Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan is a country in the Nile Valley of North Africa, bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea, Eritrea, and Ethiopia, to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west and Libya to the northwest. It is the third largest country in Africa.
Country profile
Sudan was the largest country in Africa and the Arab world until 2011, when South Sudan separated into an independent country, following an independence referendum. Sudan is now the third largest country in Africa (after Algeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo) and also the third largest country in the Arab world (after Algeria and Saudi Arabia).
The capital is Khartoum. The official languages are Arabic and English.
The president is Omar al-Bashir. From December 2018 onwards, Bashir faced large-scale protests which demanded his removal from power. On April 11, 2019, Bashir was ousted in a military coup d'état. Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman Burhan assumed office on 4.12.19.
Its predominant religion is Islam.
The politics of Sudan is regulated by a parliamentary organization called the National Assembly. The Sudanese legal system is based on Islamic law.
Sudan suffers from poor human rights, most particularly dealing with the issues of ethnic cleansing and slavery in the nation.
South Sudan becomes the world's newest nation on Saturday, 7.9.11, after a half-century struggle with their lack of autonomy, and the streets of the capital began to pulse with excitement as the clock ticked down toward history.
The capital is Juba. The official languages are English, Arabic (both official), Juba Arabic, Dinka. The president is Salva Kiir Mayardit .
Panning for gold in South Sudan.
There is a history of ethnic tension in the country that has spilled over into the political arena between the ethnic Dinka, which is the majority tribe of the president of the country, Salva Kiir. And his former vice president, Riek Machar, who represents the Nuer faction, which is the largest minority tribe in the country. There has often been conflict between the Dinka and Nuer going back centuries, really, because of different roles in society.
Just two years later, however, the country was engulfed by civil war when Mr Kiir sacked his entire cabinet and accused Vice-President Riek Machar of instigating a failed coup.
Under international pressure, the two sides signed a peace deal in May of 2014 in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. The deal paves the way for a permanent ceasefire followed by the formation of a transitional government, the drafting of a new constitution and, eventually, fresh elections.
