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Sudan: SOCIETY
Population: Sudan has not had a comprehensive census since 1983. The most recent survey occurred in 1993, which produced a population figure of 24.9 million, but it omitted the South because of insecurity. As a result, most if not all demographic and social statistics are based on dated and incomplete information. In 2003 the United Nations Population Division estimated Sudan’s population at 33.6 million, a figure compatible with other estimates, although one or two estimates were higher by several million. According to the United Nations, the annual growth rate was 2.8 percent. The United Nations estimated the population density at 13.4 persons per square kilometer, a misleading measurement because half of the population lives on approximately 15 percent of the land, and the northern third of the country is quite thinly populated. Estimates of urbanization ranged from 31 percent to 37 percent, with the greatest concentration in the greater Khartoum area.
Demography: In 2004, 44 percent of the population (male 8,730,609; female 8,358,569) was less than 15 years of age; 54 percent (male 10,588,634; female 10,571,199) was between the ages of 15 and 64 years, and those aged 65 years and older accounted for slightly more than 2 percent (male 490,869; female 408,282). In the overall population, there were 1.02 males for every female. The number of births per 1,000 population was 38; the number of deaths, 10. The infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births was estimated at 69. The average number of lifetime births per female was 5.4. Life expectancy at birth was an estimated average of 57 years (56 years for men, 58 years for women).
Ethnic Groups: Ethnic identity is highly fluid in Sudan and depends upon the criteria by which individual groups of Sudanese distinguish themselves from other groups. The largest commonly recognized ethnic groups are Arabs, Nubians, Beja, and Fur (all Northerners and Muslims), and the Dinka, Nuer, Shilluk, and Nuba, all Nilotic peoples of the South. The Arabs and Dinka are the largest groups within their respective regions. All of these ethnic groups are subdivided into tribal or other units. In rough percentages, Sudan’s population is composed of 50 percent black Africans, 40 percent Arabs, 6 percent Beja, and 3–4 percent other.
Languages: Sudan is home to a large number of languages. One authoritative source lists 134 spoken languages, with other estimates running up to 400, including numerous dialects. Arabic is the official language and is the primary language in northern and central Sudan. English is widely spoken as a second language in the North and to a lesser extent in the South. Other major languages in the North are Nubian and Ta Bedawie (Beja). A diverse collection of languages spoken in the South belong to the Niger-Kurdufanian and Nilo-Saharan language families.
Religion: On the basis of rough estimates, more than half of Sudan’s population is Muslim. Most Muslims live in the North; however, significant non-Muslim groups are found in the Red Sea Hills, the Nuba Mountains, and in the western part of the country. Estimates of the Christian population range between 4 and 10 percent; Christians live mostly in the South and in Khartoum. At least one-third of Sudanese, many of them Southerners, adhere to traditional religion.
Education and Literacy: Education is free and compulsory for children aged 6 to 13 years. Primary education consists of six years, followed by three years of middle school and three years of secondary or technical instruction. The primary language at all levels is Arabic. Schools are concentrated in urban areas; many in the South and West have been damaged or destroyed by conflict. 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. Sudan has 19 universities; instruction is primarily in Arabic. Education at the secondary and university levels has been seriously hampered by the requirement that most males perform military service before completing their education.
According to World Bank estimates for 2002, the literacy rate in adults aged 15 years and older was 60 percent. In 2000 the comparable figure was almost 58 percent (69 percent for males, 46 percent for females); youth illiteracy (ages 15–24) was estimated at 23 percent.
Health and Welfare: Sudan is one of the poorest nations in the world, and what wealth the country possesses is not widely distributed. Poverty is widespread, particularly in rural areas. Outside urban areas, little health care is available, helping account for a relatively low average life expectancy of 57 years and an infant mortality rate of 69 deaths per 1,000 live births, low by standards in Middle Eastern but not African countries. For most of the period since independence in 1956, Sudan has experienced civil war, which has diverted resources to military use that otherwise might have gone into health care and training of professionals, many of whom have migrated in search of more gainful employment. In 1996 the World Health Organization estimated that there were only 9 doctors per 100,000 people, most of them in regions other than the South. Substantial percentages of the population lack access to safe water and sanitary facilities. Malnutrition is widespread outside the central Nile corridor because of population displacement from war and from recurrent droughts; these same factors together with a scarcity of medicines make diseases difficult to control. Child immunization against most major childhood diseases, however, had risen to approximately 60 percent by the late 1990s from very low rates in earlier decades. Spending on health care is quite low—only 1 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 1998 (latest data). The United Nations placed the rate of human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) infection in late 2003 at 2.3 percent for adults, quite low by regional standards. The United Nations suggested, however, that the rate could be as high as 7.2 percent. Between 400,000 and 1.3 million adults and children were living with HIV, and AIDS deaths numbered 23,000. As of late 2004, some 4 million persons in the South had been internally displaced and more than 2 million had died or been killed as a result of two decades of war. Comparable figures for Darfur were 1.6 million displaced and 70,000 dead since fighting began there in early 2003.
