, including the first female foreign minister and the first Coptic Christian, also a woman.[175][176] As of August 2021, the country was jointly led by Chairman of the Transitional Sovereign Council,Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok.[177]
The Sudanese government announced on 21 September 2021 that there was a failed attempt at acoup d'état from the military that had led to the arrest of 40 military officers.[178][179]
One month after the attempted coup, another military coup on 25 October 2021 resulted in the deposition of the civilian government, including former Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok. The coup was led by generalAbdel Fattah al-Burhan who subsequently declared a state of emergency.[180][181][182][183] Burhan took office as the de facto head of state of Sudan and formed a new army-backed government on 11 November 2021.[184]
On 21 November 2021, Hamdok was reinstated as prime minister after a political agreement was signed by Burhan to restore the transition to civilian rule (although Burhan retained control). The 14-point deal called for the release of all political prisoners detained during the coup and stipulated that a 2019 constitutional declaration continued to be the basis for a political transition.[185] Hamdok fired the chief of police Khaled Mahdi Ibrahim al-Emam and his second in command Ali Ibrahim.[186]
On 2 January 2022, Hamdok announced his resignation from the position of Prime Minister following one of the most deadly protests to date.[187] He was succeeded byOsman Hussein.[188][189] By March 2022 over 1,000 people including 148 children had been detained for opposing the coup, there were 25 allegations of rape[190] and 87 people had been killed[191] including 11 children.[190]
In April 2023 – as an internationally brokered plan for a transition to civilian rule was discussed – power struggles grew between army commander (andde facto national leader) Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and his deputy,Hemedti, head of the heavily armed paramilitaryRapid Support Forces (RSF), formed from theJanjaweed militia.[192][193]
On 15 April 2023, their conflict erupted into a civil war starting with thebattles in the streets of Khartoum between the army and the RSF – with troops, tanks and planes. By the third day, 400 people had been reported killed and at least 3,500 injured, according to theUnited Nations.[194] Among the dead were three workers from theWorld Food Programme, triggering a suspension of the organization's work in Sudan, despite ongoing hunger afflicting much of the country.[195] Sudanese GeneralYasser al-Atta said theUAE was providing supplies to RSF, which were being used in the war.[196]
Both the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces areaccused of committing war crimes.[197][198] As of 29 December 2023, over 5.8 million were internally displaced and more than 1.5 million others had fled the country as refugees,[199] and many civilians inDarfur have been reported dead as part of theMasalit massacres.[200] Up to 15,000 people were killed in the city ofGeneina.[201]
As a result of the war theWorld Food Programme released a report on 22 February 2024 saying that more than 95% of Sudan's population could not afford a meal a day.[202] As of April 2024, the United Nations reported that more than 8.6 million people have been forced out of their homes, while 18 million are facing severe hunger, five million of them are at emergency levels.[203] In May 2024, US government officials estimated that at least 150,000 people had died in the war in the past year alone.[204] The RSF's apparent targeting of Black indigenous communities, especially around the city of El Fasher, have led international officials to warn of the risk of history repeating itself with another genocide in the Darfur region.[204]
On 31 May 2024, a conference was called at the House of Representatives by a US CongresswomanEleanor Holmes Norton to address Sudan's humanitarian crisis. A report by the State Department concerning the UAE's involvement in Sudan, including war crimes and arms exports, was the prime focus of the conference's discussion. A panelist speaker, Councilman Mohamed Seifeldein, called for an end to the UAE's involvement in Sudan, stating that the UAE's role in using the RSF in Sudan and also in theYemeni civil war "need to be stopped". Seifeldein, along with another panelistHagir S. Elsheikh, urged the international community to stop all support for the RSF, pointing to the militant group's destructive role in Sudan. Elsheikh also recommended to use social media in raising awareness about the Sudanese war, and to put pressure on the US elected officials to halt arms sales to the UAE.[205] The latest report presented to the UN states that 2025 will see 30.4 million people in Sudan in need for humanitarian aid, due to the military conflict in the country.[206][207]
Sudan lies between latitudes8° and23°N. The terrain is generally flat plains, broken by several mountain ranges. In the west, theDeriba Caldera (3,042 m or 9,980 ft), located in theMarrah Mountains, is the highest point in Sudan. In the east are theRed Sea Hills.[209]
TheBlue Nile andWhite Nile rivers meet inKhartoum to form theNile, which flows northwards through Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea. The Blue Nile's course through Sudan is nearly 800 km (497 mi) long and is joined by theDinder andRahad Rivers betweenSennar andKhartoum. The White Nile within Sudan has no significant tributaries.
