Sudan 2016 Country Review http://www.countrywatch.com Table of Contents Chapter 1 1 Country Overview 1 Country Overview 2 Key Data 5 Sudan 6 Africa 7 Chapter 2 9 Political Overview 9 History 10 Political Conditions 11 Political Risk Index 78 Political Stability 93 Freedom Rankings 108 Human Rights 120 Government Functions 123 Government Structure 124 Principal Government Officials 129 Leader Biography 130 Leader Biography 130 Foreign Relations 134 National Security 159 Defense Forces 162 Chapter 3 164 Economic Overview 164 Economic Overview 165 Nominal GDP and Components 167 Population and GDP Per Capita 169 Real GDP and Inflation 170 Government Spending and Taxation 171 Money Supply, Interest Rates and Unemployment 172 Foreign Trade and the Exchange Rate 173 Data in US Dollars 174 Energy Consumption and Production Standard Units 175 Energy Consumption and Production QUADS 177 World Energy Price Summary 178 CO2 Emissions 179 Agriculture Consumption and Production 180 World Agriculture Pricing Summary 183 Metals Consumption and Production 184 World Metals Pricing Summary 186 Economic Performance Index 187 Chapter 4 199 Investment Overview 199 Foreign Investment Climate 200 Foreign Investment Index 202 Corruption Perceptions Index 215 Competitiveness Ranking 226 Taxation 235 Stock Market 236 Partner Links 236 Chapter 5 237 Social Overview 237 People 238 Human Development Index 240 Life Satisfaction Index 244 Happy Planet Index 255 Status of Women 264 Global Gender Gap Index 267 Culture and Arts 277 Etiquette 278 Travel Information 279 Diseases/Health Data 291 Chapter 6 297 Environmental Overview 297 Environmental Issues 298 Environmental Policy 299 Greenhouse Gas Ranking 300 Global Environmental Snapshot 311 Global Environmental Concepts 322 International Environmental Agreements and Associations 337 Appendices 361 Bibliography 362 Sudan Chapter 1 Country Overview Sudan Review 2016 Page 1 of 374 pages Sudan Country Overview SUDAN Sudan is the largest country in Africa, bordering Egypt and the Red Sea. Sudan remained a collection of small independent states until 1821 when Egypt conquered and united the northern portion of the country. In 1881 a Muslim leader began uniting various groups in a revolt against Egyptian rule, and succeeded in gaining control of the land a few years later. In 1898 British and Egyptian forces retook the land, and the region was ruled jointly by Egypt and Britain with the British administration dominating. In 1956, Sudan gained independence. Since independence, protracted conflict rooted in deep cultural and religious differences have slowed Sudan’s economic and political development and forced massive internal displacement of its people, with the country suffering in prolonged civil wars. During more than 20 years of conflict between the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) that started in 1983, violence, famine, and disease killed more than 2 million people, forced an estimated 600,000 people to seek refuge in neighboring countries, and displaced approximately 4 million others within Sudan, creating the world's largest population of internally displaced people. The signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005 officially ended the North-South conflict. A process was set forth at that point leading to the independence of Southern Sudan from Sudan (proper) at the start of 2011. A separate conflict, which broke out in the western region of Darfur in 2003, has displaced millions of people and caused an estimated 400,000 deaths. The United Nations took command of the Darfur peacekeeping operation from the African Union in late 2007. Talks in Doha, Qatar, between the Government of Sudan and several Darfur rebel groups, most notably JEM, began in early 2009. The Doha talks have thus far produced an agreement of goodwill and confidence- building between JEM and the Government of Sudan. Sudan continues to cope with the countrywide effects of conflict, displacement, and insecurity. Decades of fighting have left Sudan's infrastructure in tatters, and there is a pressing need for reconstruction. On the plus side, Sudan is endowed with considerable natural resources, and its oil reserves are ripe for further exploitation. Sudan Review 2016 Page 2 of 374 pages Sudan Editor's Note: -- In 2003, rebel groups attacked government targets in the Darfur region of Sudan. The government of Sudan responded by launching a military campaign against the rebels, but gained international notoriety when the government began to use militias to carry out its crackdown. To date, over 400,000 people have been killed and millions more have been displaced as a result of violence in the region, largely spurred by the actions of government-sponsored Arab "Janjaweed" militias against the Black African and rebel-backed population of the region. A United Nations Security Council resolution was passed, authorizing the deployment of United Nations troops to Darfur, however, the Sudanese government at first rejected this measure. Instead, a small and ill-equipped