Map of Sudan
Sudan is a country in Africa with its capital at Khartoum, home to about 51.66 million people across 1.89M km². The interactive map below plots 30 cities and towns, 4 rivers, 3 lakes, 5 mountain summits, 1 major dams and 2 ports recorded for Sudan in YearMaps.
- Population
- 51.66 million
- Area
- 1.89M km²
- Capital
- Khartoum
- Continent
- Africa
Interactive Map of Sudan
Centred on Khartoum at 15.5900° N, 32.5322° E. Use the layer panel to switch on rivers, dams, ports, peaks and historical borders.
About Sudan
Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the southeast, and South Sudan to the south. Sudan has a population of 51.8 million people as of 2025 and occupies 1,886,068 square kilometres (728,215 square miles), making it Africa's third-largest country by area. Sudan's capital and most populous city is Khartoum.
The area that is now Sudan witnessed the Khormusan (c. 40000–16000 BC), Halfan culture (c. 20500–17000 BC), Sebilian (c. 13000–10000 BC), Qadan culture (c. 13000–9000 BC), the war of Jebel Sahaba, the earliest known war in the world, around 11500 BC, A-Group culture (c. 3800–3100 BC), Kingdom of Kerma (c. 2500–1500 BC), the Egyptian New Kingdom (c. 1500–1070 BC), and the Kingdom of Kush (c. 785 BC – 350 AD). After the fall of Kush, the Nubians formed the three Christian kingdoms of Nobatia, Makuria, and Alodia. Between the 14th and 15th centuries, most of Sudan was gradually settled by Arab nomads. From the 16th to the 19th centuries, central and eastern Sudan were dominated by the Funj sultanate, while Darfur ruled the west and the Ottomans the east.
From the 19th century, the entirety of Sudan was conquered by the Egyptians under the Muhammad Ali dynasty. Religious-nationalist fervour erupted in the Mahdist Uprising in which Mahdist forces were eventually defeated by a joint Egyptian-British military force. In 1899, under British pressure, Egypt agreed to share sovereignty over Sudan with the United Kingdom as a condominium. In effect, Sudan was governed as a British possession. The Egyptian revolution of 1952 toppled the monarchy and demanded the withdrawal of British forces from all of Egypt and Sudan. Muhammad Naguib, one of the two co-leaders of the revolution and Egypt's first President, was half-Sudanese and had been raised in Sudan. He made securing Sudanese independence a priority of the revolutionary government. On 1 January 1956, Sudan was declared an independent state.
After Sudan became independent, the Gaafar Nimeiry regime began Islamist rule. This exacerbated the rift between the Islamic North, the seat of the government, and the Animists and Christians in the South, who had already waged a civil war from 1955 to 1972.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia: Sudan (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Geography and Climate of Sudan
Long referred to as Nubia, modern-day Sudan was the site of the Kingdom of Kerma (ca. 2500-1500 B.C.) until it was absorbed into the New Kingdom of Egypt. By the 11th century B.C., the Kingdom of Kush gained independence from Egypt; it lasted in various forms until the middle of the 4th century A.D. After the fall of Kush, the Nubians formed three Christian kingdoms of Nobatia, Makuria, and Alodia, with the latter two enduring until around 1500. Between the 14th and 15th centuries, Arab nomads settled much of Sudan, leading to extensive Islamization between the 16th and 19th centuries. Following Egyptian occupation early in the 19th century, an agreement in 1899 set up a joint British-Egyptian government in Sudan, but it was effectively a British colony. Military regimes favoring Islamic-oriented governments have dominated national politics since Sudan gained independence from Anglo-Egyptian co-rule in 1956. During most of the second half of the 20th century, Sudan was embroiled in two prolonged civil wars rooted in northern domination of the largely non-Muslim, non-Arab southern portion of the country. The first civil war ended in 1972, but another broke out in 1983. Peace talks gained momentum in 2002-04, and the final North/South Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005 granted the southern rebels autonomy for six years, followed by a referendum on independence for Southern Sudan. South Sudan became independent in 2011, but Sudan and South Sudan have yet to fully implement security and economic agreements to normalize relations between the two countries. Sudan has also faced conflict in Darfur, Southern Kordofan, and Blue Nile starting in 2003. In 2019, after months of nationwide protests, the 30-year reign of President Omar Hassan Ahmad al-BASHIR ended when the military forced him out. Economist and former international civil servant Abdalla HAMDOUK al-Kinani was selected to serve as the prime minister of a transitional government as the country prepared for elections in 2022. In late 2021, however, the Sudanese military ousted HAMDOUK and his government and replaced civilian members of the Sovereign Council (Sudan’s collective Head of State) with individuals selected by the military. HAMDOUK was briefly reinstated but resigned in January 2022. General Abd-al-Fatah al-BURHAN Abd-al-Rahman, the Chair of Sudan’s Sovereign Council and Commander-in-Chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces, currently serves as de facto head of state and government. He presides over a Sovereign Council consisting of military leaders, former armed opposition group representatives, and military-appointed civilians. A cabinet of acting ministers handles day-to-day administration.