There are several dams on the Blue and White Niles. Among them are theSennar andRoseires Dams on the Blue Nile, and theJebel Aulia Dam on the White Nile. There is alsoLake Nubia on the Sudanese-Egyptian border.
The amount of rainfall increases towards the south. The central and the northern part have extremely dry, semi-desert areas such as theNubian Desert to the northeast and theBayuda Desert to the east; in the south, there are grasslands and tropical savanna. Sudan's rainy season lasts for about four months (June to September) in the north, and up to six months (May to October) in the south.
The dry regions are plagued bysandstorms, known ashaboob, which can completely block out the sun. In the northern and western semi-desert areas, people rely on scarce rainfall for basic agriculture and many arenomadic, travelling with their herds of sheep and camels. Nearer the River Nile, there arewell-irrigated farms growingcash crops.[212] The sunshine duration is very high all over the country but especially in deserts where it can soar to over 4,000 hours per year.
Environmental issues
Sudan is the thirteenth most water stressed country in the world.
In September 1983, President Jaafar Nimeiri introduced sharia law in Sudan, known asSeptember laws, symbolically disposing of alcohol and implementinghudud punishments like public amputations. Al-Turabi supported this move, differing from Al-Sadiq al-Mahdi's dissenting view. Al-Turabi and his allies within the regime also opposed self-rule in the south, a secular constitution, and non-Islamic cultural acceptance. One condition for national reconciliation was re-evaluating the1972 Addis Ababa Agreement that granted thesouth self-governance, reflecting a failure to accommodate minority rights and leverage Islam's rejection of racism.[217] TheIslamic economy followed in early 1984, eliminating interest and institutingzakat. Nimeiri declared himself the imam of the Sudanese Umma in 1984.[218]
Under al-Bashir
During the regime of Omar al-Bashir, the legal system in Sudan was based on IslamicSharia law. The 2005Naivasha Agreement, ending the civil war between north and south Sudan, established some protections for non-Muslims in Khartoum. Sudan's application of Sharia law is geographically inconsistent.[219]
Stoning was a judicial punishment in Sudan. Between 2009 and 2012, several women were sentenced to death by stoning.[220][221][222]Flogging was a legal punishment. Between 2009 and 2014, many people were sentenced to 40–100 lashes.[223][224][225][226][227][228] In August 2014, several Sudanese men died in custody after being flogged.[229][230][231] 53 Christians were flogged in 2001.[232] Sudan'spublic order law allowed police officers to publicly whip women who were accused of public indecency.[233]
Crucifixion was also a legal punishment. In 2002, 88 people were sentenced to death for crimes relating to murder, armed robbery, and participating in ethnic clashes.Amnesty International wrote that they could be executed by either hanging or crucifixion.[234]
International Court of Justice jurisdiction is accepted, though with reservations. Under the terms of the Naivasha Agreement, Islamic law did not apply in South Sudan.[235] Since the secession of South Sudan there was some uncertainty as to whether Sharia law would apply to the non-Muslim minorities present in Sudan, especially because of contradictory statements by al-Bashir on the matter.[236]
The judicial branch of the Sudanese government consists of a Constitutional Court of nine justices, the National Supreme Court, the Court of Cassation,[237] and other national courts; the National Judicial Service Commission provides overall management for the judiciary.
Following the ousting of al-Bashir, the interim constitution signed in August 2019 contained no mention of Sharia law.[238] As of 12 July 2020, Sudan abolished the apostasy law, public flogging and alcohol ban for non-Muslims. The draft of a new law was passed in early July. Sudan also criminalizedfemale genital mutilation with a punishment of up to 3 years in jail.[239] An accord between the transitional government and rebel group leadership was signed in September 2020, in which the government agreed to officially separate the state and religion, ending three decades of rule under Islamic law. It also agreed that no official state religion will be established.[240][238][241]
In addition to the states, there also exist regional administrative bodies established by peace agreements between the central government and rebel groups.
TheAbyei Area, located on the border between South Sudan and the Republic of the Sudan, currently has a special administrative status and is governed by anAbyei Area Administration. It was due to hold areferendum in 2011 on whether to be part ofSouth Sudan or part of the Republic of the Sudan.
