since independence from the UK in 1956.
Sudan was embroiled in two prolonged civil wars during most of the
remainder of the 20th century. These conflicts were rooted in
northern economic, political, and social domination of largely
non-Muslim, non-Arab southern Sudanese. The first civil war ended in
1972, but broke out again in 1983. The second war and famine-related
effects resulted in more than 4 million people displaced and,
according to rebel estimates, more than 2 million deaths over a
period of two decades. Peace talks gained momentum in 2002-04 with
the signing of several accords; a final Naivasha peace treaty of
January 2005 granted the southern rebels autonomy for six years,
after which a referendum for independence is scheduled to be held. A
separate conflict that broke out in the western region of Darfur in
2003 has resulted in at least 200,000 deaths and nearly 2 million
displaced; as of late 2005, peacekeeping troops were struggling to
stabilize the situation. Sudan also has faced large refugee influxes
from neighboring countries, primarily Ethiopia and Chad, and armed
conflict, poor transport infrastructure, and lack of government
support have chronically obstructed the provision of humanitarian
assistance to affected populations.

Geography Sudan

Location:
Northern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Egypt and Eritrea

Geographic coordinates:
15 00 N, 30 00 E

Map references:
Africa

Area:
total: 2,505,810 sq km
land: 2.376 million sq km
water: 129,810 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly more than one-quarter the size of the US

Land boundaries:
total: 7,687 km
border countries: Central African Republic 1,165 km, Chad 1,360 km,
Democratic Republic of the Congo 628 km, Egypt 1,273 km, Eritrea 605
km, Ethiopia 1,606 km, Kenya 232 km, Libya 383 km, Uganda 435 km

Coastline:
853 km

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 18 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation

Climate:
tropical in south; arid desert in north; rainy season varies by
region (April to November)

Terrain:
generally flat, featureless plain; mountains in far south,
northeast and west; desert dominates the north

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Red Sea 0 m
highest point: Kinyeti 3,187 m

Natural resources:
petroleum; small reserves of iron ore, copper, chromium ore, zinc,
tungsten