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| Basic Information about the Sudan |
| Introduction: |
| The Republic of Sudan is situated in the east region of the African continent. It lies between latitudes 4 and 23 degrees north and longitudes 22 and 38 east. In terms of total area Sudan is considered the largest African and Arab country. Sudan has common boarders with nine African countries. Egypt and Libya in the north; Tchad and the Central Africa Republic in the west; Zaire, Uganda and Kenya in the south; Ethiopia and Eritrea in the east. It also neighbours Saudi Arabia across the Red Sea from the east. With an area of 2.5 million square kilometers or 1 million square miles, Sudan is classified amongst the world's most largest countries in terms of total area. This area comprises about 8.3% of the total area of the African continent. |
| Climate: |
| Most of the territories of the Sudan are in the form of flat plains with
scattered mountains and hills in the south and extreme west, the Nuba Mountains
are in the centre and the Red Sea Hills in the east. Sudan lies ( in terms
of climate) in the tropical zone of the African continent, thus its climate
varies from the equatorial in the most southern parts, savannah in the centre
and the continental in the northern parts. The Red Sea coastal plain is
characterized by its high temperature ( up to 42 degrees C) at day time
and 27 degrees C at night. The degree of temperature starts to decline when
rainy season dominates from July to October. The weather turns moderate
and very fine in the period from November to February where the degree of
temperature varies between 30 degree C in daytime and 16 degree C or less
in the midnights. Thus cotton clothes are the most suitable clothing for the Sudan climate. |
| Population: |
| In the 1993 Census the total Population of Sudan is 25,6 million rate of growths of about 2,6%. Eighty percent of economical productive people are involved in one way or another in the agricultural sector. The Sudanese people belong to different tribal origins from different ethnic groups. Some of these tribes are from Arabic origins, others belong to some indigenous African and Nubian tribes and some few others belong to Turkish and other minor descents, which all migrated to the Sudan and eventually led to the creation of a diversified social heritage which represents the deep inter marriage between a variety of civilizations. |
| Major Towns and Cities: |
| Khartoum with its three towns Khartoum, Khartoum North, Omdurman plays
a major role as the national and Federal Capital of the Sudan in which federal
ministries and federal governmental institutions and corporations besides
the governmental institutions which are related to the government of Khartoum
state are existed. Khartoum lies at the junction of the Blue and White Niles
with an estimated populations of about 3,512,144 peoples. Other major towns in the country are Port Sudan which is the capital of the Red Sea State and act as the major sea port in the country, Wad Medani which is the capital of Gezira State. Elobeid, Juba, Was, Malakal, Atbara, Dongola, Kassala, Nyala, Elfashir, Elgedareef, Kosti and Sennar are also major towns. |
| Currency: |
| The Sudanese Dinnar equals ten Sudanese pounds. There are notes of 5,
10, 25, 50 and 100 dinnars. The Sudanese pound is the standard monetary unit in the country. There are also bills (notes) of 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 pounds. The metal coins are found in the form of 1 and 2 dinnars. There are 28 commercial and specialized banks which have branches in the 26 states (villas). Also there are foreign exchange beauros (Sirafas). The exchange rates are determined according to the demand and supply factors (market mechanism) foreign exchange offices are also found in the airport and main hotels. |
| Time Zone: |
| Greenwich Mean Time plus (+) two hours. |
| Form of the Government: |
The form of government in the Sudan is the federal system. It consists
of 26 states. These states are enlisted below together with their capitals
written between two brackets beside them:
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