GENERAL SUDAN INFO

Sudan is the largest country in Africa with a population of around 37 million. It is the tenth largest country in the world by area and about the size of the United States east of the Mississippi River. Southern Sudan is approximately the size of Texas and New Mexico combined.  Located in northeast Africa and largely defined by the Nile and its tributaries, Sudan borders the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya and Uganda.

Sudan’s geography goes from one extreme to the other - ranging from sandy deserts in the north to tropical forests in the south with a rainy season that typically lasts from April to October. Home to almost 600 tribes who share Arabic as their “official” language but speak over 400 languages and dialects, Sudan is among the poorest countries in the world.

Ethnic groups: Black 52%, Arab 39%, Beja 6%, foreigners 2%, Other 1%
Religions: Sunni Muslim 70% (North), Indigenous Beliefs 25%, Christian 5% (Mostly in southern Sudan and Khartoum)
Languages: Arabic (official), Nubian, Ta Bedawie, diverse dialects of Nilotic, Nilo-Hamitic, Sudanic languages, English

Sources: Wikipedia, www.sudan.net, www.unsudanig.org