- Location
- North-eastern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Egypt and Eritrea.
- Climate
- Hot and dry; arid desert; rainy season varies by region (April to November)
- Terrain
- Generally flat, featureless plain; desert dominates the north.
- Highest point
- Jabal Marrah 3,042 m.
- Lowest point
- Red Sea 0 m.
- Coastline
- 853 km.
- Land borders
- Total: 6,819 km; border countries: Central African Republic 174 km; Chad 1,403 km; Egypt 1,276 km; Eritrea 682 km; Ethiopia 744 km; Libya 382 km; South Sudan 2,158 km.
- Major rivers
- An Nīl (Nile) (shared with Rwanda [s], Tanzania, Uganda, South Sudan, and Egypt [m]) - 6,650 km; Blue Nile river mouth (shared with Ethiopia [s]) - 1,600 km note: [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth.
- Natural resources
- Petroleum; small reserves of iron ore, copper, chromium ore, zinc, tungsten, mica, silver, gold; hydropower.
- Land use
- Agricultural land: 60.3% (2023 est.); arable land: 11.2% (2023 est.); permanent crops: 0.1% (2023 est.); permanent pasture: 49% (2023 est.); forest: 12% (2023 est.); other: 27.7% (2023 est.)
- Natural hazards
- Dust storms and periodic persistent droughts.
- Geographic note
- The Nile is Sudan's primary water source; its major tributaries, the White Nile and the Blue Nile, meet at Khartoum to form the River Nile, which flows northward through Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea.
- Languages
- Arabic (official), English (official), Nubian, Ta Bedawie, Fur.
- Religions
- Sunni Muslim, small Christian minority.
- Ethnic groups
- Sudanese Arab (approximately 70%), Fur, Beja, Nuba, Ingessana, Uduk, Fallata, Masalit, Dajo, Gimir, Tunjur, Berti; there are over 500 ethnic groups.
- Economy
- Low-income Sahel economy devastated by ongoing civil war; major impacts on rural income, basic commodity prices, industrial production, agricultural supply chain, communications and commerce; hyperinflation and currency depreciation worsening food access and humanitarian conditions.
From the CIA World Factbook (public domain), archived edition of 2026-01-22. The Factbook is no longer updated, so figures reflect that edition.
Sudan in Numbers
- Population
- 51.66 million
- GDP
- US$60.2 billion
- GDP per person
- US$1,165
- Life expectancy
- 66.5 years
- Population growth
- 2.38% a year
- Population density
- 27 per km²
- Urban population
- 34.9%
- Surface area
- 1,878,000 km²
- Forest cover
- 11.9%
- Arable land
- 11.2%
- Access to electricity
- 66.0%
- Internet users
- 18.6%
Indicators from World Bank Open Data (CC BY 4.0). The year under each figure is its reference year.
Sudan in Depth
History
Affad 23 is an archaeological site located in the Affad region of southern Dongola Reach in northern Sudan, which hosts "the well-preserved remains of prehistoric camps (relics of the oldest open-air hut in the world) and diverse hunting and gathering loci some 50,000 years old".
By the eighth millennium BC, people of a Neolithic culture had settled into a sedentary way of life there in fortified mudbrick villages, where they supplemented hunting and fishing on the Nile with grain gathering and cattle herding. Neolithic peoples created cemeteries such as R12. During the fifth millennium BC, migrations from the drying Sahara brought neolithic people into the Nile Valley along with agriculture.
Geography
Sudan is situated in North Africa, with an 853 km (530 mi) coastline bordering the Red Sea. It has land borders with Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, South Sudan, the Central African Republic, Chad, and Libya. With an area of 1,886,068 km2 (728,215 sq mi), it is the third-largest country on the continent (after Algeria and Democratic Republic of the Congo) and the fifteenth-largest in the world.
Sudan lies between latitudes 8° and 23°N. The terrain is generally flat plains, broken by several mountain ranges. In the west, the Deriba Caldera (3,042 m or 9,980 ft), located in the Marrah Mountains, is the highest point in Sudan. In the east are the Red Sea Hills.