Disputed areas and zones of conflict
In April 2012, the South Sudanese army captured theHeglig oil field from Sudan, which the Sudanese army later recaptured.
Bashir (right) and U.S. Deputy Secretary of StateRobert Zoellick, 2005
Sudan has had a troubled relationship with many of its neighbours and much of the international community, owing to what is viewed as its radical Islamic stance. For much of the 1990s,Uganda,Kenya andEthiopia formed an ad hoc alliance called the "Front Line States" with support from the United States to check the influence of theNational Islamic Front government. The Sudanese Government supported anti-Ugandan rebel groups such as theLord's Resistance Army (LRA).[244]
As the National Islamic Front regime in Khartoum gradually emerged as a real threat to the region and the world, the U.S. began to list Sudan on its list ofState Sponsors of Terrorism. After the US listed Sudan as a state sponsor of terrorism, theNIF decided to develop relations withIraq, and laterIran, the two most controversial countries in the region.
From the mid-1990s, Sudan gradually began to moderate its positions as a result of increased U.S. pressure following the1998 U.S. embassy bombings, inTanzania andKenya, and the new development of oil fields previously in rebel hands. Sudan also has a territorial dispute with Egypt over theHala'ib Triangle. Since 2003, the foreign relations of Sudan had centred on the support for ending theSecond Sudanese Civil War and condemnation of government support for militias in thewar in Darfur.
Sudan has extensive economic relations with China. China obtains ten percent of its oil from Sudan. According to a former Sudanese government minister, China is Sudan's largest supplier of arms.[245]
In December 2005, Sudan became one of the few states to recognise Moroccan sovereignty overWestern Sahara.[246]
In June 2019, Sudan was suspended from theAfrican Union over the lack of progress towards the establishment of a civilian-led transitional authority since its initial meeting following the coup d'état of 11 April 2019.[249][250]
In July 2019, UN ambassadors of 37 countries, including Sudan, have signed a joint letter to theUNHRC defending China'streatment of Uyghurs in theXinjiang region.[251]
On 23 October 2020, U.S. PresidentDonald Trump announced that Sudan will start tonormalize ties with Israel, making it the third Arab state to do so as part of the U.S.-brokeredAbraham Accords.[252] On 14 December the U.S. Government removed Sudan from its State Sponsor of Terrorism list; as part of the deal, Sudan agreed to pay $335 million in compensation to victims of the 1998 embassy bombings.[253]
In February 2022, it is reported that a Sudanese envoy has visited Israel to promote ties between the countries.[258]
In the early months of 2023, fighting reignited, primarily between the military forces of Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the army chief and de facto head of state, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces led by his rival, Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. As a result, the U.S. and most European countries have shut down their embassies in Khartoum and have attempted evacuations. In 2023, it was estimated that there were 16,000 Americans in Sudan who needed to be evacuated. In absence of an official evacuation plan from the U.S. State Department, many Americans have been forced to turn to other nations' embassies for guidance, with many fleeing to Nairobi. Other African countries and humanitarian groups have tried to help. The Turkish embassy has reportedly allowed Americans to join its evacuation efforts for its own citizens. The TRAKboys, a South-Africa based political organization which came into conflict with theWagner Group, a Russian private military contractor operating in Sudan since 2017, has been assisting with the evacuation of both Black Americans and Sudanese citizens to safe locations in South Africa.[259][260]
On April 15, 2024, France is hosting an international conference on Sudan, marking the one-year anniversary of the outbreak of war in the northeast African nation, which has resulted in a humanitarian and political crisis. The country is calling for support from the global community, aiming to draw attention to a crisis that officials believe has been overshadowed by ongoing conflicts in the Middle East.[261]
On 14 February 2025, the UAE organized the "High-Level Humanitarian Conference for the People of Sudan" inAddis Ababa. The Sudanese government condemned the conference hosted by theUnited Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), and also criticizedAntónio Guterres andMoussa Faki for attending it. The government accused the UAE of using the $200 million aid for Sudan, which it announced at the meeting, to "improve its image" and cover its humanitarian crimes in Sudan by supporting the RSF. Meanwhile, Guterres and Faki were also urged to support the Sudanese people by pressuring the UAE to end its involvement in the Sudan conflict.[262][263]
The Sudanese Armed Forces is the regular forces of Sudan and is divided into five branches: the Sudanese Army,Sudanese Navy (including the Marine Corps),Sudanese Air Force, Border Patrol and the Internal Affairs Defence Force, totalling about 200,000 troops. The military of Sudan has become a well-equipped fighting force; a result of increasing local production of heavy and advanced arms. These forces are under the command of the National Assembly and its strategic principles include defending Sudan's external borders and preserving internal security.
