South Sudan

Republic of South Sudan
Coat of arms of South Sudan
Coat of arms
Motto: "Justice, Liberty, Prosperity"
Anthem: "South Sudan Oyee!"
Location of South Sudan
Capital
and largest city
Juba
04°51′N 31°36′E / 4.850°N 31.600°E / 4.850; 31.600
Official languagesEnglish
Recognised national languagesJuba Arabic, Dinka, Zande, many others
Unofficial languages
  • Swahili
  • Arabic
Demonym(s)South Sudanese
GovernmentFederal presidential constitutional republic under a totalitarian dictatorship
• President
Salva Kiir Mayardit
Vacant
LegislatureNational Legislature
• Upper house
Council of States
• Lower house
National Legislative Assembly
Establishment
1 January 1956
6 January 2005
• Autonomy
9 July 2005
• Independence from Sudan
9 July 2011
13 July 2011
Area
• Total
619,745 km2 (239,285 sq mi) (41st)
Population
• 2021 estimate
10,748,272
• 2008 census
8,260,490 (disputed) (94th)
• Density
13.33/km2 (34.5/sq mi) (214th)
GDP (PPP)2017 estimate
• Total
$20.038 billion
• Per capita
$1,525
GDP (nominal)2017 estimate
• Total
$3.618 billion
• Per capita
$275
Gini (2009)45.5
medium
HDI (2015)Decrease 0.418
low · 181st
CurrencySouth Sudanese pound (SSP)
Time zoneUTC+3 (East Africa Time)
Driving sideright
Calling code+211
ISO 3166 codeSS
Internet TLD.ssa
  1. Registered and operational since 2019.
The ten states of South Sudan grouped in the three historical provinces of the Sudan.

South Sudan is a country in East Africa. Its official name is the Republic of South Sudan. It was part of Sudan until 2011. Just two years after South Sudan gained its independence, in 2013, a civil war began.

South Sudan is landlocked, meaning that no part of the country touches the ocean. The country is bordered by Ethiopia to the east; Kenya to the southeast; Uganda to the south; the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the southwest; the Central African Republic to the west; and the Republic of Sudan to the north.

South Sudan includes the vast swamp region of the Sudd formed by the White Nile, locally called the Bahr al Jabal.

History

What is now South Sudan was once part of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. This part of the British Empire became the Republic of Sudan when independence was achieved in 1956.

After the First Sudanese Civil War, the Southern Sudan Autonomous Region was formed in 1972 and lasted until 1983. A second Sudanese civil war soon developed and ended with the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2005. Later that year, the Autonomous Government of Southern Sudan was formed.

Independence

South Sudan became an independent state on 9 July 2011 at midnight local time, after a referendum held in January 2011. In the referendum, nearly 99% of voters wanted to separate from the rest of Sudan.

The United Nations Security Council met on 13 July 2011 to formally discuss admitting the Republic of South Sudan to the Security Council. The next day, 14 July 2011, South Sudan became a United Nations member state.

South Sudan has also applied to join the Commonwealth of Nations, the East African Community, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank. The country was declared eligible to apply for membership in the Arab League as well.

At the 2012 Summer Olympics, one athlete from South Sudan competed under the flag of the International Olympic Committee.

In 2013 a civil war broke out over two parties wanting power. The civil war lasted until 2018. During the war, many people were killed, journalists, civilians and soldiers. Around 383,000 people died during the fighting.

People

According to estimates, in 2023 South Sudan's population was 11,483,374, and in 2024 it increased to 12,703,714.

South Sudan's population is fairly young overall. In 2023, around one out of every 5 people in South Sudan (22%) was between the ages of 0 and 14. Meanwhile, 3 out of 4 people (74%) were between the ages of 15 and 29. Fewer than four out of every hundred people (3.8%) were aged 65 or above.

As of 2025, life expectancy in Sudan was just 57.7 years. Only three countries in the world scored lower: Central African Republic, Nigeria, and Chad.

Languages

There are over 60 indigenous languages in South Sudan, along with English (the country's official language) and Arabic.

Religion

The main religion is Christianity, practised by nearly 78% of the population. Another 20% practise African traditional religions, and just 2% are Muslim.

