Thai Trade Center

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Sudan

Profile

Location

North-eastern , bordering the Red Sea, between Egypt and Eritrea. At the top left, the capital city of , , is located at the convergence of the Blue Nile and the White Nile. Although the Blue Nile is much shorter than the White Nile, it contributes about 80% of the flow of the river. The Dahlak Archipelago is seen off the Red Sea coast of Eritrea. Because of their isolation, the numerous coral reefs of the Dahlak Archipelago are some of the most pristine in the world. North of the Rift Valley, in central Ethiopia, are the Simien Mountains and Lake Tana. Lake Tana is the source of the Blue Nile. Photo courtesy of NASA.

Basic Information ormation

. Country name: Sudan . Capital: Khartoum . Population: 37,345,935 (July 2017 est.) . Population growth rate: 1.64% (2017 est.) . Total area: 1,861,484 sq km . Government Type : presidential republic . Independence: 1 January 1956 from Egypt and UK . Chief of state: President Umar Hassan Ahmad Albashir (since 16 October 1993) . First Vice President & Prime Minister: Bakti Hassan Salih . Second Vice President: Hasabu Mohamed Abdel Rrahmin . Note - the president is both chief of state and head of government . Ethnic Groups: Sudanese Arab (approximately 70%), Fur, Beja, Nuba, Fallata Languages : Arabic (official), English (official), Nubian, Ta Bedawie, Fur . Religions : Sunni Muslim, small Christian minority

Population Pyramid

A population pyramidormation illustrates the age and sex structure of a country's population and may provide insights about political and social stability, as well as economic development. The population is distributed along the horizontal axis, with males shown on the left and females on the right. The male and female populations are broken down into 5-year age groups represented as horizontal bars along the vertical axis, with the youngest age groups at the bottom and the oldest at the top. The shape of the population pyramid gradually evolves over time based on fertility, mortality, and international migration trends.

For additional information, please see the entry for Population pyramid on the Definitions and Notes page under the References tab.

History

Sudan has its darkest years in history during its two civil wars starting after it gained independence from Egypt and United Kingdom in 1956 up to 1972, and from 1983 to 2005, and the rebellion in 2003 two years before the second civil war was to be resolved. The first civil war that is more than 16 years involved ethnic, religious and economic conflicts between the Northern Sudanese people of Arab and Nubian origins and the Christians and animist Nilotes of Southern Sudan. The first war left thousands of innocent civilians either killed or wounded. The 21-year second civil war attended by violence, famine and disease killed more than two million people, displaced four million others, and forced 600,000 to seek refuge in immediate neighbor countries.

The armed conflict in Darfur in the Western region is led by two rebel groups—the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM)—and has killed 70,000 civilians, has displaced two million people and forced 250,000 more to flee to refugee camps in Chad. Sudan President Omar al-Bashir has been accused of war crimes and masterminding genocide in both the 21-year civil strife and the Darfur violence but which he has denied. He has a standing arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in July 2008 in connection with the deadly incidents. A self- appointed President since leading a successful coup in 1989, he won two presidential elections in 1996 and 2010, with the last election being questioned by activists and an international crisis group for intimidation and gerrymandering activities by his ruling party.

Economy

Sudan’s economic freedom score is 49.4, making its economy the 161st freest in the 2018 Index. Its overall score has increased by 0.6 point, with improvements in labor freedom and trade freedom offsetting a steep decline in investment freedom. Sudan is ranked 37th among 47 countries in the Sub-Saharan Africa region, and its overall score is below the regional and world averages.

The 2018 Index marks the second year of resumed grading of Sudan’s economic freedom after years of protracted social conflict and civil war that undermined investor confidence. The petroleum sector provides some economic stability, but other sectors of the economy face serious structural and institutional deficiencies. Greater fiscal constraints may reduce future financial support from the Gulf Arab states. Poor governance, weak rule of law, rigid labor markets, and an inefficient regulatory regime have impeded economic diversification and created a large informal economy.

Economic Indicators Natural Resources

2017(est.) 2016 (est.) 2015 (est.) Petroleum; small GDP (purchasing power parity): bn. $186.8 bn. $ 180.1 bn. $ 174.7 reserves of iron, copper, GDP - real growth rate: 3.7 % 3.1 % 4.9 % chromium ore, zinc, GDP - per capita (PPP): $ 4,600 $ 4,500 $ 4,500 tungsten, mica, silver, Gross national saving of GDP: 12.1% 11.5% 9.1% gold;

. Exports . Export Partners $3.808 billion (2017 est.) UAE 42.9%, Saudi Arabia $3.094 billion (2016 est.) 19.5%, Egypt 15.9% (2017) . Exports - commodities gold; oil and petroleum products; cotton, sesame, livestock, peanuts, gum Arabic, sugar

. Imports . Imports - partners: $8.649 billion (2017 est.) UAE 15.4%, India 11.2%, $7.325 billion (2016 est.) Egypt 10.4%, . Imports - commodities Saudi Arabia 9.2%, foodstuffs, Turkey 8.9%, Japan 5% manufactured goods, (2016) refinery and transport equipment, medicines, chemicals, textiles, wheat