Since theDarfur crisis in 2004, safe-keeping the central government from the armed resistance and rebellion of paramilitary rebel groups such as theSudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), theSudanese Liberation Army (SLA) and theJustice and Equality Movement (JEM) have been important priorities. While not official, the Sudanese military also uses nomad militias, the most prominent being theJanjaweed, in executing a counter-insurgency war.[264] Somewhere between 200,000[265] and 400,000[266][267][268] people have died in the violent struggles.
Since 1983, a combination of civil war andfamine has taken the lives of nearly two million people in Sudan.[269] It is estimated that as many as 200,000 people had been taken intoslavery during theSecond Sudanese Civil War.[270]
Muslims who convert to Christianity can face the death penalty for apostasy; seePersecution of Christians in Sudan and the death sentence againstMariam Yahia Ibrahim Ishag (who actually was raised as Christian). According to a 2013 UNICEF report, 88% of women in Sudan had undergonefemale genital mutilation.[271] Sudan'sPersonal Status law on marriage has been criticised for restrictingwomen's rights and allowingchild marriage.[272][273] Evidence suggests that support for female genital mutilation remains high, especially among rural and less well educated groups, although it has been declining in recent years.[274]Homosexuality is illegal; as of July 2020 it was no longer a capital offence, with the highest punishment being life imprisonment.[275]
A 14 August 2006 letter from the executive director ofHuman Rights Watch found that the Sudanese government is both incapable of protecting its own citizens inDarfur and unwilling to do so, and that itsmilitias are guilty ofcrimes against humanity. The letter added that these human-rights abuses have existed since 2004.[277] Some reports attribute part of the violations to the rebels as well as the government and theJanjaweed. The U.S. State Department's human-rights report issued in March 2007 claims that "[a]ll 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."[278]
Over 2.8 million civilians have been displaced and the death toll is estimated at 300,000 killed.[279] Both government forces and militias allied with the government are known to attack not only civilians in Darfur, but also humanitarian workers. Sympathisers 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. The rebel groups have also been accused in a report issued by the U.S. government of attacking humanitarian workers and of killing innocent civilians.[280] According to UNICEF, in 2008, there were as many as 6,000child soldiers in Darfur.[281]
Under the government of Omar al-Bashir (1989–2019), Sudan's media outlets were given little freedom in their reporting.[282] In 2014,Reporters Without Borders'freedom of the press rankings placed Sudan at 172th of 180 countries.[283] After al-Bashir's ousting in 2019, there was a brief period under a civilian-led transitional government where there was some press freedom.[282] However, the leaders of a 2021 coup quickly reversed these changes.[284] "The sector is deeply polarised", Reporters Without Borders stated in their 2023 summary of press freedom in the country. "Journalistic critics have been arrested, and the internet is regularly shut down in order to block the flow of information."[285] Additional crackdowns occurred after the beginning of the 2023Sudanese civil war.[282]
Since Sudan has experienced civil war for many years, many non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are also involved in humanitarian efforts to help internally displaced people. The NGOs are working in every corner of Sudan, especially in the southern part and western parts. During the civil war, international non-governmental organisations such as the Red Cross were operating mostly in the south but based in the capital Khartoum.[288] The attention of NGOs shifted shortly after the war broke out in the western part of Sudan known as Darfur. The most visible organisation in South Sudan is theOperation Lifeline Sudan (OLS) consortium.[289] Some international trade organisations categorise Sudan as part of theGreater Horn of Africa[290]
Even though most of the international organisations are substantially concentrated in both South Sudan and theDarfur region, some of them are working in the northern part as well. For example, theUnited Nations Industrial Development Organization is successfully operating inKhartoum, the capital. It is mainly funded by the European Union and recently opened more vocational training. The Canadian International Development Agency is operating largely in northern Sudan.[291]
A proportional representation of Sudan exports, 2019Oil andgas concessions in Sudan – 2004GDP per capita development in Sudan
In 2010, Sudan was considered the 17th-fastest-growing economy[292] in the world and the rapid development of the country largely from oil profits even when facing international sanctions was noted byThe New York Times in a 2006 article.[293] Because of the secession ofSouth Sudan, which contained about 75 percent of Sudan's oilfields,[294] Sudan entered a phase ofstagflation, GDP growth slowed to 3.4 percent in 2014, 3.1 percent in 2015 and was projected to recover slowly to 3.7 percent in 2016 while inflation remained as high as 21.8% as of 2015[update].[295] Sudan's GDP fell from US$123.053 billion in 2017 to US$40.852 billion in 2018.[296]
