Sudan

In brief

Sudan is a country in North Africa. Its capital is Khartoum. With 51.7 million inhabitants in 2025, it ranks 30th in the world by population, out of the 195 countries recognised by the UN. Its area is 1,886,068 km². It shares land borders with the Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Libya and South Sudan.

GDP per capita stands at $1,165 (2025), 171st in the world. Life expectancy at birth is 66.5 years (2024). 35% of the population lives in cities.

History of Sudan

The Kingdom of Kush, in Nubia, gave Egypt a dynasty of pharaohs and left hundreds of pyramids at Meroë. After Christian kingdoms and the Sultanate of Sennar, the country was conquered by Ottoman Egypt, before the Mahdist revolt took Khartoum in 1885. Under Anglo-Egyptian rule from 1899, Sudan became independent on 1 January 1956. Omar al-Bashir ruled from 1989 to 2019, during the Darfur war; South Sudan seceded in 2011. Since April 2023, a war between the army and the Rapid Support Forces has caused one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world.

Geography of Sudan

The Sahara covers the north, savanna the south. The White Nile and the Blue Nile meet at Khartoum. The country has a Red Sea coast; in the west, the Jebel Marra volcano towers over Darfur.

Map of Sudan

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Flag of Sudan

The flag of Sudan is red, white, green and black. Its official proportions are 1:2 (height to width).

• Red30%
• Black30%
• White24%
• Green17%

Share of the flag’s surface taken by each colour.

What the flag stands for

Red, white and black, with a green triangle at the hoist. These are the pan-Arab colours: red for struggle, white for peace, black for the country, green for Islam and prosperity. It was adopted in 1970.

Sources: Wikipedia, articles “Sudan” and “Flag of Sudan”.

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Fact file

Economy and society