The Blue Nile and White Nile rivers meet in Khartoum to form the Nile, which flows northwards through Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea.
Economy
In 2010, Sudan was considered the 17th-fastest-growing economy in the world and the rapid development of the country largely from oil profits even when facing international sanctions was noted by The New York Times in a 2006 article. Because of the secession of South Sudan, which contained about 75 percent of Sudan's oilfields, Sudan entered a phase of stagflation, GDP growth slowed to 3.4 percent in 2014, 3.1 percent in 2015 and was projected to recover slowly to 3.7 percent in 2016 while inflation remained as high as 21.8% as of 2015. Sudan's GDP fell from US$123.053 billion in 2017 to US$40.852 billion in 2018.
Demographics
In Sudan's 2008 census, the population of northern, western and eastern Sudan was recorded to be over 30 million. The population of Sudan was estimated to be around 50 million in 2024. This is a significant increase over the past four decades, as the 1983 census put the total population of Sudan, including present-day South Sudan, at 21.6 million. The population of Greater Khartoum (including Khartoum, Omdurman, and Khartoum North) is growing rapidly and was recorded to be 5.2 million.
Aside from being a refugee-generating country, Sudan also hosts a large population of refugees from other countries.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Sudan (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Sudan: Key Facts
| Currency | Sudanese pound |
|---|---|
| Official languages | Arabic, English |
| Head of state | Abdel Fattah al-Burhan |
| Head of government | Abdalla Hamdok |
| Form of government | federal republic |
| Calling code | +249 |
| Internet domain | .sd |
| Highest point | Deriba Caldera |
| Lowest point | Red Sea |
| Established | 1 January 1956 |
Facts from Wikidata Q1049 (CC0).
History of Sudan: Empires and States
The atlas records 11 polities whose mapped territory included part of Sudan, from The Kingdom of Kush in 1000 BCE to 2024 CE. They are listed in the order they first appear.
| Polity | Period here | Extent |
|---|---|---|
| The Kingdom of Kush | 1000 BCE – 346 CE | A large part |
| Alodia | 347–1506 CE | A small part |
| Makuria Kingdom | 1415–1518 CE | A small part |
| Funj Sultanate | 1507–1821 CE | A large part |
| Sultanate of Darfur | 1609–1876 CE | A small part |
| Muhammad Ali dynasty | 1822–1865 CE | Most |
| Khedivate of Egypt | 1866–1884 CE | Nearly all |
| British Africa | 1885–1955 CE | Nearly all |
| The British Empire | 1885–1955 CE | Nearly all |
| Mahdist State | 1890–1899 CE | Most |
| Republic of Sudan | 1956–2024 CE | Nearly all |
Historical Maps of Sudan
Sudan on the world map in each year one of these states held it:
Derived by testing mapped cities against dated territorial polygons. Dates are when the polygons cover this place, not the polity's whole lifespan, and polities absent from the source dataset are not listed.
Visiting Sudan
Sudan (Arabic: السودان, As-Sudan) is a country in Northeast Africa and is Africa's third largest country in terms of area. Sudan was the continent's largest country up until the secession of South Sudan in 2011. Since the 1980s, Sudan has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. The country has had a particularly turbulent history since independence from the United Kingdom, and has suffered from decades of conflict and warfare. Under less dire circumstances, however, travelling to Sudan offers one the opportunity to explore a large, diverse nation whose history is believed to go all the way back to 8000 BCE and meet some very hospitable, jovial people.
Travel notes adapted from Wikivoyage: Sudan (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Largest Cities in Sudan
30 cities recorded. Ranked by metropolitan population. A port city's harbour is written up on the page of its sea.
