Military regimes favoring Islamic-oriented governments have dominated national politics since independence from the UK in 1956. Sudan was embroiled in two prolonged civil wars during most of the remainder of the 20th century. These conflicts were rooted in northern economic, political, and social domination of largely non-Muslim, non-Arab southern Sudanese. The first civil war ended in 1972 but broke out again in 1983. The second war and famine-related effects resulted in more than 4 million people displaced and, according to rebel estimates, more than 2 million deaths over a period of two decades. Peace talks gained momentum in 2002-04 with the signing of several accords. The final North/South Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), signed in January 2005, granted the southern rebels autonomy for six years. After which, a referendum for independence is scheduled to be held. A separate conflict, which broke out in the western region of Darfur in 2003, has displaced nearly 2 million people and caused an estimated 200,000 to 400,000 deaths. As of late 2006, peacekeeping troops were struggling to stabilize the situation, which has become increasingly regional in scope, and has brought instability to eastern Chad, and Sudanese incursions into the Central African Republic. Sudan also has faced large refugee influxes from neighboring countries, primarily Ethiopia and Chad. Armed conflict, poor transport infrastructure, and lack of government support have chronically obstructed the provision of humanitarian assistance to affected populations.

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

Total	Land	Water
2505810 sq km	2376000.0 sq km	129810 sq km

Age structure

	0-14	15-64	65+
Percentage share (count, rate)	41.6% (male 8,371,628/female 8,016,880)	56% (male 11,080,025/female 10,956,458)	2.4% (male 504,957/female 449,410)

Sex rate

0-14	15-64	65+
1.044 male(s)/female 0-14	1.011 male(s)/female 15-64

Infant mortality

Total	Male	Female
91.78 total	91.95 deaths/1,000 live births male	91.59 deaths/1,000 live births female

Life expectancy

Total	Male	Female
49.11 years total	48.24 years male	50.03 years female

4.69 (2007) Leteracy (age 15 and over can read and write)

Total	Male	Female
61.1% total	71.8% male	50.5% female

Gross domestic product - Purchasing power parity: 97190000000.0 (2006)
Gross domestic product - Real growth rate: 9.3% (2006)
Gross domestic product - Per capita: 2400 (2006)
Unemployment rate: 18.7
Population below poverty line: 40

Internet - Country code: sd
Internet - Hosts: 21 (2007)
Internet - Users: 3500000.0 (2006)