Essay on Sudan

1. Per Capita GDP (and compare to the U.S.A)

Sudan’s 2007 GDP per capita (in terms of purchasing power parity) is ranked 128th in the world with $417. For comparison, GDP per capita in the US $43,500 the same year, ranked 8th in the world and 1st among G8 countries.

2. Population

Sudan has 40.2 million inhabitants. 52% of Sudanese are black Africans and 39% are Arabs.

3. Illiteracy Rate

38.9% of Sudanese are illiterate. Interestingly, almost 50% of the females above the age of 15 are illiterate.  

Our writers can do a custom essay on Sudan for you!

4. Life expectancy at birth

Average life expectancies for newborn males and females are 49.38 and 51.23 years, respectively.

5. Main Language Spoken

Sudan’s official language is Arabic. Many African dialects are also common, such as Nubian and Ta Bedawie.

6. Chief Industry

Agriculture accounts for about 40% of GDP, followed industry (mainly cement, timber processing and leather goods) and oil. 

7. Main exports and imports

Crude oil accounts for 70% of exports and is the main target for foreign direct investments. Petroleum products add 16% to total export revenues, followed by some agricultural products such as cotton and sesame.

Sudan’s imports exceed its export by 6.5 times. The main imports are machinery and equipment (35%), manufactured goods (20%) and transport equipment (18%).

The main trading partner is China, which is the destiny for about 75% of Sudan’s exports.    

8. Main Religion

70% of Sudanese are Sunni Muslims. 5% of the population, mainly in the south and the capital Khartoum are Christian. The remaining 25% practice kinds of indigenous beliefs.  

9. Please elaborate on the transportation and communication system

Sudan’s infrastructure is rather poor. In this 2.5 million sq km country, only 4,320 km of paved roads and 5,978 km of railroads. To illustrate another oil exporter with roughly the same area, former Soviet Kazakhstan has 84,104 km of paved roads and 13,700 km of railroads.

Its telecommunication system is a bit more developed and considered as rather good in the region. There are about 7.5 million mobile telephones and an internet penetration of 9%.

10. Rates of inflation

Following the 2007 introduction of the Sudanese Pound, its inflation rate is much more moderate than before and is estimated as 8% annually, as high as Hungary and Paraguay.

11. Please elaborate on health care, hospitals

Sudan’s social system is of extremely low standards. While epidemics such as Malaria and Polio are extremely common, public health expenditure amounts to less than 5% of GDP and there is only one doctor for every 5,000 inhabitants. 

12. Infant mortality rate

Sudan is ranked the world’s 15th in infant mortality rate, which amounts for a shocking figure of 86 deaths per 1,000 births.

13. Please elaborate on housing standards, including square footage per family, if possible.

The average Sudanese household has 6.3 occupants. Most of the population (60%) is rural. Most of rural population lives in single-room houses maid out of mud and straws, obviously without in-house toilet facilities.  

14.Please expound on the cultural and economic characteristics of Sudan.

Although it holds elections for presidency, Sudan can be almost defined as a Muslim military dictatorship which keeps warm relations with Islamic fundamentalism and Al-Qaida. Thanks primarily to its oil reserves it is the fastest-growing economy of the region. Nevertheless, the country is occupied with security issues and ethnical conflicts, mainly between its Arab and Black inhabitants.

Since 80% of the workforce is traditionally employed in the agricultural sector, Sudan’s unemployment rate is still comparably low. Despite lack of sound statistical data, it is estimated to fall from 5%. However, the average annual income is $330, implies great poverty, in particular among the Blacks African minority.

Sudan’s government is notoriously known as one of the most corrupted regimes worldwide. Fortunately, and again as a result of its oil reserves, the country is experiencing international cooperation; extensive FDIs in economic projects and a membership in the International Monetary Fund are Sudan’s main methods to reduce its external debt (debt-to-GSP ratio of 134%) and still problematic balance of payment. Surge in oil prices took the country a step forward, although investment opportunities are numerous in all sectors of the economy. Reasonable economic leadership should focus here on diversifying the economy, reducing the overdependence on petroleum and building modern infrastructures and social system, partially to prevent epidemics such as AIDS (about 3% of the population already carries the virus). President al-Bashir’s regime support massive privatization, but government security expenditure and US-led sanctions (due to Sudan’s support of Al-Qaida and Sudanese militias) levy on any multidimensional economic or monetary reform. In addition, it appears that although al-Bashir is interested in developing its country’s oil production, little is done to build a modern economy and improve the quality of life outside of Khartoum.

• CAUTION! Free essay samples & essay examples on Sudan are 100% plagiarized!!!

At EssayLib.com - professional essay writing service - you can buy custom essays on Sudan topics, 100% written from scratch. EssayLib.com employs top-rated Ph.D. and Master's experts only to write superior-quality custom essays, term papers, research papers, thesis & dissertations at affordable rates. EssayLib.com knows HOW effectively to help high school, college & university students with writing the highest grade custom papers online.

Enjoy Our Professional Essay Writing Service!