| # | Name | Population | Region | Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Khartoum | 4.75 million | Khartoum | National capital |
| 2 | Omdurman | 2.40 million | Khartoum | Admin-1 capital |
| 3 | Port Sudan | 489,725 | Red Sea | Admin-1 capital |
| 4 | Kassala | 401,477 | Kassala | Populated place |
| 5 | El Obeid | 393,311 | North Kurdufan | Populated place |
| 6 | Niyala | 392,373 | South Darfur | Populated place |
| 7 | Kosti | 345,068 | White Nile | Admin-1 capital |
| 8 | Medani | 332,714 | Gezira | Populated place |
| 9 | El Fasher | 252,609 | Northern Darfur | Admin-1 region capital |
| 10 | Gedaref | 201,282 | Gedarif | Populated place |
| 11 | Shendi | 186,611 | River Nile | Populated place |
| 12 | Ad Damazīn | 186,051 | Blue Nile | Admin-1 capital |
| 13 | Kadugli | 176,931 | South Kordufan | Populated place |
| 14 | Atbara | 168,612 | River Nile | Populated place |
| 15 | Geneina | 162,981 | West Darfur | Populated place |
| 16 | El Manaqil | 151,827 | Gezira | Admin-1 capital |
| 17 | Sennar | 130,122 | Sennar | Populated place |
| 18 | En Nuhud | 108,008 | South Kordofan | Populated place |
| 19 | EdDamer | 103,941 | River Nile | Populated place |
| 20 | Ed Dueim | 87,068 | White Nile | Populated place |
| 21 | Tokar | 73,202 | Red Sea | Populated place |
| 22 | Umm Ruwaba | 55,742 | North Kurdufan | Populated place |
| 23 | Berber | 49,556 | River Nile | Populated place |
| 24 | Dongola | 26,404 | Northern | Admin-1 region capital |
| 25 | Haiya | 20,000 | Red Sea | Populated place |
The other 5 (population, region, role)
- Muglad · 19,997 · South Kordofan · Populated place
- Babanusa · 19,700 · South Kordofan · Populated place
- Wadi Halfa · 17,121 · Northern · Populated place
- Merowe · 10,234 · Northern · Populated place
- Kerma · 3,928 · Northern · Populated place
Highest Mountains in Sudan
5 mountains recorded. Ranked by summit elevation above sea level. A summit on a border is listed under both countries.
| # | Name | Elevation | Feet | Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jabal Marrah | 3,042 m | 9,980 ft | Africa |
| 2 | Jabal Hamoyet | 2,726 m | 8,944 ft | Africa |
| 3 | Jabal Oda | 2,260 m | 7,415 ft | Africa |
| 4 | Jabal Teljo | 1,954 m | 6,411 ft | Africa |
| 5 | Jabal al Uwaynt | 1,934 m | 6,345 ft | Africa |
Major Dams in Sudan
1 dam recorded. Ranked by structural height.
| # | Name | Height | River | Capacity | Completed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Merowe Dam | 67 m | Nile | 1,250 MW | 2009 |
Largest Lakes in Sudan
3 lakes recorded. Ranked by mapped surface area. A lake on a border is listed under each country it lies in, with the area of the whole lake.
| # | Name | Surface Area | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lake Nasser | 3,575 km² | Reservoir |
| 2 | Roseires Reservoir | 557 km² | Reservoir |
| 3 | Khashm el Girba Dam | 90 km² | Reservoir |
Lake Nasser
Reservoir · 3,575 km²
Lake Nasser is an artificial reservoir in Egypt and Sudan, with a mapped surface area of about 3,575 km². About 11% of its surface lies in Sudan, and the rest in Egypt. It exists because of a dam rather than natural drainage, and was filled in 1970.
Lake Nasser (Arabic: بحيرة ناصر Boħeiret Nāṣer, Egyptian Arabic: [boˈħeiɾet ˈnɑːseɾ]) is a large reservoir in southern Egypt and northern Sudan. It was created by the construction of the Aswan High Dam and is one of the largest man-made lakes in the world. The lake has become an important economic resource in Egypt, improving agriculture and supporting robust fishing and tourism industries. The lake is named after Gamal Abdel Nasser, the second President of Egypt.
Strictly speaking, Lake Nasser refers only to the much larger portion of the lake that is in Egyptian territory (83% of the total), with the Sudanese preferring to call their smaller body of water Lake Nubia (Egyptian Arabic: بحيرة النوبية Boħēret Nubeya, [boˈħeːɾet nʊˈbejjæ]). Before its creation, the project faced opposition from Sudan as it would encroach on land in the northern part of the country, where many Nubian people lived who would have to be resettled. In the end, Sudan's land near the area of Lake Nasser was mostly flooded by the lake.
Adapted from Wikipedia: Lake Nasser (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Surface area
- 3,575 km²
- Area rank
- #60 of 756 indexed
- Type
- Reservoir
- Countries
- Egypt, Sudan
- Impounded
- 1970
- Coordinates
- 23.1384°, 32.7696°
Among the 756 water bodies with a mapped extent in YearMaps, Lake Nasser ranks #60 by surface area, after Lake Mackay (3,594 km²) and ahead of Lake Van (3,503 km²). Areas are computed from the mapped outline and are approximate.