Even with the oil profits before the secession of South Sudan, Sudan still faced formidable economic problems, and its growth was still a rise from a very low level of per capita output. The economy of Sudan has been steadily growing over the 2000s, and according to a World Bank report the overall growth in GDP in 2010 was 5.2 percent compared to 2009 growth of 4.2 percent.[266] This growth was sustained even during thewar in Darfur andperiod of southern autonomy preceding South Sudan's independence.[297][298]Oil was Sudan's main export, with production increasing dramatically during the late 2000s, in the years before South Sudan gained independence in July 2011. With rising oil revenues, the Sudanese economy was booming, with a growth rate of about nine percent in 2007. The independence of oil-richSouth Sudan, however, placed most majoroil fields out of the Sudanese government's direct control and oil production in Sudan fell from around 450,000 barrels per day (72,000 m3/d) to under 60,000 barrels per day (9,500 m3/d). Production has since recovered to hover around 250,000 barrels per day (40,000 m3/d) for 2014–15.[299]
To export oil, South Sudan relies on a pipeline toPort Sudan on Sudan'sRed Sea coast, as South Sudan is alandlocked country, as well as the oil refining facilities in Sudan. In August 2012, Sudan and South Sudan agreed to a deal to transport South Sudanese oil through Sudanese pipelines to Port Sudan.[300]
The People's Republic of China is one of Sudan's major trading partners, China owns a 40 percent share in theGreater Nile Petroleum Operating Company.[301] The country also sells Sudan small arms, which have been used in military operations such as the conflicts in Darfur andSouth Kordofan.[302]
While historically agriculture remains the main source of income and employment hiring of over 80 percent of Sudanese, and makes up a third of the economic sector, oil production drove most of Sudan's post-2000 growth. Currently, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is working hand in hand with Khartoum government to implement sound macroeconomic policies. This follows a turbulent period in the 1980s when debt-ridden Sudan's relations with the IMF and World Bank soured, culminating in its eventual suspension from the IMF.[303]
According to the Corruptions Perception Index, Sudan is one of the most corrupt nations in the world.[304] According to theGlobal Hunger Index of 2013, Sudan has an GHI indicator value of 27.0 indicating that the nation has an 'Alarming Hunger Situation.' It is rated the fifth hungriest nation in the world.[305] According to the 2015Human Development Index (HDI) Sudan ranked the 167th place in human development, indicating Sudan still has one of the lowest human development rates in the world.[306] In 2014, 45% of the population lives on less than US$3.20 per day, up from 43% in 2009.[307]
Science and research
Sudan has around 25–30 universities; instruction is primarily in Arabic or English. Education at the secondary and university levels has been seriously hampered by the requirement that most males perform military service before completing their education.[308] In addition, the "Islamisation" encouraged by president Al-Bashir alienated many researchers. The official language of instruction in universities was changed from English to Arabic and Islamic courses became mandatory. Internal science funding withered.[309] According toUNESCO, more than 3,000 Sudanese researchers left the country between 2002 and 2014. By 2013, the country had a mere 19 researchers for every 100,000 citizens, or 1/30 the ratio ofEgypt, according to the Sudanese National Centre for Research. In 2015, Sudan published only about 500 scientific papers.[309] In comparison, Poland, a country of similar population size, publishes on the order of 10,000 papers per year.[310]
Sudan's National Space Program has produced multipleCubeSat satellites, and has plans to produce a Sudanese communications satellite (SUDASAT-1) and a Sudanese remote sensing satellite (SRSS-1). The Sudanese government contributed to an offer pool for a private-sector ground surveying Satellite operating above Sudan, Arabsat 6A, which was successfully launched on 11 April 2019, from the Kennedy Space Center.[311] Sudanese president Omar Hassan al-Bashir called for an African Space Agency in 2012, but plans were never made final.[312]
Sudan 2010 estimated population density, which includes modern independent South Sudan country's territory
In Sudan's 2008 census, the population of northern, western and eastern Sudan was recorded to be over 30 million.[313] This puts present estimates of the population of Sudan after the secession ofSouth Sudan at a little over 30 million people. This is a significant increase over the past two decades, as the 1983 census put the total population of Sudan, including present-day South Sudan, at 21.6 million.[314] The population of Greater Khartoum (includingKhartoum,Omdurman, andKhartoum North) is growing rapidly and was recorded to be 5.2 million.
