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

Geographic coordinates 15 00 N, 30 00 E

Map references Africa

Area
total: 2,505,810 sq km
land: 2.376 million sq km
water: 129,810 sq km

Area - comparative slightly more than one-quarter the size of the US

Land boundaries
total: 7,687 km
border countries: Central African Republic 1,165 km, Chad 1,360 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 628 km, Egypt 1,273 km, Eritrea 605 km, Ethiopia 1,606 km, Kenya 232 km, Libya 383 km, Uganda 435 km

Coastline 853 km

Maritime claims
contiguous zone: 18 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate tropical in south; arid desert in north; rainy season (April to October)

Terrain generally flat, featureless plain; mountains in east and west

Elevation extremes
lowest point: Red Sea 0 m
highest point: Kinyeti 3,187 m

Natural resources petroleum; small reserves of iron ore, copper, chromium ore, zinc, tungsten, mica, silver, gold

Land use
arable land: 5%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 46%
forests and woodland: 19%
other: 30% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land 19,460 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards dust storms

Environment - current issues inadequate supplies of potable water; wildlife populations threatened by excessive hunting; soil erosion; desertification

Environment - international agreements
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note largest country in Africa; dominated by the Nile and its tributaries

NOTE: The information regarding Sudan on this page is re-published from the 1998 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Sudan Geography 1998 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Sudan Geography 1998 should be addressed to the CIA.