- Impounding dam:
- Aswan High Dam (111 m)
More about Lake Nasser
History
Before the construction of the Aswan High Dam and the consequent creation of the Lake Nasser, the area that the lake now occupies was a significant part of the region of Nubia, home to several pharaohs of Egypt and empires such as that of the Kush.
The construction of the Aswan High Dam began in 1960 at the behest of Lake Nasser's namesake and the second president of Egypt, Gamal Abdel Nasser. It was President Anwar Sadat who inaugurated the lake and dam in 1971. Finished in 1970, the Aswan High Dam across the Nile was built to replace the insufficient Aswan Low Dam built in 1902. The goals of the High Dam and the reservoir it created, Lake Nasser, were to create a more stable source of water, to increase agricultural production, and to produce electricity for Egypt.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Lake Nasser (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Lake Nasser: Key Facts
| Surface area | 5,250 km² |
|---|---|
| Maximum depth | 25 m |
| Volume | 132 km³ |
| Surface elevation | 179 m |
| Inflows | Nile |
| Outflows | Nile |
| Drainage system | Nile basin |
Facts from Wikidata Q182796 (CC0).
Rivers in Sudan
4 rivers recorded. Listed alphabetically. A river is listed where its mapped reach lies, so long rivers appear under more than one country.
Ports in Sudan
2 ports recorded. Ranked by approach channel depth, the figure that limits which ships can call. Harbours link to their write-up on the page of the sea or coast they lie on.
| # | Name | Channel Depth | Class | Sea | Max Vessel |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beshayer Oil Terminal | — | Minor | Red Sea & Gulf of Aden | point_of_interest |
| 2 | Sawakin Harbor | — | Small | Red Sea & Gulf of Aden | point_of_interest |
UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Sudan
2 World Heritage Sites recorded. Listed by year of inscription, earliest first. Sites shared with another country appear under each.
| # | Name | Inscribed | Type | Criteria |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gebel Barkal and the Sites of the Napatan Region | 2003 | Cultural | (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (vi) |
| 2 | Archaeological Sites of the Island of Meroe | 2011 | Cultural | (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) |
Mountain Ranges, Deserts and Landforms of Sudan
11 mountain ranges, deserts and other landforms recorded. Ranked by mapped area. Covers mountain ranges, deserts, plateaus, named glaciers, plains, basins, peninsulas and capes. One that crosses a border is listed under every country it lies in, with the area of the whole feature.
| # | Name | Area | Type | Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Africa | 29.41M km² | Continent | Africa |
| 2 | Sahara | 4.73M km² | Desert | Africa |
| 3 | Congo Basin | 3.11M km² | Basin | Africa |
| 4 | Sahel | 1.02M km² | Plain | Africa |
| 5 | Chaîne des Mongos | 88,668 km² | Range/mtn | Africa |
| 6 | Marrah Mountains | 86,742 km² | Range/mtn | Africa |
| 7 | Nubian Desert | 70,345 km² | Desert | Africa |
| 8 | Jabal al Abyad Plateau | 66,598 km² | Plateau | Africa |
| 9 | Libyan Desert | 6,751 km² | Desert | Africa |
| 10 | Eastern Desert | 835 km² | Desert | Africa |
States and Provinces of Sudan
2 first-level divisions with their own map.
Countries Bordering Sudan
Land and maritime neighbours.
More Maps in Africa
Sudan: Quick Answers
- What is the capital of Sudan?
- The capital of Sudan is Khartoum.
- What is the population of Sudan?
- Sudan has a population of about 51.66 million, the #30 largest of 225 countries in YearMaps. Source: World Bank, 2025.
- How big is Sudan?
- Sudan covers 1.89M km², ranking #17 by area, with about 27 people per square kilometre.
- Which continent is Sudan in?
- Sudan is in Africa.
- Which countries border Sudan?
- Sudan shares a land or maritime border with Egypt, Kenya, Ethiopia, Chad, Central African Republic, South Sudan, DR Congo, Eritrea, Libya, Uganda.
- What is the largest city in Sudan?
- Khartoum is the largest city in Sudan, with a metropolitan population of about 4.75 million.
- What is the highest mountain in Sudan?
- The highest summit recorded for Sudan in YearMaps is Jabal Marrah at 3,042 m (9,980 ft). Summits on a border are counted for both countries.
- What is the largest lake in Sudan?
- The largest lake recorded in or bordering Sudan is Lake Nasser, at roughly 3,575 km².
- What is the tallest dam in Sudan?
- The tallest dam recorded for Sudan is Merowe Dam at 67 m, on the Nile.