Sudanese Arabs of northern and eastern Sudan claim to descend primarily from migrants from theArabian Peninsula and intermarriages with the indigenous populations of Sudan. TheNubian people share a common history with Nubians in southernEgypt. The vast majority of Arab tribes in Sudan migrated into Sudan in the 12th century, intermarried with the indigenous Nubian and other African populations and gradually introduced Islam.[321] Additionally, a few pre-Islamic Arabic tribes existed in Sudan from earlier migrations into the region from western Arabia.[322]
In several studies on the Arabization of Sudanese people, historians have discussed the meaning of Arab versus non-Arabcultural identities. For example, historian Elena Vezzadini argues that the ethnic character of different Sudanese groups depends on the way this part of Sudanese history is interpreted and that there are no clear historical arguments for this distinction. In short, she states that "Arab migrants were absorbed into local structures, that they became "Sudanized" and that "In a way, a group became Arab when it started to claim that it was."[323]
In an article on thegenealogy of different Sudanese ethnic groups, French archaeologist and linguistClaude Rilly argues that most Sudanese Arabs who claim Arab descent based on an important male ancestor ignore the fact that their DNA is largely made up of generations of African or African-Arab wives and their children, which means that these claims are rather more founded on oral traditions than on biological facts.[324][325]
Prior to 2005, Arabic was the nation's soleofficial language.[329] In the 2005 constitution, Sudan's official languages became Arabic and English.[330] Theliteracy rate is 70.2% of the total population (male: 79.6%, female: 60.8%).[331]
At the 2011 division which split off South Sudan, over 97% of the population in the remaining Sudan adhered toIslam.[332] Most Muslims are divided between two groups:Sufi andSalafiMuslims. Two popular divisions ofSufism, the Ansar and the Khatmia, are associated with the opposition Umma and Democratic Unionist parties, respectively. Only theDarfur region has traditionally been bereft of the Sufi brotherhoods common in the rest of the country.[333]
Religious identity plays a role in the country's political divisions. Northern and western Muslims have dominated the country's political and economic system since independence. The NCP draws much of its support fromIslamists,Salafis/Wahhabis and other conservativeArab-Muslims in the north. TheUmma Party has traditionally attracted Arab followers of the Ansar sect of Sufism as well as non-Arab Muslims from Darfur and Kordofan. The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) includes bothArab and non-ArabMuslims in the north and east, especially those in the Khatmia Sufi sect.[citation needed]
Sudan has alife expectancy of 65.1 years according to the latest data for the year 2019 from macrotrends.net[334] Infant mortality in 2016 was 44.8 per 1,000.[335]
Education in Sudan is free and compulsory for children aged 6 to 13 years, although more than 40% of children do not go to schools due to the economic situation. Environmental and social factors also increase the difficulty of getting to school, especially for girls.[337] Primary education consists of eight years, followed by three years of secondary education. The former educational ladder 6 + 3 + 3 was changed in 1990. The primary language at all levels is Arabic. Schools are concentrated in urban areas; many in the west have been damaged or destroyed by years of civil war. In 2001 the World Bank estimated that primary enrollment was 46 percent of eligible pupils and 21 percent of secondary students. Enrollment varies widely, falling below 20 percent in some provinces. The literacy rate is 70.2% of total population, male: 79.6%, female: 60.8%.[266]
Sudanese culture melds the behaviours, practices, and beliefs of about 578 ethnic groups, communicating in numerous different dialects and languages, in a region microcosmic of Africa, with geographic extremes varying from sandy desert to tropical forest. Recent evidence suggests that while most citizens of the country identify strongly with both Sudan and their religion, Arab and African supranational identities are much more polarising and contested.[338]
Sudan has a rich and unique musical culture that has been through chronic instability and repression during the modern history of Sudan. Beginning with the imposition of strictSalafi interpretation ofsharia law in 1983, many of the country's most prominent poets and artists, likeMahjoub Sharif, were imprisoned while others, likeMohammed el Amin (returned to Sudan in the mid-1990s) andMohammed Wardi (returned to Sudan 2003), fled to Cairo. Traditional music suffered too, with traditionalZār ceremonies being interrupted and drums confiscated[1].
