Sudan vs. Ethiopia
Government
| Sudan | Ethiopia | |
|---|---|---|
| Country name | conventional long form: Republic of the Sudan conventional short form: Sudan local long form: Jumhuriyat as-Sudan local short form: As-Sudan former: Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Sudan etymology: the name "Sudan" derives from the Arabic "bilad-as-sudan" meaning "Land of the Black [peoples]" | conventional long form: Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia conventional short form: Ethiopia local long form: Ityop'iya Federalawi Demokrasiyawi Ripeblik local short form: Ityop'iya former: Abyssinia, Italian East Africa abbreviation: FDRE etymology: the country name derives from the Greek word "Aethiopia," which in classical times referred to lands south of Egypt in the Upper Nile region |
| Government type | presidential republic | federal parliamentary republic |
| Capital | name: Khartoum geographic coordinates: 15 36 N, 32 32 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) etymology: several explanations of the name exist; two of the more plausible are that it is derived from Arabic "al-jartum" meaning "elephant's trunk" or "hose," and likely referring to the narrow strip of land extending between the Blue and White Niles; alternatively, the name could derive from the Dinka words "khar-tuom," indicating a "place where rivers meet" | name: Addis Ababa geographic coordinates: 9 02 N, 38 42 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) etymology: the name in Amharic means "new flower" and was bestowed on the city in 1889, three years after its founding |
| Administrative divisions | 18 states (wilayat, singular - wilayah); Blue Nile, Central Darfur, East Darfur, Gedaref, Gezira, Kassala, Khartoum, North Darfur, North Kordofan, Northern, Red Sea, River Nile, Sennar, South Darfur, South Kordofan, West Darfur, West Kordofan, White Nile note: the peace accord signed in October 2020 included a protocol to restructure the country's current 18 provinces/states into eight regions | 10 ethnically based regional states (kililoch, singular - kilil) and 2 self-governing administrations* (astedaderoch, singular - astedader); Adis Abeba* (Addis Ababa), Afar, Amara (Amhara), Binshangul Gumuz, Dire Dawa*, Gambela Hizboch (Gambela Peoples), Hareri Hizb (Harari People), Oromiya (Oromia), Sidama, Sumale (Somali), Tigray, Ye Debub Biheroch Bihereseboch na Hizboch (Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples) |
| Independence | 1 January 1956 (from Egypt and the UK) | oldest independent country in Africa and one of the oldest in the world - at least 2,000 years (may be traced to the Aksumite Kingdom, which coalesced in the first century B.C.) |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 1 January (1956) | Derg Downfall Day (defeat of MENGISTU regime), 28 May (1991) |
| Constitution | history: previous 1973, 1998; 2005 (interim constitution, which was suspended in April 2019); latest initial draft completed by Transitional Military Council in May 2019; revised draft known as the "Draft Constitutional Charter for the 2019 Transitional Period," was signed by the Council and opposition coalition on 4 August 2019 amendments: amended 2020 to incorporate the Juba Agreement for Peace in Sudan | history: several previous; latest drafted June 1994, adopted 8 December 1994, entered into force 21 August 1995 amendments: proposals submitted for discussion require two-thirds majority approval in either house of Parliament or majority approval of one-third of the State Councils; passage of amendments other than constitutional articles on fundamental rights and freedoms and the initiation and amendment of the constitution requires two-thirds majority vote in a joint session of Parliament and majority vote by two thirds of the State Councils; passage of amendments affecting rights and freedoms and amendment procedures requires two-thirds majority vote in each house of Parliament and majority vote by all the State Councils |
| Legal system | mixed legal system of Islamic law and English common law; note - in mid-July 2020, Sudan amended 15 provisions of its 1991 penal code | civil law system |
| Suffrage | 17 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
| Executive branch | chief of state: president (vacant); note - in August 2019, the ruling military council and civilian opposition alliance signed a power-sharing deal as the "Sovereignty Council," chaired by General Abd-al-Fatah al-BURHAN Abd-al-Rahman and consisting of 6 civilians and 5 generals; the Council is currently led by the military but is intended to transition to civilian leadership in May 2021 until elections can be held; General BURHAN serves as both chief of state and head of government head of government: president (vacant); note - in August 2019, the ruling military council and civilian opposition alliance signed a power-sharing deal as the "Sovereignty Council," chaired by General Abd-al-Fatah al-BURHAN Abd-al-Rahman and consisting of 6 civilians and 5 generals; the Council is currently led by the military but is intended to transition to civilian leadership in May 2021 until elections can be held (Abd-al-Rahman) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister (2019) elections/appointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed; last held on 13-16 April 2015 (next to be held in 2022 at the end of the transitional period); prime minister typically appointed by the president; note - the position of prime minister was reinstated in December 2016 as a result of the 2015-16 national dialogue process, and President