Sudan lies at the crossroads of Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, bordering the Red Sea. It shares its border with seven countries: Libya, Egypt, Chad, the Central African Republic, South Sudan, Ethiopia, and Eritrea.
For most of its independent history, the country has faced substantial internal conflict that has weakened its ability to play a leadership role in the region. This includes two of the longest-lasting civil wars on the African continent, and conflicts in Darfur, South Kordofan, and Blue Nile. Under the terms of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005, South Sudan seceded from Sudan in 2011 and became the 54th independent state of Africa.
The high incidence of conflict, particularly past fighting that led to South Sudan’s secession, has led to a large population of refugees and internally displaced persons. Sudan is now a source, destination, and transit country for irregular migration, including refugees and asylum-seekers using the East African North-bound migratory route through Libya to Europe. The country hosts an estimated 800,000 South Sudanese refugees and 330,000 refugees and asylum seekers from Eritrea, Syria, Ethiopia, CAR, Chad, and Yemen.
In October 2021, a military takeover took place. Key government structures were dissolved and terms of the 2019 constitutional charter suspended. In early January 2022, the Prime Minister stepped down after his efforts to reach a political settlement between domestic stakeholders failed. In December 2022, a Political Framework Agreement (PFA) was signed, between the military and number of political parties, in an attempt to relaunch the country’s transition to civilian government in two years. A second phase of the political process was launched in January 2023, aim at reaching consensus on key issues and inviting non-signatories to join the process, by the end of which an agreement would be signed marking the beginning of a new transitional period.
Like the rest of the world, Sudan experienced the severe social and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was also affected by record-setting floods in 2020 and 2022, which resulted in damage estimated to run into billions of dollars.