Sudan (country)

D

Energy

In 2003 electrical output in Sudan was some 3.2 billion kilowatt-hours kWh of electricity. Supplies of hydroelectricity from large installations at Khashm al-Girbah and Sannār are supplemented by thermal electricity produced in facilities burning refined petroleum.

E

Currency and Banking

The monetary unit until May 1992 was the Sudanese pound. In that month it was replaced by the dinar, although Sudanese pounds remained legal tender (221.78 dinars equalled US$1; early 2007). The dinar remained in circulation until June 2007 when it was replaced by a new Sudanese pound at a rate of 100 dinar to the new pound. Currency is issued by the Bank of Sudan (Bank al-Sudan), which was founded in 1960. All banks were nationalized in 1970, but in 1976 foreign banks were allowed to operate again. The application of Islamic law from January 1, 1991, ended the charging of interest on official banking transactions. Sudan’s first stock exchange was opened in 1995.

F

Commerce and Trade

In 2003 Sudan’s annual imports totalled approximately US$2,898 million. Exports in that year totalled about US$2,481 million. Almost 19 per cent of 1995 export revenue was accounted for by cotton lint and cotton seed. Other major exports were gum arabic (11 per cent of exports), sheep and lambs (14 per cent), groundnuts (5 per cent), and sesame seeds (13 per cent). The principal imports are machinery, petroleum products, foodstuffs, transport equipment, metal goods, and textiles. The main trading partners of Sudan are Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, the United States, Italy, and the Netherlands.

G

Labour

About 70 per cent of the workforce (10.5, 2005) is engaged in agricultural or pastoral occupations. The unemployment rate in 1993 was 30 per cent. Sudan has a long history of active trade unionism and the unions played an important role in the restoration of democratic government in 1985. After the military coup of 1989 all trade union activity was banned, and several trade union leaders imprisoned. Before 1989 about 1.75 million Sudanese workers belonged to the principal trade union federation, the Sudan Workers’ Trade Unions Federation. Another 250,000 were members of the 54 unions affiliated to the Sudanese Federation of Employees and Professional Trade Unions.

H

Transport

Approximately 5,478 km (3,404 mi) of railways were operating in 2005, linking most of the major cities and towns. Supplementing the railway system are about 5,310 km (3,299 mi) of navigable waterways (about 45 per cent useable all year), and 11,900 km (7,394 mi) of roads. Only 36 per cent of the network is paved, however, the rest comprising dirt tracks, impassable by vehicles after heavy rain. A paved highway, completed in 1980, links Khartoum and Port Sudan. In 1997 there were 11 passenger cars for every 1,000 people. A government-owned airline, Sudan Airways, maintains services throughout the country and operates scheduled international flights. Wadi Seidna International Airport lies just north of Khartoum. Several foreign airlines also serve Sudan.