al-BASHIR appointed BAKRI Hassan Salih to the position on 2 March 2017; on 21 August 2019, the Forces for Freedom and Change, the civilian opposition alliance, named Abdallah HANDOUK as prime minister of Sudan for the transitional period election results: Umar Hassan Ahmad al-BASHIR reelected president; percent of vote - Umar Hassan Ahmad al-BASHIR (NCP) 94.1%, other (15 candidates) 5.9% | chief of state: President SAHLE-WORK Zewde (since 25 October 2018) head of government: Prime Minister ABIY Ahmed (since 2 April 2018); Deputy Prime Minister DEMEKE Mekonnen Hassen (since 29 November 2012) cabinet: Council of Ministers selected by the prime minister and approved by the House of People's Representatives elections/appointments: president indirectly elected by both chambers of Parliament for a 6-year term (eligible for a second term); snap election held on 25 October 2018 due to resignation of President MULATA Teshome (next election postponed by Prime Minister ABIY due to the COVID-19 pandemic); prime minister designated by the majority party following legislative elections election results: SAHLE-WORK Zewde elected president; Parliament vote - 659 (unanimous) note: SAHLE-WORK Zewde is the first female elected head of state in Ethiopia; she is currently the only female president in Africa. Former President Dr. Mulatu TESHOME resigned on 25 October 2018, one year ahead of finishing his six-year term. |
| Legislative branch | description: according to the August 2019 Constitutional Decree, which established Sudan's transitional government, the Transitional Legislative Council (TLC) will serve as the national legislature during the transitional period until elections can be held in 2022; as of early December 2019, the TLC had not been established elections: Council of State - last held 1 June 2015 election results: Council of State - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; composition - men 35, women 19, percent of women 35.2% National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NCP 323, DUP 25, Democratic Unionist Party 15, other 44, independent 19; composition - men 296 women 130, percent of women 30.5%; note - total National Legislature percent of women 31% | description: bicameral Parliament consists of: House of Federation or Yefedereshein Mikir Bete (153 seats; members indirectly elected by state assemblies to serve 5-year terms) House of People's Representatives or Yehizb Tewokayoch Mekir Bete (547 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote; 22 seats reserved for minorities; all members serve 5-year terms) elections: House of Federation - last held 24 May 2015 (next originally scheduled on 29 August 2020 but postponed a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic) House of People's Representatives - last held on 24 May 2015 (next election to be held June 2021) election results: House of Federation - percent of vote by coalition/party - NA; seats by coalition/party - NA; composition - men 104, women 49, percent of women 32% House of Representatives - percent of vote by coalition/party - NA; seats by coalition/party - EPRDF 501, SPDP 24, BGPDUP 9, ANDP 8, GPUDM 3, APDO 1, HNL 1; composition - men 335, women 212, percent of women 38.8%; note - total Parliament percent of women 37.3% note: House of Federation is responsible for interpreting the constitution and federal-regional issues and the House of People's Representatives is responsible for passing legislation |
| Judicial branch | highest courts: National Supreme Court (consists of 70 judges organized into panels of 3 judges and includes 4 circuits that operate outside the capital); Constitutional Court (consists of 9 justices including the court president); note - the Constitutional Court resides outside the national judiciary judge selection and term of office: National Supreme Court and Constitutional Court judges selected by the Supreme Judicial Council, which replaced the National Judicial Service Commission upon enactment of the Draft Constitutional Charter for the 2019 Transitional Period subordinate courts: Court of Appeal; other national courts; public courts; district, town, and rural courts | highest courts: Federal Supreme Court (consists of 11 judges); note - the House of Federation has jurisdiction for all constitutional issues judge selection and term of office: president and vice president of Federal Supreme Court recommended by the prime minister and appointed by the House of People's Representatives; other Supreme Court judges nominated by the Federal Judicial Administrative Council (a 10-member body chaired by the president of the Federal Supreme Court) and appointed by the House of People's Representatives; judges serve until retirement at age 60 subordinate courts: federal high courts and federal courts of first instance; state court systems (mirror structure of federal system); sharia courts and customary and traditional courts |
