Africa on the Ground

Northern Africa

Sudan

Capital Khartoum · 52 million people

Population52 million
Area1,878,000 km²
People per km²28
Rank by population8 of 54

Sudan at a glance

Sudan is in Northern Africa. Its capital is Khartoum[1]. About 52 million people live there[3], on 1,878,000 km²[4]: number 8 by population and number 3 by area of the 54 countries on this site. The sentences and figures on this page are calculated from those sources; the writing about places and people is on the cards and stories below.

Capital
Khartoum[1]
Region
Northern Africa[2]
Population
51,662,147, 2025 estimate[3]
Area
1,878,000 km², including inland water[4]
Government
presidential republic[5]
Languages marked official by the Factbook
Arabic, English[5]
African languages mentioned by the Factbook
Nubian, Beja, Fur[5]
Religion
Sunni Muslim, small Christian minority[5]
Regional blocs
AU, COMESA, IGAD[6][7][8][9][10][11]

Places in Sudan

Stories that touch Sudan

Keep exploring

From people who know Sudan

What readers add

No local voice on Sudan yet.Notes are added once the author has agreed to publication, and are read by people who know the subject afterwards.
Not yet sourced
  • Population is an estimate for 2025 and area a 2023 value; neither is a census figure.
  • Government, languages and religions are the World Factbook's words and carry its own estimate years. Language and religion groupings are ours and flatten real differences.
  • This page has no history, daily life or economy of its own yet. Those belong to the place cards and stories, with their own sources and local voices.

Sources

  1. Institutional[1] Country metadata: capital city. World Bank. api.worldbank.org retrieved 6 Oct 2026
    One capital per country. The World Bank writes some names without accents; they are restored here.
  2. Institutional[2] Standard country or area codes for statistical use (M49). United Nations Statistics Division. unstats.un.org retrieved 6 Oct 2026
    Source of the five African subregions. The classification is for statistical convenience and implies no assumption about political affiliation.
  3. Institutional[3] Population, total (SP.POP.TOTL). World Bank. data.worldbank.org retrieved 6 Oct 2026
    Most recent value per country, 2025, obtained through the World Bank API. Estimates, not census counts.
  4. Institutional[4] Surface area, sq. km (AG.SRF.TOTL.K2). World Bank. data.worldbank.org retrieved 6 Oct 2026
    Most recent value per country, 2023, obtained through the World Bank API. Total area including inland water.
  5. Institutional · to verify[5] The World Factbook: Government type, Languages, Religions (africa/*.json). CIA, via the factbook/factbook.json copy on GitHub. github.com retrieved 7 Oct 2026
    Public-domain text copied unchanged. The copy does not say which edition it holds, and each figure carries its own estimate year in the text. Shares are estimates from censuses or surveys of different years; official languages are as the Factbook records them.
  6. Institutional[6] African Union member states. African Union. au.int retrieved 7 Oct 2026
    Lists 55 member states by region, including the Sahrawi Republic. The list does not show suspensions.
  7. Institutional[7] African Union overview. African Union. au.int retrieved 7 Oct 2026
    Gives the founding of the OAU (May 1963) and the launch of the African Union (July 2002).
  8. Institutional[8] COMESA member states. COMESA. www.comesa.int retrieved 7 Oct 2026
    The table lists 21 states. Read on 2026-10-07.
  9. Institutional[9] COMESA in brief. COMESA. www.comesa.int retrieved 7 Oct 2026
    Says COMESA began as the Preferential Trade Area (1981) and became COMESA in 1994.
  10. Institutional[10] About IGAD. Intergovernmental Authority on Development. igad.int retrieved 7 Oct 2026
    Gives the eight member states, IGADD (1986) and the relaunch as IGAD (November 1996).
  11. Institutional[11] Statement on the return of Sudan to IGAD. Intergovernmental Authority on Development. igad.int retrieved 7 Oct 2026
    Dated 9 February 2026. IGAD welcomes Sudan resuming full participation; the statement does not say when or why Sudan stepped back.