Geography

Southern Sudan voted overwhelmingly for independence in January 2011. It was confirmed that nearly 99% of the voters in the referendum were in favour of dividing Africa's biggest country.

The formal declaration of independence will be made on 9 July 2011 - six years after the peace deal, which led to the referendum, took effect.

The above map shows that the great divide across Sudan is visible even from space, as this Nasa satellite image shows. The northern states are a blanket of desert, broken only by the fertile Nile corridor. Southern Sudan is covered by green swathes of grassland, swamps and tropical forest.

Source: BBC News

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Near Mukjar, Sudan in the dry season

Photo: David Broska

The Republic of Sudan is the largest country in Africa with a land area of over 2.5 million km2 and an estimated population of 39 million. It is dominated by the River Nile and borders the Central African Republic, Chad, Libya, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The capital, Khartoum is situated at the confluence of the White Nile and Blue Nile. Its land borders total 7,687 km with a coastline on the Red Sea of 853 km. The enormous range of latitude means that there is great variation in climate. The north of the country is desert with little rainfall and high daily temperatures. The Red Sea coastal plain receives winter rain whilst the southern parts of the country receive rain from March to November. The terrain is generally flat and featureless with mountains in the far south, north-east and west. The land elevation is from sea level to the highest point Kinyeti at 3,187 m close to the Uganda border. The official language is Arabic and some English is spoken. More details can be found at CIA Factbook.

Last page update 30th December 2011