| Political parties and leaders | Democratic Unionist Party or DUP [Jalal al-DIGAIR] Democratic Unionist Party [Muhammad Uthman al-MIRGHANI] Federal Umma Party [Dr. Ahmed Babikir NAHAR] Muslim Brotherhood or MB National Congress Party or NCP (in November 2019, Sudan's transitional government approved a law to "dismantle" the regime of former President Omar al-Bashir, including the dissolution of his political party, the NCP) National Umma Party or NUP [Saddiq al-MAHDI] Popular Congress Party or PCP [Hassan al-TURABI] Reform Movement Now [Dr. Ghazi Salahuddin al-ATABANI]Sudan National Front [Ali Mahmud HASANAYN] Sudanese Communist Party or SCP [Mohammed Moktar Al-KHATEEB] Sudanese Congress Party or SCoP [Ibrahim Al-SHEIKH] Umma Party for Reform and Development Unionist Movement Party or UMP | Afar National Democratic Party or ANDP [Taha AHMED] Argoba People Democratic Organization or APDO Benishangul Gumuz People's Democratic Unity Party or BGPDUP Ethiopian Federal Democratic Unity Forum or MEDREK or FORUM [Beyene PETROS] (includes ESD-SCUP, OFC, SLM, and UTDS) Ethiopia Citizens for Social Justice or ECSJ Party (formed in May 2019 from 7 other parties, including Patriotic Genbot 7, Ethiopian Democratic Party (EDP), All Ethiopian Democratic Party (AEDP), Semayawi Party, New Generation Party, Gambella Regional Movement (GRM), Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ) Party [Berhanu Negu]) Prosperity Party or PP [ABIY Ahmed] (created in November 2019 from member parties of the former Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front or EPRDF, which included the Amhara National Democratic Movement (ANDM), Oromo People's Democratic Organization (OPDO), Southern Ethiopian People's Democratic Movement (SEPDM), plus other ERPRF allies Ethiopian Social Democracy-Southern Coalition Unity Party or ESD-SCUP Gambella Peoples Unity Democratic Movement or GPUDM Harari National League or HNL [Murad ABDULHADI] Oromo Fderalist Congress or OFC Sidama Liberaton Movement or SLM Somali People's Democratic Party or SPDP Union of Tigraians for Democracy & Sovergnty or UTDS Tigray People's Liberation Front or TPLF [DEBRETSION Gebremichael] (note: de-registered by Ethiopian electoral board in Jan 2021) Tigray Independence Party [Girmay BERHE] (2020) |
| International organization participation | ABEDA, ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AU, CAEU, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) | ACP, AfDB, AU, COMESA, EITI (candidate country), FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNISFA, UNMIL, UN Security Council (temporary), UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Nureldin Mohamed Hamed SATTI (since 17 September 2020) chancery: 2210 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 338-8565 FAX: [1] (202) 667-2406 email address and website: consular@sudanembassy.org https://www.sudanembassy.org/ | chief of mission: Ambassador FISTUM Arega Gebrekidan (since 9 April 2019) chancery: 3506 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 364-1200 FAX: [1] (202) 587-0195 email address and website: ethiopia@ethiopianembassy.org https://ethiopianembassy.org/ consulate(s) general: Los Angeles consulate(s): New York |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Brian SHUKAN (since October 2019) embassy: P.O. Box 699, Kilo 10, Soba, Khartoum mailing address: 2200 Khartoum Place, Washington DC 20521-2200 telephone: [249] 187-0-22000 email address and website: ACSKhartoum@state.gov https://sd.usembassy.gov/ | chief of mission: Ambassador Geeta PASI
embassy: Entoto Street, P.O. Box 1014, Addis Ababa mailing address: 2030 Addis Ababa Place, Washington DC 20521-2030 telephone: [251] 111-30-60-00 FAX: [251] 111-24-24-01 email address and website: AddisACS@state.gov https://et.usembassy.gov/ |
| Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black with a green isosceles triangle based on the hoist side; colors and design based on the Arab Revolt flag of World War I, but the meanings of the colors are expressed as follows: red signifies the struggle for freedom, white is the color of peace, light, and love, black represents the people of Sudan (in Arabic 'Sudan' means black), green is the color of Islam, agriculture, and prosperity | three equal horizontal bands of green (top), yellow, and red, with a yellow pentagram and single yellow rays emanating from the angles between the points on a light blue disk centered on the three bands; green represents hope and the fertility of the land, yellow symbolizes justice and harmony, while red stands for sacrifice and heroism in the defense of the land; the blue of the disk symbolizes peace and the pentagram represents the unity and equality of the nationalities and peoples of Ethiopia note: Ethiopia is the oldest independent country in Africa, and the three main colors of her flag (adopted ca. 1895) were so often appropriated by other African countries upon independence that they became known as the Pan-African colors; the emblem in the center of the current flag was added in 1996 |
| National anthem | name: "Nahnu Djundulla Djundulwatan" (We Are the Army of God and of Our Land) lyrics/music: Sayed Ahmad Muhammad SALIH/Ahmad MURJAN note: adopted 1956; originally served as the anthem of the Sudanese military | name: "Whedefit Gesgeshi Woud Enat Ethiopia" (March Forward, Dear Mother Ethiopia) lyrics/music: DEREJE Melaku Mengesha/SOLOMON Lulu note: adopted 1992 |
| International law organization participation | accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; withdrew acceptance of ICCt jurisdiction in 2008 | has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt |
| National symbol(s) | secretary bird; national colors: red, white, black, green | Abyssinian lion (traditional), yellow pentagram with five rays of light on a blue field (promoted by current government); national colors: green, yellow, red |
| Citizenship | citizenship by birth: no citizenship by descent only: the father must be a citizen of Sudan dual citizenship recognized: no residency requirement for naturalization: 10 years | citizenship by birth: no citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Ethiopia dual citizenship recognized: no residency requirement for naturalization: 4 years |
Source: CIA Factbook