AllAfrica.com,BARBARA AMONG reports Misgivings are growing in Ugandan government circles over the manner in which the Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS), which is mediating ... Rift between UN, Sudan deepens with envoy's expulsion - 24 Oct 2006 Victoria Times Colonist,Pronk's expulsion deepens the rift between President Umar al-Bashir's government and the international community over demands that Sudan allow UN peacekeepers ... Sudan Expels UN Representative - 24 Oct 2006 Prensa Latina,Khartoum, Oct 23 (Prensa Latina) Sudan s official notice to UN special Representative Jan Pronk (Holland) on Sunday, giving him 72 hours to leave the country ... State lawmakers seek to punish Sudan - 24 Oct 2006 Durango Herald,DENVER - Colorado should divest its stock in companies that do business with Sudan as a protest against the genocide in Darfur, a group of students and state ... 'Lost Boys of Sudan' screening Nov. 3 in GR - 24 Oct 2006 Grand Haven Tribune,GRAND RAPIDS — Grand Rapids Community College will hold a free screening of the documentary "Lost Boys of Sudan" on Friday, Nov. ... Challenges Facing Southern Sudanese Returnees - 24 Oct 2006 OhmyNews International,2006 signing of a historic tripartite agreement between the governments of Kenya and Sudan and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), for ... SECRETARY-GENERAL REVIEWING SUDAN’S REQUEST TO WITHDRAW SPECIAL ... - 24 Oct 2006 PressZoom (press release),The Secretary-General received this morning a letter from the Government of Sudan requesting him to withdraw his Special Representative, Jan Pronk, from the ... South Sudan wants own country communication Code - 24 Oct 2006 Sudan Tribune,Oct 20, 2006 (KAMPALA) — Southern Sudan is mobilising support to get its own international gateway and communication code. Barnabas ... sudan: Plan announced to disarm feared Darfur militia - 24 Oct 2006 Monday Morning,Sudan announced a plan to disarm Darfur’s feared Janjaweed militia, as a human rights report released last week charged that the enormous death toll in the ... Condoleezza Rice On Expulsion Of UN Sudan Envoy - 24 Oct 2006 Scoop.co.nz (press release),SECRETARY RICE: I'm going to talk to Kofi Annan about this later today. The situation in Darfur has been deteriorating and the international ... Canada should lead in Darfur`Responsibility to protect' more than ... - 24 Oct 2006 Toronto Star,...situations have worsened. The government of Sudan has launched a new military offensive against the rebel holdouts. Meanwhile, government ... Call for expression of interest, Southern Sudan - 24 Oct 2006 ReliefWeb (press release),HelpAge International established a presence in Sudan in 1984 in response to the emergency situation caused by a series of famines in the Horn of Africa and ... UN Sudan envoy retains status - 24 Oct 2006 The Australian,JAN Pronk remains the United Nations' special envoy to Sudan with the full support of UN chief Kofi Annan despite being the target of an expulsion order from ... Zimbabwe Rights Groups Plan To Press AU's Konare At Upcoming ... - 24 Oct 2006 Voice of AmericaKonare met with President Robert Mugabe on October 13 and responded to requests for a meeting that his visit concerned African conflicts in Sudan and elsewhere ... Peace Talks Resume; LRA Requests For All Rebels to Assemble in Ri ... - 24 Oct 2006 Uganda Conflict Action Network,The LRA has said it wants all its troops to assemble in Ri-Kwangba in Western Equatorial State, one of the two assembly points in southern Sudan. ... Country Overview: Sudan - Oct 22, 2006 AND,Sudan has an estimated population of 38 million, a land mass of 2.376 million sq km and shares borders with 9 countries (Egypt, Libya, Chad, Central African ... US envoy says he has come to Sudan with open heart - Oct 23, 2006 AND,The Advisor of the President of the Republic, Dr Ghazi Salah Al-din, on Thursday said that the American Envoy to the Sudan, Andrew Natsios, has pointed out ... Genocide in Sudan - Oct 22, 2006 ProgressiveU.org,Every week, 8000 innocents are killed in the Darfur region of Sudan. ... Currently, only 6,700 African Union (AU) troops are deployed in Sudan. ... Sudan dictatorial shift and Prok’s expulsion - Oct 22, 2006 Sudan Tribune,In this context, the expulsion of the UN Secretary General Special Envoy to Sudan, Jan Pronk, after a press release by the Sudanese army against him, comes as ... AU welcomes signing of Eastern Sudan Peace Agreement - Oct 23, 2006 AND,The Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission welcomes the signing of the Eastern Sudan Peace Agreement (ESPA), which is signed between the Government ... Sudan lifts emergency state in east after deal - Oct 22, 2006 Reuters AlertNet,KHARTOUM, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Sudan has lifted the state of emergency in its eastern region and released prisoners following a peace deal signed last week ... Pressure builds on businesses tied to Sudan - Oct 21, 2006 MarketWatchSAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Companies doing business in Sudan are coming under increasing pressure from the United States, as the international community ... News Roundup - Oct 22, 2006 Monsters and Critics.com,KHARTOUM, Sudan, Oct. ... So far, however, the Sudan government refuses to allow an international peacekeeping force into Darfur. NEW BRIGHTON, Pa., Oct. ... Forum: Help keep Sudan on right path - Oct 21, 2006 Washington Times,Earlier this month, I concluded my tenure as chief of mission at the Embassy of the Republic of the Sudan to the United States. ... This series of profiles of foreign nations is part of the Country Studies Program, formerly the Army Area Handbook Program. The profiles offer brief, summarized information on a country’s historical background, geography, society, economy, transportation and telecommunications, government and politics, and national security. In addition to being featured in the front matter of published Country Studies, they are now being prepared as stand-alone reference aides for all countries in the series, as well as for a number of additional countries of interest. The profiles offer reasonably current country information independent of the existence of a recently published Country Study and will be updated annually or more frequently as events warrant. |
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