Crude Oil in Sudan

. Crude oil - production: 104,900 bbl/day (2016 est.) country comparison to the world: 43 . Crude oil - exports:152,100 bbl/day (2014 est.) country comparison to the world: 34 . Crude oil - imports:0 bbl/day (2014 est.) country comparison to the world: 192 . Crude oil - proved reserves: 5 billion bbl (1 January 2017 est.) country comparison to the world: 24 . Refined petroleum products - production: 89,300 bbl/day (2014 est.) country comparison to the world: 70 . Refined petroleum products - consumption: 110,000 bbl/day (2015 est.) country comparison to the world: 78 . Refined petroleum products - exports: 7,396 bbl/day (2014 est.) country comparison to the world: 88 . Refined petroleum products - imports: 23,920 bbl/day (2014 est.)

. Inflation Rate 6.9% (2017 est.), 17.8% (2016 est.)  Labor force: 11.92 million (2007 est.)  Current account balance $-2.317 billion (2017 est.) $-5.126 billion (2016 est.) . Unemployment Rate 19.6% (2017 est.) 20.6% (2016 est.)

Trade Relation with Thailand

● Total Exports to Sudan ● Total Imports from Sudan ● Total Thai Exports to Sudan 2017 $ 71,018,273 ● Total Thai Imports From Sudan 2017 $ 1,115,621 ● Total Thai Exports to Sudan 2016 $ 57,520,800 ● Total Thai Imports From Sudan 2016 $ 2,305,587 ● Total Thai Exports to Sudan 2015 $ 283,403,085 ● Total Thai Imports From Sudan 2015 $ 938,578

Major exported products: Vehicles , Major imported products: lead., Lac ; natural gums, uclear reactors, boilers, . Sugar and confectionery ,Rubber, Raw hides and skins, Other live animals, Turbo-jets Inorganic chemical

Politics

The government of Sudan gave its blessing for an independent , where the mainly Christian and Animist people had for decades been struggling against rule by the Arab Muslim north. However, various outstanding issues - especially the question of shared oil revenues and border demarcation - have continued to create tensions between the two successor states. Sudan has long been beset by conflict. Two rounds of north- south civil war cost the lives of 1.5 million people, and a continuing conflict in the western region of Darfur has driven two million people from their homes and killed more than 200,000.

Omar Hassan al-Bashir has ruled with an iron fist for more than 25 years. He come to power in a coup in 1989 and was elected president in 1996. He was re-elected several times since, most recently in 2015 when he gained another five-year term. Most opposition parties boycotted the vote. Mr Bashir faces two international arrest warrants - issued by the International Criminal Court in The Hague - on charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Political Parties

Democratic Unionist Party or DUP [Jalal al-DIGAIR] Democratic Unionist Party [Muhammad Uthman al-MIRGHANI] Federal Umma Party [Dr. Ahmed Babikir NAHAR] Muslim Brotherhood or MB National Congress Party or NCP [Umar Hassan al-BASHIR] or NUP [Saddiq al-] or PCP [Hassan al-TURABI] Reform Movement Now [Dr. Ghazi Salahuddin al-ATABANI] Sudan National Front [Ali Mahmud HASANAYN] Sudanese or SCP [Mohammed Moktar Al- KHATEEB] or SCoP [Ibrahim Al-SHEIKH] Umma Party for Reform and Development Unionist Movement Party or UMP

VAT

All imports to Sudan are subject to VAT with 10% except the following products. (1) Agricultural inputs (seeds, fertilizers, and presticides) (2) Cultural inputs papers for printing News papers of magazines and printing equipment’s. (3) Capital goods

Visas

Visitors to Sudan must obtain a visa from one of the Sudanese diplomatic missions unless they come from one of the visa exempt countries. All visitors must hold passports valid for a minimum of 6 months from the arrival date.

Travel Tips

No alcohol, no music, no party

Yes, this is a full-on Sharia State and anything which resembles abundance, entertainment, or fun is forbidden. As opposed to most other countries in the Middle East where shopping malls offer the only form of passing time Sudan does not have anything like that. There are no activities, no international brands, no ways to keep busy. Relax and do as locals do: go out for a drink or an ice cream and sit outside, taking in the night and the conversation, that is the true way in which our ancestors used to pass time.

Dialing Code

Sudan’s country code is +249

For calls to Sudan from Egypt dial: + 249 + area code + telephone number

For calls to Egypt from Sudan dial: + 20 + area code + telephone number

Weather

hot and dry; arid desert; rainy season varies by region (April to November)

Public Holiday

In January 6, 2008 (KHARTOUM) – Sudanese cabinet has decided to adopt a two-day weekend starting from January 26, 2008

The Council of Ministers on Sunday decided to expand the weekend holiday from the current one day (Friday) to two days (Friday and Saturday) beginning from Saturday January 26,

Photos Gallery

Thai Trade Center, Cairo Attia Habib June 2018