At the same time European militaries contributed to the development of Sudanese music by introducing new instruments and styles; military bands, especially the Scottishbagpipes, were renowned, and set traditional music tomilitary march music. The marchMarch Shulkawi No 1, is an example, set to the sounds of theShilluk. Northern Sudan listens to different music than the rest of Sudan. A type of music called Aldlayib uses a musical instrument called the Tambur. The Tambur has five strings, is made from wood and makes music accompanied by the voices of human applause and singing artists.
Thecinema of Sudan began withcinematography by theBritish colonial presence in the early 20th century. After independence in 1956, a vigorous documentary film tradition was established, but financial pressures and serious constraints imposed by theIslamist government led to the decline of filmmaking from the 1990s onwards. Since the 2010s, several initiatives have shown an encouraging revival of filmmaking and public interest in film shows and festivals, albeit limited mainly to Khartoum.
The use ofphotography in Sudan goes back to the 1880s and theAnglo-Egyptian rule. As in other countries, the growing importance of photography for mass media like newspapers, as well as for amateur photographers led to a wider photographicdocumentation anduse of photographs in Sudan during the 20th century and beyond. In the 21st century, photography in Sudan has undergone important changes, mainly due todigital photography and distribution through social media and the internet.
Most Sudanese wear either traditional or western attire. A traditional garb widely worn by Sudanese men is thejalabiya, which is a loose-fitting, long-sleeved, collarless ankle-length garment also common toEgypt. The jalabiya is often accompanied by a large turban and a scarf, and the garment may be white, coloured, striped, and made of fabric varying in thickness, depending on the season of the year and personal preferences.
The most common dress for Sudanese women is thethobe orthawb, pronouncedtobe in Sudanese dialect. The thobe is a white or colourful long, one-piece cloth that women wrap around their inner garments, usually covering their head and hair.
Due to a 1991 penal code (Public Order Law), women were not allowed to wear trousers in public, because it was interpreted as an "obscene outfit". The punishment for wearing trousers could be up to 40 lashes, but after being found guilty in 2009, one woman was fined the equivalent of 200 U.S. dollars instead.[223][339]
Like in many countries, football is the most popular sport also in Sudan. TheSudan Football Association was founded in 1936 and thus it became one of the oldest football associations to exist in Africa. However, before the foundation of the Football Association, Sudan had started experiencing football brought to the country by the British colonizers since early 20th century via Egypt. Other Sudanese clubs founded at that time includeAl-Hilal Omdurman,Al-Merrikh, which led to popularization of football in the country. TheKhartoum League became the first national league to be played in Sudan, laying ground for the future development of Sudanese football.[340]
Since September 2019, there has been an official national league for women's football clubs that started on the basis of informal women's clubs since the beginning of the 2000s.[341] In 2021, theSudan women's national football team participated for the first time in theArab Women's Cup, held in Cairo, Egypt.[342]
Sudan's national beach volleyball team competed at the2018–2020 CAVB Beach Volleyball Continental Cup in both the women's and the men's section.[343] In June 2022, Patricia Seif El Din El Haj, the first Sudanese womanwrestler to participate in an African championship, was photographed byReuters photographer Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah, as she got ready to travel to Nigeria to prepare for the2024 Summer Olympic games.[344]
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^Evason, Nina (1 July 2023)."North Sudanese Culture".SBS Cultural Atlas (Article). SBS.Archived from the original on 26 March 2023. Retrieved1 July 2023.The Republic of the Sudan (also known as North Sudan) is a North African country bordering seven other nations.
^Osypiński, Piotr; Osypińska, Marta; Gautier, Achilles (2011). "Affad 23, a Late Middle Palaeolithic Site With Refitted Lithics and Animal Remains in the Southern Dongola Reach, Sudan".Journal of African Archaeology.9 (2):177–188.doi:10.3213/2191-5784-10186.JSTOR43135549.
^Hamilton, Alexander; Kandala, Ngianga-Bakwin (February 2016). "Geography and correlates of attitude toward Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in Sudan: What can we learn from successive Sudan opinion poll data?".Spatial and Spatio-temporal Epidemiology.16:59–76.doi:10.1016/j.sste.2015.12.001.PMID26919756.
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