Sudan Geography Profile 2009

Location

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

Geographic coordinates

15 00 N, 30 00 E

Map references

Africa

Area

total: 2,505,813 sq km
land: 2.376 million sq km
water: 129,813 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, mica, silver, gold, hydropower

Land use

arable land: 6.78%
permanent crops: 0.17%
other: 93.05% (2005)

Irrigated land

18,630 sq km (2003)

Total renewable water resources

154 cu km (1997)

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)

total: 37.32 cu km/yr (3%/1%/97%)
per capita: 1,030 cu m/yr (2000)

Natural hazards

dust storms and periodic persistent droughts

Environment - current issues

inadequate supplies of potable water; wildlife populations threatened by excessive hunting; soil erosion; desertification; periodic drought

Environment - international agreements

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note

largest country in Africa; dominated by the Nile and its tributaries