Part 701

Independence: 1 January 1956 (from Egypt and UK)

National holiday: Independence Day, 1 January (1956)

Constitution: 12 April 1973, suspended following coup of 6 April 1985; interim constitution of 10 October 1985 suspended following coup of 30 June 1989; new constitution to be drafted following national elections held in March 1996

Legal system: based on English common law and Islamic law; as of 20 January 1991, the now defunct Revolutionary Command Council imposed Islamic law in the northern states; the council is still studying criminal provisions under Islamic law; Islamic law applies to all residents of the northern states regardless of their religion; some separate religious courts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage: NA years of age; universal, but noncompulsary

Executive branch: chief of state and head of government: President Lt. General Umar Hasan Ahmad al-BASHIR (since 16 October 1993) was elected to a five-year term by popular vote; election last held 6-17 March 1996 (next to be held NA 2001); results - President al-BASHIR won 75.7% of the vote and defeated about forty other candidates; First Vice President Major General al-Zubayr Muhammad SALIH (since 19 October 1993), Second Vice President (Police) Maj. General George KONGOR AROP (since NA February 1994) note: al-BASHIR, as chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council for National Salvation (RCC), assumed power on 30 June 1989 and served concurrently as chief of state, chairman of the RCC, prime minister, and minister of defense until 16 October 1993 when he was appointed president by the RCC; upon its dissolution on 16 October 1993, the RCC's executive and legislative powers were devolved to the president and the Transitional National Assembly (TNA), Sudan's appointed legislative body, which has since been replaced by the National Assembly which was elected in March 1996 cabinet: Cabinet was appointed by the president; note - on 30 October 1993, President al-BASHIR announced a new, predominantly civilian cabinet, consisting of 20 federal ministers, most of whom retained their previous cabinet positions; on 9 February 1995, he abolished three ministries and redivided their portfolios to create several new ministries; these changes increased National Islamic Front presence at the ministerial level and consolidated its control over the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; President al-BASHIR's government is dominated by members of Sudan's National Islamic Front, a fundamentalist political organization formed from the Muslim Brotherhood in 1986; front leader Hasan al-TURABI dominates much of Khartoum's overall domestic and foreign policies; President al-BASHIR is expected to name a new cabinet following the elections held in March 1996

Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly: elections last held 6-17 March 1996 (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote NA; seats - (400 total, 275 directly elected, and 125 elected by a supra assembly of interest groups known as the National Congress); note - March 1996 elections were held on a nonparty basis and parties are to be banned in the new National Assembly

Judicial branch: Supreme Court; Special Revolutionary Courts

Political parties and leaders: none; banned following 30 June 1989 coup

Other political or pressure groups: National Islamic Front, Hasan al-TURABI

International organization participation: ABEDA, ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGADD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer)

Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador-designate Mahdi IBRAHIM chancery: 2210 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: (202) 338-8565 through 8570 FAX: (202) 667-2406

US diplomatic representation: operations in Khartoum were suspended in February 1996; Ambassador to Sudan Timothy M. CARNEY and several members of the mission have relocated to Nairobi, Kenya and operate out of the US Embassy there; the embassy is located at the corner of Moi Avenue and Haile Selassie Avenue; mailing address: P. O. Box 30137, Unit 64100, APO AE 09831; telephone: (2) 334141; FAX: (2) 340838

Flag: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black with a green isosceles triangle based on the hoist side

Economy -------

Economic overview: Sudan is buffeted by civil war, chronic political instability, adverse weather, high inflation, a drop in remittances from abroad, and counterproductive economic policies. The private sector's main areas of activity are agriculture and trading, with most private industrial investment predating 1980. Agriculture employs 80% of the work force. Industry mainly processes agricultural items. Sluggish economic performance over the past decade, attributable largely to declining annual rainfall, has reduced levels of per capita income and consumption. A large foreign debt and huge arrearages continue to cause difficulties. In 1990 the International Monetary Fund took the unusual step of declaring Sudan noncooperative because of its nonpayment of arrearages to the Fund. After Sudan backtracked on promised reforms in 1992-93, the IMF threatened to expel Sudan from the Fund. To avoid expulsion, Khartoum agreed to make payments on its arrears to the Fund, liberalize exchange rates, and reduce subsidies, measures it has partially implemented. The government's continued prosecution of the civil war and its growing international isolation continued to inhibit growth in the nonagricultural sectors of the economy during 1995. Agricultural production in 1995, while fairly good, was not up to the bumper crop level of 1994.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $25 billion (1995 est.)

GDP real growth rate: 0% (1995 est.)

GDP per capita: $800 (1995 est.)

GDP composition by sector: agriculture: 33% industry: 17% services: 50% (1992 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 66% (1995 est.)

Labor force: 8.9 million (1993 est.) by occupation: agriculture 80%, industry and commerce 10%, government 6% note: labor shortages for almost all categories of skilled employment (1983 est.)

Unemployment rate: 30% (FY92/93 est.)

Budget: revenues: $382 million expenditures: $1.06 billion, including capital expenditures of $91 million (1995 est.)

Industries: cotton ginning, textiles, cement, edible oils, sugar, soap distilling, shoes, petroleum refining

Industrial production growth rate: 6.8% (FY92/93 est.)

Electricity: capacity: 500,000 kW production: 1.3 billion kWh consumption per capita: 42 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: cotton, oilseed, sorghum, millet, wheat, gum arabic; sheep