Economy

Much of South Sudan's economy is based on oil, but they also have a large lumber industry mainly consisting of teak. It is a very poor and under-developed country. There is very little infrastructure, and the civil wars have caused a lot of damage.

References

  1. ↑ "World Population Prospects 2022". population.un.org. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  2. ↑ "World Population Prospects 2022: Demographic indicators by region, subregion and country, annually for 1950-2100" (XSLX). population.un.org ("Total Population, as of 1 July (thousands)"). United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  3. ↑ "Discontent over Sudan census". News24.com. AFP. 21 May 2009. Archived from the original on 13 July 2011. Retrieved 14 July 2011.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "South Sudan". World Economic Outlook Database. International Monetary Fund.
  5. ↑ "Gini Index". World Bank. Retrieved 2 March 2011.
  6. ↑ "2016 Human Development Report" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
  7. ↑ "New country, new number: Country code 211 officially assigned to South Sudan" (Press release). International Telecommunication Union. 14 July 2011. Archived from the original on 5 October 2011. Retrieved 20 July 2011.
  8. ↑ ".ss Domain Delegation Data". Internet Assigned Numbers Authority. ICANN. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
  9. ↑ "South Sudan". The World Factbook. CIA. 11 July 2011. Archived from the original on 2020-04-24. Retrieved 2011-07-14.
  10. ↑ Broadcast of Declaration of Independence (part 1)
  11. ↑ Broadcast of Declaration of Independence (part 2)
  12. ↑ Fick, Maggie (30 January 2011). "Over 99 pct in Southern Sudan vote for secession". USA Today. Retrieved 30 January 2011.
  13. ↑ Worsnip, Patrick (14 July 2011). "South Sudan admitted to U.N. as 193rd member". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2011-07-24.
  14. ↑ "UN welcomes South Sudan as 193rd Member State". United Nations News Service. 14 July 2011. Retrieved 14 July 2011.
  15. ↑ "South Sudan launches bid to join Commonwealth". Talk of Sudan. 8 July 2011. Archived from the original on 12 July 2011. Retrieved 9 July 2011.
  16. ↑ "South Sudan: Big trading potential for EAC". IGIHE. 8 July 2011. Archived from the original on 11 January 2012. Retrieved 9 July 2011.
  17. ↑ "Welcome South Sudan to EAC!". East African Business Week. 10 July 2011. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 10 July 2011.
  18. ↑ "South Sudan avails new foreign policy, to open 54 embassies". Sudan Tribune. 25 July 2011. Archived from the original on 29 July 2011. Retrieved 6 August 2011.
  19. ↑ "IMF receives membership application from South Sudan, seeks contributions to Technical Assistance Trust Fund to help new country". International Monetary Fund. 20 April 2011. Retrieved 10 July 2011.
  20. ↑ "World Bank group congratulates people of South Sudan on independence". The Financial. 9 July 2011. Archived from the original on 11 July 2011. Retrieved 10 July 2011.
  21. ↑ "South Sudan "entitled to join Arab League"". Sudan Tribune. 12 June 2011. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 8 July 2011.
  22. ↑ "London 2012: Refugee runs for world, family walk 50km to watch," Archived 2012-08-15 at the Wayback Machine NDTV (New Delhi Television), 11 August 2012; retrieved 2012-8-16.
  23. ↑ https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/26/world/africa/south-sudan-civil-war-deaths.html
  24. 1 2 3 4 "South Sudan". World Health Organization Data. Retrieved 2025-09-21.
  25. ↑ "South Sudan", The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, 2025-09-17, archived from the original on 2022-07-06, retrieved 2025-09-21
  26. 1 2 "Life Expectancy by Country 2025". World Population Review. Retrieved 2025-09-21.
  27. ↑ Society, Sharon Omondi in (2017-09-15). "What Languages Are Spoken in South Sudan?". WorldAtlas. Retrieved 2025-09-21.
  28. ↑ "South Sudan: Toponymic Factfile" (PDF). Permanent Committee for Geographical Names (2nd ed.). October 2024. Retrieved September 21, 2025.