Sudan

Last updated: July 2nd, 2021

Given its vast area, the Republic of Sudan belongs to North, East, and Central Africa and is more than five times the size of Germany. It borders Egypt, with whom it shares long historical ties, to the north, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, and the Central African Republic, Chad, as well as Libya to the west. With a population of approximately 46.8 million, Sudan is the second most populous Arab country after Egypt, with over 60 percent of the population under 25 years of age. Since the early 2000s, the educational level of this young population has improved significantly. The capital Khartoum is located in the interior of the country at the confluence of the White and Blue Nile.

After 30 years in office, President Omar Hassan al-Bashir was arrested in April 2019 following a nationwide protest in the wake of a military coup. In September 2019, an 18-member cabinet led by Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdokk was sworn in to oversee the transition period until scheduled parliamentary elections in 2024. So far, the transition has been successful, with key peace agreements signed with domestic rebel groups in October 2020. In addition, Sudan cleared the final hurdle for an international debt cut in June 2021, which will mean a reduction from 49.7 billion to eight billion US dollars. This measure is expected to greatly reduce the current high inflation rate.

Sudan has 750 kilometres of access to the Red Sea, which is to be developed mainly for fishing and tourism. The largest port city, Port Sudan, contributes enormously to the GDP with about 900 million euros. Sudan is rich in mineral resources, including ores, gold and other precious metals, and oil, with most of the oil from South Sudan, which has been independent since 2011, being transported to Port Sudan via pipelines. Oil exports and agriculture are the strongest sectors of the economy, accounting for around 32 percent.

Agriculture is an important sector of the economy, generating 20 percent of the GDP, about half of whose products are supplied to Gulf states. Sudan produces 14 percent of the global demand for groundnuts. The government plans to create more product diversity in the future; already, the diversified economy protected Sudan from a Corona-induced economic crisis. The Sudanese economy has so far come through the Covid-19 pandemic better than the Mediterranean and Middle East region as a whole. After a Covid-19 induced contraction of the economy by 3.6 percent in 2020, growth of 0.4 percent is expected in 2021.

The focus of a future economic strategy is on mining as well as agriculture and food production. Sudan also offers attractive investment legislation. Investments are to be attracted primarily for the expansion of infrastructure. Funds flowing into water resource management and the energy sector, including renewable energies, have come mainly from the Arab Gulf countries.