peacekeeping force from the African Union functioned as the only form of protection for civilians in Darfur against rampaging "Janjaweed" militias. Then, in June 2007, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir relented somewhat on his refusal to allow international peacekeepers in Darfur. The Sudanese president agreed to allow a joint force of United Nations and African Union peacekeepers to operate in conflict-ridden Darfur, on the condition that the majority of troops would come from African countries. Meanwhile, efforts to negotiate peace with the rebels were fraught with difficulty. In October 2007, peace talks in Libya sponsored by the United Nations and the African Union, aimed at ending the conflict in Darfur between rebels and the government, were not significantly advanced due to the boycott of key rebel groups including SLA-Unity and the Justice and Equality Movement (Jem). In 2008, the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague charged Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir with war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide in Darfur. In 2009, the ICC issued an arrest warrant from Bashir on the basis of a modified charge sheet of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Human rights groups hailed the development while the Sudanese authorities dismissed the news and promised to ignore the arrest warrant. As of 2015, Bashir remains at large and has managed to continue to rule Sudan and even flesh out an exit schedule from the political purview on his own terms. Indeed, he was re-elected to power - - albeit in a non-competitive contest -- in April 2015. Two months later in mid-2015, he managed to travel to South Africa to attend the African Union summit, and as with several of his African excursions, Bashir again managed to evade arrest and escape facing justice, irrespective of the dictates of international law. For his part, Bashir has consistently dismissed and disregarded the war crimes charges against him, and he has regarded the arrest warrant as irrelevant. Bashir has insisted that the ICC holds no authority over him since Sudan is not a member of the ICC and does not recognize the court's jurisdiction. The situation in Darfur gained attention in the mainstream United States press largely due to Sudan Review 2016 Page 3 of 374 pages Sudan coverage in the New York Times by columnist Nicholas Kristof. For his efforts in bringing attention to the most marginalized parts of the world, such as Darfur, Kristof won a Pulitzer Prize. Sudan Review 2016 Page 4 of 374 pages Sudan Key Data Key Data Region: Africa Population: 49779940 Tropical in south; arid desert Climate: in north; rainy season (April to October). Arabic (official) Nubian Languages: Ta Bedawie Diverse dialects of Nilotic, Nilo-Hamitic, Sudanic languages, English Currency: 1 Sudanese pound (£Sd$) = 100 piastres Holiday: Independence Day is 1 January (1956), Unity Day is 3 March Area Total: 2505810 Area Land: 2376000 Coast Line: 853 Sudan Review 2016 Page 5 of 374 pages Sudan Sudan Country Map Sudan Review 2016 Page 6 of 374 pages Sudan Africa Regional Map Sudan Review 2016 Page 7 of 374 pages Sudan Sudan Review 2016 Page 8 of 374 pages Sudan Chapter 2 Political Overview Sudan Review 2016 Page 9 of 374 pages Sudan History From remote antiquity until relatively recent times the northern portion of the territory comprising modern Sudan formed part of the region known as Nubia. The history of Nilotic, or southern, Sudan before the 19th century is obscure. Egyptian penetration of Nubia began during the period of the Old Kingdom (about 2755-2255 B.C.E.). By 1570 C.E, when the 18th Dynasty was founded, Nubia had been reduced to the status of an Egyptian province. The region between the Nubian Desert and the Nile River contains numerous monuments, ruins and other relics of the period of Egyptian dominance, which was ended by a Nubian revolt in the 8th century C.E. A succession of independent kingdoms was subsequently established in Nubia. The most powerful of these, Makuria, a Christian state centered at Old Dongola and founded in the sixth century C.E., endured until the early 14th century invasion of the Egyptian Mamelukes. The Funj, black Muslims of uncertain origin, who established a sultanate at Sannar, overwhelmed another, Alwa, its capital at Soba in the vicinity of present-day Khartoum, about 1500. During the 16th century, the Funj emerged as a powerful Muslim state, and Sannar became one of the great cultural centers of Islam. Dissension among the leading Funj tribes vastly weakened the kingdom during the final years of the 18th century. Sudan was a collection of small, independent states from the beginning of the Christian era until 1820-21, when Egypt conquered and unified the northern portion of the country. Although Egypt claimed all of present Sudan during most of the 19th century, it was unable to establish effective control of southern Sudan, which remained an area of fragmented ethnic groups subject to frequent attacks by slave raiders.