Country · Africa
Sudan
Republic of the Sudan
Sudan is a country in Northern Africa. About 41.8 million people live there, in an area of 1 886 068 square kilometres. Its capital city is Khartoum.
Picture credit: walter callens (CC BY 2.0) · Jovan Smiljković (CC BY 4.0) · FUDOL YOUSUF AHMED HAMID (CC BY-SA 4.0) · عاصم الرشيد التوم (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Mojtaba Abdlbagi (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Sudan?
Sudan lies in Northern Africa, on the continent of Africa.
It sits in the northern half of the world, roughly 1 670 km from the equator.
Its coastline is about 853 km long.
It shares a border with 7 countries: the Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Libya and South Sudan.
How big is Sudan?
Sudan covers 1 886 068 square kilometres.
That is about 5.3 times the size of Germany.
Among the world's countries that makes it the 15th largest.
Spread everybody out evenly and you get about 22.2 people on every square kilometre.
That is emptier than the world average of roughly 60 people per square kilometre.
Who lives in Sudan?
About 41.8 million people live in Sudan.
That is the 35th biggest population in the world.
People here speak Arabic and English.
They pay with the Sudanese pound (PT).
On average, people born here can expect to live about 57 years.
The land of Sudan
The land of Sudan sits on average 568 metres above sea level.
Its coast runs for about 853 km. Walking it end to end, at twenty kilometres a day, would take roughly 43 days.
It lies inside the tropics, which is the single biggest reason its weather is the way it is.
What makes Sudan different?
A dish the country is known for: Ful medames.
Websites from here often end in .sd.
Sudan and the rest of the world
Out of every thousand people alive on Earth, about 6 live in Sudan.
It takes up about 1.4 % of all the land that countries stand on.
Within Africa the country ranks 3rd of 54 by size, and 10th by population.
Sudan and its neighbours
Sudan is about 1.1 times the size of Libya, its largest neighbour.
More people live in Sudan than in Libya — 41.8 million against 6.7 million.
Nature and animals
Of the animals on this site, 5 live wild in Sudan: Dromedary, Desert locust, Fennec fox, Crested porcupine and Nile monitor. The highest mountain in the country is the Deriba Caldera (Jebel Marra), at 3 042 metres. The longest river in the country is the Nile. The largest lake in the country is Lake Er Rahad.
Photographs from Wikimedia Commons under free licences — every credit is on the page itself and in the picture credits.
Where this country lands in the record lists
How big is Sudan compared with the United States?
- The United States is about 5 times as big as Sudan: 9 372 610 km² against 1 886 068 km². See both on one map
- Sudan is about 7.8 times as big as the United Kingdom: 1 886 068 km² against 242 900 km².
Questions children ask
What is the capital of Sudan?
The capital of Sudan is Khartoum. It is the city where the country's government works from.
How many people live in Sudan?
About 41.8 million people live in Sudan, which makes it the 35th most populated country in the world. (Source: World Bank, 2018.)
Which countries border Sudan?
Sudan borders the Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Libya and South Sudan — 7 neighbours in total.
How big is Sudan?
Sudan covers 1 886 068 square kilometres, making it the 15th largest country in the world. That is about 5.3 times the size of Germany.
What is the highest mountain in Sudan?
The highest mountain in Sudan is the Deriba Caldera (Jebel Marra), 3 042 metres above sea level. It is the country's highest point.
What is the longest river in Sudan?
The longest river in Sudan is the Nile. The whole river measures about 6 650 kilometres, and part of that course runs through the country.
What is the largest lake in Sudan?
The largest lake in Sudan is Lake Er Rahad. It covers about 20 km².
Which continent is Sudan in?
Sudan is in Africa, in the part called Northern Africa.
Where these numbers come from
Borders and outlines: Natural Earth. Names, capitals, areas, languages and currencies: ISO 3166 data (world-countries). Population: World Bank, 2018. Every derived figure on this page (ranks, density, distance from the equator) is calculated from those values.
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